# Best boat for galveston bay complex ??



## Thawk (Aug 25, 2012)

There are several boats out there I like . The Shoalwater, Gulf coast, & the Shallow sport. Which boat will handle the chop the best and still get in and out of the skinny water. 

A lil about me , I'm a pretty hard core fisherman I used to fish bass tourneys (Club stuff and the Red man trail). I will often fish 2 to 5 days a week when it's really good. I just moved from the Hill country to Dickinson so the bay will be my new home. 

I want a boat that I can get me back and forth from just about anywhere I want to fish in the Galveston complex to 5 or 10 miles offshore. 

I would like to hear all the pro's and con's that anyone has about the boats listed above.

Thanks for any input.


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## j wadd (Sep 21, 2009)

23 kenner if you can find one........
as for the boats you have listed i wouldnt own any one of them for galveston bay.. not saying there not great boats but there designed for down in south texas.. imo i would go with the 25 majek extreme or the 24 ho haynie... great boats that have lots of room and both ride exceptionally well... will be better off in this bay system in one of these two.. now im sure your gonna get a 1000 responses about this boats better than that and so on so just be prepared....if looking for a boat in the 22 ft range look at the blackjack 224 at reynolds marine in baytown


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## ST.SIMONS (Jan 27, 2010)

One you can afford and also accomplishes more than one type of fishing. I have to agree the boats you mentioned are great at one thing,fishing skinny. Don't care what anyone says they suck in chop and don't hit a large ship wake in one . I happen to buy and sell boats for a living and I watch people buy the wrong boat all the time based on all the wrong reasons. I agree the majek and the haynie are great boats but even they are relegated to many areas. What I have found people are most happy with is something like a blue wave 2200 pure bay or 24 or the nautic star 2200 or 2400. Both of these are far less than the majek and the haynie for what you get. Also if you want to comfortably get out and fish the jetties or some rigs both the blue wave and the nautic star or even a similar style (shearwater,pathfinder) will do much better. The point being these style boats do a lot of things really good where as the majek and haynie do a couple of things great . All boats mentioned however are all top of the line boats . You have to ask yourself what percentage of skinny,moderate and light offshore you plan on doing . If its skinny Galveston bay west bay, go with the haynie or majek style boat . If you want a great SUV go the nautic star , blue wave ,shearwater,pathfinder route. Just my 2 cents however I live it breath it all day every day.


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## Stumpgrinder (Feb 18, 2006)

Pick the style of fishing you enjoy and do the most of and buy the boat that best fits that . Every hull is a compromise from a design standpoint and none " do it all" as the manufacturer might have you believe.

Galveston bay exclusively ? Buy a 23-25 foot center console with some vee and forget the tunnel. IMHO.


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## Thawk (Aug 25, 2012)

St. Simons, Is that short for St.Simons Island ? Fished there many of times love that part of Ga.


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## BullyARed (Jun 19, 2010)

The boat that catches fish!


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## Knotty Fly (Jun 29, 2012)

If you can find one, look at the Newwater Ibis. It takes chop extremely well, drafts in 5" of water, runs on plane in 3" of water, and guys run off shore when it's slick. There is very, very few of them show up on the used market, and a new one will take a year to build. They are more expensive than all of the boats mention, but you get what you pay for.


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## flatsmaster14 (Mar 25, 2011)

Tran cat


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## BayouBonsaiMan (Apr 14, 2009)

Alweld Escort


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## ST.SIMONS (Jan 27, 2010)

Knotty Fly said:


> If you can find one, look at the Newwater Ibis. It takes chop extremely well, drafts in 5" of water, runs on plane in 3" of water, and guys run off shore when it's slick. There is very, very few of them show up on the used market, and a new one will take a year to build. They are more expensive than all of the boats mention, but you get what you pay for.


Show me one running in chop. I run boats all day buy them sell them and put them thru the paces and I gotta say I completely and respectfully disagree with this being a great all around Galveston bay boat.


