# New to me HB Waterman



## POCtied (Oct 19, 2016)

Picked this gem up a little over a week ago and have managed to get it out on the water this past weekend with the pops and my Pawpaw who is a young 91 years old.








The gentleman I purchased the skiff from, local here in Houston, is a great guy and hopefully we will get out on the water someday to stalk some fish together. Though I was a bit skeptical of the lodge setup, as it's not something I had ever considered owning, after a weekend on the water with an old salty dog the comfort of it was well appreciated.
It performed flawlessly getting us through some areas I previously had zero chance getting in and out of with my previous 16 Waterman, and I was puckered up the entire first morning under power but had zero issue getting in and out of some new spots just hugging the shoreline.
We didn't see a single soul all weekend beyond the running to and from the fishing grounds, which is kind of amazing given how many people were on the water this past weekend. Having those comfy seats it performed flawlessly for my fishing buddies, and they even managed to keep dry on the open water ride home, though I of course did not till I decided to stand for the first time and white knuckle the platform.
I was surprised at how easy to operate the 70hp tiller once I started to find the sweet spot running. At first I was fighting some tq steer being a noob to the throttle, but kept my cool (kind of) and managed not to throw myself or anyone else out, which is a major win.
Once the kinks were ironed out and we made our way to the spot, we were almost immediately greeted with pods of tailing redfish in almost every direction. The wind was completely laid down and I've never seen it so calm this time of year, so we had excellent visibility and just took our pick of which pod we wanted to sneak over to next, it was honestly surreal having that luck with the special company I had on the skiff that day.

If you look closely you can see another group of tails off in the distance of the shot below, when it's that glassy out on a Saturday morning it makes the fishing that much more fun and maybe makes me look like I know what I'm doing.














They even managed to get a couple of myself from the poling platform the next day, including an action triptych with a red on the line Sunday .



















I like to think my MamaJo, Pawpaw's late wife, and my daughter Lilou were both looking down on us that day and gifted us that magical day together. Now to get a little personal, but since my infant daughter passed away last year my lady and I have been followed by ladybugs everywhere we go, and that day was no different as the moment I got up on the poling platform Saturday morning I was greeted with one on my foot. I didn't think much of it at the time, but once tied up back at dock for the afternoon I noticed it was still sitting on top of the cowling, no clue how it hung on all day but it did.







All in all a fantastic weekend with 3 generations on the new skiff, so we harvested a couple slots and treated ourselves to a fresh redfish & fried shrimp dinner at the request of the champ pictured below, who's certainly forgotten more than I've ever learned about fishing.








If you made it this far, thanks for reading.


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## Tx_Whipray (Sep 4, 2015)

Great report, and congrats on the new sled. I'm glad someone I "know" got that thing...it's sweet.


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## devrep (Feb 22, 2009)

my 16 footer has the guidebox with the same 2 seats and everyone I take out loves the set up.
Nice ride.


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## Fritz (Jan 17, 2017)

Beautiful skiff! Sounds like a great day on the water.


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## sjrobin (Jul 13, 2015)

Great day for the family and ladybugs.


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## EvanHammer (Aug 14, 2015)

Kickass and glad to hear your grandfather is still fishing at 91.


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

Very nice!!! I took my Maverick for it’s first test run from that ramp before I bought it.


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## POCtied (Oct 19, 2016)

Smackdaddy53 said:


> Very nice!!! I took my Maverick for it’s first test run from that ramp before I bought it.


Definitely an interesting crowd out there, plenty of jet ski's dry revving in the parking lot


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## DBStoots (Jul 9, 2011)

POCtied said:


> Picked this gem up a little over a week ago and have managed to get it out on the water this past weekend with the pops and my Pawpaw who is a young 91 years old.
> View attachment 27679
> 
> 
> ...


Thank you for that post and congratulations on getting this fine new (to you) skiff. So cool that you, your dad, and your grandaddy get to fish. Treasure that. We're not supposed to live longer than our children. I lost a younger brother so I saw my parents experience it. God bless you and your wife and God's peace to you.


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## makin moves (Mar 20, 2010)

Thanks for the post. Posts like this really are a perfect reminder of what's important.


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## crboggs (Mar 30, 2015)

Beautiful skiff and awesome post.

I'm also new to the tiller / tunnel world. Its definitely different.

Check your steering tab, you may be able to mitigate some of that steering torque.


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## GoGataGo52__20 (Jun 26, 2016)

Man that’s so cool that you got three generations out fishing together. Cool skiff too man


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## CPurvis (Apr 6, 2016)

Very cool!! Nice skiff!


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

POCtied said:


> Definitely an interesting crowd out there, plenty of jet ski's dry revving in the parking lot


Bunch of “Chadbros”


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## POCtied (Oct 19, 2016)

Not all Chadbros are Chads


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## crboggs (Mar 30, 2015)

POCtied said:


> Not all Chadbros are chads
> View attachment 27811


Dude...you lost me at "chelada"...*lol*


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

POCtied said:


> Not all Chadbros are Chads
> View attachment 27811


Is that Beyoncé?


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## Guest (May 5, 2018)

Congrats on the skiff and a great day out with the ol’ guys. Get out there with them as often as possible, there will come a day when you look back and say if I had just one more day.


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## Chad Cohn (Mar 8, 2018)

Smackdaddy53 said:


> Bunch of “Chadbros”


Woah there, easy on the Chad reference. I'm a Chad but definitely NOT a Chadbro.


