Hi all,

I have a lot of experience with freshwater fishing/ski/wake boats, but next to nothing with respect to west coast saltwater fishing boats. I have notice a lot of different styles and makes when fishing on Vancouver Island and often wondered what a good family fishing boat would be out there? We have been thinking about getting a new boat next year and I wondered if it would be possible to get something equally at home on the west coast as it would be on freshwater lakes. Is there a boat that would be capable to take the family fishing out on the west coast but also be at home pulling the kids for watersports or would it compromise too much either way?

I noticed a lot of Hewescraft out there but I know next to nothing about them, what their competitors are, or how they all stack up. Anyone care to educate me?

SS

I have a Hewescraft ProV with the extended transom.
Its my second one, bigger then the first. Nothing wrong with the first one.

It's darn confidence inspiring to be sure. Much louder hitting waves then fiberglass, but then I can beach it in the sandy shore which I cannot with a fiberglass boat.

Hewescraft have kind of become the standard where there are better ( more expensive) and lower price and quality out there. Northwest Jet boats or Duckworth might be the higher end of similar design. However they are usually 30-50% more and also usually require more HP for the same length due to the additional heavier weight aluminum. I'm getting 6 MPG with a Yamaha 115hp that can get me to upper 30's mph at 4500 RPM

I'm not sure I want the heavier boat which require a 150HP and drops my MPG even lower for the same speed.

My Hewescraft is a perfect boat for me. I would buy it again if something happened to this one. High quality, well laid out and engineered, everything worked without a single warranty claim twice now.

There are things that in my opinion should have been factory available that I installed or modified afterward, but that is often a personal choice too.

One other thought. If you cruise around rough waves now and then, attention to the hull design is critical. Some of these higher end welded Aluminum boats are very river design heavy which means a more flat bottom. In the salt a V is far preferable.

My first Hewescraft was the Sportsman which is a lake and river shallow V

This New one the ProV is a hybrid of sorts. The ability in the ocean to deal with the wake of other boats and the rough water is night and day better. would not change a thing as far as this goes. We woke up in the shallows of the columbia river one morning after sleeping on the boat. The Prop was in the mud. They adjusted the water height over night with the Dam.

I lifted the motor and went over board standing next the the boat it was less then Mid Shin deep! I was able to push the floating boat to deeper water. I Was quite impressed that this big heavy boat could float in 10-12" of water with my family and the gear in side!

Thanks JJ. I would be looking at the deep V style boats as we fish some larger freshwater lakes. As a family man, do your kids ever do watersports behind the boat? Ski, tube, wakeboard, etc?

I also noticed that most of the Hewescraft boats have less HP than I would have expected. 115-150 seem pretty common. Is that just for mileage? I like the extended transom option. It seems like a good space to climb into the boat from the water, keep a cooler, and have a little more room in the boat.

SS

Here is a thread that here at the Hewescraft owners forum that talks about the boats.

http://www.hewescraftowners.com/HCO/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1949&p=13402&hilit=JJHACK#p13402

The cooler on the transom looks like a good idea. In practice though with an outboard it's not a realistic idea. With the motor turning there is no good space for the cooler. However there is a new Yeti Cooler that is like a huge duffle bag. that one is perfect for the transom.

The Transom for me is brilliant for many reasons. For starters it creates the space for the giant Live well and what becomes a work table to get fishing things done. Baiting and setting up gear. It's also lockable so if you leave the boat on the dock over night it's a huge space for lockable storage.

It's very easy to board and exit the boat when in the water. The swim ladder folds down and allows easy retrieval of the folks swimming. I had a 6 year old with a life jacket jumping in and climbing back onto the transom with the swim ladder. The Big one for me is the splash back when decelerating. With a wet transom all that water fills into the back. With the solid wall and extended transom you will never get that water in.

The Transom is also out of the water by 4-5 inches. I keep a 5 gallon bucket there for bait and for the emergency needs of anyone needing an emergency bio break! It's tied off to the grab bar. I have run up river for miles and set up to fish, only then noticing that I have set items on the transom and forgot to get them into the boat.

