# SCB Recon



## rdiersing (Oct 7, 2012)

I wanted to share my upcoming Shallow Sport SCB Recon build and provide a little backstory as to the reasons why I chose to pull the trigger on the Recon.

My fishing waters are in Southwest Florida and mainly consist of Pine Island Sound & the Charlotte Harbor area. In general, it’s skinny water fishing ranging from 1-3’ on average for the areas I fish. During the winter months, negative tides can limit areas where you’re able to access. I am a spin cast type of guy that will use live bait (pilchards, pinfish…etc) when available and shrimp or artificial during the winter months. My last three boats consisted of a 2013 (semi-custom build) Maverick 18 HPX, 2017 (custom build) Islamorada Morada 22, and a 2014 Maverick 18 HPX. The HPX is a great skiff for the area and allowed me to access 95% of the areas I fish, the Morada 22 was great during the summer but was limited where it could access during the winter tides. For the past year, I ran both the Morada 22 and 18 HPX, and it sounds nice, but I didn’t want to have a collection of boats. My ideal boat is one that can carry 6-8 people when needed, fish 4-5 when needed, and run & jump up in skinny water. My fishing partner purchased a 2018 Shoalwater 23 CAT which was a game changer for accessibility to areas on low tides. Not to mention the ability to jump on plane in 12-18” of water and not damage the turtle grass while running on plane in a foot of water. I was impressed with the boats ability to run shallow, but in my opinion, it left a little to be desired on the fit and finish. The livewells are plenty big, but the design could use a little refinement. My only other concern was the general lack of storage and lack of dry storage for a 23’ boat.

I had been eyeing the SCB Recon since my Morada build in 2016. My decision to move forward happened when several things aligned at the same time. Initially, I assumed that the Texas-style boats (Shoalwater, Shallowsport, Haynie…etc) were heavy boats since they were all 23-24’. My tow mule is a Toyota Tacoma, and I did not want a boat that required me to upgrade to a full-size pickup. That concern was alleviated during an unfortunate set of events where my buddy’s truck was stolen from the ramp while we were fishing, and I had to tow his Shoalwater 23 CAT home. I don’t think he picked up on how many times I commented on how light the boat felt when towing.

A few months later I noticed that Shallow Sport would have two Recon’s at the Miami boat show for demo rides. Following a couple of messages/phone calls, I was able to set a time for a wet demo and hoped to at least get 20 minutes on the boat to see if I could tell any difference between the Recon and the Shoalwater. Well, the demo lasted an hour and a half and consisted of time on both a standard riser box set-up and a mid-tower. One thing about a wet demo at the Miami boat show, you are exposed to the main boating channel which effectively represented sporty conditions for Pine Island Sound & Charlotte Harbor. During the demo ride, I was impressed with the Recon’s noticeably tighter turning radius compared to the Shoalwater and how solid it felt when taking wakes. The demo left an impression and got me thinking about another build.

I knew I wanted to put both of my boats up for sale and purchase a Recon after contemplating everything for a few weeks.
Initially, I worked through my “must have” options and spec’d a Recon with a deluxe riser box. Then after going over where I would store everything in different scenarios (tournament fishing, booze cruise, beach day…), it was apparent the deluxe riser box configuration would not provide enough storage. So I bit the bullet and added the mid-tower option which provides a better vantage point while driving but also turns a boat with limited storage to one with plenty of storage area for coolers and gear. At this point, my only concern is the small livewells. I assume the guys & gals in Texas use mainly shrimp and do not put multiple fish up to 32-inches in their livewells for tournament weigh-in.

Personal preferences for the Recon build. My goal is low maintenance. Hopefully, I will have this sled 5-10 years from now. With that in mind, I did opt against powder coating and dark hull colors. Dark colors look sharp but my Morada 22 was medium grey, and there was a noticeable uptick in waxing frequencies needed to maintain the look when compared to my previous hull colors (white, pastel green, and ice blue). This build will be simple, plain white with light blue accents and anodized aluminum.

Factory options selected: Yamaha 250 SHO, 10’ Blade Power Pole, iPilot, Bob’s Machine Shop jackplate, 3 livewells (w/pump, recirc pump, & pro air), mid tower, a removable grab bar with shade top, Shockwave S5 seats.

Additional options locally: 2nd 10’ Blade Power Pole, Simrad GO9 XSE w/Florida Marine Tracks, JL Audio system.

The boat should be completed later this month. I went with white hull sides with blue accents, blue riser box, and white console.


