# For Sale ! Mako Backcountry 18



## TXflats92 (Dec 25, 2018)

Hey Y’all. I was an owner of a vintage microskiff, 1971 Kennedy Kraft 13’, but I’ve recently sold and graduated up to just outside of the microskiff size. I wanted to share since I was able to find another vintage skiff in Texas that’s pretty rare.
Recently bought hull #35 of less than 100, Mako Backcountry 18. Got a cool article with the purchase explaining how these things were built for both the bass and bone fisherman. Talk about storage. 15 hatches. Bait well, 3 live wells, 6 rod holders. Fold up seats. Should do well on the Texas coast as well as the lakes. I have a few mods in mind.
Let me know what y’all think.
Thanks

Now for sale! I need something suited for river/coast use. Want a Towee jet.

Asking $9k.
512-999-2666


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## Capnredfish (Feb 1, 2012)

First ever boat where you lie down to operate it? Where do you sit? I assume a hatch reveals a seat? Interesting boat. Check out those tabs.


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## TXflats92 (Dec 25, 2018)

Capnredfish said:


> First ever boat where you lie down to operate it? Where do you sit? I assume a hatch reveals a seat? Interesting boat. Check out those tabs.


There are three hatches right behind the side console that fold up with padded cushions on the bottom of the hatch and “cockpit” for your legs.


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## GaG8tor (Jul 8, 2019)

Very cool


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## Salt of the Water (Feb 26, 2018)

Coal boat and very ahead of its time. Saw it on CL and looked like a very reasonable price too. Congrats on the new sled! 

Going to stick with the 2 stroke for a while? Seems like a 140 zuke would be a good option.


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## fjmaverick (Sep 18, 2015)

That thing is awesome. First one I've seen.


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## BassFlats (Nov 26, 2018)

Very rare. Supposedly only 20 were made 1979-80. Re-reading your post, you say its hull #35. Obviously more than 20 were made. Still rare.


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## TXflats92 (Dec 25, 2018)

Salt of the Water said:


> Coal boat and very ahead of its time. Saw it on CL and looked like a very reasonable price too. Congrats on the new sled!
> 
> Thanks! Going to stick with the 2 stroke for a while? Seems like a 140 zuke would be a good option.


I will keep that motor through the winter. I will probably repower, but I am undecided. I was considering a 90hp Yamaha 2 stroke. Not sure if the boat needs more than 115 on it. 
I have yet to take it out.


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## FMH (Aug 24, 2015)

That was originally called the "Perdue Edition" as I believe Pete Purdue from the Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo had input to its layout. There were a few of them down in the Keys in the 70's. Very heavy boat to pole but had a great ride back in the day. I think it's going to take more than a 90hp to have it perorm well.


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

Storage storage storage


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

As noted by Mitch, the earliest versions of that boat were by Perdue-Dean. They started with a Mako hull in the early to mid seventies and did a custom interior. When Perdue-Dean quit doing them, a few years later Mako came out with the version you have. Really interesting rig but quite heavy for a boat meant for flats fishing.

Now that much, much better trolling motors are available that should be a fishing machine in three feet of water ... or more, inshore.


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## FMH (Aug 24, 2015)

That’s right Bob! You have a better memory than I .


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## Chris Morejohn (May 12, 2014)

I started my flats skiff career finishing off one of these hulls that Hal Chittum and Capt. Eddie Wightman had acquired to build as one off skiffs. The guy that made the one off decks bailed out on the job and Hal hired me to finish the job on his hull. You can see the photos of it on my blog Chris Morejohn blog spot under Early days of HB history and my old shop photos of boats. This was 1982-83.
The hulls had heavy all wood stringers and everything was cored or built with glassed over plywood.
Finished before rigging Hal’s boat weighed a Ton. I just had to finish the glass work and awlgrip paint and fair the top sides. After I finished I told Hal that I could build a skiff like this but in all core which was unheard of then in the powerboat world. Within 3 months I was building new hulls from my modified design of the Mako hull which weighed just under 750 lbs. this was early 1983. I named my new company BACK BAY BOATS and bought property in Tavernier in Key largo and ended up building 18 one-off designs over the next 4 years before I sold out and went sailing for a few years.
Now look at where we are.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

One of the guys in my fishing club had one of those Perdue-Dean skiffs in the mid seventies... It was like fishing off of a dock (that stable - but you sure wouldn’t want to pole one except to get up onto the edge of a flat...). In those days you could chum up big bonefish along the edge of most any channel south of Key Biscayne in about twenty minutes on a moving tide...


