# Cheap flats boats



## topnative2 (Feb 22, 2009)

Soooooooo......what is the cheapest flats boats out there???

How about a list in order of price w/ the prices if known.

[smiley=1-biggrin.gif]


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

Here's a bargain

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gqOEoyuJfg[/media]


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## larryg (Dec 11, 2013)

id say one of the cheapest options is a used jon boat.

for the money, you can beat them...noise-well that's another story.


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## [email protected] (Nov 6, 2013)

Hell's Bay!! Maybe not in cost but definitely in build quality, fit and finish, and build materials. Oh and especially customer service!!!!


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

Cheapest: Gheenoe (new or used)


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## Keywester1 (Sep 9, 2014)

Key west 1520. Bought mine for 2600 and served me pretty we'll until I moved into a skiff...


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## cutrunner (Jun 8, 2010)

Seafox makes a flats boat


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## dwin (Mar 22, 2011)

> Seafox makes a flats boat



X2


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## noeettica (Sep 23, 2007)

I have a classic in the for sale section awesome boat !



> Cheapest: Gheenoe (new or used)


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

The cheapest no frills skiff around is a simple 15 or 16' jon boat with a 40 horse, tiller steered motor. If you want to see how to deck one out there's actually an episode currently on Ship Shape tv that clearly shows just how many used to deck out a small aluminum skiff (with marine ply or ordinary plywood that's been stiffened and glassed then covered with some kind of outdoor carpet).

If you don't want the hassle of a trailer then down size that skiff to around 12-13 feet long so that it can be carried in the bed of a truck.

That first entry -a basic 15 or 16 foot jonboat will float with two anglers in about 6 inches of water if you keep it light. Yes, it will beat you to death in a chop and over time you'll have to deal with cracks in the hull (I strongly suggest you only consider a welded hull to start with -you don't want to know how much trouble a riveted hull can cause when they get older and fatigued....).

Here's a very old photo, around 35 years ago, of a happy guy with a nice bonefish within sight of Crandon marina on Key Biscayne. The skiff he's on was an old Starcraft 16' hull with a full custom interior. We fished that skiff from Key West up to Palm Beach (and everywhere in between). It was built just as noted in that ShipShape show.... I also had the fun of putting it back together on two occasions (like I said avoid riveted hulls). By the way this wasn't a jon boat -it started life as a 16' runabout...


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## kfa4303 (Jun 25, 2012)

This. I have an old '59 Arkansas Traveler, riveted aluminum runabout hull that I've since converted to a tiller "skiff" of sorts. It works great and was tons of fun to build. Best of all, I didn't have to sell a kidney, or my first born. I run a vintage, 2-stroke, 20hp Johnson that pushes her along nicely at around +/- 20mph. The old timers get a kick out of it at the ramp too.


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## K3anderson (Jan 23, 2013)

I had a Carolina Skiff j-14 with a 25hp on there. Great little skiff. With a trolling motor on the bow, I caught a lot of fish on that.


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