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## rdiersing (Oct 7, 2012)




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## Brian Barrett (Jul 26, 2019)

Subscribed... I have been drooling over the Morada 22 for years now. Looking forward to this SCB build.


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

Need a 527 on that baby.


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## rdiersing (Oct 7, 2012)




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## rdiersing (Oct 7, 2012)




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## Brian Barrett (Jul 26, 2019)

rdiersing said:


> View attachment 85728
> View attachment 85730
> View attachment 85732
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> ...


That boat looks awesome.


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## EdK13 (Oct 3, 2013)

2cool!


Smackdaddy53 said:


> Need a 527 on that baby.


TRP


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## rdiersing (Oct 7, 2012)




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## Zika (Aug 6, 2015)

That's a beast. Congrats. Never thought that color scheme would work but I like the finished look!


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## crboggs (Mar 30, 2015)

The folks at Mayday Marine are good people.


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## fjmaverick (Sep 18, 2015)

I dont know how I missed all that about Shallow Sport acquiring SCB in 2016. 

Nice cat. How fast do you expect it will be with the 250?


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## rdiersing (Oct 7, 2012)

Zika said:


> That's a beast. Congrats. Never thought that color scheme would work but I like the finished look!


LOL. I was nervous about the color scheme too. Especially after receiving the first few pics. I originally wanted a similar scheme with seafoam green. Then considered that I have three blue coolers and changed it to blue. Lol. I figured it would be cheaper then buying new seafoam green coolers.


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## rdiersing (Oct 7, 2012)

fjmaverick said:


> I dont know how I missed all that about Shallow Sport acquiring SCB in 2016.
> 
> Nice cat. How fast do you expect it will be with the 250?


Not sure. Will update with actual numbers next weekend.


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## rdiersing (Oct 7, 2012)

I had time to take the Recon out yesterday for an hour or so. With four people, 40 gallons of fuel we got the following. 
51mph @ 5k RPMs
2.8mpg @ 40mph

Next weekend I will have more time to try and get the RPM’s around 6k. 
Prop Merc Bravo 1 19p


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

Should see over 60 with the right prop


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## GoGataGo52__20 (Jun 26, 2016)

Cool skiff man, where r u fishin her outa?


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## Tequilero (Jul 11, 2018)

Very Nice!


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## RunningOnEmpty (Jun 20, 2015)

I'd love to see how those boats perform. One day my old Hewes 21 redfisher will need to be replaced unfortunately. Only a 19P? I was getting mid 60's loaded heavy with a 23P Bravo 1 FS. Just swapped it out for a 24P Bravo 1 FS in hopes of getting close to 70 mph.


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## Skinnee (Oct 5, 2021)

rdiersing said:


> I wanted to share my upcoming Shallow Sport SCB Recon build and provide a little backstory as to the reasons why I chose to pull the trigger on the Recon.
> 
> My fishing waters are in Southwest Florida and mainly consist of Pine Island Sound & the Charlotte Harbor area. In general, it’s skinny water fishing ranging from 1-3’ on average for the areas I fish. During the winter months, negative tides can limit areas where you’re able to access. I am a spin cast type of guy that will use live bait (pilchards, pinfish…etc) when available and shrimp or artificial during the winter months. My last three boats consisted of a 2013 (semi-custom build) Maverick 18 HPX, 2017 (custom build) Islamorada Morada 22, and a 2014 Maverick 18 HPX. The HPX is a great skiff for the area and allowed me to access 95% of the areas I fish, the Morada 22 was great during the summer but was limited where it could access during the winter tides. For the past year, I ran both the Morada 22 and 18 HPX, and it sounds nice, but I didn’t want to have a collection of boats. My ideal boat is one that can carry 6-8 people when needed, fish 4-5 when needed, and run & jump up in skinny water. My fishing partner purchased a 2018 Shoalwater 23 CAT which was a game changer for accessibility to areas on low tides. Not to mention the ability to jump on plane in 12-18” of water and not damage the turtle grass while running on plane in a foot of water. I was impressed with the boats ability to run shallow, but in my opinion, it left a little to be desired on the fit and finish. The livewells are plenty big, but the design could use a little refinement. My only other concern was the general lack of storage and lack of dry storage for a 23’ boat.
> 
> ...


Sweet boat. I run a shallow sport X3. They make great boats even though Eric Simmons sold the hulls to them. Hard to beat Wes and the team at SS boats.


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