Curious if anyone has had any experience with this boat or knows much about them.
Mako Pro skiff
- Thread starter woodyard
- Start date
When I was in the skiff market a few years ago, I looked at them pretty hard. For a long time, they were one of the quality skiffs on the market. Then, they were taken over by a conglomerate and are mass produced.
There were way too many negative reviews for me to pursue one. Some of the issues reported were pretty serious. They are less expensive than most of the skiff market for a reason. But, you are more than capable of taking care of "issues", so they may be a bargain for you.
Bang for your buck right now may be the Floyd skiffs. Those and Evo are on the lower end of the "custom" skiff market.
There were way too many negative reviews for me to pursue one. Some of the issues reported were pretty serious. They are less expensive than most of the skiff market for a reason. But, you are more than capable of taking care of "issues", so they may be a bargain for you.
Bang for your buck right now may be the Floyd skiffs. Those and Evo are on the lower end of the "custom" skiff market.
I ran a Mako in a redfish series a long time ago and can say I would never buy one.
Here are a few issues I remember. Cap separated from hull. Trolling motor mount ripped through the glass. Leaning post broke off. Battery tray wasn't screwed down.
Admittedly, I ran it hard on days that if I was recreational fishing, I would have stayed home... but the integrity of the boat was quickly shown to be poor when it was in rough conditions. The leaning post came loose on a 75 mile run. That was not a comfortable ride home.
Where will you be fishing? I'd be happy to recommend a few others to look at based on the fishery you will be in.
Here are a few issues I remember. Cap separated from hull. Trolling motor mount ripped through the glass. Leaning post broke off. Battery tray wasn't screwed down.
Admittedly, I ran it hard on days that if I was recreational fishing, I would have stayed home... but the integrity of the boat was quickly shown to be poor when it was in rough conditions. The leaning post came loose on a 75 mile run. That was not a comfortable ride home.
Where will you be fishing? I'd be happy to recommend a few others to look at based on the fishery you will be in.
We will be in Perdido Bay, Escambia Bay and Pensacola Bay area mostly.
If you're looking for simplicity and design similar to the pro skiff, I'd look for a used Carolina skiff. They are well built and don't have much that can go wrong.
If you intend to run outside and catch snappers during state season(this can be done within sight of land), you'll want something with a little more dead rise. The flat bottoms are great for shallow water but are hard on the knees and back with the slightest chop.
I'd strongly recommend looking at 18-20ft bay boats unless you intend to actually pole your skiff. They float nearly as shallow and they are more comfortable ride than your 16-18ft flat bottoms.
If you intend to run outside and catch snappers during state season(this can be done within sight of land), you'll want something with a little more dead rise. The flat bottoms are great for shallow water but are hard on the knees and back with the slightest chop.
I'd strongly recommend looking at 18-20ft bay boats unless you intend to actually pole your skiff. They float nearly as shallow and they are more comfortable ride than your 16-18ft flat bottoms.
Older SeaPros can be had for a bargain many times and are ok. There are others in this category as well that would be ok.
Or you can look at higher end brands like Pathfinder, Shearwater, Scout, Ranger.
Boats are like trucks at the moment though. My bay boat that I sold when I left FL just sold last week again for $45k more than I sold it for 4 years ago. It was repowered but it had a 1yr old motor on it when I sold it.
I'd highly recommend hiring a marine surveyor to look over whatever boat you buy. Could save you thousands in the long run. I learned this the hard way.
Or you can look at higher end brands like Pathfinder, Shearwater, Scout, Ranger.
Boats are like trucks at the moment though. My bay boat that I sold when I left FL just sold last week again for $45k more than I sold it for 4 years ago. It was repowered but it had a 1yr old motor on it when I sold it.
I'd highly recommend hiring a marine surveyor to look over whatever boat you buy. Could save you thousands in the long run. I learned this the hard way.
Something like this would be ideal:
2017 Tidewater 1910 Baymax - boats - by owner - marine sale
Clean 2017 Tidewater Bay Max, ready for snapper season right now! Like new Yamaha F115 engine with 290 hours on it. SIMRAD GO7 XSE electronics, Boss 2 speaker radio with Bluetooth, 2 live wells,...
pensacola.craigslist.org
We have had a Carolina skiff in the past and it worked fine. Just checking out some I had never thought about before. Thinking we may look into the bay boats more since we will be dealing with more chop across those bays.
I have a Mako 1901 (older model) and it is just about a perfect compromise for shallow water and some near-shore fun if it isn't too rough.
7mm08
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That would be an AWESOME boat for down there! It won't last long at that price.
Here is my .02.
There are flats boats, skiffs (flat bottom) and bay boats that might meet your needs.
IF you go with a skiff like Carolina Skiff, and plan on running in any chop, you will want the longest one you can manage. The 18' is nothing more sophisticated design wise than a heavily built fiberglass jon boat hull. You need the longer hull to bridge the chop or it will beat you to death. Tend to run wet in a chop with wind. They tend to be VERY stable fishing platforms and built like tanks. They usually have shallow draft but tend to need a little deeper water to plane off than a flats boat. Most are not fancy and have basic finishes.