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## ST.SIMONS (Jan 27, 2010)

j wadd said:


> 23 kenner if you can find one........
> as for the boats you have listed i wouldnt own any one of them for galveston bay.. not saying there not great boats but there designed for down in south texas.. imo i would go with the 25 majek extreme or the 24 ho haynie... great boats that have lots of room and both ride exceptionally well... will be better off in this bay system in one of these two.. now im sure your gonna get a 1000 responses about this boats better than that and so on so just be prepared....if looking for a boat in the 22 ft range look at the blackjack 224 at reynolds marine in baytown


I second a 23 Kenner I know many a guide who would buy one right now if they still made it.


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## RedfishStalker (Jul 27, 2012)

The shallow sport mod v would be great for what you want


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## Outearly (Nov 17, 2009)

As stated above, all boats are a compromise. We had a 17' Whaler to get started with, spent enough time in that boat to figure out what kind of fishing we enjoyed most, and now have a Shallowsport (Sport 18). We're more limited in the SS, but enjoy it more for what we do. 

My suggestion is to buy what you think you want used, and then use that experience to confirm you made the right decision or sell it - relatively painless if you buy used- and get exactly what you want.


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## capt. baldy (Apr 12, 2009)

Look for an older Boston Whaler 22 to 25 feet, they handle Galveston Bay better than these lighter hulls. Look at what some of these older guides are running.


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## Im Headed South (Jun 28, 2006)

Haynie HO


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## V-Bottom (Jun 16, 2007)

One w/ a strong Deep V hull.....CC.....20ft +


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## Knotty Fly (Jun 29, 2012)

ST.SIMONS said:


> Show me one running in chop. I run boats all day buy them sell them and put them thru the paces and I gotta say I completely and respectfully disagree with this being a great all around Galveston bay boat.


You might be correct, and i should have read closer. He asked for the best all around boat for all of the Galveston bay system. I should have said, if you are fishing west of the Causeway Bridge all the way down the Texas coast to South Padre Island bridge you will not find a better performing, quality, as well as fit and Finnish boat than a Ibis IMO. East of the causeway you might need a higher sided boat to jump the 4 footers coming off of the ships hauling butt down the channel.


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## flatsmaster14 (Mar 25, 2011)

Or the new super cat


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## bentman (Jul 23, 2007)

All are good boat I would say stay away from the Ibis for a galveaton bay boat I have owned the 23 kenner & the 23 gulfcoast the kenner is a smoother ride the gulfcoast is a dryer ride both are are good boats


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## Tejas Trucha (Feb 28, 2011)

Wonder what owners of 24' haynie cats would say about how that boat handles chop in a true deep bay system. I hear they handle chop great and of course they are shallow running too, which is a nice option to have for some parts of the galveston bay system and if you decided to trailer it down south of East Matagorda. As far as v-hulls go I would go with 24footers over 22footers. That extra 2 feet makes a huge difference in big bay chop. And I like v-hulls with pocket tunnels as opposed to the v coming all the way back to the transom. Jack plate and trim tabs are a must IMO because there are plenty of areas in the Galveston Bay system where popping up in 18 inches of water is convenient if not necessary.


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## lapesca67 (Apr 9, 2008)

Shallow sport 24 mod v......best all around boat on the water for Galveston


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## Bird (May 10, 2005)

Listen to St. Simon. Of course this has been discussed ad nauseam here over the years. That being said, its a tough question to answer, mostly because buyers (us fisherman) have a boat or two that we really like for what ever reason. We'll justify owning that boat and make the compromises where we think we need to. The perfect all around boat for the entire Galveston bay complex is probably bigger than you want but has lots of room, runs too deep but smoothes out the chop, pounds too much in the chop but runs skinny, is really well built but cost too much, is affordable but cheaply built and will crack running in the chop across the bay...I can go on.

You really should consider where and how you primarily fish and select a boat that meets most of the criteria. If you fish open water between April Fool Point and the TCD a bigger boat with more V and higher sides. If you prefer to fish skinny and wade, then get one that gets you where to you want to be. Consider this...you have a couple hours to fish after work one day. Where would you want to go without knowing tides, pattern, insider info? Buy your boat based on that.