At 15-30 MPH for miles going up river the gear was still sitting there, and still dry! That's amazing! A unique design to the extended transom with the Hewes, is that it's part of the bottom of the boat and a completely sealed buoyant part of the boat. It's not a shelf, its a full length sealed part of the hull. All the bilge and wash down pumps are under there. It's usable space for both my batteries on board charger,and the Live well pump. Plus I have two spare props, and a 50 foot section of Hose for washing down with fresh water at the dock. This extended transom is a brilliant design compared to just having a Big shelf sticking out the back without the additional buoyancy and the storage area.

For water sports, I never used it for Skiing, only for those big float rafts and an inflatable raft. It's worked as well as I hoped, but I am the most paranoid guy ever with a prop and a kid in the water at the same time. The swim ladder and the transom are mandatory for this in my opinion.

Here are some photo's from the last week.

Here is the lift for the boats at the marina. They don't use a ramp, they have a lift which although time consuming and a fee is needed. It is actually nice to keep the trailer out of the salt water!

The Tower over my soft top is something I added. I have four powerful Marine LED lights and a " Golite" 360 degree remote spotlight up there. The Rod holders are priceless. Getting the rods out of the boat and the landing net on the side holder is the only way to go.




As you can see the transom helps as a table and shows the live well lid

Species you don't run into on the inland rivers or inland lakes!



Some little sharks that make for great crab bait after the filets are off.

The Transom does pack the crab traps nice as long as the motor is not tilted up. It's rare to need to tilt that motor out. I have had weeds in the intake a couple times, but that is pretty rare.

Thanks JJ. That looks like a good time waiting to happen!

SS

First thing I would do is decide if I am intending to fish the west coast (outside) or east coast of the island, and where. Big difference between being several miles offshore off Tofino or Nootka Sound and fishing "the inside" off Qualicum Beach or Campbell River.

Aluminum is very popular in the PNW. Get down in Cali and not as much.

Check out Allied Boats in Bremerton WA if you are looking at metal. I like some of their features compared to other popular tin boats.

As to power, it seems in Florida everything is overpowered and up here everything is equally under powered!

New guys on the river go for the HP, After you hit floating logs, stumps and piles of branches floating down steam you realize you only need enough to get you comfortably going against the current.

I too had a lot of HP on my first Hewescraft boat. Found that once I " grew up" and realized that the amount of fuel it sucked up as well as the danger of hitting floating debris in the river at high speed, normal HP that gets you to mid 30's or low 40's MPH is plenty.

My buddy in Florida can go 90 in his boat. On the flats there is minimal debris and the water is often mirror smooth. It scares the hell out of me. If you open your mouth at 60 plus the air will inflate your cheeks!

In Ca, I have not seen many guys trying to fish fast moving rivers that go for miles inland. They are typically always in the salt, or with their boat in the river. I'm not sure they have the dual purpose needs? I think thats why the PNW folks do the aluminum. Many guys fish both 100-300 mile long rivers ( columbia for example) and then they do the sea as well although not typically out in the deep blue miles from shore.

In Alaska we always had Aluminum because we could beach the boats in the sand along the shore. Fiberglass does not play well beaching on sand and gravel.

BTW, our aluminum boats in AK were so dented, scraped, and bent up after years of use. Unbelievable the beating they can take and we still keep fishing and hunting from them

I bought a custom weld offshore just for West shore vancover island puget sound and Columbia River... Love the setup but work doesn't let me use it much, it hasn't been started in 3 years. What a shame...

Priorities dude!

I fall into that trap at times with things to do on my farm. However even if I do them all more just seem to pile up.

You need to take a break and enjoy your life before you're looking back and wishing!

I hear ya that's why I bought the boat in the first place...I guess I should sell it and go to Africa with you.....

Well it's a tough choice but I can help with the latter very well.

You inspired me .....my son is working on a new battery and gas ...if I can get this job done in Montana. We will have the rest of sept to fish before I go back to the farm......

Though these are wood and typically owner built, the Tolman skiff represents a wholesome type of family/fishing boat well suited to the pacific nw.
http://www.tolmanskiffs.com/

[img]http://www.woodenboat.com/sites/def...ngs/417_Enstad_A_04_09.jpg?itok=sXeFVIo_[/img]

Similar to a New England bass boat in many ways. To spend a day out on the water with family, you'll want at least a place for a PortaPotty, a cuddy to stow your gear, and a windshield to protect yourself from wind and spray.