Flats boats shine for getting on plane quickly in shallow water, running in very shallow water, and poling easily. They have low gunnels to help minimize wind drift and often have sophisticated hull designs to minimize hull slap when poling. Typically they have a flat deck and no seats or a cushion on the deck type seat. They are 100% designed as a fishing machine. The trade off can be comfort. Adding a comfy drivers seat with back support is an upgrade and might not fit the deck design. With trim tabs you can modify your run to minimize spray blowing back into the boat. Unless you are crazy or reckless, you don't want to run big/rough water with one. We got caught in storms in my BIL's 18 Hewes a couple times and it was scary. Definately could run the shallows of Mosquito lagoon and get back in skinny water, but it was creepy going outside the inlet to the ocean. Many flats boats nice finishes and are well designed for fishing skinny water.
Bay boats are a compromise. They have steeper bow profiles for cutting chop, wide shallow V transoms for floating in semi- skinny water, and tend to have more comfortable seating/fishing arrangements than flats boats. They are meant to be a versatile boat for shallow to bays to nearshore fishing. Family has run a 21' sea pro for 13 years. Needs more water to plane off than a Flats boat but can plane with 2ft of water. A bit less than 2ft with the trim tabs and proper weight distribution. Has all the bait wells, storage lockers and space for extra trolling motor batteries. Nice finishes deeper gunnels, more options for T tops, leaning posts, rocket launcher rod holders, down riggers etc... Overall as an older guy, I prefer the comfort of a bay boat. Unless you are a shallow water specialist, you will get the most comfort in more weather conditions from a bay boat. Fished out of a 24ft Black Jack last spring and it was NICE. Very comfortable dry ride in a snotty 2-3ft chop.
Back in the 80's Mako made a quality fishing boat. They were quite heavy and solid but as most boats in that time frame had plywood core that would eventually get water into the core and rot out, loosing integrity. Don't know anything about todays quality of construction.
The best thing you could do is to water test whatever style of boat you are interested in on a windy choppy day. See how the boat rides. Can you adjust the trim to get a dry ride with a 1/4 wind? How bad does it pound? How are the seats? Does it have the storage/livewells etc that fit the way you fish?
Hope this helps. Let us know what you get !
There are flats boats, skiffs (flat bottom) and bay boats that might meet your needs.
IF you go with a skiff like Carolina Skiff, and plan on running in any chop, you will want the longest one you can manage. The 18' is nothing more sophisticated design wise than a heavily built fiberglass jon boat hull. You need the longer hull to bridge the chop or it will beat you to death. Tend to run wet in a chop with wind. They tend to be VERY stable fishing platforms and built like tanks. They usually have shallow draft but tend to need a little deeper water to plane off than a flats boat. Most are not fancy and have basic finishes.
Flats boats shine for getting on plane quickly in shallow water, running in very shallow water, and poling easily. They have low gunnels to help minimize wind drift and often have sophisticated hull designs to minimize hull slap when poling. Typically they have a flat deck and no seats or a cushion on the deck type seat. They are 100% designed as a fishing machine. The trade off can be comfort. Adding a comfy drivers seat with back support is an upgrade and might not fit the deck design. With trim tabs you can modify your run to minimize spray blowing back into the boat. Unless you are crazy or reckless, you don't want to run big/rough water with one. We got caught in storms in my BIL's 18 Hewes a couple times and it was scary. Definately could run the shallows of Mosquito lagoon and get back in skinny water, but it was creepy going outside the inlet to the ocean. Many flats boats nice finishes and are well designed for fishing skinny water.
Bay boats are a compromise. They have steeper bow profiles for cutting chop, wide shallow V transoms for floating in semi- skinny water, and tend to have more comfortable seating/fishing arrangements than flats boats. They are meant to be a versatile boat for shallow to bays to nearshore fishing. Family has run a 21' sea pro for 13 years. Needs more water to plane off than a Flats boat but can plane with 2ft of water. A bit less than 2ft with the trim tabs and proper weight distribution. Has all the bait wells, storage lockers and space for extra trolling motor batteries. Nice finishes deeper gunnels, more options for T tops, leaning posts, rocket launcher rod holders, down riggers etc... Overall as an older guy, I prefer the comfort of a bay boat. Unless you are a shallow water specialist, you will get the most comfort in more weather conditions from a bay boat. Fished out of a 24ft Black Jack last spring and it was NICE. Very comfortable dry ride in a snotty 2-3ft chop.
Back in the 80's Mako made a quality fishing boat. They were quite heavy and solid but as most boats in that time frame had plywood core that would eventually get water into the core and rot out, loosing integrity. Don't know anything about todays quality of construction.
The best thing you could do is to water test whatever style of boat you are interested in on a windy choppy day. See how the boat rides. Can you adjust the trim to get a dry ride with a 1/4 wind? How bad does it pound? How are the seats? Does it have the storage/livewells etc that fit the way you fish?
Hope this helps. Let us know what you get !
