# Chittum Skiffs?



## trekker (Sep 19, 2015)

You've heard of Chittum's skiffs delaminating?


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## sotilloa1078 (Mar 27, 2014)

I personally haven’t heard of any delaminations. They were extremely helpful with me during my build. Mind you I never made any last minute changes etc. those can be a pain in the ass I imagine especially mid build, it can be a nightmare I would think.


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## Chopsflyfishes (Aug 26, 2018)

trekker said:


> You've heard of Chittum's skiffs delaminating?


Yes. After speaking to a few guides and other manufacturers (I know they were probably bullshitting me) I heard they have had some minor issues since the carbon is so dense nd it’s hard to pull the resin through. But I just wanted to see if anyone else had heard of it happening.


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## Stevie (Jun 27, 2017)

@Chopsflyfishes ,

Have followed Chittum pretty closely over the last 3-4 years & owned a few; 2 new builds. Unaware of any delaminations. There was a case when 2 early boats were kept in a garage for an extended period of time after the owner passed away. Some of those early boats had bladder fuel tanks, which failed. At least one of the boats from the estate went through a rebuild process in which the deck had waffling from soft core/ fuel fumes. Some photos were posted on this forum.

The boat I run is a full carbon SnakeBight with F70. It was the first full carbon boat (2018 Skiff Challenge). It’s very solid after running through tremendous conditions.

Hal, George and the team were very responsive on my 2 builds. As @sotilloa1078 points out, it’s best to avoid change orders.

Which 90 were you thinking about & why?


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## sotilloa1078 (Mar 27, 2014)

Chopsflyfishes said:


> Yes. After speaking to a few guides and other manufacturers (I know they were probably bullshitting me) I heard they have had some minor issues since the carbon is so dense nd it’s hard to pull the resin through. But I just wanted to see if anyone else had heard of it happening.


I’m pretty sure they were bullshitting you. And I’m sure I know of a certain manufacture or two that would be real quick to start the smack talking.
Like @Stevie said. The boats are solid. The “widow maker” down in the keys has been run harder and faster than any other skiff in a very long time if not ever and there is not one thing structurally wrong with it. Not one stress crack.


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## EdK13 (Oct 3, 2013)

Hal builds good stuff.


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## ifsteve (Jul 1, 2010)

$$$


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## Chopsflyfishes (Aug 26, 2018)

Stevie said:


> @Chopsflyfishes ,
> 
> Have followed Chittum pretty closely over the last 3-4 years & owned a few; 2 new builds. Unaware of any delaminations. There was a case when 2 early boats were kept in a garage for an extended period of time after the owner passed away. Some of those early boats had bladder fuel tanks, which failed. At least one of the boats from the estate went through a rebuild process in which the deck had waffling from soft core/ fuel fumes. Some photos were posted on this forum.
> 
> ...


That was probably what they were refereeing to. I was going to go with the Yami 90SHO or the Merc 90 four stroke. I'd prefer the Yamaha since I run a 115 SHO right now, but its very heavy. I figure if I can get the same speeds and save some weight over the 115 then it might be worth the extra $$. I'm debating between the Full and Half Carbon, depends on how the weight is going to be distributed, with the 90 I'll probably have to go with the big tank to try and offset the extra weight.


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## Chopsflyfishes (Aug 26, 2018)

sotilloa1078 said:


> I’m pretty sure they were bullshitting you. And I’m sure I know of a certain manufacture or two that would be real quick to start the smack talking.
> Like @Stevie said. The boats are solid. The “widow maker” down in the keys has been run harder and faster than any other skiff in a very long time if not ever and there is not one thing structurally wrong with it. Not one stress crack.


I always take anything anyone says in this industry with a grain of salt, but since more than one person brought it up I figured I better do some fact finding. I won't say who the manufacturers are but they know what they're doing. That widow maker is an incredible boat for sure. I spoke to thane a few weeks ago about this years gold cup and the boat came up. Now they just need to keep the motor working and they'll be unstoppable.


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## Chopsflyfishes (Aug 26, 2018)

ifsteve said:


> $$$


The whole industry seems to be headed in that direction, that new Drake Nomad 2.0 is an incredible boat but the price tag to start is even high than most of the chittums. The Floyd is a very good boat, and out can be out the door for 45k.


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## ifsteve (Jul 1, 2010)

Chopsflyfishes said:


> The whole industry seems to be headed in that direction, that new Drake Nomad 2.0 is an incredible boat but the price tag to start is even high than most of the chittums. The Floyd is a very good boat, and out can be out the door for 45k.


True. But Chittums and HB have it at another whole level.


