# My "new" Shadowcast



## ZaneD (Feb 28, 2017)

Just picked up my first poling skiff this past weekend, a 2014 16' Shadowcast powered by a Yamaha F20. Seadek under gunnel pads, poling platform, front casting deck, Atlas micro jack plate, electronics package, etc. I'm loving it so far, had it on the water twice over the weekend. Even my lab didn't think it was too tippy. 

You'll have to excuse the PVC tiller extension... I promise it's only temporary! Now I have to figure out what I want to do for a grab bar if anything. I really like the deck being wide open the way it is now.


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## JET4 (Jul 14, 2014)

Nice


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## trekker (Sep 19, 2015)

Yup


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## Austin98 (Jan 19, 2017)

Sweet boat


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## Backcountry 16 (Mar 15, 2016)

Pretty sweet I love mine also I have a grab bar with mine and not sure I would feel comfortable without but that's just me I prefer to drive standing. Excellent micro for sure.


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## kempshark (Dec 17, 2006)

Beautiful simple skiff.....


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## Sublime (Oct 9, 2015)

I likey


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## ZaneD (Feb 28, 2017)

Backcountry 16 said:


> Pretty sweet I love mine also I have a grab bar with mine and not sure I would feel comfortable without but that's just me I prefer to drive standing. Excellent micro for sure.


I definitely would like to do a grab bar for something to hold on to, the only thing making me unsure is I'm worried it'll be in the way since there isn't a ton of room in the cockpit. Do you have any issue moving around it or anything?


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## Backcountry 16 (Mar 15, 2016)

ZaneD said:


> I definitely would like to do a grab bar for something to hold on to, the only thing making me unsure is I'm worried it'll be in the way since there isn't a ton of room in the cockpit. Do you have any issue moving around it or anything?


No issues moving around the boat I actually use it to walk the gunnels


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## HPXFLY (Aug 27, 2015)

Mot sure how you drive but I have a grab bar in my whipray and hardly ever use it, its nice for the gps on it and switches but in all honesty I wish it was open. 99% of the time I drive standing up leaning against the poling platform or even sitting on it, hardly ever in the cockpit of the boat, some tab switches and trim and tilt mounted on a little box below the platform reachable while running seems so much more functional after having a grab bar.. just another thought for you


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## zlenart (Jan 30, 2016)

I stood and drove in my Salt Marsh 1444 with no grab bar and it was fine. It'll take a little getting used to but I would leave it open.


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## CPurvis (Apr 6, 2016)

Sweet skiff!! Do you mind if I ask how your motor is mounted on the Atlas microjacker? Maybe a pic or two.

Thanks


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## ZaneD (Feb 28, 2017)

CPurvis said:


> Sweet skiff!! Do you mind if I ask how your motor is mounted on the Atlas microjacker? Maybe a pic or two.
> 
> Thanks


Here you go. This is factory installed from Ankona. Mounted to clamp on bracket from atlas, and bolted via those two hex head bolts you can see below the clamp arms.


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## Shicks007 (Apr 30, 2014)

That's a sweet looking rig!


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## CPurvis (Apr 6, 2016)

ZaneD said:


> Here you go. This is factory installed from Ankona. Mounted to clamp on bracket from atlas, and bolted via those two hex head bolts you can see below the clamp arms.


Perfect! Thanks I just bought the new Yamaha F25 and plan on putting it on an Atlas Micro Jacker.


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## Gatorgrizz27 (Apr 4, 2015)

Take a look at some of the mud motor grab bars, I've thought about building one that is a single tube and drops into a heavy duty rod holder mounted in the gunnel so it could be easily removed if you wanted.

I also have a BOTE paddle board Tackle Rack I've thought about using with their screw-down mounts, but I'm not sure they would be strong enough.


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## Financekid1 (Jul 19, 2012)

I ran an open cockpit cayo 173 with no grab bar. I just attached a tempress seat to my yeti 35qt and used the tie downs on the center of the boat. This was nice cause I could hold onto the back of the seat as a grab bar or I could just remove the whole thing if I wanted it open. Running without a grab bar isnt that crazy either, just dont do anything stupid and youlll be fine.


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## zthomas (Jan 14, 2014)

Congratulations! Here's another take on a grab bar -- offset to starboard: https://www.skifflife.com/2945597/s...s-pathfinder-15t-a-boat-for-the-record-books/


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## ZaneD (Feb 28, 2017)

Thanks for all the compliments. I do like the idea of the offset grab bar, I may explore that some more. For right now I'm going to try to leave it open and see how it goes.


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## ZaneD (Feb 28, 2017)

Finally got to take it out for a little trip yesterday, had a great time. Caught four pups all released to fight another day.


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## ZaneD (Feb 28, 2017)

Also to note an experience from the weekend's trip; I was fishing shallow protected water, however that required me to run about 3-4 miles through the bay which happened to be pretty choppy from the day's wind. On the way out it was a head sea so it wasn't too bad, just a little spray over the bow. But on the way back in, it was following/quartering sea and it got a little sketchy. I don't have power tilt/trim so i couldn't do a lot to raise the bow other than shifting weight to the stern, so on a couple of occasions I nearly stuffed the bow into a wave.

Well one wave came up that was a little larger than the rest and it caught me off guard. I got rocked way to the starboard side (while seated), and with the Shadowcast being fairly tippy, it began to dip the gunnel into the water. I was worried that it would roll over, so I bailed out. Luckily I was wearing the kill switch lanyard, so the engine cut off and all was well. Moral of the story is - Never ride without your kill switch! Things could have ended very differently.


