# Salt Marsh 1656, TO TUNNEL OR NOT TO TUNNEL?



## Lane (Mar 30, 2017)

To tunnel or not to tunnel? That is the question. Im going to be stopping by the Ankona/Salt Marsh shop next week, most likely will be putting a deposit down to get on the waiting list. I have been digging through the internet the past week trying to find some info on the Salt Marsh SM1656 WITH A TUNNEL. I have found reviews on the boat without the tunnel but not so much about it with the tunnel.

So if you have one with a tunnel PLEASE give me some feedback. What motor/prop are you running? Jackplate? Trim tabs? How shallow can you run? How fast? Do you wish you didn't have the tunnel?....I guess that's it for now, thanks.


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## Backcountry 16 (Mar 15, 2016)

Where are you going to be fishing? You'll lose a few mph with the tunnel but will definitely run shallower. If you plan on poling a lot I would not get the tunnel. Pib is the best one to talk to he's owned or has berm on almost all of the ankona line. I am on the list for a shadowcast build and am closing in the tunnel on mine. I will be fishing 10000 islands area and pine island.


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## Lane (Mar 30, 2017)

Backcountry 16 said:


> Where are you going to be fishing? You'll lose a few mph with the tunnel but will definitely run shallower. If you plan on poling a lot I would not get the tunnel. Pib is the best one to talk to he's owned or has berm on almost all of the ankona line. I am on the list for a shadowcast build and am closing in the tunnel on mine. I will be fishing 10000 islands area and pine island.


Congrats on the shadowcast, those are awesome. So I live in Winter Haven, FL, I'm a couple hour drive from a lot of great fisheries. I fish anywhere from Ozello, Palma Sola, Pine Island, and sometimes I go over to Mosquito Lagoon/IRL. Ozello up to Yankeetown is where I grew up fishing, so I'm very familiar with where/when I can run. That area is why I'm considering the tunnel. So I fish a lot of diverse areas, sometimes I pole sometimes not. Im not too concerned with losing a few mph, shallow water capability is much more important to me than speeds.


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## zthomas (Jan 14, 2014)

Following. I'm interested in hearing firsthand experiences too.


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

I will chime in...
A normal sized tunnel does not effect draft as much as come folks tend to believe. Do the math and you will find that a normal tunnel may only cause about 1/4" reduction in draft. I know you asked about a Saltmarsh but My HPX Tunnel runs 34 with two big guys and a holeshot prop and I'm not even turning over 5000rpm WOT. I think some people are just scared of tunnels for some reason.


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## Lane (Mar 30, 2017)

Smackdaddy53 said:


> I will chime in...
> A normal sized tunnel does not effect draft as much as come folks tend to believe. Do the math and you will find that a normal tunnel may only cause about 1/4" reduction in draft. I know you asked about a Saltmarsh but My HPX Tunnel runs 34 with two big guys and a holeshot prop and I'm not even turning over 5000rpm WOT. I think some people are just scared of tunnels for some reason.


Thanks for the input. I did a quick search of the HPX tunnel, I see that the transom is designed to keep the motor high and tucked in close to the tunnel. My concern with the saltmarsh is that to get the engine up you have to add a jackplate and then maybe the motor would be too far set back from tunnel? Idk, I really don't have much experience with tunnels.


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## Vertigo (Jun 3, 2012)

I've owned a LOT of skiffs, tunnel and non-tunnel. If you're in an area where you feel safe running WOT in 9" (or less) water, then a tunnel might be worthwhile because it will let you go a few inches shallower. OTOH, if there are rocks and stumps and lots of things to hit, then you'll rarely be able to use the tunnel to its full potential because chances are you're not running on plane in the shallows. At idle a tunnel won't float any shallower than a conventional hull, and may squat more at rest and getting out of the hole. A tunnel will also be slower and less economical. Conclusion: Need to run shallow over a sandy or muddy bottom, get a tunnel. Need to run shallow over rocks and stumps, go slowly with a conventional hull or get an airboat.


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## Lane (Mar 30, 2017)

Vertigo said:


> I've owned a LOT of skiffs, tunnel and non-tunnel. If you're in an area where you feel safe running WOT in 9" (or less) water, then a tunnel might be worthwhile because it will let you go a few inches shallower. OTOH, if there are rocks and stumps and lots of things to hit, then you'll rarely be able to use the tunnel to its full potential because chances are you're not running on plane in the shallows. At idle a tunnel won't float any shallower than a conventional hull, and may squat more at rest and getting out of the hole. A tunnel will also be slower and less economical. Conclusion: Need to run shallow over a sandy or muddy bottom, get a tunnel. Need to run shallow over rocks and stumps, go slowly with a conventional hull or get an airboat.


Realistically, I'm pretty comfortable running WOT to my spots in Ozello/YT in my gheenoe which runs in about 10-12". So if this Salt Marsh can run that with or without a tunnel I'll be happy. I fish all around the state so an airboat definitely isn't for me.


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

I know nothing about that hull, just giving my experiences with what I have and what I've seen with other boats.


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## Dustin1 (Feb 11, 2007)

I fish the Big Bend alot. Yankeetown, Ozello, etc. I have a tunnel specifically for those areas. It is not so much for running routinely in less than a foot of water, but more for those "oh & $#@" moments that happen over there no matter how well you know the territory.

The key with a tunnel is to be propped correctly. With the right setup, the loss in performance compared to a non tunnel is just not very significant.


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## SomaliPirate (Feb 5, 2016)

I fish Yankeetown to Ozello in a 17T pretty frequently. If you're familiar with the rocks and oysters, it shouldn't be a problem. The tunnel on mine is pretty extreme so it poles a little deeper than I'd like, but it literally runs in spit. I have scared the hell out of myself with it at times. Sliding in turns was a big issue, but a 4 blade prop solved most of it. As previous posters stated, it's slow. Where it really shines is around Cedar Key, where I can run into areas normally reserved for airboats and the risk of ripping off my lower unit is minimal.


