# The Gordon Ambush



## Guest (Jan 17, 2008)

Aright everyone- This is a one time thing for me considering I do not do these forums- in fact, the only way I found this site was by doing a google search for a couple of products and both searches eventually led me to this site. But before I get to the topic, I want to say thanks for the help to Joe for his inovative little tiller handle and to Tom for his killer little jackplate. Can't say enuf about either of these products.

One more thing- before I get into this to far, you all should know that I have owned more than a few technical poling skiffs over the last decade and have operated and fished from many more, so my opinions here will be quite a bit more qualified than most. Also, I will try to identify opinions and facts as so that there is no confusion. I'm not making this post to become part of the 'skiff war'. I'm doing it because there has been alot of interest in this new product and some of the banter about it has been, to say the least, based on lack of information.

With that being said- I have now had my Gordon Ambush (prototype- the same one you all have see pics of on this and other sites) for a week now. I have fished from it 4 times now and my overall opinion is- on a scale of one to ten- this hull design is a 10. A sharper entry than the origianl HB glades skiff (btw- I had one of the first glades skiffs) makes for a great ride when utilizing trim tabs. The ride is dry in a moderate chop again by utilizing the tabs. The best I can tell- this hull, with the pieced together deck that Tom put on (not the production deck cap that will come on the finished product) comes in under at right at, maybe a little less than 300 lbs. Even once the finished product is out there, it will probably be a little less than the original HB Glades Skiff, but not by much. Once the production cap is put on, I estimate the total hull weight for the ambush to be somewhere between 305 and 320 lbs. Also, for those who are wondering why I keep referring to the original HB Glades Skiff is because the newer version is considerably heavier with the addition of a full cockpit and compartment liner. I have fished from both a great deal. Okay, back to perfomance (with a 25 hp Yamaha 2-stroke)- with two average sized people, the boat drafts right at, maybe a little under 4 inches ( this was measured) from the bottom of the boat. This measurement doe not include the running strakes on the bottom of the hull. If you include the strakes the draft would be 5 inches. Top speed for the boat with the same load is 27 mph. In the turns, it has little to no slide when the tabs are in the up position however, if the tabs are down significantly the boat will want to turn on its nose (a characteristic of most super-light poling skiffs) which will cause the ass end to want to slide around. 

Now, for all of you who say that this is just a Glades Skiff you are dead wrong. Yes the concept started with the original Glades Skiff (like all the rest), a long, narrow skiff built light to float shallow. Yes, the dimensions are similar but, the Ambush has several features that make it unique. For one it has a longer and sharper entry for running in a chop and it has partially rolled chines all the way to the transom. In short, it is in fact its own design.

Again, this boat is a ten as far as I am concerned and, like all of Tom's boats, I am certain it will only get better. All in all, I am poling in places that I would not be able to reach in my guide skiff (18' Waterman) and getting to them with remarkable comfort so I have to give it a two thumbs way up review.

If any of you have any questions please feel free to give me a call. 

Also- pic to come.

Best,

Scott Sommerlatte
www.scottsommerlatte.com


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## tom_in_orl (Dec 9, 2006)

Welcome to the forum Scott. [smiley=beer.gif]


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## beavis (Dec 11, 2006)

You using with the QL tabs on there still?

I think I preferred the Lencos over those. But I did not get a fair comparison in terms of running them with a 25 so they may work way better with the 25 instead of the the 18 that I ran it with. 

Nice write up.

[smiley=supercool.gif]


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## Guest (Jan 18, 2008)

I agree- the small lencos would be better and as far as I know, they will be standard.

Also, just so people know- the skiff that you all have seen pics of is and always will be nothing more than a test platform. The hull is the only thing that will not change. This boat was not fit and finished at all. In short- it was put together just to get it on the water to test the hull and such.

To the best of my knowledge, the hull will be built a little stiffer, the controls will be mounted in a more ergonomic (spelling?) position and the poling platform will be much shorter (the one on it is way too high to compensate for the original 4 stroke 25). 

Anyway, that is the skinny (no pun intended)

Be gude. . .


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## beavis (Dec 11, 2006)

I will add that as high as that platform is, it was very stable up there.


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## tom_in_orl (Dec 9, 2006)

Scott, your photos are awesome. What camera are you using?



Here are some earlier Gordon Ambush threads.


http://www.microskiff.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1193513118

http://www.microskiff.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1194322533

http://www.microskiff.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1193154464

http://www.microskiff.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1199585360

http://www.microskiff.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1188407425


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## fatalbert43 (Dec 13, 2006)

Good report!


