# What is the perfect size shallow water skiff/flats boat?



## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

The biggest hull, trailer and outboard you can afford, and not make payments,
that will fit completely in the garage when the door is closed.
Sure is nice not having to load up at O dark thirty in the AM.
That being said, the more boats you own, the better!

                                    ;D


----------



## John_Rosende (Mar 3, 2011)

So then it is safe to say that a boat that fits on a 22' overall trailer is the perfect size skiff? According to my calculations tha equates to be about 17' long? Do think the perfect skiff is more wide or narrow, and what are the benefits to both?


----------



## skinny_water (Jun 11, 2008)

> The biggest hull, trailer and outboard you can afford, and not make payments,
> that will fit completely in the garage when the door is closed.
> Sure is nice not having to load up at O dark thirty in the AM.
> That being said, the more boats you own, the better!
> ...


What he said.

Personally I like boats in the 16ft-17ft class. I really think that is the tipping point for ride/range/draft/stability/speed/poll-ability


----------



## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

I've been playing with boats for over 50 years,
sail, power, paddle and pole, and from experience
I can tell you that there is no perfect boat.
There have been perfect days, perfect trips, but no perfect boats.
Wide hulls have more room for storage and comfort.
Narrow hulls need less horsepower and are easier to pole.
Low sides/sheer are less affected by wind and so are easier to control.
High sides keep the ocean outside of the hull and feel safer in rough seas.


----------



## chris_rosende (Dec 13, 2010)

The perfect skiff for me is one that I can drop in the water by myself.  One that is much much easier to clean, maintain, and operate by myself than my BIG boat.  I like a reliable engine.  A trolling motor.  Some dry storage.  Room for a rod/net.  I also like to troll baits in skinny canals, so my skiff needs to accomodate me with some sort of convenient rod holder.
I guess the answer to your question can be answered with another question:
How do you fish?  Do you like to pole around on the flats and sight cast fish?  You should then think about a poling platform.  Do you like livebaiting? Get a livewell....  Do you like spending lots of money on Gas?  Get a bigger engined flats boat.  Do you like saving money on gas?  get a little skiff with a small hp motor.  All serious fishermen should have a skiff tailored to their custom style of fishing.  This is how you effectively catch fish.... your way.  You don't need a high dollar boat to do so........ BUT you WILL look prettier in a 80k dollar boat.


----------



## John_Rosende (Mar 3, 2011)

This is all very true; however, there has to be a boat out there generally meets all fisherman's needs.


----------



## John_Rosende (Mar 3, 2011)

This is all very true; however, there has to be a boat out there generally meets all fisherman's needs.


----------



## John_Rosende (Mar 3, 2011)

The question was what is the perfect sized skiff?..not the what is the perfect skiff?


----------



## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

There is no perfect size. There's only what works to get the job done.
Since the job changes depending on location, conditions, load and passengers
I reiterate, there is no perfect skiff, size or otherwise.

                                  

So the best answer I can offer is still the first one:



> The biggest hull, trailer and outboard you can afford, and not make payments,
> that will fit completely in the garage when the door is closed.


----------



## John_Rosende (Mar 3, 2011)

I think it is a 17' light wieght skiff. It's seems to fit everything to me, I just haven't found one that I am completely convinced of...


----------



## paint it black (Nov 3, 2007)

How about a 25' LOA 6' Beam poling skiff?
What if I said it would cost you as much as a Contender?


----------



## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

We're busy unicorn hunting, I'm afraid. Everyone wants a boat that runs in bad water like a 25'er, and poles like it was 15' long and weighed less than 300lbs. In between these two are lots and lots of choices. Whatever you gain in one area you're giving up in another. Instead of looking for the "perfect skiff" (whether you think in terms of length or capabilities...) I'd suggest you think long and hard about what you're wanting to do and where you're actually going to be operating (if you asked a young Marine about what to do, he'd likely reply... Sir it depends on the weather, the situation, and the terrain....).

