# What skiffs are self-bailing?



## Les_Lammers (Feb 17, 2007)

This looks quite capable. 
https://www.saltmarshsavanna.com


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## anytide (Jul 30, 2009)

micros ?
carolina skiff


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## PVredfisher (Jan 11, 2007)

18 Egret, while not a micro, is a flats boat that is truly self bailing. Egret will not leave you with wet feet like most others that claim self bailing.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

Remember as well that for a skiff to be “self bailing” it has to have an inner liner (that adds about 150lbs to a 17’ skiff)... Most true microskiffs aren’t self bailing.
My old Maverick ( a 1988 XL) is one of the few they ever made without an inner liner... That’s what makes poling it all day possible- but it’s no micro...


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## permitchaser (Aug 26, 2013)

My big fat boat is true self bailing and yes I have a liner


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## SomaliPirate (Feb 5, 2016)

My 17T is self-flooding.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

... and for those not aware a skiff can be entirely self-bailing and yet leave enough water on the deck at the rear to keep your feet wet... and my skiff, although not self bailing at all will always have a dry deck to stand on - until I have six inches of water in the bilge so whether or not your deck is dry has little to do with whether it's self bailing or not - it's all in the interior design as to having a dry deck to stand on most days...


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## windblows (May 21, 2014)

Mine is truly self bailing AND will not leave you with wet feet


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## 1gunner (Dec 29, 2014)

windblows said:


> Mine is truly self bailing AND will not leave you with wet feet


What do you have???


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## Greg Lauter (May 27, 2017)

Solo Skiff 100% self bailing and GREAT lil craft


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## Cut Runner (Jan 25, 2017)

Hobie power skiff. Not only self bailing but built to take green water over the bow and drain it out almost as fast as it came in


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

Unless it has scuppers the floor has to be higher than the water line to drain. Has anyone built a two stage sump to keep from having to raise the floor?


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## bowersmw (Mar 3, 2011)

PVredfisher said:


> 18 Egret, while not a micro, is a flats boat that is truly self bailing. Egret will not leave you with wet feet like most others that claim self bailing.


The old Egrets were truly self bailing. The new hatch design drains a lot of water from the deck into the compartments, soaks the gear and then into the bilge. See video for what happens when water hits the new deck design.


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## 1gunner (Dec 29, 2014)

bowersmw said:


> The old Egrets were truly self bailing. The new hatch design drains a lot of water from the deck into the compartments, soaks the gear and then into the bilge. See video for what happens when water hits the new deck design.


Unbelievable!!!!


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## LtShinysides (Dec 27, 2018)

My 01 action craft 1720 flyfisher was self bailing. It had the liner mentioned above, but the draining system on that boat was killer. No wet feet and you could take on a ton of water and be ok. It ate it's share of rollers going through matanzas inlet. I think a lot of the other models they make have the same drain system too.


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## windblows (May 21, 2014)

1gunner said:


> What do you have???


I have the boat in my signature. An IPB Inshore 18 built by Bonefish Boatworks. It's based on the old 18' Sea Hunter hulls and I would imagine they are self bailing as well. My 16' Action Craft was kind of scary. There was no easy way to bail the cockpit. It was supposed to be self bailing, but the scuppers were under water, so if you left the plugs out, it would fill with water. Always scared me in a really bad rain storm or if I took a wave or two over the bow. I could get it to kind of drain on a plane, but I imagine if it was too full, even that wouldn't work.

I guess my point is, make sure the boat is truly self bailing or it could be even worse than a boat that just drains to the bilge.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

Your best bet with a skiff that’s not self bailing in really bad weather (or seas) is to double up your bilge pumps... Your primary is rigged with a float switch, your secondary is purely a safety factor that you can turn on manually when bad stuff is happening. I actually have a pair of 1100’s on my old 17’ Maverick...

Makes really good sense to me since I’m in hard commercial service.


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## Half Shell (Jul 19, 2016)

1gunner said:


> Unbelievable!!!!


That's only Martin's Egret, mine nor my console have ever leaked. In fact, I quit even using dry bags because there is never water in there. Even the bilge stays dry, in 5 years I've only had water come out once when puling the plug at the day.

My front hatch gutters are piped to the cockpit which drains out the scuppers. No water in there ever even taking waves over the bow going out Haulover inlet.


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## Boneheaded (Oct 4, 2017)

HOBIE SKIFF 3 inch ball scuppers in the transom


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## bowersmw (Mar 3, 2011)

Exac


Half Shell said:


> That's only Martin's Egret, mine nor my console have ever leaked. In fact, I quit even using dry bags because there is never water in there. Even the bilge stays dry, in 5 years I've only had water come out once when puling the plug at the day.
> 
> My front hatch gutters are piped to the cockpit which drains out the scuppers. No water in there ever even taking waves over the bow going out Haulover inlet.


Exactly, the old FL Egrets were well designed. It's not only my boat, it's all boats with the new deck design since 2007 that are not self bailing. There is a notch in the shallow gutter to make room for the latch. Notch in gutter = water in the compartment. 

There is always water in the bilge of a NC Egret if it's been raining or spray has hit the deck.


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## Skram (Feb 8, 2019)

Maybe not considered a true micro skiff but my 17' Twin Vee Bay Cat is self bailing. Never has sitting water like our Carolina Skiff either. Floats fairly shallow and eats chop.


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## Half Shell (Jul 19, 2016)

bowersmw said:


> Exac
> 
> Exactly, the old FL Egrets were well designed. It's not only my boat, it's all boats with the new deck design since 2007 that are not self bailing. There is a notch in the shallow gutter to make room for the latch. Notch in gutter = water in the compartment.
> 
> There is always water in the bilge of a NC Egret if it's been raining or spray has hit the deck.


Martin, I have a 2015 but mine is a Moccasin. I'm not sure if it's a different hatch design than your 189. From your posts, it's clear you have issues that that the new Moccasins and I don't believe the 2011 has. I can't speak to the 189, at least not 1st hand.


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## Jeffrey Clay Dankewich (Mar 1, 2018)

Second on the Solo Skiff self bailing open transom.


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## bowersmw (Mar 3, 2011)

Half Shell said:


> Martin, I have a 2015 but mine is a Moccasin. I'm not sure if it's a different hatch design than your 189. From your posts, it's clear you have issues that that the new Moccasins and I don't believe the 2011 has. I can't speak to the 189, at least not 1st hand.


Here's a pic of a 2011 gutter. Same cutout in the gutter (near red mark) for the latch that dumps water from the gutter into the compartment. Can you post a pic of the front Mocassin hatch showing latch area when open? Maybe they do have a better design than the 189 and 2011 Egrets..


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## Half Shell (Jul 19, 2016)

Martin, the Moccasin front hatch opens to the left side with the cutout on the right side gutter not the back gutter like the 2011. I don't know if that's a better design but I think it's a little more subtle than the 2011 cutout pictured. I do agree that the gutters could be deeper but either way it's never been an issue. The water drains from the gutters thru two holes in the front bulkhead to the cockpit floor. 

The rear hatches have deeper gutters with no cutouts.


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## watchdoc (Jul 19, 2019)

Tidewater 1784 and Keywest 177 have scuppers that work really well.


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