Looking for boat ideas

Seanote

Senior Member
I am considering a small skiff for fishing creeks and rivers on the coast. I am considering a Carolina Skiff J16 with a small 4 stroke and trolling motor. Has anyone had any experience with this boat to share. I have heard they ride roughly in a chop, which is expected with a flat bottom skiff. Any thoughts? Thanks.
 

paulito

Senior Member
We have that boat here at work with a 20hp Merc on it. Heavy but very stable boat. The 20 will get it going good with just one person but start adding people or gear and it struggles. We don't need to go anywhere fast though for work so suits us fine. I would say you need at least a 25hp, preferably a 40 to really scoot around.

You can order them how you want them. For work we got ours with the back bench seat only. Not front deck or nothing. If things change you can order the pieces to add back onto the boat. They can/will prewire for lights.

If i buy a personal boat i will likely get one but 18-20 foot to make the wife happy. HA
 

Seanote

Senior Member
I came across the Hobie Power Skiff and similar models by other builders in my searching. Wow, this looks like a great small boat for fishing. I am still leaning towards the J16 because of the room. Thanks Paulito. I think a 40 hp would be a good match.
 

Browning Slayer

Official Voice Of The Dawgs !


I came across the Hobie Power Skiff and similar models by other builders in my searching. Wow, this looks like a great small boat for fishing. I am still leaning towards the J16 because of the room. Thanks Paulito. I think a 40 hp would be a good match.
The J16 is a great boat for what you are looking for. I fished a J16 for 20 years. I've had it powered with a 25 but you'll want the 40. The 25 will work fine until you add weight in the boat and it will struggle getting on plane. Go with the 40hp. Below is the J16 powered with a Yamaha 40hp 4 stroke. She will scream! We've got 31mph out of here and that's quick. It will ride rough in chop. Slow down and you'll be fine. I've taken this boat across the country, fished the Gulf and Atlantic inshore more times then I could shake a stick at. It's also a great river boat! It has a MinnKota Terrova 55lb thrust that will pull the boat up stream in the Hooch tailwaters and a Helix7. It is a fishing machine and one I've used on Lanier more times then I can count.

You won't be disappointed with it.

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J16 is a great boat for what it does. I have the J14 with a 30hp Tohatsu 2 stroke on it will do 30mph with just me in it. It is a great boat for a one man boat, can launch anywhere that you can get the trailer in 6 inches or water. I will put my wife and my 2 and 4 year olds in it and will still do about 24 mph. It does alright in a chop with everybody in, but not near as good with just me in it. Don't let the skiff type hull fool you. Just depends on the weight in it.

With a lot of weight or say, 500 lbs of person in it, I'd go with a 17 - 19 ft.

I have mine as a tiller, pull start, just replaced the battery with a $200 Amazon lithium 16lb battery and that made a big difference. I have smart tabs, which help with the weight distribution.

Mine is mostly fishing the bays in some heavy chops and it is dry and does great. Kids will fall asleep on long runs through heavy chop.

When my kids get bigger, I might replace it with a bigger boat, but will be another skiff. Don't need a V hull, just need a boat that has enough hp and weight displacement to keep it high up on plane and it will do fine in rough water.
 

Seanote

Senior Member
I just bought a J16 with a 20HP Nissan 4 stroke, trolling motor, and depth/gps. I took it out for the maiden voyage today. I was warned that a 20 would be under powered, but I couldn't pass this one by. It does 22 with me alone and 20 with another person on board. This is as fast as I need to go in this hull, so I am satisfied with the 20. I was pleasantly surprised with the ride. I rode out to the jetties in the Savannah shipping channel in calm seas. It took the wind chop very well. I burned about 1 1/2 gallons of petrol today! I will probably catch more fish in this boat than my 19 footer.
 

ribber

Senior Member
J16 is a great boat for what it does. I have the J14 with a 30hp Tohatsu 2 stroke on it will do 30mph with just me in it. It is a great boat for a one man boat, can launch anywhere that you can get the trailer in 6 inches or water. I will put my wife and my 2 and 4 year olds in it and will still do about 24 mph. It does alright in a chop with everybody in, but not near as good with just me in it. Don't let the skiff type hull fool you. Just depends on the weight in it.

With a lot of weight or say, 500 lbs of person in it, I'd go with a 17 - 19 ft.

I have mine as a tiller, pull start, just replaced the battery with a $200 Amazon lithium 16lb battery and that made a big difference. I have smart tabs, which help with the weight distribution.

Mine is mostly fishing the bays in some heavy chops and it is dry and does great. Kids will fall asleep on long runs through heavy chop.

When my kids get bigger, I might replace it with a bigger boat, but will be another skiff. Don't need a V hull, just need a boat that has enough hp and weight displacement to keep it high up on plane and it will do fine in rough water.

