# Quietest Hull ?



## shb (Oct 29, 2013)

On average which skiffs are the sneakiest?

1 through 5 , how do you rate them?


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## sotilloa1078 (Mar 27, 2014)

HB 
Chittum
HPX 
Dolphin 
BT


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## cdaffin (Apr 4, 2012)

They're equally quiet given the usual poling conditions.

As long as there is not a chine or strake above water level, and the hull sides are not at a 90º angle to the water it will be quiet.


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## sotilloa1078 (Mar 27, 2014)

That is not necessarily true. They are all quite but they are definitely not all equally quiet! 

Tidesright


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## el9surf (Dec 23, 2008)

Of the boats listed I have owned a maverick and hb and fished on the bt strike. Can't comment on the dolphin or chittum. They are not all equally quiet. In sheet glass then yes maybe, but with a 5-10 mph breeze they are not all the same. The hb is the most queit and easiest to pole of the boats I have fished or owned. The maverick was also quiet but not as easy to pole. The strike wasn't overly easy to pole and it wasn't quiet unless the boat was balanced perfectly and even then I noticed a slap. Still a nice boat though and better than 90% of what's out there.


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## AfterHours2 (Aug 2, 2010)

I honestly don't get the whole hull slap arguement. Sight fishing in less than ideal winds is very difficult as it is, so what does it matter if one skiff has a tiny bit more slap than another? On a calm day, I would expect that most of the manufacturers would have gotten it right by now hence the name "Technical Poling Skiff." Afterall, there are plenty of people on this forum that fish from rigs that are not ultra stealthy and still have great success. I think I would rate draft and stability above the whole hull slap issue but thats just my mind wandering..


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## Barbs_deep (Jul 4, 2010)

> Of the boats listed I have owned a maverick and hb and fished on the bt strike. Can't comment on the dolphin or chittum.  They are not all equally quiet. In sheet glass then yes maybe,  but with a 5-10 mph breeze they are not all the same. The hb is the most queit and easiest to pole of the boats I have fished or owned. The maverick was also quiet but not as easy to pole. The strike wasn't overly easy to pole and it wasn't quiet unless the boat was balanced perfectly and even then I noticed a slap. Still a nice boat though and better than 90% of what's out there.


What was the setup of the strike you poled ? (trolling motor, motor size). I myself thought the strike poled easier and better than a 17.8 but not as well as my B2. Just curious.

My B2 is very quiet unless that spray rail that runs all the way back gets in the water. Which doesn't happen unless its a decent side chop or bad weight balance on the boat. That is the 17.8 and waterman's biggest downfall to me. They got it right with the newer Pro design.


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

I tend to agree with AH2, I think hull slap bothers the fishermen more then it does the fish.


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## Capt. Eli Whidden (Jun 7, 2012)

I think depends on the fish you are hunting. There days in flamingo where a loud conversion will spook weary redfish, let along hull slap. 

In Biscayne Bay, there are days where the bonefish and permit will laugh at you if you make unnecessary noise from 100ft away.


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## sotilloa1078 (Mar 27, 2014)

^ this! Hulls slap can mean the difference of catching and not sometimes. I have caught fish off of a buddies ghenoe while was slapping away. It can happen you just much better success with a quieter boat. 

Tidesright


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## permitchaser (Aug 26, 2013)

My opinion My boat is the quietist.  Nice and heavy lots of bow rise and plenty of foam in the bow


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## el9surf (Dec 23, 2008)

I think it depends on the mood of the fish. Sometimes they are very tolerant of noise, lures landing on them or getting lined by the fly line. On those days a jon boat will get the job done just as well as an expensive skiff. Then there are the days where its hard to get close enough to get a cast in. Those are the days that any slap or a pressure wave will send you home skunked. I have had many boats some that slapped pretty bad. I have had my fair share of days where slap wasn't an issue and plenty of days where it was a thorn in my side.


