jdgator
Senior Member
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Bay Boat: Key West vs Pathfinder vs Other???
- Thread starter ssramage
- Start date
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menhadenman
Senior Member
Man that 19’ Bay Boat looks nice. I fish on a scout with a buddy on the gulf… don’t think they make a smaller bay boat but the sport fish sure looks like it fits the bill.
Scout 195 Sportfish - 19' Sport Fishing Boat
The Scout 195 Sportfish is over 19 feet and offers a vast amount of space onboard for moving around or landing that big catch of the day. Powered by Yamaha.
scoutboats.com
Gator89
Senior Member
Man that 19’ Bay Boat looks nice. I fish on a scout with a buddy on the gulf… don’t think they make a smaller bay boat but the sport fish sure looks like it fits the bill.
Scout 195 Sportfish - 19' Sport Fishing Boat
The Scout 195 Sportfish is over 19 feet and offers a vast amount of space onboard for moving around or landing that big catch of the day. Powered by Yamaha.
Try to get to at least 20 feet for a better ride.
I understand cost is a concern for most of us, but I heard it from folks that make a living on the salt. The longer the boat, the better the ride.
menhadenman
Senior Member
I spent a lot of time in my youth in coastal Carolina gillnetting from a 23’ Jones Brother deep vee. I wasn’t scared of anything in that boat - even had water mid calf at the helm getting nets up in a storm on the Neuse.
Tricky thing for me is there are a lot of smaller lakes up here and once I get into the larger boats it gets a little cumbersome for fishing other places and storage. I’ve got a 21’ Key Largo now, nice boat but I think we’d be better off with a bay boat. Hoping a wider beam offsets the loss of length in terms of capacity.
I’m not sure how rough the lakes get up here but surely it’s nothing compared to the coast.
And you’re right, these days a little more boat gets you to $60k pretty quickly, more than the first three homes I lived in
Lukikus2
Senior Member
But they are nice and roomy! Great fishing platform. My Dad had the 20’ or 22’ Carolina with the deep vee. Perfect for a 6” chop but it would jar every bone in your body if it was higher. I definitely would not go with a tri-hill, only if fishing shallow or inland lakes.
Before you buy research the materials in the manufacturing process. Wood in any boat will rot. If it all composite you will never have to worry about it. Teak is fine though. Mako looks like they still put out good boats.
doomtrpr_z71
Senior Member
No way I'd go from a 21 to 19 no matter the brand
menhadenman
Senior Member
Why do you say that?
It’s a tight squeeze at some of these launches… rivers and shallow reservoirs when the draw down.
I haven’t seen anything more than jet ski wake in these lakes. No fetch and no tides makes it hard to not want a smaller bay boat.
doomtrpr_z71
Senior Member
I've went from a 15 to a 17 to a 18 to a 19.5 and my next boat will be a 22 at minimum preferably a 24 if the market gets more normal. He's wanting to fish around SSI so I'd want a 21 minimum to run out to the near shore reefs. I like having the room and the storage with the smoother ride. Even in South ga I see way worse than jet ski wakes so if that's all you see then I'd say you're lucky.
Darkhorse
Senior Member
In 1983 we went to the Jacksonville boat show with the intent to buy a boat. I wanted to see the Grady Whites among others. We ended up having a 20' walk around cabin built for us by, of all people, Chapparel. The deal we got from Outboard Inc. was just to good to pass up. Plus I didn't really know what I was dong.
Our main thing was fishing Kingfish tournaments and I rigged that boat up with a large round livewell, extra fuel tanks, electric downrigger etc. We fished out over 30 miles on several occasions and that boat handled it all like a champ for over 10 years when we sold it.
It had a wooden transom and wood stringers and when I would add something like a livewell pump, transducer etc. I was very careful to use plenty of marine silicon even coating the screws to try and inhibit water inclusion to that wood. I don't know how long it worked but we never had a problem.
I've been considering another boat and this time it will be all composite, no more wood transoms or stringers for me. I want one that I can fish bays and flats and adding a couple of swivel seats it will double as a bass boat.
For offshore the longer the better with a boat at 27' it really begins to bridge from one wave to the next giving a smoother ride. My brother had a wellcraft 23 coastal that we fished every year out of Marathon Fla. in the gulf stream often over 40 miles out. That was one of the best riding boats I've ever fished out of.
But my requirements now are different. While a 19' boat is small for offshore it can be a handful for one person to load and unload and effectively fish some of the tight places I need to access for my bass fishing.
So deciding on length is a problem I'm still undecided on. I'm thinking 17 to 18'.
I like the Pathfinder better than the Key West but if the KW now is all composite I would reconsider. I also liked the Scouts and almost bought one a few years back.
But honestly there are so many good boats out there I would need to start over. I will order brochures from every boat that interested me and compare them all before I ever visit a dealer.
