Home Forums Fishing Saltwater Boat for saltwater and freshwater use

I am thinking about getting a boat that would be primarily used for fresh water fishing, but would like to be able to take it down to the flats for some salt water fishing. I figure it would be better to get a boat intended for saltwater and use it in freshwater as opposed to the other way around. Any suggestions

I have hewes red fisher 16 ft that I use for the same kind of set-up.

I'd look at different flats boats and see what you like. They are basically bass boats set-up for saltwater.

Cheaper than a flats boat would be a heavy gauge jon boat. I use one of them or duck hunting, crabbing, and am setting it up for floundering too.

I just bought a Sea Ark 2072 center console. I intend to use it for both. I've no experience with saltwater but I have friends who do that say it will do fine for me.

The flavor of the water is not the important consideration. Rather, consider more the shape of the water's surface first, then the depth of the water you plan to run. Generally, big water means bigger boats, although good naval design in even a smaller boat can make it seaworthy.

http://workskiff.com/models/utility/

I've had the 19' M series skiff these guys produce. It's 5086 aluminum, nothing lighter than 3/16" anywhere, 1/4" bottom. It's been a perfect boat for my uses doing a lot of coastal running. It has a 13º vee bottom which means it requires more gas (90 hp Honda for the past 12 seasons). That's one negative. The other con is running through river delta and similar river shallows, flat bottom would then be advantageous. But the vee really helps when you get into some rough, and the design is such that it has shed everything I've pointed it at. I sometimes wish it was just a bit bigger, but the 19 is effective while being affordable. I'd love to run it on freshwater lakes if I ever get the chance.



We see quite a few Sea Arks for near-shore use on the norther coast. They seem to be plenty tough and handle water pretty well.

Agree that a flats boat would be a perfect bass boat. If open water is in the mix they will be horrible and I would go with a "bay" boat. Bay boats typically have higher gunwales and have a little more capability to handle the chop.

Any boat you own will be a compromise at some point.
Especially if you intend using it for other than it was designed
for. I lived in the keys for more than 10 years. Flats skiffs
there appear to be given away free. Ive been 20 plus miles offshore on the humps fishing next to 16' flats skiffs. But those
days were few. I now live in Vero Beach and i have close access to both fresh and saltwater fishing. Lake Ocachobie for example
is an hour drive. The massive Indian River lagoon is within minits to a launch ramp. Make up your mind that any large body
of water wether fresh or salt can become rough and even dangerous
within minits. common sence can be more important than the shape
and size of your boat. In my opinion for what youve(described)
here a flats skiff would be a good choice. BUT,and its a big but
dont be thinking about sneaking thru an inlet because its a nice
flat day. Because when the tide changes its a whole different story. My current boat is a 17' Key West sportsman center console. I can run it in less than a foot of water with the 90
horse motor tilted. I also have a bow mount electric. It has slightly higher sides than the same companies bay version. I do on occaision run thru the inlets and fish the ocean side. For me for what i do its (close)to perfect. But last week i spent 2 days at Mosquito Lagoon and at times was wishing for a small flats skiff with a jack plate.

Salt is no biggie, unless you're lazy, then it'll cost you quickly and dearly.

In the same vein as yobuck, a 17' Boston Whaler Montauk can do a lot of things well. Great fishing layout for a 17'er. They float shallow but also have decent gunnel height for less than flat water.

If i could have found a nice one id probably be running one.
Down side for some (not me)would be weight and poling ability.

I grew up on the Gulf coast (flats and off shore) in FL and now live on a large lake in NC. My boat is a 22' Bay Boat with trolling motor. It works well in both waters. There are dozens of manufacturers of these boats. Hit goggle for Bay Boats and pick your poison. New boat prices can be pretty astounding these days but good used Bay boats still in excellent shape can be found for reasonable prices. I would suggest you look in the 19 to 22 ft ranges. Draft of 12 to 18 inches to get you into the tidal creeks comfortably for speckled trout and redfish and with the right side height and overall construction, you can range quit a way off shore on good weather/sea days.

All boats are a compromise. One that will run shallow will have a hard time off shore. I've been 20 miles off shore at Galveston and run in to a Bass Traker. I was in my 22 whaler and was nervous. People do dumb things.
I stated with a
1. 17 Montauk
2. 20 Rabollo
3. 22 Whaler
4. 19 Whaler ( low pro)
They all met my needs at the time I owned them. Hasbeen

Well i think foam floatation sometimes contributes to that.
The opinion being your safer on a 16 footer that wont sink as
opposed to being on a 30 footer that will.
Loran is what opened the door to the northeast caynons for loads
of fishermen. Companies like Whaler and Grady White furnished
the needed sequrity.

A boat around 22' would be about right for both fresh and salt water. Perhaps something with a cuddy for a head and a place to stow your gear.

