I’ve narrowed down my next boat to a 17-18’, 12 degree + skiff. Still trying to decide on power.
My original thought was to go with an f70 to keep weight down but I’m now rethinking if I should go with more ponies for higher cruising speed. I’m in Key Largo and have access to a neighborhood boat ramp. For reference it’s about a 25 mile boat ride to flamingo, 24 miles to Rhodes point and 18 miles to Islamorada sandbar. These would be regular stomping grounds for me. Assuming that going from 70hp to 115hp increases cruise speed from 30 mph to around 40 mph I’d cut down 25 mins in travel time on round trip to flamingo, which I could be fishing instead. Obviously this comes with a compromise of more money, extra weight and draft. For those of you in similar situations what route did you go and do you have any regrets with choice in power?
Counter points: You will never regret have the higher power on tap… but…. How many days out of the year are you able to cruise that fast?
If me, I would get the bigger engine.
I recently purchased a 200hp motor, but was debating between the 4 cylinder models (less weight) and the 6 cylinder ( more torque). Went with the 6, glad I did. The added torque is very nice. I was replacing a 2 stroke, so was use to the torque on the boat.
I have an f70. I honestly would like to go faster, but im not willing to trade ease of poling for speed. It is not just the weight of the engine, most skiffs are designed to pole while level
I have a 18’ boat with 12º and a 70hp. sure more speed is great. I did not want the additional weight, fuel burn, + a larger heaver fuel tank, more to push around on pole, and more draft.
when purchasing a boat I really wanted to stick with the standard technical polling skiff which for me tops out at 70 hp. Now if a 115 weighed the same as a 70 I would have a 115.
Poling skinny flats was my main goal. I first chose the Drake Nomad and later switched it out for the Drake NV. Keeping the power the same but with a little bit more deadrise helped with Biscayne bay chop.
At some point ask yourself if you want a techincal poling skiff or a fast skiff that you can pole. in which case get a 21’ or 22’ with a 200hp+ like an Egret, lake and bay, chittum 21’, 22 ZCB.
On that note look at the ZCB boats websight and compare their 18’ and 22’ foot models to a more standard 18’ technical polling skiff and see what your drawn to. Or just look at those two ZCB hulls, what is the 18’ giving you that the 22 can’t? and Vice versa.
I say if you’re going to get a technical poling skiff then purchase a boat that is built around a push pole, but if you want a skiff that has a push pole go bigger.
Ultimately, I think you’re decision-maker will be on what style of fishing you’re mostly going to do.
If you’re going to be fishing artificial or fly, trying to sneak up on fish, cast to them and watch them eat you will want a technical polling skiff.
If you need to cross large chunks of water in varying weather conditions at speed and when you get to where you are fishing, you’re going to throw a shrimp out and wait for a fish eat it buy a bay Boat that can run 50= MPH
If you did not answered 1 with absoluty yes and 2. you were un-sure of then go back to ZCB and look at the 18 and 22. Not trying to push ZCB on you, but it gives a good example of two very distinct styles of boat that should help make your decision. Especially when you compare them to a Drake NV 70hp or Chittim 70hp.
If i were to move to a 115hp boat i would just move to a larger boat. Thats just me, to each their own.
This is a sticky one so I’ll keep it short and relative to my experience having owned 38 boats.
My EVO17v is 14 degree deadrise. With a 60 Suzuki you can get 42mph max with a 33mph cruise with load at 4400 rpms. It gets around 11mpg at cruise and has a 22 gallon tank. The f70 adds 4mph to these numbers.
My Vantage had a 115Merc with CT. Top speed was 53 with a cruise speed around 40 at 4400 rpm and average load. It got 10mpg at cruise and had a 28 gallon tank.
I could go on and on, but the theme is that you start splitting hairs at some point, with speed. And rarely were the conditions right to fully take advantage.
The EVO17 has been the closest I’ve come to a single skiff solution. Quick, efficient, easy to pole, relatively shallow draft, shallow running draft, dry, stable, comfortable.
@Brandon-Beers spit some sage advice. Ultimately the decision is gonna boil down to you and what you think you’ll be doing with the boat. Personally, I wanted a fast boat that I could poll so that made the decision for me easy. I’ve got an Evo with a 115 and it is nice to cruise at 38 to 40 mph. There are times I wish it was a skinnier boat but for my style of fishing, I’m fine with that compromise. I’m on the troller more anyway. Sounds like you are planning on making longer runs, crossing some open water. It would be hard to pass up at 115 but you gotta do you. You will find plenty of people on both sides of the aisle on this topic.
I’m not going to lie. If I had to cover that much distance every time I fished the speed would matter a whole lot more. I have a 18’9 boat that I will call a flats boat. 13° deadrise and a 115 on the back. And I wouldn’t go any smaller than that. Just as @rovster said, there are times I wish I could get skinnier. There are also times I wish it was a 20 year old CS that didn’t make me cringe when I float over an oyster bed. What I think it comes down to is what draft do you need to fish where you’re going to fish a majority of the time. Then go with the motor that meets that draft to get you there the quickest. Good luck.
Oh and what boat are you looking at? I would wet test and talk with actual owners to get a more accurate draft number than a website. Just so that you are going into this with your eyes fully open.
So I’m coming from a HPX 18 with a 115 hp so I’m no stranger to poling larger skiffs. It poled shallow enough for most of the fishing around here, maybe 10” draft with avg load. Mine topped out around 45mph with regular load but I usually cruised around 35mph. I think the point above about getting the right power for skiff, for balance is key. Definitely don’t want a skiff that squats and issues that come with that.
I’d like to start poling more for chasing perms and tarpon on fly, but will also be use trolling motor when with my daughter. Im looking at the usual 12 degree suspects including, Evo 17 and 18, HPX 17 and 18, Marquesa. Using the HPX 18 as a baseline I’d like to draft under 10” which I assume all of these would be right at.
Is a 50 mile day a lot of miles? I figured that was about average for bay and backcountry fishing. I mean it’s 25 miles to Lostmens from choko. Maybe I’m doing it wrong and should start fishing closer to home haha.
Consider bumping it up to a 19’ original Vantage with a 115 Merc - the Merc is approx a little over 100lbs more than a 70 - that’s a fair amount. You’d have a bigger more open water skiff but still poleable. 115 seems a bit much on a 17 or 18’ skiff?