If you have the great luxury of only fishing in good weather, or only in very sheltered waters, the lighter smaller skiffs might be that "perfect" rig... If, like me, you need to go in all kinds of water and cover 60 to as much as 80 miles a day you would make a different choice entirely (and yes, my beat up old 17' Maverick works pretty well for what I'm using it for).

Aren't boats fun?


----------



## WhiteDog70810 (May 6, 2008)

As everyone has pointed out, "perfect" is an individual term. If you want to know the most cost effective, vesatile inshore boat in the known world, it is a 16' flat bottom welded aluminum jon boat. For the cost, it's durability, light weight, stability, shallow draft and payload cannot be beat. However, it is not a purpose built flats boat. They can get just as shallow, but they don't pole as well and they aren't as quiet.

You are on this site, so I will assume you are curious about microckiffs specifically. Instead of the impossible to define perfect flatsboat (i.e. unicorn), I'll describe the average microskiff (i.e. horse). Bear in mind that I am being very general. You'll find 10 exceptions to everything I say with in an hour of online searching.

Most of us pushpole, so we like long, narrow, low windage boats with pointed bows because they track straighter. A 4:1ish length to width ratio is fairly standard for a microskiff instead of the 3:1 ratio that is common with many other power boats. On average, they are 16ish foot long, about 48-54" wide and 15" deep. Most are flat or have a very shallow deadrise at the transom. Most guys like a vee up front, but some want a completely flat bottom. Regardless, none of them are pleasant in choppy water, but some are worse. Most like flat sheers to reduce windage. Efforts are made to minimize sharp edges to make the hull quieter. Most microskiffs only fish two people comfortably. Most are very light weight and are powered by 10-25 HP motors. Tiller motors are more common, but consoles are very popular. Due to the light weight and narrow width, the average microskiff is less stable than the majority of normal people are comfortable with. 

The main reason 16ish foot hulls are so popular is not because of some amazing performance parameter. The mundane reality is that they are the biggest boat that can easily fit in the average garage while on a trailer (what Brett said earlier). I would prefer to have an 18' hull that is 60" wide just so I could have more surface area to spread out the load and float shallower. 

That is my two cents. Hope it helps.

Nate


----------



## chris_rosende (Dec 13, 2010)

> As everyone has pointed out, "perfect" is an individual term.  If you want to know the most cost effective, vesatile inshore boat in the known world, it is a 16' flat bottom welded aluminum jon boat.  For the cost, it's durability, light weight, stability, shallow draft and payload cannot be beat.  However, it is not a purpose built flats boat.  They can get just as shallow, but they don't pole as well and they aren't as quiet.
> 
> You are on this site, so I will assume you are curious about microckiffs specifically.  Instead of the impossible to define perfect flatsboat (i.e. unicorn), I'll describe the average microskiff (i.e. horse).  Bear in mind that I am being very general.  You'll find 10 exceptions to everything I say with in an hour of online searching.
> 
> ...


Nate, are you a journalist? That was an incredible response. Seriously


----------



## JaxLaxFish (Aug 23, 2010)

> This is all very true; however, there has to be a boat out there generally meets all fisherman's needs.


To reiterate what everyone else has said in a different way any skiff that GENERALLY meets everyone's needs won't really PERFECTLY meet anyone's needs. 

That being said. If you want to fish mostly inshore get the perfect boat for your inshore fishing needs and run the beaches and nearshore when it is very calm. If you want to fish mostly offshore you could get away with something like a panga and still be able to do some light duty inshore fishing. As far as length goes I would say this often has much less to do with a boat's performance than many many other aspects of the building process. An 18 ft center console with a deep vee is going to ride much smoother than a 22 ft Carolina Skiff in most conditions while that 22 ft CS will surely float shallower than a shorter and I suppose possibly even lighter deep vee.


----------



## WhiteDog70810 (May 6, 2008)

Snookaholics,

I am not a journalist. Thanks though. When I write a long response like that I am always afraid I come off sounding like a cocky know-it-all.

Nate


----------