The strike I fished was a 60 etc, full fuel and 3 guys and I believe 3 batteries on board cranking, and 24v tm system. Throw in a cooler and a bow platform and it wasnt the lightest skiff to pole. That may have changed some if it were to shed some weight. Regardless it was not as quiet as I was hoping as it slapped till weight was distributed just right. As I mentioned still a very nice boat.


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## Barbs_deep (Jul 4, 2010)

> I think it depends on the mood of the fish. Sometimes they are very tolerant of noise, lures landing on them or getting lined by the fly line. On those days a jon boat will get the job done just as well as an expensive skiff. Then there are the days where its hard to get close enough to get a cast in. Those are the days that any slap or a pressure wave will send you home skunked. I have had many boats some that slapped pretty bad. I have had my fair share of days where slap wasn't an issue and plenty of days where it was a thorn in my side.
> 
> 
> The strike I fished was a 60 etc, full fuel and 3 guys and I believe 3 batteries on board cranking, and 24v tm system. Throw in a cooler and a bow platform and it wasnt the lightest skiff to pole. That may have changed some if it were to shed some weight. Regardless it was not as quiet as I was hoping as it slapped till weight was distributed just right. As I mentioned still a very nice boat.


You are spot on with the mood of the fish. Especially in the 'goon. 

I agree with you on the strike, with the bow really loaded it can slap a little. All the weight you mentioned was in the bow. I felt it tracked a little better than a 17.8 but maybe it was just me.


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## el9surf (Dec 23, 2008)

I remember the strike tracking well and spinning easy, just feeling a little on the heavy / sluggish side. That and the slap are what stood out in my mind. I was set on buying a strike till I had the opportunity to fish it. It's hard to compare to my hb 17.8 in terms of tracking unless I could fish them both back to back.


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## Capnredfish (Feb 1, 2012)

My b2 is dead quiet unless I am poling from the bow. If there is large chop from the side on a windy day I just pole it with the bow turned slightly into the wind and it actually easier than trying to pole dead straight all day.


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## Godzuki86 (Nov 30, 2013)

My action craft is a "Qui-Dry" hull. So it's quiet and dry ;D. But that isn't that big of a deal anyways. I only target deaf fish. 

 
Andy


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## paint it black (Nov 3, 2007)

> ^ this! Hulls slap can mean the difference of catching and not sometimes. I have caught fish off of a buddies ghenoe while was slapping away. It can happen you just much better success with a quieter boat.
> 
> Tidesright



I remember this day vividly. We (TidesRight, dacuban1, and myself) pulled up to the flat on dacuban1's LT25. The Gheenoe sounded like a crowd at pep rally. It was the loudest hull slap I have ever experienced first hand in any skiff. Tidesright and I looked at eachother with the thought of what did we get ourselves into, coming out here to fish to not have a chance at a fish. We were both in pure shock of how loud the boat was. Then a school of big Biscayne bones pops up tailing 20 feet off the bow, Tidesright made a cast, instantly hooked up and got the fish in. That day, I knew that this hull slap nonsense wasn't as serious as some make it seem.

Granted, there are days that it's glass calm out that if you whisper the fish will spook off. But those days, a skiff won't have any hull slap, so hull slap wouldn't be an issue that day.

As for the quietest skiffs I have fished in, I can name a few.

Maverick's are quiet, but slide a bit on pole.
Hell's Bay Waterman, really annoying hull slap on the back end of skiff where the chine at the back meets the water, but poles phenomenally. 
Hell's Bay Professional, No hull slap, but at least the one I have poled, did not pole as nicely as the waterman by any means. This can be due to the different set up, not as much as the skiff itself. 
Copperhead Gen 2, no hull slap with the super light setup I was running. no matter how far forward one would stand.
Copperhead Gen 1, If standing at the tip of the bow, minor hull slap.
Shadowcast 18, minor hull slap into the tunnel if you get the wind coming from the right angle. 
Beavertail Strike, some hull slap, Poled super heavy and slow. 
Dolphin Renegade, not a fan at all.
Dolphin Super Skiff, poles great.

I have poled many other skiffs as well, but not worth naming them all.