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

Chad Cohn said:


> Woah there, easy on the Cad reference. I'm a Chad but definitely NOT a Chadbro.


It’s something I read on here about a jetski bro they call Chadbro. Hilarious!


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## POCtied (Oct 19, 2016)

crboggs said:


> Dude...you lost me at "chelada"...*lol*


helps with the hangover


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## bone1fish (May 8, 2016)

POCtied said:


> Picked this gem up a little over a week ago and have managed to get it out on the water this past weekend with the pops and my Pawpaw who is a young 91 years old.
> View attachment 27679
> 
> 
> ...


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## bone1fish (May 8, 2016)

Great story, hope you have many more to tell.


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## POCtied (Oct 19, 2016)

So I noticed a small puncture when I picked her up, but wanted to get out on the water and haven't really addressed it yet beyond putting some flex seal on there  
It's maybe 1/4" dia, but whats strange is the gelcoat seems to be "floating" above the composite. I need to get it taken care of as we all know hydrolysis is real, especially when concerning Kevlar. I probably won't take this on myself as I want the repair to be/look professional, but I also don't want to lose my toy for several weeks. So who knows of a good shop in Houston that will handle this and do it correctly?

PFA


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## permitchaser (Aug 26, 2013)

Man when I'm that old I hope my grandsons take me out. I'll just guide an pole them around till I can't
Thanks for sharing your story


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## Guest (May 8, 2018)

Well that battle scar kinda sucks, if you can not find a shop I’m sure you can get color from HB and the members here can guide you through making a proper, durable, professional repair. It’s not hard, just a little patience and save the beer for after each work session is over.


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## EvanHammer (Aug 14, 2015)

Can't tell where that is on the hull? Angel is good and reasonably priced but slow. Cosmetic is good and reasonably fast but expensive. You have to decide whether price or speed is more important.


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## POCtied (Oct 19, 2016)

Its on the keel just below the water line at rest.


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## POCtied (Oct 19, 2016)

EvanHammer said:


> Can't tell where that is on the hull? Angel is good and reasonably priced but slow. Cosmetic is good and reasonably fast but expensive. You have to decide whether price or speed is more important.


Not super worried about the cost, I suppose I could do it myself but after buying all the supplies and time spent sourcing and then actually doing the work, I'd likely not be too far off paying a professional. Time isn't cheap these days


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## EvanHammer (Aug 14, 2015)

POCtied said:


> Not super worried about the cost, I suppose I could do it myself but after buying all the supplies and time spent sourcing and then actually doing the work, I'd likely not be too far off paying a professional. Time isn't cheap these days


Cosmetic Boat Repair in Kemah
281-334-2929


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## POCtied (Oct 19, 2016)

Thanks, I sent them an email with photo requesting quote.


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## EvanHammer (Aug 14, 2015)

Not sure how much they email; I can look up his mobile number of you don't get a reply


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## POCtied (Oct 19, 2016)

I'll give them a call and let them know, the cell is located on the website thanks.


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## POCtied (Oct 19, 2016)

So it looks like that void isn't a big deal as I thought and it is almost certainly sealed and water tight, most likely was an air pocket during construction.


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## Guest (May 19, 2018)

POCtied said:


> So it looks like that void isn't a big deal as I thought and it is almost certainly sealed and water tight, most likely was an air pocket during construction.


A void in a HB, wow! Their qc must have had a bad day!


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## POCtied (Oct 19, 2016)

Boatbrains said:


> A void in a HB, wow! Their qc must have had a bad day!


It happens, definitely not going to make a big deal out of it, they've already offered to repair it well outside of warranty, so their "QC" dept is the best I've come across in almost any company I've dealt with, in any industry and something to aspire to when you get yours going ;-)


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## POCtied (Oct 19, 2016)

@Smackdaddy53 I need to raise this motor though, I've already gotten rid of all that pesky paint off my skeg, in need of your engineering skills


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

POCtied said:


> @Smackdaddy53 I need to raise this motor though, I've already gotten rid of all that pesky paint off my skeg, in need of your engineering skills


I can do it, let me know. I just need you to be my assistant and we can knock it out in just an hour or so.


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## POCtied (Oct 19, 2016)

Smackdaddy53 said:


> I can do it, let me know. I just need you to be my assistant and we can knock it out in just an hour or so.


I already know my platform is too low for where I want the height to end up


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

POCtied said:


> I already know my platform is too low for where I want the height to end up


There’s a fix for that. Pm me your number and we can discuss when you have time.


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

looks like a job for marinetex


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## POCtied (Oct 19, 2016)

Foreman special x2

Still have 3" I need to raise my poling platform before I really have a hard time wrangling the tiller...kidding, this thing pulls like an Ox with the cone center at the top of the tunnel.


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## POCtied (Oct 19, 2016)

Apparently, a couple requests were lost in translation to Jack during the initial tuning, no fault of his, he was busy repairing it after I managed to catch the launch drop off at Froggies 45 min after my first running it...doh. 2 weeks later I get it back, a little less pretty than the first attempt.

Top speed so far on the new 15" Tohatsu 60 with 3 guys totaling close to 570lbs, lite gear, full 23 gal tank, Yeti 45 with 20lb ice and drinks we hit 33mph on this prop with the Bob's all the way up, in the intercostal down in POC this past weekend. Can't complain about that, at all for what this prop is meant to do, run and get up shallow.


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