# New Spear Boatworks Evergladez build



## permitman (May 25, 2014)

Recently drove to Panacea to test drive the Evergladez model and meet Harry Spear. I was in the market for a no frills, super shallow poling skiff that can easily fish with three people aboard. Also wanted a skiff that I could trim the bow very high to safely navigate though large yacht wakes that I encounter in the Palm Valley section of the ICW. Also, wanted a skiff that I could occasionally fish the Keys. After a brief intro, Harry dropped the skiff in at a local ramp. Harry ran the skiff with a 50 Tohatsu in super skinny water, which I estimated to be slightly less than a foot. I poled the skiff around and was amazed at how well it poled and I kept trying to find a spot shallow enough to bottom out. I poled to the nearest shoreline and
the bow finally bumped the bottom and I'm guessing right at 5-inches or slightly less. I fished off the bow and let Harry cast a few. Let's just say, the man can throw a fly rod and can pole a skiff! In short, I gave Harry a deposit on a new skiff and I can't wait to fish the Evergladez in my local waters. I'll try to attach photos to show how the skiff is coming along.


----------



## permitman (May 25, 2014)

More pics.


----------



## CPurvis (Apr 6, 2016)

Looking forward to this build. Keep us up to date with pics. What colors are you thinking?


----------



## permitchaser (Aug 26, 2013)

Man that's a good looking skiff. I know people want to know how much decked out


----------



## permitman (May 25, 2014)

I'm just going to do the color Harry had, which is a light grey. Honestly, as long as it's horizon grey, ice blue, robin etc., I'm good with it. Price sheet was pretty straight forward, which Harry provided. Relative to the other flat bottom skiff choices I considered, the price point for the Evergladez worked for me. The whole experience kind of reminded me of when I bought a skiff from Chris Morejohn a very long time ago.


----------



## crboggs (Mar 30, 2015)

Awesome. Will definitely be watching. 

Are you getting the tunnel or no? Tiller?

The Spear excels as a minimalist two man sight fishing skiff. Be very conscious of that as you decide on adding things like consoles, bulk heads, hatches, and etc. Stay conscious of space and weight...its at a premium...


----------



## Sublime (Oct 9, 2015)

Having owned a Glades X , I would give you one piece of advice. Have him add a bulkhead at the rear and put a hatch in. I too wanted the most basic skiff I could get, so went with the open rear deck. The problem is there is very little vertical clearance between the floor and the rear cap. Pretty much you can't lay down and get in there unless you weigh 67 pounds. If I would have kept my skiff I would have ended adding a bulkhead and hatch myself. A little extra money yes, but if you don't, the entire area under the rear cap is pretty much useless.


----------



## Tx_Whipray (Sep 4, 2015)

God forbid anything happen to my Whipray (had a close call with an old couple attempting to go straight in an inside turn lane the other day), but if it did I think the EvergladeZ with a tunnel would be on the very short list of replacements


----------



## J-Dad (Aug 30, 2015)

Sublime said:


> Having owned a Glades X , I would give you one piece of advice. Have him add a bulkhead at the rear and put a hatch in. I too wanted the most basic skiff I could get, so went with the open rear deck. The problem is there is very little vertical clearance between the floor and the rear cap. Pretty much you can't lay down and get in there unless you weigh 67 pounds. If I would have kept my skiff I would have ended adding a bulkhead and hatch myself. A little extra money yes, but if you don't, the entire area under the rear cap is pretty much useless.


I’m okay with the open bulkhead in the rear - I slide a couple of plastic totes with rain gear and PFDs under the cap, and occasionally an extra 2 1/2 gallon gas tank, and have no trouble acccesing them.


----------



## not2shabby (Sep 14, 2016)

I'm with @Tx_Whipray . I'm not planning on it, but if there is a "next skiff" in my future, it will be a Spear.

Congrats on the new build, @permitman ! I look forward to seeing your updates!


----------



## permitman (May 25, 2014)

All, thanks for the input. I'm not putting a tunnel for draft and typically there's a channel or hole where I fish. I can trim the boat on it's side if need be. Going with the full blown deal--50 and center console. Had a 50 on my 16' Gordon and miss the power. I'm confident that the boat will be able to push through soft mud and get skinny enough. At my local ramp, 99% of the time it's one or two fly rods; three flies; a couple waters; safety stuff; tippet...you get the picture. Bulkhead is an interesting thought, but I think I'll try plastic containers with outdoor carpet glued to the bottom and waterproof bags. Pic of fairing compound and went with the Simrad GO7 on sale at West Marine.


----------



## Bonecracker (Mar 29, 2007)

Got a good look at your skiff on Sat AM after fishing with Harry and it is a lot further along than the pictures you show! He's not the fastest a sending me pics on updating the Gold Cup he is working on for Luke, so I understand! She looks very good though!!


----------



## crboggs (Mar 30, 2015)

permitman said:


> Bulkhead is an interesting thought, but I think I'll try plastic containers with outdoor carpet glued to the bottom and waterproof bags.