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## Capnredfish (Feb 1, 2012)

I must add my previous boat was the noisiest boat made and I caught just as many fish as now. But I fished with better angler friends then. People that could spot fish from a distance and make good shots. Now I fish with more beginners and my wife. So I would think the fisherman plays a large part in the whole equation.


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## shiprock8 (Sep 23, 2013)

> I honestly don't get the whole hull slap arguement. Sight fishing in less than ideal winds is very difficult as it is, so what does it matter if one skiff has a tiny bit more slap than another? On a calm day, I would expect that most of the manufacturers would have gotten it right by now hence the name "Technical Poling Skiff." Afterall, there are plenty of people on this forum that fish from rigs that are not ultra stealthy and still have great success. I think I would rate draft and stability above the whole hull slap issue but thats just my mind wandering..


OK, HB still wins. ;D


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## AfterHours2 (Aug 2, 2010)

> > I honestly don't get the whole hull slap arguement. Sight fishing in less than ideal winds is very difficult as it is, so what does it matter if one skiff has a tiny bit more slap than another? On a calm day, I would expect that most of the manufacturers would have gotten it right by now hence the name "Technical Poling Skiff." Afterall, there are plenty of people on this forum that fish from rigs that are not ultra stealthy and still have great success. I think I would rate draft and stability above the whole hull slap issue but thats just my mind wandering..
> 
> 
> OK, HB still wins.   ;D


Not yet but close. Dude just bought and sold back his HB in the for sale section because it was too tippy for him


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## sotilloa1078 (Mar 27, 2014)

> > I honestly don't get the whole hull slap arguement. Sight fishing in less than ideal winds is very difficult as it is, so what does it matter if one skiff has a tiny bit more slap than another? On a calm day, I would expect that most of the manufacturers would have gotten it right by now hence the name "Technical Poling Skiff." Afterall, there are plenty of people on this forum that fish from rigs that are not ultra stealthy and still have great success. I think I would rate draft and stability above the whole hull slap issue but thats just my mind wandering..
> 
> 
> OK, HB still wins.   ;D


To me fishing in the winds happens more often than not and sometimes you have to fish in the wind. A quiet hull is crucial as well as boat that poles well in wind and current and slop all at the same time. That's where certain boats/companies desperate themselves from others. Now a days there are plenty of skiffs that do well on the pole in desireable conditions. But not all performs the same when elements are thrown in the mix.


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## byrdseye (Sep 22, 2010)

Chittum  (but I've never been in a BT)


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## devrep (Feb 22, 2009)

my silverking is quiet 90% of the time but there are conditions where it slaps like hell. Same with being dry, there are some conditions where we get a little wet, 90% of the time it runs quite dry. Are there skiffs that are 100% quiet and dry?


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## Snookdaddy (Jan 5, 2008)

> my silverking is quiet 90% of the time but there are conditions where it slaps like hell.   Same with being dry, there are some conditions where we get a little wet, 90% of the time it runs quite dry.   Are there skiffs that are 100% quiet and dry?


100% No...


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## shiprock8 (Sep 23, 2013)

> > > I honestly don't get the whole hull slap arguement. Sight fishing in less than ideal winds is very difficult as it is, so what does it matter if one skiff has a tiny bit more slap than another? On a calm day, I would expect that most of the manufacturers would have gotten it right by now hence the name "Technical Poling Skiff." Afterall, there are plenty of people on this forum that fish from rigs that are not ultra stealthy and still have great success. I think I would rate draft and stability above the whole hull slap issue but thats just my mind wandering..
> >
> >
> > OK, HB still wins.   ;D
> ...


Guess what! If a HB Whipray is too tippy for him then he is definitely not micro-skiff material. :


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## coconutgroves (Sep 23, 2013)

Hull slap is a big deal. With so many factors out of my control, I need to get any advantage I can, which is stealth.

Low light, high winds, murky water all decrease the chances of spotting fish. Add a slappy hull to that, and those fish will move before you even see them. You'll see a wake at 100 feet into the wind you have no chance of casting to.