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## jimsmicro (Oct 29, 2013)

I have a Sea Ark 1660 MVT with a prop tunnel and you'll find me in places even airboats rarely want to be. A lot of that is due to being intimately familiar with where the rocks are, but if I can't run it comfortable I'll drop down in a hole and troll or idle in. I'm not afraid to bang rock bottom when poling/trolling/drifting but the boat realistically does draft 4 inches or something ridiculous. I think it runs on plane even shallower than my old Gheenoe Classic did, it runs stupid skinny. I spend most of my time between Cedar Key and Waccasassa and feel pretty qualified to talk about what shallow draft really is. Some guys think they run skinny because they're dragging skeg over sand or mud but up here you'll find a rock soon enough that will put you in your place and let you know just how deep your draft really is. I've got the chunks out of my skeg to prove it.


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## SomaliPirate (Feb 5, 2016)

Tunnel story: Saturday I launched at Ozello community park. Extreme low tides and a stiff wind made for absolutely zero water. It was cold as hell and the water temps had dropped almost ten degrees from the previous weekend. I had my dad with me and was determined to put him on some fish. I decided to fish the bars around the river mouth where the water would be a little warmer. I poled her into enough water to jump on plane and hit it. My dad was hollering at me the whole time "there's no f-ing water here!" as he practically dug his nails into my gelcoat. He runs an old Hoog Hornet so running 25mph in 5" of water was a new experience to him. When you run past a wading heron while you're on plane, you're know you're running skinny. Made it out to the spoil bars and each ended up getting a slam out of the day and I wouldn't trade my tunnel for anything. (Except maybe a new HB guide with tunnel).


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## fishn&flyn (Oct 23, 2015)

My SM 1656 is being built as I type. I debated the tunnel as well but this requires a jackplate which requires just more stuff and $$$! I sold my HB because I wanted something more all purpose and simple/utilitarian for sight fishing reds, duck hunting, crab potting, shrimping, and flounder gigging. I looked really hard at welded Jons but honestly they are loud, heavy, and get hot in the summer. They are also expensive for an aluminum boat. I decided to go with the SM because it seems like a good compromise between a skiff and a welded Jon. Also they have a great warranty, a great reputation, a great price, and Rose has been great to work with. The new design of the skiff requires a long shaft engine unless you get a jackplate and tunnel. There is a great one on here for sale exact same as the one I'm building except I didn't get a grab bar and I got a 40hp Merc not Tohatsu. Honestly if this boat had been for sale a week earlier I would have forfeited my 300$ and bought it, I think it's also in your area I would give it a serious look.


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## Sublime (Oct 9, 2015)

I came from a B2 bare bones model with a 50 tiller on a manual jack plate to a Spear Glades X with a 30 tiller and tunnel and an Atlas MicroJacker.

I haven't regretted my decision yet. I too was concerned because the Glades X has a flat back and I was hanging the motor even further back with the jack plate. Honestly, I don't think it has hurt anything. My skiff balances out perfectly with me on the platform and my buddy up front. As smack said, I don't think it effects draft by any crazy amount. The top of the tunnel is fully wetted when at rest. (my tunnel is around 4 inches high)


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

Sublime said:


> I came from a B2 bare bones model with a 50 tiller on a manual jack plate to a Spear Glades X with a 30 tiller and tunnel and an Atlas MicroJacker.
> 
> I haven't regretted my decision yet. I too was concerned because the Glades X has a flat back and I was hanging the motor even further back with the jack plate. Honestly, I don't think it has hurt anything. My skiff balances out perfectly with me on the platform and my buddy up front. As smack said, I don't think it effects draft by any crazy amount. The top of the tunnel is fully wetted when at rest. (my tunnel is around 4 inches high)


Even Chris Morejohn will tell you a normal sized tunnel only effects draft by a fraction of an inch at most. The way some guys talk makes guys think it's 1-2" or something crazy which is not even close to the number! I did the volume/floatation calculation on mine and it's about 1/4" loss of draft with the boat sitting level. I'll take that all day long and not be limiting where I can go to save 1-2 mph and that tiny bit of lost draft.


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## CodyW (Jan 26, 2016)

Backcountry 16 said:


> Where are you going to be fishing? You'll lose a few mph with the tunnel but will definitely run shallower. If you plan on poling a lot I would not get the tunnel. Pib is the best one to talk to he's owned or has berm on almost all of the ankona line. I am on the list for a shadowcast build and am closing in the tunnel on mine. I will be fishing 10000 islands area and pine island.


You drive the boat to 10000 island from pine island?


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## Wolftaco (Sep 2, 2017)

Just read through this entire thread, new to microskiff, I am seriously looking at either the Saltmarsh 1656 tunnel or SeaArk 1660mvt. I am primarily (90%) a skinny water flats fly fisherman, who stalks carp on a tidal river system. I am looking to buy my first boat so have a little apprehension about pulling the trigger. Also I spend about 2wks a year fly fishing for Pike in remote Canada in a big lake system. So once a year I would be loaded down with family (wife and small child) with 2weeks of gear for a 45minute boat ride to cabin. Like I said, I am really torn because I love a classic aluminum Jon boat and the SeaArks are the shit, bomb proof, float pods, proven tunnel, etc. But I am a minimalist and the SaltMarsh really speaks to me with the lighter weight, ease of poling, and overall better suited better for fly fishing (carp are super spooky). Any advice insight would be great! I haven't found any reports on the tunnel design of the SaltMarsh, so I am leaning towards the SeaArk as of now based on jimsmicro's experience. Thanks in advance!


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