# New Microskiffer with my Mud Minnow



## REELKEEN (Mar 24, 2009)

Hey guys new to the forum.  I'v been lurking and learning for a few weeks now.  

A little bit about me: I've been fishing my whole life mostly on the West coast over in Steinhatchee.  I've recently moved to Jacksonville about a year ago and I've been itching to get back out on the water.  Only problem my flats boat from the west coast had to stay put and I've been boatless.  

I decided that there were too many creeks and good areas to fish to keep letting it go by.  I started searching craigslist and passed up several good deals on carolina skiffs and other nice flats boats. Until I found this beauty.








1997 Mud Minnow 16 foot with a 97 25 horse mercury.  
I thought it was a great deal at $4,000.00
The previous owner did alot of work to it before he decided to sell it and get a bigger boat.  He installed the center console, rewired the entire boat, installed 2 brand new batteries, and a complete engine tune up.  I got to take it out for a run today before I bought it and it did great with my wife and I in it.  It has alot of really nice features which were already installed and I didn't have to do myself.








Live well and bilge pump stainless shark eye lights, stainless pop up cleats, stainless flush mount rod holders.








The electric tilt works great but I think I will definately do a jack plate.
Can anyone suggest a good electric one?

Here it is hooked up to my truck on the way home with me putting new bulbs in the trailer lights before the trip to Jacksonville.  









My dog seems to have taken a liking to the poling platform.


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## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

i looked at that boat back last summer when he was advertising it. the center console was installed after that, thought it had been fished a little hard and had quite a few stress cracks so i passed on but was very interested in this design so i search and found one in port orange and bought it. i'm in jax. also, maybe we'lll see each other out on the water


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## marshman (Feb 9, 2007)

cool boat...

man i hope i never have a rig that needs one of them lil whale tail things....if so, i believe id have to make one that looked a lil more "aesthetic", or whatever you call it...


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## marshman (Feb 9, 2007)

dude...you tellin that man that he bought junk?? wow, i thought i was being rude with the whale tail comment...

ha ha....im just playing around...    


;D ;D ;D ;D


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## REELKEEN (Mar 24, 2009)

> i looked at that boat back last summer when he was advertising it. the center console was installed after that, thought it had been fished a little hard and had quite a few stress cracks so i passed on but was very interested in this design so i search and found one in port orange and bought it. i'm in jax. also, maybe we'lll see each other out on the water


I read your post over here and on FL Sportsman Forum when you purchased yours. Are you in Mandarin? I'm in argyle right off of Blanding. I'd love to have someone from the area show me the ropes.

I agree it does have a few stress cracks but nothing that a buddy who does fiberglass work can't fix for me. How is your minnow set up? Do you still have the tiller?


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## Un-shore (Sep 27, 2007)

Hi and welcome, I'll have a Myer's over ice. Nice rig, I love the layout especially the deck. Form and function, thats what its about.


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## REELKEEN (Mar 24, 2009)

> cool boat...
> 
> man i hope i never have a rig that needs one of them lil whale tail things....if so, i believe id have to make one that looked a  lil more "aesthetic", or whatever you call it...


Ouch. Easy on my ugly plastic whale tale things. The only thing I can think they are for is to stop porpoising. I've seen a few boats with cavitation plates on here I guess they are similiar.


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## marshman (Feb 9, 2007)

yeah...alot of peeps swear by them...i think they are needed more on the smaller boats with "trim" problems....levels out the ride, prob helps hole shot a little...i honestly cant see where they would make that much of a difference, should be out the water when on plane...if not it has to create tons of drag...but, hey, what do i know...


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## REELKEEN (Mar 24, 2009)

Anyone have any electric Jack plate suggestions? Would it work with my electric tilt?


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

http://www.microskiff.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1174179903


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## tom_in_orl (Dec 9, 2006)

Electric or Hydraulic. Both are good. Electric is lighter. Hydraulic is built to be stronger. Width was a big concern for me. You want one wide enough to bolt your motor too it but not so wide that its too big for a microskiff.