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## JRH (Mar 18, 2007)

Nice write-up.


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## orlgheenoer (Dec 10, 2006)

I was at the chikfila in edgewater when I saw that boat with the Yamaha 25hp tiller head toward 95, didnt know it was texas bound so soon. those are some very cool pictures.

I appriciate you comming to the forum to share what you know about the boat.

Nice red on fly


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## costefishnt (Dec 11, 2006)

now that is a write up. Nicely done Scott.


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## Guest (Jan 18, 2008)

To answer some of the questions and comments that I have seen-

As far a stability goes- it is only two inches wider at the water-line than the Glades Skiff so, in theory, it should be more stable however, the difference is not measurable between the Gordon and Hells Bay. Definately a lot more stable than the ECC version (Gladesman) but not as stable as say a Waterman or Whipray 16 that are essentionally six foot wide instead of four foot like the Ambush and GS.

As for the cameras I shoot- Nikon D200s with a variety of lenses. Hope to upgrade soon though.


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## TailStalker (Dec 13, 2006)

> To answer some of the questions and comments that I have seen-
> 
> As far a stability goes- it is only two inches wider at the water-line than the Glades Skiff so, in theory, it should be more stable however, the difference is not measurable between the Gordon and Hells Bay. Definately a lot more stable than the ECC version but not as stable as say a Waterman or Whipray 16 that are essentionally six foot wide instead of four foot like the Ambush and GS.
> 
> As for the cameras I shoot- Nikon D200s with a variety of lenses. Hope to upgrade soon though.




Scott,
In refrence to our skiffs...Are you talking about the Gladesmen? It would make sense that the Gladesmen would be tippy since average width is only 32"
Welcome to the forum and enjoy your skiffs.
Kevin
East Cape


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## Guest (Jan 18, 2008)

Yes, I am referring to the Gladesman, but only because it is, as you mentioned, considerably narrower. It goes without saying that- any boat that is narrower will be less stable and any boat that is wider will be more stable.

Also, to prevent any more confusion- I specified the Gladesman in the previous post.


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## Guest (Jan 18, 2008)

NICE!!!


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## snookjunkie (Jun 22, 2007)

For the record, the Gladesmen is a canoe based hull design therefore not a good comparison. 

Marc


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## tom_in_orl (Dec 9, 2006)

Everything was going fine up to this point. : Everything after has been cleaned up. :-X Feel free to post again but lets keep it positive or at least constructive and polite [smiley=alcholic.gif]


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## thresher (Dec 18, 2006)

I am thrilled to have Scott aboard, but why is his listing "ex member"? Did the old guys forget to play nice with the new guys again?  Dangit, we can't go scaring off every decent new guy that comes on to this board people! We just need to zip it! ZIP IT!! :-X 



;D ;D ;D


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## iMacattack (Dec 11, 2006)

WTF! Tom, what did you do? 

Did the unruley kids scare off another member? Bloody heck what's wrong with you children? :-?

Ugh... :


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## tom_in_orl (Dec 9, 2006)

Chill out guys. Nobody scared him off and there is not need for insults. It simply comes down to forums are not for Scott. I am fairly sure he is still reading the forum but does not want to post regularly. BTW, I addressed it over in this thread. 

http://www.microskiff.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1200723471


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## iMacattack (Dec 11, 2006)

My statement still stands... some "children" on this forum need to chill... or as thresher put it... :-X


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## tom_in_orl (Dec 9, 2006)

> Everything was going fine up to this point. : Everything after has been cleaned up. :-X Feel free to post again but lets keep it positive or at least constructive and polite [smiley=alcholic.gif]


I thought that I covered that in a little nicer way.


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## iMacattack (Dec 11, 2006)

stop being nice...


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## Guest (Jan 20, 2008)

I'm being haved. ;D ;D


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## get_er_done (Nov 21, 2007)

Scott great post. I spoke to Tom G at great length about the boat as I have owned one of the first GS's ever produced. He is a great guy and does great work. I sure similar effort in quality construction and performance is also done at ECC by Kevin and Marc, both fabulous guys as well.

I have been dormant for a while as I have been duck hunting to much, but in reference to the tower. If you install a tom c jack plate, you will most likely need that big tower to facilitate taking the motor off to fish the no motor zones. When tom g and I installed my jp I could barely get the motor off (which i do occasionally) while in the boat. Something that should be considered if you are going to istall that plate.

If you want to sell that tower let me know! ;D

Collin


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