I've been on a boat during a slicked off day and we tracked a school 30+ reds and could never get within a 100 feet. The school always pushed away from us. They sensed the boat, no doubt about it. Even on semi calm days this same boat didn't have loud slap, but it was enough of a disturbance where it affected the fish.

Reds aren't bonefish, that's for sure, but when they are spooky, a quiet boat really helps you get an edge.


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## Capnredfish (Feb 1, 2012)

I can top that. Over one hundred redfish in one day, one spot , windy, 100ft off the channel with boats going by all day. I was anchored . We threw every artificial we had and caught one nearly every cast. Sometimes they bite regardless. Other times you can jump onto land on one of the mosquito impoundment roads and head them off on a shoreline , not make a noise and still not catch them. Other times, I agree a stealth boat will help.


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## coconutgroves (Sep 23, 2013)

The first time I took out my B2, I was very impressed with how stealthy it is. I had heard reports of some slap, but I had to try really hard to get it to slap, even with cross chop.

Funny though that we were in super low light conditions (socked in bad with about 15 knot winds), but we got on a lee side of an island right by a mouth. The tide was just turning to high, but we didn't find any fish. My brother is poling super quiet - we just saw two silvered-up reds (early season reds), so we figured we'd see more soon. 

Sure enough, he drags the pole across the side rail and I see about 40 poofs of sand and wakes everywhere about 30' to 70' from the boat. Conditions kept us from seeing the fish, but the stealthy boat allowed us to get that close.

But yeah, he screwed the pooch on that one. ;D


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## Capt. Eli Whidden (Jun 7, 2012)

The right approach in the right spot with the right conditions and "hull slap" is not near as important. The right approach in the right spot with the wrong conditions and "hull slap" will leave you frustrated....


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## bpkfly (5 mo ago)

firecat1981 said:


> I tend to agree with AH2, I think hull slap bothers the fishermen more then it does the fish.


Do you guys fish for permit?


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

bpkfly said:


> Do you guys fish for permit?


He started and changed his mind in 2014


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## Douglas Smith (Nov 19, 2017)

Maybe you need to go in a Chittum


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## dwyermw (Jun 12, 2021)

without any question, The Ranger Banshee Extreme is the quietest hull I have ever been on.


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## jonny (May 1, 2007)

Smackdaddy53 said:


> He started and changed his mind in 2014


This new feed keeps these old ass threads going. It’s got me a few times now. I’ll post something then realize that conversation was ten years ago 😂


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## trekker (Sep 19, 2015)

Towee. You can run that thing wot in a legit 12' chop. Not even a slight noise. And poles "like a dream" with that legendary transom.


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## jay.bush1434 (Dec 27, 2014)

The stealthiest skiff I’ve poled is a buddy’s Chittum LM 2. They will all slap a little every now and then though. I think how a boat pushes the pressure wave is more of an impact on the fish than the slap. It is probably also the hardest to engineer and design out of a skiff. In that regard, lighter and narrower is probably better until it’s too tippy and so light it rides terrible and/or breaks. That’s where the compromise begins...


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## Capt.Ron (Mar 5, 2014)

None of this matters, if you don’t know how to pole in the first place. You can have a chittum, HB, maverick, any of them, if you don’t know how to pole, they can all be loud or quiet. It’s an art.


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## crboggs (Mar 30, 2015)

Capt.Ron said:


> None of this matters, if you don’t know how to pole in the first place. You can have a chittum, HB, maverick, any of them, if you don’t know how to pole, they can all be loud or quiet. It’s an art.


Yeah...I probably make more noise with the push pole than my skiff makes, honestly.


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## Capt.Ron (Mar 5, 2014)

There’s many things to consider, bow wake, pressure wave when you spin, ect. Every boat creates these, if people say different their full of snot. Because every boat made has displacement and that creates pressure. There’s a huge difference between pushing a boat and poling a boat. Hull slap is the only issue that can be moderately engineered out of a design. Unless that sob hovers over water, the only thing that controls the previous considerations is the monkey on the back of the boat.


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