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## sotilloa1078 (Mar 27, 2014)

Chopsflyfishes said:


> I always take anything anyone says in this industry with a grain of salt, but since more than one person brought it up I figured I better do some fact finding. I won't say who the manufacturers are but they know what they're doing. That widow maker is an incredible boat for sure. I spoke to thane a few weeks ago about this years gold cup and the boat came up. Now they just need to keep the motor working and they'll be unstoppable.


I think a lot of us would like to forget this years tournaments. Hahah. That boat is impressive especially in the rough stuff. They passed me one morning in some rough water like I was standing still.


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## coconutgroves (Sep 23, 2013)

sotilloa1078 said:


> And I’m sure I know of a certain manufacture or two that would be real quick to start the smack talking.


I know one specifically that after I talked to him, his boats could cure cancer and that all other builders were responsible for it! But on the other hand, I can name two others that are complete class acts that won't say a bad word about anyone.


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## Chopsflyfishes (Aug 26, 2018)

ifsteve said:


> True. But Chittums and HB have it at another whole level.





sotilloa1078 said:


> I think a lot of us would like to forget this years tournaments. Hahah. That boat is impressive especially in the rough stuff. They passed me one morning in some rough water like I was standing still.


Wish I could have been down there with you guys, but it just wasn't in the cards for me this year. Hopefully next year.


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## Chopsflyfishes (Aug 26, 2018)

coconutgroves said:


> I know one specifically that after I talked to him, his boats could cure cancer and that all other builders were responsible for it! But on the other hand, I can name two others that are complete class acts that won't say a bad word about anyone.


Unfortunately there's seems to be a decent amount of trash talking going around, but I agree that there are some that would never say a bad word about anyone. Seems inevitable whenever there is competition, especially when it comes to business.


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## CKEAT (Aug 26, 2015)

Chopsflyfishes said:


> Unfortunately there's seems to be a decent amount of trash talking going around, but I agree that there are some that would never say a bad word about anyone. Seems inevitable whenever there is competition, especially when it comes to business.


Yea but I know I sure like it when they speak only of their products and back them up and forego stopping to a level of bashing others. It is very distasteful, let the equipment do the talking, if it is legit, you won’t need to.


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## CKEAT (Aug 26, 2015)

Stooping


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## sotilloa1078 (Mar 27, 2014)

Chopsflyfishes said:


> Wish I could have been down there with you guys, but it just wasn't in the cards for me this year. Hopefully next year.


I’ll be there.


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## sotilloa1078 (Mar 27, 2014)

Chopsflyfishes said:


> Unfortunately there's seems to be a decent amount of trash talking going around, but I agree that there are some that would never say a bad word about anyone. Seems inevitable whenever there is competition, especially when it comes to business.


yes but a certain company does it significantly more than others.


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## texasag07 (Nov 11, 2014)

Man I think you guys missed the days of George Sawley talking constant trash about every other brand under the sun on here and Instagram.

Other than that I haven’t had a chance to fish one. The ones equipped with a 115 I saw at a tourney in Louisiana this year looked to me like it was a little to much motor for the hull. I priced them when I was looking for my next boat and for me I couldn’t justify the added cost of what I could get elsewhere for my needs. The 21 looks pretty cool for the 115 powered market.


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## Chopsflyfishes (Aug 26, 2018)

texasag07 said:


> Man I think you guys missed the days of George Sawley talking constant trash about every other brand under the sun on here and Instagram.
> 
> Other than that I haven’t had a chance to fish one. The ones equipped with a 115 I saw at a tourney in Louisiana this year looked to me like it was a little to much motor for the hull. I priced them when I was looking for my next boat and for me I couldn’t justify the added cost of what I could get elsewhere for my needs. The 21 looks pretty cool for the 115 powered market.


I definitely remember those days. In fact that’s why I shyed away from them at first, but now that he seems to have toned it down, and after talking with Hal for a few hours, my interest has definitely increased.
I think the 115 is more for the Legacy but that’s just my opinion. Love your work by the way. I’m not too proud to admit that I’ve tried spinning up some of your patterns.


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## jay.bush1434 (Dec 27, 2014)