Besides fishing, a lot of recreation out on the coast is pulling shrimp and crab pots, and beaching in remote and interesting places. Aluminum takes away the pain and shame of knocking gelcoat off of fiberglass, although judging from the paint and graphics and sharkhide offered by tin boat makers (and therefore demanded by customers), most owners of new tin boats are possessed of an OCD need to keep their new toys immaculate. Whatever.

It is enlightening to consider the pedigree of tin boats marketed for ocean use. Hewes along with basically all of the other guys who started out by making river boats, are still stuck on using extrusions for various hull structural features, and plywood for decks. Cue the birds: cheap, cheap cheapcheapcheap... North River bought out Almar, who brought a couple decades of government-contracted offshore saltwater boat construction to the table, and NR now arguably sets the standard for offshore aluminum boats.

There are many other outfits on the coast making semi-custom and custom aluminum saltwater boats: you'll find them all over the pacific NW and BC. Most or all of them are focused on saltwater, and as such you don't see extrusions or 6061 shapes on the hull or in the bilge; rather you see lots of welded and bent marine-grade 50XX plate. Compare these against the WA/OR/ID riverboat builders, look under the hood a bit, and you will see a difference in quality.

I owned an 26' hewes and currently own a 28' almar; there is no comparing the two from a seakeeping and construction standpoint, but for most uses the hewes is good enough. The almar is a battleship in big water.

For a tin boat, new/shiny/cheap counts a lot less than quality with good wiring and newer 4-stroke outboard power. Keep your eyes open, get a ragged out 24' almar sounder with a big block inboard jet (there was one on craigslist nearly all of last summer located in Michigan, that kept dropping in price until it was listed at about $15k), pull and sell the engine and jet drive, have a local fabricator fill the jet hole and build a hull extension outboard bracket between the trim tabs, mount a new 250 honda, redo the wiring and equip with radar/sounder/plotter/vhf of choice, and go kill fish, for 1/2 what you'd pay for a new 24' hewes.

Northriver/Almar makes one hell of a boat. Saltwater boats with 1/4" hulls require horsepower. Not all "saltwater" boats are created equal, and if it "goes" with minimal HP, there is a reason for that. I personally like Pacific Boats, but I could go the Northriver/Almar route very easily. The waterfall fleet has an older fleet of Almar boats. Those boys push those boats to the limit.

Hi Sam,

I will second the Hewescraft vote. I've had a Searunner for years, and really like it. The Hewes is not as nice as a North River or Wooldridge, but is well made, sturdy, and much more reasonably priced. From my experience, I see more wealthy, older guys without kids in the fancier boats (i.e. not me!). Think about what capability you really need. It's kind of like the guy who buys a 1 ton diesel to go to the grocery store and Cabelas. Do you need/can you afford a 1 Ton Dodge Cummins diesel, or will a 1/2 Ton Toyota Tundra work for you? For me, Hewescraft = Toyota.

Mine is used mostly for fishing and crabbing, and also plays double duty with 3 teenagers and friends skiing and tubing on rivers and lakes. Aluminum is the way to go IMO in the PNW. It's great to beach the boat for island camping and cooking up the days catch.

As already discussed, a deep V hull is the ticket for rough water. The same goes for good suspension seats - your back will thank you.

You'll probably want to be in the 18' to 22' range size wise, depending on the size of your family. Mine is an 18' with 90HP, which is plenty for me and uses gas sparingly.

If it will be kept on a trailer, a bare aluminum boat has a lot going for it, except the ride in rough going.

Another thought, the extended transom on the Hewes 18ft boat has more inside space then the 20 foot with the wet transom. So you are getting a lot more space even though it's 2' shorter ( in theory) you also get the transom platform with a swim ladder to get in and out, as well as storage for things you don't want inside the boat. Like crab traps, buckets, bumpers, and even an ice chest of some sort.

I never owned an extended transom boat before. With this one I would never own one without an extended transom again! It's especially nice with a fast deceleration and no chance of water coming in over the stern wall/ motor mount. Leaning into it with your thighs while fighting big fish is an added benefit I never imagined as well.

Look at the use of space and the extended transom option close before you choose. Hewes has some very clever designs to use the most of it's space.

Xtraero Boats makes a really nice looking ride.

Their shop is across the street from one of our warehouses. Wandered in one day and am impressed with their boats. Not the typical stretched river sled with a pilot house slapped on.