That's what I am doing. Lowe's had some Ziploc boxes that are water tight and just the right size to slide under the rear bench. They look like they'll make a functional boat box. I'm in the process of organizing two of them into "safety stuff" and "fishing stuff".

Keep your console as small as possible IMHO...so you don't eat up too much cockpit space.

In the pic below you can see that I've got room for two of the boxes and my wading boots next to my battery...


----------



## Sublime (Oct 9, 2015)

I like the extra transom support he has added since I had mine built.


----------



## permitman (May 25, 2014)

Sublime said:


> I like the extra transom support he has added since I had mine built.


Yes. Looks good. Like that Seadek! Did Harry put that on? Thx.


----------



## permitman (May 25, 2014)

Bonecracker said:


> Got a good look at your skiff on Sat AM after fishing with Harry and it is a lot further along than the pictures you show! He's not the fastest a sending me pics on updating the Gold Cup he is working on for Luke, so I understand! She looks very good though!!


Dude. Thanks for the update! Can't wait.


----------



## crboggs (Mar 30, 2015)

permitman said:


> Like that Seadek! Did Harry put that on? Thx.


The Marine Mat in my picture was installed by the previous owner. I agree...its quite nice.


----------



## AucillaDawg (Mar 24, 2018)

permitman said:


> Recently drove to Panacea to test drive the Evergladez model and meet Harry Spear. I was in the market for a no frills, super shallow poling skiff that can easily fish with three people aboard. Also wanted a skiff that I could trim the bow very high to safely navigate though large yacht wakes that I encounter in the Palm Valley section of the ICW. Also, wanted a skiff that I could occasionally fish the Keys. After a brief intro, Harry dropped the skiff in at a local ramp. Harry ran the skiff with a 50 Tohatsu in super skinny water, which I estimated to be slightly less than a foot. I poled the skiff around and was amazed at how well it poled and I kept trying to find a spot shallow enough to bottom out. I poled to the nearest shoreline and
> the bow finally bumped the bottom and I'm guessing right at 5-inches or slightly less. I fished off the bow and let Harry cast a few. Let's just say, the man can throw a fly rod and can pole a skiff! In short, I gave Harry a deposit on a new skiff and I can't wait to fish the Evergladez in my local waters. I'll try to attach photos to show how the skiff is coming along.


Just saw this post and after reading I opened the first pic. Much to my surprise, I saw a photo of my Evergladez on the boat ramp! Congrats on your new skiff! I hope you enjoy yours as much as I am mine!


----------



## permitman (May 25, 2014)

Got some pictures from Harry late Friday and the man has been working hard. He's got several boats being built at the same time. He's shared a few pics of the Gold Cup and it's going to be tough to beat. He's been super polite and patient with some of my dumb questions. Anyway, he's got the gel cote finished on the inside of my skiff. I'm getting the 21' two-piece Carbon Marine pushpole with the metal tip. Getting super pumped now! I'm attempting to attach pics.


----------



## crboggs (Mar 30, 2015)

Permitman...any updates?


----------



## permitman (May 25, 2014)

Yes. I've been busy, but here are the updates. Picked up skiff May 22nd. Today I would give the skiff an A+ for fishability--stable, quite, fast, shallow draft. Got the right prop and I hit 38.4 mph, which is nuts with a 50hp. Got a YETI 35 and I've been getting things the way I want it. Got some Ziplock, water proof boxes for storage and they do the job well. Fishes amazing!


----------



## Guest (Jun 17, 2018)

She came out nice! Spear builds a nice skiff!


----------



## permitman (May 25, 2014)

Here are more pics.


----------



## Guest (Jun 17, 2018)

Nice Red too!


----------



## CPurvis (Apr 6, 2016)

Nice Skiff!! I'm jealous!


----------



## crboggs (Mar 30, 2015)

Beauty. Sweet rig!

I ran mine around Ozello today. First time really putting on my big boy pants and running her shallow. It was pretty epic.

I was running 30+ when the pic below was taken. Talk about being all puckered up...*lol*


----------



## yobata (Jul 14, 2015)

Did the skiff come with those bungee cord storage under the front deck? Seems like a great place to stash life vests! Very cool


----------



## LowHydrogen (Dec 31, 2015)

yobata said:


> Did the skiff come with those bungee cord storage under the front deck? Seems like a great place to stash life vests! Very cool


Yes, think he does that on all his skiffs. Keeps them up out of the way, and dry.


----------



## commtrd (Aug 1, 2015)

crboggs said:


> Beauty. Sweet rig!
> 
> I ran mine around Ozello today. First time really putting on my big boy pants and running her shallow. It was pretty epic.
> 
> I was running 30+ when the pic below was taken. Talk about being all puckered up...*lol*


Sweet! BTW that is just for starters if running TX skinny. Beautiful shot, nice boat.


----------



## NativeBone (Aug 16, 2017)

@permitman enjoyed reading your prayer/devotional!


----------



## Tx_Whipray (Sep 4, 2015)

commtrd said:


> Sweet! BTW that is just for starters if running TX skinny. Beautiful shot, nice boat.