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## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

> dude...you tellin that man that he bought junk??  wow, i thought i was being rude with the whale tail comment...
> 
> ha ha....im just playing around...
> 
> ...


 not saying that at all, just needed a little more work than what i was willing to invest at the time and found what i thought was a better deal somewhere else. that boat has a nice liner than mine and i agree that a good glass guy could really have that boat pimped out in no time, looking back on it now i kinda wished i would have picked up that one because of the nicer liner. still running a tiller on mine but have been playing with motors as of lately, got a 40 hp tohatsu on it right now however me and a buddy were out this afternoon and knocked a blade right off the prop [smiley=angry4.gif] one thing is for sure , if your wanting to fish the back country of north florida you picked the perfect boat [smiley=1-thumbsup3.gif] not many places the ol' mud minnow wont go.....welcome to the forum and congrats on your new machine.. that will be a absolute and tonic w/ a twist of lime for me


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## iMacattack (Dec 11, 2006)

Congrats on the new ride and welcome to microskiff.com! Gin and Tonic please!

Cheers
Capt. Jan


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## REELKEEN (Mar 24, 2009)

Alright, I missed the intro thing. What's the deal with the "I'll have a (insert drink)" Is that the way to introduce yourself on the forum?

If so I'll have a Jack on the Rocks


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## iMacattack (Dec 11, 2006)

It's an old internet forum tradition. The new guy buys the first round.  Virtually of course! ;D


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## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

once you get past the first round it's all down hill from there [smiley=40s.gif] what kind of mods you got planned for the "mud" ?


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## Unclebob (Dec 10, 2008)

Great looking Boat!


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## Guest (Mar 29, 2009)

Anyone know where that Poling platform can be found? Would it fit on a Classic Gheenoe? Looking for a wide platform.

Darin


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## REELKEEN (Mar 24, 2009)

> once you get past the first round it's all down hill from there [smiley=40s.gif]  what kind of mods you got planned for the "mud" ?


As far as mods go right now I'm planning on a jackplate at some point, but in the range that I can afford a radio, GPS, Handheld VHF, some cup holder and instrument storage on the console. Maybe an onboard charger. 

I spent most of the day today putting alot of elbow grease into the boat. Things are really looking good. Only thing left cosmetically for me to do is fix a few stress cracks in the gelcoat do some work on the motor and I have a few scratches on the side of the boat.









Whatcha think?

















This boat fits perfectly in my side yard.


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

I think you have a well set up skiff.
Looks ready to get amongst 'em and catch 'em up.
Now we need to see pics in the fishing reports.


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## paint it black (Nov 3, 2007)

Looks great. I like the setup. I'll be scared to go out in a chop, but looks like it'll pole like a dream.


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## SaltyDawg (Feb 27, 2009)

That's one sharp looking ride. [smiley=1-thumbsup3.gif]
I'm new to the area and still trying to learn my way around here but let me know if you ever need a fishing partner.


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## Un-shore (Sep 27, 2007)

> Anyone know where that Poling platform can be found? Would it fit on a Classic Gheenoe? Looking for a wide platform.
> 
> Darin


This is just the platform but it is shaped like that. Not my ad but I went and saw it.
http://miami.craigslist.org/pbc/boa/1098693837.html


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## pescador72 (Aug 6, 2008)

mojito for me thanks, sweet lookin skiff!!


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## REELKEEN (Mar 24, 2009)

Thanks for all the kind comments guys. I spoke with Ron for a while on the phone and I think I'm gonna get a new 4 blade power tech prop from him. 

Great wealth of information.


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## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

have you made any high speed runs with the gps yet?.


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## REELKEEN (Mar 24, 2009)

> have you made any high speed runs with the gps yet?.


