# Carolina skiff j14



## CurtisWright (May 9, 2012)

Draft will be good. In the 4-6" range depending on load. Poling will be poor as it will not track and want to turn sideways. Ride will also be rough.

I spent my first 5 years or so in a 14' fiberglass jon boat which is essentially the same thing as a J14. It will get you where you need to go. It will get the job done. It will also leave much to be desired. There is a reason people are willing to pay 10x as much for a similar length and powered hull.


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

I got a deal on a near new J14 w/ a Tohatsu 9.8 4 stroke tiller, back around `06. I wanted it to fish a lake near me. Yes the 9.8 didn't have enough juice to plane out right and really needed at least a 15hp to properly do the job. That 25 will make it fly.

I like the room for a small skiff, but the one thing that drove me nuts about the boat was the hull slap. Loud, obnoxious, but not quite as bad as a flat bottom aluminum jon boat. So IMO, poling it to be stealthy will be redundant since the hull slap will clear the flat for ya. Throw a trolling motor on it and use it to fish deeper water than skinny water and it should work fine.


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## pt448 (Mar 22, 2014)

I have a J16 and it definitely has its pros and cons. It drafts about 4-5", is cheap, rugged, and easy to maintain. I recently made my own poling platform for the rear deck (I posted pics in the Bragging Spot). It poles decent enough from the platform with some one on the bow to distribute the weight. If you're solo, poling from the platform will be frustrating, but poling from the bow is very easy and it tracks and spins fine. Even with another person, poling from the bow and having them stand on the platform may be easier. A casting platform or cooler for the front deck may be a better investment than a rear platform. As everyone will tell you, it's a bumpy, wet ride in any kind of chop and there's definitely hull slap, but if the price is right you can have a lot of fun and catch a lot of fish. Let me know if you have any other questions.


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## GTSRGTSR (Nov 10, 2009)

I had a 14 with a 4 stroke EFI Merc 25(on the heavy side for a 25) . It drafted next to nothing, like the other guy said, 4-5. I had a big group 29 battery up front  and the weight up front was a good thing. I ran a 55lb trolling motor, which also helped with the bow.

The Tohatsu is a nice engine and on the light side so that will help. I never poled but it would slide sideways with the trolling motor pulling and the outboard trimmed up.

The rig should be light and you should make sure it doesnt have water in the foam, making it heavy.


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