Tell me more about this Amazon lithium battery??
 
ribber, search amazon:
12V 16Ah Deep Cycle LiFePO4 Battery, 2000 Cycles Miady LFP16AH Rechargeable Battery
I see they raised the price $5, but still worth it. I bought 4 of them and wired them together to give you 48ah, which is pretty close to a standard group 24. You have to solder (or crimp, but I always solder) 4 batteries together in parallel. I hot glued the 4 batteries together.
It is plenty of power for my boat, running a 55lb trolling motor, Garmin GPS, Raymarine sonar, and bilge pump. Really like that the voltage stays close to 13V even when under load.
I charge it with a 4amp $20 charger from Amazon, works great. Will charge a half dead battery in about 4-5 hours.
 

WayneB

Senior Member
please watch this video, it has some information that you should be aware of.
Overcharging these batteries can lead to thermal runaway and loss of your boat, and wherever you store it.
 

Seanote

Senior Member
I have a lithium battery and it can with a battery control system that does not allow for overcharging. Or so they say. We will see. I am thing about adding another for increased run time. Mine is an AH30.
 
Watched the video and let me say do not charge lithium batteries with a regulated power supply. Always use a specific battery charger designed for your battery. Chargers are like $20. Overcharging lithium batteries will greatly reduce the life. Sure, you can do like the guy in the video and let the battery management system cut it off for you, but that is not what it is for. The system is for safety to prevent guys like in the video from burning up your battery. Yeah, I know these batteries are overstated for their capacity, but only like 10% (you can read the numerous Amazon reviews and see similar tests). Now days, lithium is pretty safe if you do it correctly and they should last 8+ years. I've only had mine a year, so time will tell if its a good deal. Really, I went lithium for the weight savings - makes a huge difference in a small jon boat.
 
I will add that the correct charger will charge until a certain voltage and turn off, therefore never overcharging. Also, it steps down the current as it gets close to this threshold voltage. Lithium batteries are actually really easy to charge.
 

Browning Slayer

Official Voice Of The Dawgs !
I just bought a J16 with a 20HP Nissan 4 stroke, trolling motor, and depth/gps. I took it out for the maiden voyage today. I was warned that a 20 would be under powered, but I couldn't pass this one by. It does 22 with me alone and 20 with another person on board. This is as fast as I need to go in this hull, so I am satisfied with the 20. I was pleasantly surprised with the ride. I rode out to the jetties in the Savannah shipping channel in calm seas. It took the wind chop very well. I burned about 1 1/2 gallons of petrol today! I will probably catch more fish in this boat than my 19 footer.
Congrats on your purchase!
 

redneck_billcollector

Purveyor Of Fine Spirits
I use a Beavertail B1 which was basically a Hells Bay Waterman hull splash. They got sued over that and only a few hulls were made. The first photo is of that skiff. If you are wanting to get up on the flats and fish the flood tide you are going to want a technical poling skiff. There are a number of good choices out there, it just depends on what all you are planning on doing. If you can find an East Cape Gladesman, which I am looking for now, they sell for under 10k typically around 7.5 or 8 depending on how they are powered, they are great for tidal creeks and fishing the flooded flats. I have fished out of Carolina Skiffs, and they not only run rough, but run wet in my experience. My poling skiff actually runs smoother and drier than the Carolina Skiff I fished out of once. Another choice, if you can find one, is an old Dolphin Backcountry 16, they will not get as shallow as my B1 but they give you are dry, smooth ride when it is choppy. I have one, a 1984 model which I use largely for beach tarpon fishing or fishing the bays on those days that have a lot of wind to whip up white caps. The picture with one of my fishing buddies is the Dolphin. The Dolphin mold was originally made for a racing boat, and it will get up and go with the 115 2 stroke on it (hit 50 before backing down on GPS before with two people). I pretty much fly fish exclusively when I fish inshore, and if you are fishing the GA coast and take up fly fishing, you will want a boat to get up on the flats during a flood tide to fish for tailing reds. My skiffs are for fly fishing, and you might not need what I require, however, they make excellent traditional fishing platforms also. (I do have trolling motors for both, which have quick detach pucks, but I seldom use the one for my B1) BTW I follow like your posts in the GA Coastal Forum and I believe you would be very happy with a poling skiff. They will get you just about everywhere a kayak will and most of them can handle the waters you are going to encounter. My B1 will pole in 5 inches of water and I am told the Gladesman is a true 4 inch boat.....basically if a fish can get in there, these boats can too. People use poling skiffs to hunt marsh hens too, if that tells you anything. 90369249_10212792460845299_553927936529399808_n(1).jpg10628317_10201618131854058_4602279932076134559_n.jpg
 
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Hit-n-Miss

Senior Member
Find a used K16 Sundance will ride drier and better than the J16 Carolina. I had one for years great little boat. Had a 25 on mine but can take a 40hp.
 
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