I'm trying to find a handheld now. It looks like it will be one of the Garmin Colorado models.


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## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

i would be interested in hearing what yours does, i am putting the 40 hp on the shelf and going back to either a merc. or yamaha 25hp 2 stroke, it would be nice to get some before and after readings when you change props


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## REELKEEN (Mar 24, 2009)

Sounds like a mud minnow outing in Jax this weekend! What HP is that big ol' merc hanging off of your minnow?


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## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

thats a 25 merc 4 stroke which has since been sold , i put a 40 tohastu on it but its coming off and a 25 2 stroke most likely will be the motor that goes back on. wont be in the mud minnow this weekend as we'll have the bay boat fishing the spot tourney if the weather holds out but maybe nest week depending on what i do with the motor situation on my mud, i dont have a prop for the 40 right now :'(


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## REELKEEN (Mar 24, 2009)

> thats a 25 merc 4 stroke which has since been sold , i put a 40 tohastu on it but its coming off and a 25 2 stroke most likely will be the motor  that goes back on. wont be in the mud minnow this weekend  as we'll have the bay boat fishing the spot tourney if the weather holds out but maybe nest week depending on what i do with the motor situation on my mud, i dont have a prop for the 40 right now  :'(


how did the 40 do on the minnow?

Capt Ron is sending me two props down to try this weekend. An extra cupped 3 blade and a regular cup 4 blade. I'm going to try them both. and see what performs better.


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## REELKEEN (Mar 24, 2009)

> thats a 25 merc 4 stroke which has since been sold , i put a 40 tohastu on it but its coming off and a 25 2 stroke most likely will be the motor  that goes back on. wont be in the mud minnow this weekend  as we'll have the bay boat fishing the spot tourney if the weather holds out but maybe nest week depending on what i do with the motor situation on my mud, i dont have a prop for the 40 right now  :'(


Is this your 25 merc 2 stroke on Craigslist?
http://jacksonville.craigslist.org/boa/1102852767.html


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## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

no thats not mine, i was thinking about calling on it and looking at it thou, the motor i had on it was a 4 stroke and its been gone for 3 weeks now, the 40 would haul butt however it was a long shaft and shimming it up still wont get it as high as i need to get the cav. plate out of the water and not interfere with the poleing platform. plus the extra weight of the 40 causes the boat to sit a little lower , if it was a short shaft motor i'm sure i could work around the extra weight issue.... are you going to have a gps with you when you test these new props?


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## REELKEEN (Mar 24, 2009)

No, a GPS isn't in the cards to buy for a month or so. I have a Tom Tom for my truck. I'm wondering if it will give me an accurate speed reading.


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## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

> No, a GPS isn't in the cards to buy for a month or so.  I have a Tom Tom for my truck.  I'm wondering if it will give me an accurate speed reading.


if it's capable of reading speeds i'm sure it will work however i have never played with the tom toms so cant say for sure


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## rkmurphy (Nov 2, 2008)

> > No, a GPS isn't in the cards to buy for a month or so.  I have a Tom Tom for my truck.  I'm wondering if it will give me an accurate speed reading.
> 
> 
> if it's capable of reading speeds i'm sure it will work however i have never played with the tom toms so cant say for sure


I use my Garmin truck GPS to clock my boat's speed. Works great and just as accurate. No decimals, though. Just unplug it from the truck and go.


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## choppercity47 (Jul 30, 2007)

Hydrofoils are a huge difference on any boat. My friend has a 2000lb 19' bay boat that gets on plane in seconds and without his Sting Ray the bow lifts to where you can't see over it and slowly falls down. Some get top end MPH out of them too. Once on plane it makes the boat more stable and handle better. 

The small/tubo rounder style ones are made for hull-shot and speed.

And you actually have to have one on a low HP gheenoe if you don't have a human riding in the bow. You won't get on plane. When you add a hydrofoil you'll get lifted up and about double your speed


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