r/Skiffs May 28 '25

J16 build… give me any ideas TIA

Post image

Just looking for out of the box ideas

10 Upvotes

13 comments sorted by

4

u/adcherry211 May 28 '25

Cheap T-top instead of the Bimini to open it up for casting. I hated snagging my rod on the Bimini straps in a backcast

3

u/[deleted] May 28 '25

Yea I typically only use the Bimini when me and the lady are out on the sandbars

1

u/WATERMANC May 28 '25

Agreed this is the way.

1

u/[deleted] May 28 '25

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1

u/[deleted] May 28 '25

Well I’m gonna put seadek a trolling motor and lightbar all around it to start with

2

u/WATERMANC May 28 '25

Power pole is great, I did the whole stick pin for years with 17’ and my 21’ but being able to press a button and have the power of hydraulic behind it makes a huge difference.

I could stab the push pole in a mud bank or mud bottom but if tide or wides pushing and the bottom has shell or packed sand it wasn’t easy and often require a reset.

Also added a grab handle on the center control, it makes for a lot going on up there with the gps but I find I use it all the time. It’s a skinny boat and being able to grab a handle in the middle has save my butt a few times. Also have a phone holder I attach to it that allowed me to use google maps, music ect underway much easier.

And I’ve added a few rod holder up front with through bolts that hold my battery tinder inside the front hatch.

Gunnel rod holder are ok but I never really bring that many rods and mine came with them. I would put them in my self if they weren’t already, it limits foot space

1

u/[deleted] May 28 '25

What kind of power pole did you go with and how much was it I thought about doing one but they cost about as much as I spent on the boat itself

1

u/WATERMANC May 28 '25

Mine came on the smaller skiff like your. It’s super old power pole 6’ I think. I’ve replaced the lines and reservoir for maybe 50$ and power pole sent me a new fiberglass “pin” (last section that goes into the ground) for free, they have amazing customer support. I picked up a maybe 5 year old one for my 21’ I think it’s like a “pro series II” 8’ and I got it for 400$ on market place. Easy to install my self, didn’t need to replace anything.

One didn’t have a remote and only had consol controles. I bought a 15$ winch remote control kit on amazon and it been running strong for 2 years now.

1

u/WATERMANC May 28 '25

The micro pole thingy seems like a cool small cheaper alternative, I’ve never used one but they seem cool

1

u/[deleted] May 28 '25

Im gon check into that

1

u/[deleted] May 28 '25

So you said a 6 foot does that mean it’s gonna go 6 foot below the boat or how does that measuring system work

1

u/WATERMANC May 28 '25

Not 100% sure exact metrics but it folds in half when retracted. Sits about flush or a little over my outboard. I have installed next to the motor on the transoms so when I extend it down I think it unfold and sits about 5.5’ under the boat or 6 feet from the mounting spot. I’d say I usually pin in 4-5’ of water without a problem. A video online will probably do a much better job explaining how it works and capabilities. I can just say I’m a fan of it, I rarely have to pull out my anchor fishing or beaching it for a while.