In the search for my last 2 skiffs, I have had a chance to ride in and fish a lot of different skiffs. I've also talked with a lot of boat owners about what they like/don't like and what would they change on their boat. In addition I've had a chance to talk with owners/builders of some of the well known skiff companies.
Most of the new designs of skiffs on the market have really good layouts that are both practical and look good for the size of the boat. A few of the older designs that are still being made nailed it from the get go.
So on to Chittum's; I've spent some quality time running/poling and fishing a friend's half carbon Laguna Madre 18, 2 degree. It is the quietest, shallowest full size skiff I've ever been on. We were able to consistently pole up closer to fish time and time again than any skiff I've fished. It was easy to pole one handed with really good directional stability and still would easily and quietly spin with just a little push on the pole to change directions. Even being a 2 degree hull, it would take chop and boat wakes remarkably well with less pounding than I expected. It also rode like a carbon boat. If you've spent any amount of time on a true carbon boat, you can feel the stiffness of the hull when it hits chop and how light they are with a surfboard like feel, skimming on top of the water rather than through it. It's not bad, just a different feel. More like the comparison of running a power cat vs a monohull. Different with pros and cons rather than good or bad. Then of course there is the cost. Now the Snake Bight 18 can be spec'd out at a fairly reasonable cost considering the level of quality of the builds, while the LM 18 nicely equipped is definitely in the top tier of skiff pricing. 
If you choose to have a Snake Bight 18 built, you will get a great boat.


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## Jason M (Aug 13, 2017)

I run a Mangrove 50% carbon. I'm p probably the whole guy to ask but you can't go wrong. Captain Don Gable runs the build you are looking at with the 115sho. It cruises at 45 like it's 25. We crossed Key West harbor outrunning a storm last year and we did 42 across the harbor and it never felt squirrelly and the weather was awful.

I don't need to go that fast so I'm perfectly happy with the 60 Tohatsu.


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## jsnipes (May 1, 2011)

Yea my keys guide has one with the 115. It's a rocket ship. I imagine most people don't need to go that fast that regularly though.


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## Jason M (Aug 13, 2017)

jsnipes said:


> Yea my keys guide has one with the 115. It's a rocket ship. I imagine most people don't need to go that fast that regularly though.


Yeah, he has that big engine for tournaments. Forty is plenty fast for me


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## Shadowcast (Feb 26, 2008)

@Chopsflyfishes get with Dave Chouinard. He's a rep for them and is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the Chittum line.


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## Matts (Sep 2, 2015)

jay.bush1434 said:


> In the search for my last 2 skiffs, I have had a chance to ride in and fish a lot of different skiffs. I've also talked with a lot of boat owners about what they like/don't like and what would they change on their boat. In addition I've had a chance to talk with owners/builders of some of the well known skiff companies.
> Most of the new designs of skiffs on the market have really good layouts that are both practical and look good for the size of the boat. A few of the older designs that are still being made nailed it from the get go.
> So on to Chittum's; I've spent some quality time running/poling and fishing a friend's half carbon Laguna Madre 18, 2 degree. It is the quietest, shallowest full size skiff I've ever been on. We were able to consistently pole up closer to fish time and time again than any skiff I've fished. It was easy to pole one handed with really good directional stability and still would easily and quietly spin with just a little push on the pole to change directions. Even being a 2 degree hull, it would take chop and boat wakes remarkably well with less pounding than I expected. It also rode like a carbon boat. If you've spent any amount of time on a true carbon boat, you can feel the stiffness of the hull when it hits chop and how light they are with a surfboard like feel, skimming on top of the water rather than through it. It's not bad, just a different feel. More like the comparison of running a power cat vs a monohull. Different with pros and cons rather than good or bad. Then of course there is the cost. Now the Snake Bight 18 can be spec'd out at a fairly reasonable cost considering the level of quality of the builds, while the LM 18 nicely equipped is definitely in the top tier of skiff pricing.
> If you choose to have a Snake Bight 18 built, you will get a great boat.


Yeah, that's spot on. I've fished a big loud, custom jon boat for 16 yrs, a BT Mosquito for about a year and then bought Hull #1 Chittum Laguna Madre II 2 degree, non-tunnel, full carbon from Stevie. I have fished 4-5 other Chittum and they are all the same.......drop DEAD quiet on the pole, nice riding and so super shallow drafting. I can mostly pick up my bow solo as it's only about a 350# hull from what I have been told. It's solid as I've had it in some big water. I would build another one in a heartbeat. Hal knows his stuff and really is the only skiff maker out there innovating for TX. I won't bash all the other brands but I have not seen or heard anyone else doing what we need for TX. Even with 3 guys (250#, 185#, and 120#) plus gear, water, etc, mine is a 4-5" drafting skiff, all....day......long. We take mine anytime time we expect low tides. Leave ALL the other brands at home or I promise you, as far as full sized skiffs, you will be pushing. I've only ever had to get out to push my Chittum once and that was an extremely low tide and in about 3". Hop out and it's still floating in 3-4" but you are sliding it along the bottom. Trust me, they are that good. I'm very picky. I tried to get another well known company to set my new build up for TX and their response was: sure, we can put a short shaft engine on it and make it capitate, up to you." The bottom line, I want the company to do the legwork and sea trials and produce the right set up. Hal certainly has done this.
All the best,
Matt


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