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## Backcountry 16 (Mar 15, 2016)

Chris Morejohn said:


> I started my flats skiff career finishing off one of these hulls that Hal Chittum and Capt. Eddie Wightman had acquired to build as one off skiffs. The guy that made the one off decks bailed out on the job and Hal hired me to finish the job on his hull. You can see the photos of it on my blog Chris Morejohn blog spot under Early days of HB history and my old shop photos of boats. This was 1982-83.
> The hulls had heavy all wood stringers and everything was cored or built with glassed over plywood.
> Finished before rigging Hal’s boat weighed a Ton. I just had to finish the glass work and awlgrip paint and fair the top sides. After I finished I told Hal that I could build a skiff like this but in all core which was unheard of then in the powerboat world. Within 3 months I was building new hulls from my modified design of the Mako hull which weighed just under 750 lbs. this was early 1983. I named my new company BACK BAY BOATS and bought property in Tavernier in Key largo and ended up building 18 one-off designs over the next 4 years before I sold out and went sailing for a few years.
> Now look at where we are.


Man I would love to see one of your old back bay skiff pics.


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## devrep (Feb 22, 2009)

TXflats92 said:


> View attachment 90370
> View attachment 90372
> View attachment 90368
> Hey Y’all. I was an owner of a vintage microskiff, 1971 Kennedy Kraft 13’, but I’ve recently sold and graduated up to just outside of the microskiff size. I wanted to share since I was able to find another vintage skiff in Texas that’s pretty rare.
> ...


that's a nice casting deck and looks like it might be hard to swamp. do all the compartments have gutter drains?


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## TXflats92 (Dec 25, 2018)

Yes they do. I believe it’s self bailing.


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## devrep (Feb 22, 2009)

don't try a 90. I have a 94 SilverKing 16 with a 90 and while its ok but not fast on my boat it would be way under powered on yours.


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## No Bait / Lures Only (Apr 10, 2011)

I viewed the same mako model at boat stuf harvey , la in 1980's with v4 115 rude. Awesome, hatches for days.


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## BrownDog (Jun 22, 2019)

TXflats92 said:


> I will keep that motor through the winter. I will probably repower, but I am undecided. I was considering a 90hp Yamaha 2 stroke. Not sure if the boat needs more than 115 on it.
> I have yet to take it out.


That OMC should run as long as you feel like maintaining it and is easy to work on yourself.


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## TXflats92 (Dec 25, 2018)

BrownDog said:


> That OMC should run as long as you feel like maintaining it and is easy to work on yourself.


It is in pretty good shape and clean. It’s a 1993. A little heavy though.


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## SomaliPirate (Feb 5, 2016)

Badass boat.


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## Tarpon tickler (Jul 15, 2019)

That’s really cool, first I’ve seen like that.


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## TXflats92 (Dec 25, 2018)

Teak rod holder sanded down with a couple coats of epoxy. Should add a nice accent to the skiff.


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## BassFlats (Nov 26, 2018)

The rod holders look awesome. Make sure you varnish on top of the epoxy. Epoxy has very little UV protection.


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

BassFlats said:


> The rod holders look awesome. Make sure you varnish on top of the epoxy. Epoxy has very little UV protection.


Have you seen his layout? Nothing is exposed but the top of the console, everything else is below deck from the looks of it.


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## BassFlats (Nov 26, 2018)

Brainfart. I forgot its all deck. It wouldn't hurt to do it though.


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## TXflats92 (Dec 25, 2018)

That teak sits right next to the steering console and it is above deck.
One of the few things.
I am comparing this layout to a Swiss Army Knife!