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## Backcountry 16 (Mar 15, 2016)

ZaneD said:


> Also to note an experience from the weekend's trip; I was fishing shallow protected water, however that required me to run about 3-4 miles through the bay which happened to be pretty choppy from the day's wind. On the way out it was a head sea so it wasn't too bad, just a little spray over the bow. But on the way back in, it was following/quartering sea and it got a little sketchy. I don't have power tilt/trim so i couldn't do a lot to raise the bow other than shifting weight to the stern, so on a couple of occasions I nearly stuffed the bow into a wave.
> 
> Well one wave came up that was a little larger than the rest and it caught me off guard. I got rocked way to the starboard side (while seated), and with the Shadowcast being fairly tippy, it began to dip the gunnel into the water. I was worried that it would roll over, so I bailed out. Luckily I was wearing the kill switch lanyard, so the engine cut off and all was well. Moral of the story is - Never ride without your kill switch! Things could have ended very differently.


I have the same skiff and have crossed open water on a few occasions also and never run without the kill switch installed. The boat will yank you out if your not careful that's why I like the grab bar personally other than that it's super easy to pole and very stealthy love mine so far.


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## ZaneD (Feb 28, 2017)

Yes I have no complaints, I know that boat is not meant for the water I was crossing but sometimes you've gotta get to where the fish are! It was awesome being able to pole over grass beds in ~5" of water.


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## Backcountry 16 (Mar 15, 2016)

You running a 20 hp?


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## ZaneD (Feb 28, 2017)

Yes I've got a Yamaha F20, electric start but no t&t.


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## ZaneD (Feb 28, 2017)

Backcountry 16 said:


> You running a 20 hp?


Also I noticed in your thread you were going to do a custom poling platform. That was a good move, the factory one on my boat somewhat restricts the turning radius of my tiller handle. Nothing major but it would be nice if it wasn't in the way.


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## Backcountry 16 (Mar 15, 2016)

Yeah I don't have power trim either wish I did though I am running a 20 Merc.


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## Backcountry 16 (Mar 15, 2016)

ZaneD said:


> Also I noticed in your thread you were going to do a custom poling platform. That was a good move, the factory one on my boat somewhat restricts the turning radius of my tiller handle. Nothing major but it would be nice if it wasn't in the way.


Yes that is why I waited I could tell in the pics it was going to be a issue I have a 2 foot tiller extension just using the cooler for poling right now it works going this week to meet with the platform fabricator about a month wait he said.


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## Backcountry 16 (Mar 15, 2016)

How do you like where your gps is mounted looking for ideas on a gps mounting.


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## ZaneD (Feb 28, 2017)

Backcountry 16 said:


> How do you like where your gps is mounted looking for ideas on a gps mounting.


I'm happy with it. I typically only need to glance at it every now and then so it works for me. If I ran areas where I needed to look at it a lot I would probably prefer a larger screen mounted on a grab bar so it's right in front of me. For my situation I like it being down low where it's out of the way and not cluttering the deck area.


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## Backcountry 16 (Mar 15, 2016)

ZaneD said:


> I'm happy with it. I typically only need to glance at it every now and then so it works for me. If I ran areas where I needed to look at it a lot I would probably prefer a larger screen mounted on a grab bar so it's right in front of me. For my situation I like it being down low where it's out of the way and not cluttering the deck area.


I will probably mount on the grab bar. I was wondering how difficult it would be running and looking down to see the screen thanks for your input.


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## Dan8383 (Nov 22, 2018)

ZaneD said:


> View attachment 13320
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> ...


Do you really need a jack plate?
How far up can you raise it without losing water pressure?(pics?)
Are you still currently running the same setup?
Do you regret getting the jack plate?


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## Dan8383 (Nov 22, 2018)

Do


ZaneD said:


> Here you go. This is factory installed from Ankona. Mounted to clamp on bracket from atlas, and bolted via those two hex head bolts you can see below the clamp arms.


Did you install a cavitation plate or trim tabs?


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## Dan8383 (Nov 22, 2018)

Backcountry 16 said:


> I have the same skiff and have crossed open water on a few occasions also and never run without the kill switch installed. The boat will yank you out if your not careful that's why I like the grab bar personally other than that it's super easy to pole and very stealthy love mine so far.


Why will thr boat yank you out?


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## g8rfly (Oct 9, 2011)

Backcountry 16 said:


> I will probably mount on the grab bar. I was wondering how difficult it would be running and looking down to see the screen thanks for your input.


First off, OP - cool skiff! @Backcountry 16 I've been running my GPS from a ram mount attached to my grab bar for a few years. I left enough slack in the cord to move it around and play with it. Having it up high (closer to eye sight) is nice but it's sticking way up there and sort of just in the way... I've gotten very accustomed having it about knee level (I ride the tiller from my yeti cooler and the gps is still readily in reach from there. No problem following FMT tracks. I searched high and low for the most low profile mounts for grab bars and this is what I deemed the best. I don't like the options with the smaller ram balls - the 1.5" has a stronger hold. 
https://www.rammount.com/part/RAM-108B


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## Capnredfish (Feb 1, 2012)

Nice skiff, nice fishing partner. Doing good.


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## Lip Snatcher (May 1, 2016)

Nice


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