Cold. Water gets down to 45/46, wind is decent before/during storms, at least in my hood. Looking to finally purchase a foil setup and spend winter frolicking in the cold.
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Show us your POWERBOATS
- Thread starter GromsDad
- Start date
They are tough. Heavy and unwieldy too. The motor got swamped. I don’t know the kid but I do know his dad, who probably has his huarache stuck up the kid’s culo right now. They are a different operating experience than anything I’ve ever been in.
Anybody have experience with a Solo Skiff? I've been kicking around upgrading from my strict paddle kayaks to one with a pedal system, but the price, setup time, weight, and issues with beach launching keep deterring me with only moderate upgrade in performance once on the water.
I happen to have a small outboard at my disposal and the idea of the Solo Skiff is starting to warm on me considering how many miles I typically do under manual propulsion and when I do fish I tend to go for hours (would still use the manual kayaks for short missions).
I happen to have a small outboard at my disposal and the idea of the Solo Skiff is starting to warm on me considering how many miles I typically do under manual propulsion and when I do fish I tend to go for hours (would still use the manual kayaks for short missions).
I had been considering one a few years ago because there is a Kayak launch a short walk from my house. Even called the local dealer ready to buy. When I did the dealer told me he was out of them and wasn't bringing them back because they had been a disaster. Apparently, they didn't have the rotomolding process quite right and there were a lot of failures. I've followed the guy who designed them on FB and know that he's spent a couple of years now on a redesign, new molds and a new company to make the boats. I think they've just started production again.
I've been giving some serious thought to selling my Mako and getting one of these little rigs. The first is a Towee and the second a Gheeno LT25 and the bottom one a SouthDade Skiff.
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Good info, thanks. I was drawn to the Solo Skiff hoping to avoid the trailer and instead do the pickup-with-bed-extender. I see Great Bay Outfitters down in Little Egg Harbor (where I work) as a dealer; was that your contact? Maybe I'll swing by there and strike up a conversation with the owner.
I've seen the Gheenoe's before (There are a few for sale on Marketplace, FYI), definitely like the concept. Might go for something like that in the future.
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@hackeysaky It was a different dealer in Tuckerton at the time. It was just last spring that they made the first prototypes with the new molds and new manufacturer. I know he's put a lot of time, money and effort into getting it right the second time around. The new ones should be fine. I'd just steer clear of the older ones.
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check out this local San Diego guy. He has gone places you’d never think were possible on a solo skiff:
We had her built in Rhode Island in 1988 and she has been our faithful rig for the past 35+ years. She is being prepped now for an over road cross country trip to California. Once in California we will modernize and redo all vital systems and shake her down before continuing the journey to the South Pacific.
Whoops - some better details. She is Blackwatch 30 express powered by twin Cummins.
My family has been active with the NMFS Councils and the no kill on Atlantic makos will hopefully prove to be a good step for the fishery. Better to let the big girls swim free.
My family has been active with the NMFS Councils and the no kill on Atlantic makos will hopefully prove to be a good step for the fishery. Better to let the big girls swim free.
My buddy's dad had one of those. Not sure what ever happened to it - it was purchased as a dealer's and it spent years if not decades on stilts. Sweet rig.
No but you said beach launch and I'd be leery of that. In Florida those get used as backcountry shallow water exploration devices. You can drag them over berms and through mud to access tarpon holes and whatnot, and they're fine on our generally narrow/sheltered lagoons where only a couple degrees of wind direction have any real fetch.
I rolled a kayak last time I went lobstering and that was about an hour and a half into a summer seabreeze. Not a light breath but for sure not truly windy.
I have two kayaks that I fish from. Was pretty into it about 10 years ago. Have to be really careful about conditions. Groundswell and boat wakes I actually find more unsettling than random choppy conditions. Coming off the back side of a groundswell while fishing in particular can really throw you off balance. Guessing the SoloSkiff would be similar and perhaps even worse due to higher center of gravity.
I'd only consider doing that out front on flat to super small (1-1.5' short period wind-bump)- the conditions I'd usually be out on the yak in anyway (but once out there a lot of time is spent chasing down quick-moving pelagics). I'm pretty sure equipped with an outboard it would out-run our weak east-coast conditions coming in. That is until some Nosey Nancy reports me for daring to launch from the beach/having too much fun.
Most of it would be back-bay use.
heyyyyy socal powerboat people..i know of a couple paddle races that people DEARLY need boat escorts...if you'd ever consider...please shoot me a PM