Yea, I don’t see any oysters sticking out of that water.


----------



## crboggs (Mar 30, 2015)

LowHydrogen said:


> Yes, think he does that on all his skiffs. Keeps them up out of the way, and dry.


Yup. Mine has the vest storage up front and throwable cushion storage in the rear. Nice touch.


----------



## crboggs (Mar 30, 2015)

Tx_Whipray said:


> Yea, I don’t see any oysters sticking out of that water.


True. That's all lime rock bottom. I would have welcomed some sand and oysters.


----------



## Guest (Jun 17, 2018)

That’s Ozello skinny folks, that bottom is all hard! The limestone is called chert, it is compressed lime rock and is hard like flint.


----------



## FLmatt (Dec 11, 2017)

Beautiful skiff! Looks like you are already enjoying it too. Harry builds some of the neatest boats on the market. I just bought a used Spear Glades X last weekend and I’m already obsessed with it. It fishes extremely skinny and quiet while still being able to handle some Tampa Bay wind chop/boat wakes.


----------



## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

Boatbrains said:


> That’s Ozello skinny folks, that bottom is all hard! The limestone is called chert, it is compressed lime rock and is hard like flint.


Saltychicken was telling me about this bottom. That’s something!


----------



## Guest (Jun 17, 2018)

Smackdaddy53 said:


> Saltychicken was telling me about this bottom. That’s something!


Smackdaddy, I grew up fishing these waters and still drift into that bottom now and then! Beautiful place, but if ya don’t know where your going I can almost guarantee a bad- expensive day. The bottom is solid with a sand/grass pocket now and then. Opposed to sand/ grass with scattered rocks.


----------



## commtrd (Aug 1, 2015)

Wow that COULD be detrimental to lower units with no tunnel. I didn't realize that was a pure rock bottom. Kinda changes things...


----------



## Rick hambric (Jun 24, 2017)

commtrd said:


> Wow that COULD be detrimental to lower units with no tunnel. I didn't realize that was a pure rock bottom. Kinda changes things...


I’ve seen and had an expensive day there. It’s a unique fishery that’s for sure.


----------



## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

Sounds similar to Baffin Bay down here. I caught my personal best trout around the corner from the biggest clump in the bay in 2015. 
https://www.texassaltwaterfishingma...rks-wildlife-field-notes/the-rocks-baffin-bay


----------



## crboggs (Mar 30, 2015)

Smackdaddy53 said:


> Saltychicken was telling me about this bottom. That’s something!


I think I saw the rock near the ramp that took his lower unit. It would have gotten me too without having been warned. 

@FLmatt ... welcome aboard, guess that makes 3 Glades X skiffs running around the bay. You buy the one that was for sale in Marco Island? I was seriously considering it but held out for a tunnel.


----------



## FLmatt (Dec 11, 2017)

crboggs, Yes that’s the one. It was exactly what I was looking for. A simple, functional fishing skiff. I don’t have any experience with tunnel/jack plate set-ups and I figure most places I plan on fishing I can pole out to deeper water to jump on plane. I’ll post some pictures and thoughts on the skiff after a few more trips.


----------



## GeeBee (Jun 2, 2017)

BONECRACKER posted pictures of the the Evergladez Harry built for me about eight months ago. Really enjoying it!


----------



## Backcountry 16 (Mar 15, 2016)

Here is mine should be ready next week or so poling platform no grab bar fuel tank upfront will be running it with a merc 25 2 stroke.


----------



## Stevie (Jun 27, 2017)

Backcountry 16 said:


> Here is mine should be ready next week or so poling platform no grab bar fuel tank upfront will be running it with a merc 25 2 stroke.
> View attachment 30864
> View attachment 30866
> View attachment 30868
> View attachment 30870


Congratulations! That was quick!


----------



## Backcountry 16 (Mar 15, 2016)

Getting closer


----------



## GeeBee (Jun 2, 2017)

If you're thinking of putting a casting platform near the very front, I suggest having Harry install the necessary turnbuckle mounting hardware before you receive the boat. You will not have access underneath the front deck where the support plate/washer is placed.

Boat looks great!

edit: just realized I might have been too late on this thread...


----------



## Backcountry 16 (Mar 15, 2016)

GeeBee said:


> If you're thinking of putting a casting platform near the very front, I suggest having Harry install the necessary turnbuckle mounting hardware before you receive the boat. You will not have access underneath the front deck where the support plate/washer is placed.
> 
> Boat looks great!
> 
> edit: just realized I might have been too late on this thread...


10 4 thanks for the heads up I'm having him install a puck for a trolling motor if I use anything upfront itsi probably going to be a yeti.


----------



## Backcountry 16 (Mar 15, 2016)

Just waiting on the trailer and poling platform.


----------



## crboggs (Mar 30, 2015)

Man...love how clean these hulls are...


----------



## makin moves (Mar 20, 2010)

Less is more! Absolutely beautiful! Congrats man.


----------