Our main thing was fishing Kingfish tournaments and I rigged that boat up with a large round livewell, extra fuel tanks, electric downrigger etc. We fished out over 30 miles on several occasions and that boat handled it all like a champ for over 10 years when we sold it.
It had a wooden transom and wood stringers and when I would add something like a livewell pump, transducer etc. I was very careful to use plenty of marine silicon even coating the screws to try and inhibit water inclusion to that wood. I don't know how long it worked but we never had a problem.
I've been considering another boat and this time it will be all composite, no more wood transoms or stringers for me. I want one that I can fish bays and flats and adding a couple of swivel seats it will double as a bass boat.
For offshore the longer the better with a boat at 27' it really begins to bridge from one wave to the next giving a smoother ride. My brother had a wellcraft 23 coastal that we fished every year out of Marathon Fla. in the gulf stream often over 40 miles out. That was one of the best riding boats I've ever fished out of.
But my requirements now are different. While a 19' boat is small for offshore it can be a handful for one person to load and unload and effectively fish some of the tight places I need to access for my bass fishing.
So deciding on length is a problem I'm still undecided on. I'm thinking 17 to 18'.
I like the Pathfinder better than the Key West but if the KW now is all composite I would reconsider. I also liked the Scouts and almost bought one a few years back.
But honestly there are so many good boats out there I would need to start over. I will order brochures from every boat that interested me and compare them all before I ever visit a dealer.
1eyefishing
...just joking, seriously.
Pretty sure key west has never had any wood in them...
Darkhorse
Senior Member
Thats what me and a lot of people thought some years ago when I was serously looking at used boats. Then reports and reviews began showing up about soft floors and transoms. A couple of years later they were all composite or so they said.
You never know. I have a boat right now that was advertised as all composite "No Wood", it's an old boat and needed some repairs at which time I seemed to find an awful lot of wood under that fiberglass. I fixed all I could but only use it for freshwater is ponds and such. No outboard. But a foot controlled motor on the front and a tiller electric on the rear as a backup. I made a skeg for the rear motor that keeps it tracking straight. The main reason I kept it was because it is so stable I can stand on the gunwales and it hardly tips at all.
If I bought a new boat today I would visit the factory and see for myself how they are made. Then I'd know for sure.
You never know. I have a boat right now that was advertised as all composite "No Wood", it's an old boat and needed some repairs at which time I seemed to find an awful lot of wood under that fiberglass. I fixed all I could but only use it for freshwater is ponds and such. No outboard. But a foot controlled motor on the front and a tiller electric on the rear as a backup. I made a skeg for the rear motor that keeps it tracking straight. The main reason I kept it was because it is so stable I can stand on the gunwales and it hardly tips at all.
If I bought a new boat today I would visit the factory and see for myself how they are made. Then I'd know for sure.
menhadenman
Senior Member
I lived out west for over a decade and miss my 21’ hewes craft pro-v (with offshore bracket it was 23’ hull). 150 Honda with an 8 hp kicker. Aluminum boat but my family is mad that I sold it. I’ve had it 30 miles offshore in the Pacific Ocean off Vancouver island with no radar. A true beast with hundreds of large fish bonked on the deck. Even had waves over the roof off neah bay out to swiftsure bank. 48 gallon tank it’d run for days. Crazy to me there’s not a market down here for those kinda boats.
menhadenman
Senior Member
Robust Redhorse
Senior Member
Pathfinder.
You almost always get what you pay for...
You almost always get what you pay for...
ssramage
Senior Member
Two different boat conversations going on here lol.
I'm on SSI. I had a 17' Scout before and will be in the 22-24' range this time. I think menhaden is just chiming in on what he's looking for and has seen.
i'll only say this- three fishermen for a bot less than 22' is asking for trouble IMO... I have a 24' pathfinder and its been awesome. cuts through the chop with absolutely no issues and there's a lot of room on the boat. Gets in and out of almost prop deep water (with a jack plate)
menhadenman
Senior Member
I’m still noodling on the 22 ALK2 and the 19 Key West FS. I understand you all on the coast saying go bigger but here on northern GA lakes I would like something I can get into tighter spots. I checked out some of these other makes online but it’s hard finding a dealer for bay boats in the mountains.
doomtrpr_z71
Senior Member
I'll let you know there is only about 6in difference between my buddy's k2 22 crs and my sc1960sv which is the same size as a 196 key West Bay reef when they are on the trailer.
We've launched the 22crs at what passes for a boat ramp at Shell Island, I don't see how there could be anything in North ga lakes tighter than that.
ssramage
Senior Member
Circling back to my original post, I've narrowed my search down to a few different boats. Hoping to use the long weekend to make some road trips to look. On my list right now are a couple of Pathfinder 2200s, a Sportsman 227, and a Scout Winyah Bay 22'. Layout/fishability wise, I'm still heavily leaning towards PF.
Gator89
Senior Member
Simple. 2 boats, a lake boat and a bay boat.
When you grow up, you can add an offshore boat.
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