Now thats a real classic beauty that would be best used at a large freshwater estate and stored in a nice boat house.
Thousand islands N Y area comes to my mind.
But nice as it is its far from what the op is looking for.

I'm thinking it would be pretty hard to run trot lines (fresh water fishing) or use a trolling motor to fish bream beds or get to bass through flooded timber or work shallow bays for reds with that. Be nice for trolling for stripers though.

Also pretty hard to car-top, paddle, row or portage.

But a safe, comfortable boat for salt water.

I ran a 18' Carolina skiff with a 40hp Yamaha for around 12 years. Fished a lot in northeast Florida and all the rivers and lakes around here in TN. Lobstered and fished from it in the keys and ran it ten miles plus in the gulf if the weather wasn't bad.

It was a great all around boat-you can't get everything in just one. This was close. If I ever boat up again I'd go in that direction, maybe a bit bigger in both boat and power. It would be powered by a Yamaha without a doubt.

I too pondered this same question when researching hulls for my new charter boat...went with a Carolina Skiff 238 DLV.

handles the walleye waters here in Michigan and will work equally well when I return to my home state of Florida...





Added some good Humminbird electronics and the fish are in trouble now!



Had her out on Saginaw Bay a few days this week......fresh walleye for dinner!

Yamaha f150 fourstroke outboard pops her up on plane in 3 seconds and I can cruise at 20 mph at 3,000 rpms....talk about a very efficient fuel burn! Installed a Motor Guide Xi5 105# 36V with GPS up front and it handles this boat extremely well!

I think they must be giving those things away someplace also lol. Yours is a little bigger than most of the regular Carolina
skiffs i see and some like yours are set up really nice.

Grady White, nuff said.

Well thats sorta like saying a Peterbuilt is the best truck.
And it very well might be.
Unless like the op you only need a 1/2 ton pickup.

It comes down to your budget, and don't forget the 80/20 rule, select the boat that is best for 80% of your use, not 20% of your use. When you say freshwater use I presume that means lakes, not rivers. A skinny water river boat is not a good choice for the salt, neither is a saltwater boat a good choice for the shallow rivers.

A 20' aluminum skiff with a 50-90 horse outboard and either center console or tiller steer is going to an incredibly versatile boat for fresh and saltwater without completely killing ones budget.



Beyond that creature comforts are nice but add up quickly. I'm a glutton for punishment so decided to build my own boat.

Hard to beat a Yamaha.

.. or a Honda outboard.

After 13 years, I finally have my 90 Honda quite well taken apart. For over 20 years I have put my boat in the water each spring and taken it out 4-5 months later. It stays in the water (ocean) all season. So, that Honda motor has over 4-5 years worth of soak time in the salt. The boat swamped several years ago which put the motor in water lapping the lower edges of the engine cover. Unbeknownst to me, a cup or two of water found its way into a mid-section area where the flywheel resides and was trapped there. That water has finally started causing a few problems including corroding the flywheel and ruin a couple of seals. In taking this motor apart I have had no problems with frozen or broken bolts. Everything has come apart easily, at least all have except for the six bolts holding the flywheel to the crankshaft. There was so much corrosion on the flywheel and bolts that I could not be sure whether the heads were six point or twelve. They looked impossible and my initial thought was to weld new nuts to the bolt heads so that I would have something by which to grip them. After talking to a dealer mechanic however and hearing those bolts generally need the encouragement of a stout impact wrench, I decide that the rusty condition would probably make that situation even worse. So I ground one head off in the hope that perhaps I’d be able to tell how much of a challenge I was up against. When the head became thin, the spinning grinder simply turned the bolt out, the shank and threads being absolutely pristine. So I ground another. Same deal. And the rest followed in the same way.

I am absolutely impressed with the materials and design effort that Honda puts into their motors. Power-wise, they might be a bit more conservative than some others, but they get good fuel efficiency, and the machines are very well constructed. That isn’t said to take anything away from Yamaha. They are the more popular motor in these parts, but there are dealers that sell both. They each have their pros and cons, but Honda certainly builds a good marine product as well.

FWIW, up to this point, I’ve replaced a few sets of plugs (because you’re supposed to), I replace the fuel filter every couple of years (though I have a better primary filter mounted on the boat), I change the oil (and oil filter; I use Fram filters for the Civic) once a year or every 100 hours as specified, I replace props once in awhile, I bent a prop shaft and had to have the lower unit rebuilt/ shaft straightened, and I had to change the starter which was ruined due to the trapped moisture in the midsection. IOW, I have not had to do anything other than maintain for wear and tear and deal with problems related to my own blunders. This motor owes me nothing but the power head seems to run like new yet so I’m planning to repair and keep on running it for a bit longer.