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## devrep (Feb 22, 2009)

that old 2 stroke is probably lighter than a lot of the new 4 strokes in that hp range.


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

TXflats92 said:


> That teak sits right next to the steering console and it is above deck.
> One of the few things.
> I am comparing this layout to a Swiss Army Knife!


Hell I thought it was below deck, my mistake!


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## Tautog166 (Jul 7, 2018)

Any pics with the seats up? Cool boat


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## TXflats92 (Dec 25, 2018)

Motor is getting serviced, I’ll take some more pics when I get her back.


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## TXflats92 (Dec 25, 2018)

Deck layout from an old article


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## Salt of the Water (Feb 26, 2018)

That 6" draft number... Hmmm

Also like the quote: we made no speed runs because we consider it unimportant in a fishing boat. It'd be pretty funny to see a boating magazine print that today.


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## BassFlats (Nov 26, 2018)

Nice skiff. Could use more storage.


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## Sailfish_WC (Mar 7, 2019)

Always loved those boats


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## TXflats92 (Dec 25, 2018)

Went out to the farm today and took a couple more pictures of the seating and storage. Under hatch storage for 6 rods, up to 9.5’


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## BassFlats (Nov 26, 2018)

It would look really nice with a new g2 3 cylinder etec on it.


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## TXflats92 (Dec 25, 2018)

BassFlats said:


> It would look really nice with a new g2 3 cylinder etec on it.


I agree. I’m actually taking donations for that if anyone is interested.


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## BassFlats (Nov 26, 2018)

Start a go fund me


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## Sargontoma (Sep 16, 2019)

I have the Same Boat, I found it rotting away in someones backyard in California. We are actually restoring and painting the boat now after 3 years of hard fishing. Its a great fishing boat, Just added power poles and put on a Minn Kota riptide Ipilot when I first purchased it . Its a hell of a restoration given all the cabinets and hatches. We reran the Baitwell pump that runs to the front hatch and added a bigger one to circulate to the well that is underneath the seats too! Enjoy it, Its a great boat!


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

A man would go broke replacing hinges and hardware. I dig it though, I’d probably sink it with all the crap I’d stuff into the hatches.


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## NotdeanKane (Oct 1, 2019)

Hi! I have a Mako Backcountry too  Bought it two years ago from the previous owner in Cocoa area. Have always loved the layout of these, and when one came on the market, I jumped on the opportunity. Never regretted it, and love the attention it gets...especially the "Where do you sit" comments 

I believe my hull is #28, built in 1979.

The hull is really the Mako 17's hull; they cut down the gunnels and added the transom bait wells to create the 18' length. It takes bay chop really well and is a great stable platform to fish from.

Mine has a Mercury Saltwater Series 125 and runs like a scalded ape...easy 30+knots. The 6" draft is true, or at least pretty close; I regularly fish in Chololoskee, FL and the Keys, and can say this boat gets really skinny for it's size and weight.

I typically use a trolling motor but will pole occasionally. Obviously not as easy to pole as a tech skiff, but manageable...and I don't have a platform...I pole from the deck. I got a broken Stiffy from a friend which I cut it down to 19', which works great for deck-poling.

The only thing I have a problem with is that the rod locker will only fit an 8' rod; I am getting into saltwater fly fishing, and most fly rods are 9'. I did find some 7' rods from cabelas and am using those. For close-in fly fishing along the mangroves the short rods work fine; in fact better since they have a little more backbone for getting slob snooks out from the roots.

If you get on Facebook, there is a group of us Backcountry Owners; search for:
"Classic Mako 18 "Backcountry" History"


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## Sargontoma (Sep 16, 2019)

NotdeanKane said:


> Hi! I have a Mako Backcountry too  Bought it two years ago from the previous owner in Cocoa area. Have always loved the layout of these, and when one came on the market, I jumped on the opportunity. Never regretted it, and love the attention it gets...especially the "Where do you sit" comments
> 
> I believe my hull is #28, built in 1979.
> 
> ...


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