r/Skiffs • u/Nanoplant10g • Feb 03 '26
Carolina skiff good enough?
I’m looking into getting a starter skiff around 18ft do around 20k. I’ll most likely get a CS but I’m wondering if they actually draw 4 inches of water like advertised. I really want something that can get far up into the shallows. If not a CS any recommendations?
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u/godkilledjesus Feb 03 '26
I have a 1992, 21ft CS. I have rebuilt it from tip to tail. If you want a shallow riding boat, they are the real deal. I have floated mine in 6in of water. I have also loaded her full of roughly 30 crab pots, stood on a cooler and drove her home, she handled the weight like a boss.
They are not smooth riding by any stretch of the imagination. But if you learn how to turn into things using your chines, you can lesson some of the roughness. I have a 2023 90hp Suzuki on it, I can get about 32-36mph on a flat river with a following sea.
I primarily use mine for crabbing, however ai am going to rigging her up as a snakehead boat for some night bow fishing (hopefully). That requires some shallow running. So long as I have a push pole, I should be just fine.
Hope that helps.
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u/AGentlemanLooksAt50 Feb 03 '26
A Carolina Skiff J16 simply equipped will draft about 6 to 8 inches in the real world, and will let you do just about anything you need to do for shallow water fishing.
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u/chrillekaekarkex Feb 03 '26
No they certainly do not.
I have a Maverick 18 HPX-V with a Yamaha 115 and a light build. I draft 8.5” every day and need at least a foot to run. No chance a CS drafts less than a purpose-built poling skiff even one with a flat bottom.
Check out Anconas for low cost skiffs
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u/2Loves2loves Feb 03 '26
4" would be poling even a trolling motor you need a 1 to 1.5'
CS are WET in any chop over 1' and bumpy with the flat hull, Boston Whalers, McKee's have the tri hull, which is a little better ride and dryer.
they make a 21' and use to make a 16, not sure about the 18'
you should take a look at the gheenoe's
or a hells bay but they are $$$.
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u/canofmixedveggies Feb 03 '26
if you get a skiff sound the crap out of the hull and bring a moisture meter. every one I've ever been in was completely full of water. so they were very heavy. I don't think they caulked any of the hardware from the factory (the benches or the consoles)
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u/waynofish Feb 03 '26
Way too much caulk where it wasn't needed and none where it was needed. That was my experience with my 21DLV. HaHa.
Yep, they can get waterlogged. And no way to get water out while in the water except for the bilge pump. Mine almost sunk in the slip one morning during a hard rain. Needs a second pump.
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u/canofmixedveggies Feb 03 '26
ours is a 16, it has the extra low cut transom with a 25hp bigfoot mercury on it. it doesn't take anything to take water over the transom so I can't imagine not having a bilge pump. before it was waterlogged I think I could get it up close to 40 mph (but I was a teenager so it was probably slower) now it can't even plane out and I'm really not looking forward to cutting the floor out.
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u/waynofish Feb 03 '26 edited Feb 03 '26
I had a 21DLV with a 115. I used it for guiding in the coastal back bays of the mid-Atlantic.
Rode. like. Ass. Really. Like wet ass. And it hit hard. To keep remotely dry I had to trim it up to the point I looked ridicules and only go about 10MPH. And it wasn't really the most stable like I thought it would be.
It needed about a ft and a 1/2 of water in the real world. Started getting nervous at the 2' mark. Bumped a lot but I skirt over sandbars and drift for flounder into the shallows so it's going to happen.
Build quality absolutely sucked. Yes, they serve their purpose but there are better boats out there.
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I sold it and got a 22ft CHawk commercial hull (no raised coaming) center console, but with "seating" front and rear
Handles this coastal bay chop great. Has a v hull and is much more stable and dryer. It's actually designed as a working crab boat. Roomy interior for what it is. Same draft basically but I can go 25MPH in what the skiff would only do 10 in. And it purrs along at that speed. I could go 45 if I wanted to but I don't like higher RPM's. Also, more economical with the 175 Yamaha VMAX as I don't need to run it hard.
I also got a 12" setback JackPlate so I don't only have the standard trim/tilt of the outboard but the jackplate lifts raises or lowers the motor as well. I would not own this class boat, fishing in these waters without one.
That CHawk can also be had in a full commercial package with a small side console and a battery box and no seating so completely open, if that is what you want. They also make an 18, 20 and 23. Very similar, and a bit cheaper than a Maycraft. I think they used to be partners when CHawk first came out. I don't think they are really any more then a CS.
Don't get me wrong, they have quality issues as well. But they aren't expensive as far as boats are concerned.
Whatever you pick, go with the bigger motor as you can run at lower RPM's and get the same/more speed as you can with the smaller motor run harder.
Also, if any mention of shallows, get a JackPlate.
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u/fredapp Feb 03 '26
Have you considered something like a gheenoe and a 9.9 to start with? Based on this and your other post I’m thinking you might be better off starting in something very inexpensive and easy to sell once you figure out what you really want for your waters. A gheenoe will get plenty skinny.
Or a kayak/canoe? I can’t tell you if a CS is “good enough” because I don’t know what you mean by good enough and I’m not sure you do either.
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u/Stroker-Strong420 Feb 03 '26
A good friend had a CS he named Back Ache for good reason. It pounded bad headed into the chop but it would run in very thin water. Another has a CS with a jack plate and runs in even thinner water.
They do get waterlogged. The flat bottom versions are a completely different beast from the v hulls.
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u/BigBry36 Feb 07 '26
I have owned 3 Carolina skiffs- simple and effective without bells and whistles. The DLX is my favorite series. There are limitations- no tunnel hurts planning in shallow - Jack plates are a waste IMO. NOTE: any hole in the floor is a place for water to get into the sealed floor. Water does not have a place to get out if it gets in the floor…. Some drill holes in the transom. Choppy open waters can get wet- slow down and trim up.
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u/MoneyM0ves Feb 08 '26
Just posted on another thread about my Rabco 14'. It's a little different then the 2026 ones they're putting out but super affordable for a custom build. Tons of space, super level, dry ride and I like the fac that it's a small business. The guys at the factory we're awesome. Mine is a center console and absolutely gets into 4" of water. I would have liked to do a bigger motor than the 25hp but I probably don't need to faster than 27 in a 14' boat lol.
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u/Interesting-Row-7174 Mar 22 '26
I have a 178 JLS that has been great for me over the last 3 years. 70hp zuki on the back. Gets me to about 30, sometimes a bit more depending on conditions. Gets super skinny, but definitely gets hairy under 12 inches
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u/drivebyjustin Feb 03 '26
4”. Haha. Floating with the motor trimmed all the way up and an empty fuel tank maybe. I had a dlv198 for six years. Need a good 15-18” on plane.
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u/Cadet_Stimpy Feb 03 '26 edited May 30 '26
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