I live on and fish West G bay. I have an El Pescador 24 that is a really good boat for this area. Plenty boat to get across the waves and take the chop but also a very skinny boat that gets me where I prefer to fish. I have also been 30 miles offshore in it too. Not that I make a habit of it, but it was flat calm all day. Could have done the trip in a 15' jon boat. So am I saying the EP is the best boat for you? No. It is a really good boat for me where I fish.

As said before, every boat is a compromise. Skinny, smooth, dry, fast, cheap is all subjective to that person. Heck, as much as I like my El Pesc, I actually want a different boat. However, in the spirit of this thread...Pathfinder 24 is my choice for a go everywhere in G Bay boat.


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## Texxan1 (Dec 31, 2004)

Haynie HO is the perfect boat for the galveston complex. It will not get you extremely shallow, but take it from a Haynie Cat owner.... It will do ALOT that you wont do in a cat, but it doesnt replace the cat.

That is why I have both lol

Capt Thomas


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## Law Dog (Jul 27, 2010)

Gulf Coast 23 ver side is the all around boat, great in the chop and excellent in the shallows for wade fishing. It's has the same hull design as a Boston Whaler.. It's a great Boat.


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## Nicademas (Jan 31, 2006)

There is chop and there are rollers. Galveston has a lot of the first and a lot of the second. Most shallow running boats that claim they handle chop like cutting butter actually do so effectively, but they are not near as effective in chop that borders on rollers with a more significant peak-to-peak span. You will see a lot of the later in Galveston.

Buying anything less than 24' (maybe 23') for Galveston really limits your ability to fish all the bays without extensive trailoring on moderate to full-on windy days. Those extra feet, as compared to a 21'/22', really get you over the peaks of the waves you will experience in Galveston. Especially running from the West side over to East Bay or Trinity, and crossing those bays too. Running out to the jetties is made easier on slightly marginal days too with a 24' boat.

I had a 24' Champion Bay Champ and it was as good a ride as you can find in the higher end 24' bay boats. I was looking brand new at Triton, Champion, Ranger, Pathfinder, even the everglades. The Champion was a killer ride for Galveston, never had any problems crossing any of the bays on 15-20 mpg days in that boat. But, that boat, as the other 24' semi-V varieties, really limit your fishing potential. Backlakes are pretty much off limits to those boats on all but the highest tides with a great sense of the tide change (so you can escape). Unless you know the channels very well and can get into them, which still limits you to the bayous/channels. Very good fishing areas are difficult to manage in those boats as well. Jack's Pocket for instance. And, especially in winter, when I need to be able to run some fairly shallow areas, those boats simply limit options.

In my opinion, some 24' boats are a pretty darn good compromise. The ShallowSport 24 Mod V, Southshore 24 vdrt, Haynie 23' BigFoot, El Pescador 24 are about as good a compromise as you can find for Galveston. Some will swear by the cat hulls, but for my money, I decided I want a mono V crossing rollers in Galveston Bay and not have to manipulate those rollers with two v surfaces. That being said, if I were to consider a cat hull for galveston it would only be a Haynie 24 or Dargel 23/25. Their duel V's are fairly substantial. Still, I would like them fine in chop, but not so much in rollers, which we have in spades throughout the Galveston complex.

Buying a boat is all about meeting YOUR needs and fulfilling them best with the least amount of compromise.

I know guys that have flats skiffs in Galveston and couldn't be happier. They are perfect for their shallow water adventures and little more. Now, I could have a lot of fun with a scooter, or rfl, or NewWater, or Hewes, but I would be very limited in Galveston by those boats. I could have a lot of fun in a pathfinder, or parker, or Whaler, but I would be very limited in Galveston by those boats. Galveston has a lot of good deepwater fishing and a lot of good shallow water fishing. I want to do my share of both, so I have to find compromise more than others who are willing to accept more of one than the other, and who are much more effected by the weather if they choose shallow ability over deep/ride.

I chose a ShallowSport 24 Mod V. 

Just my useless $0.02.


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## artofficial (Oct 3, 2005)

Everyone knows that a Haynie Bigfoot is the perfect boat for any complex


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## HTJ (May 26, 2011)

ST.SIMONS said:


> Show me one running in chop. I run boats all day buy them sell them and put them thru the paces and I gotta say I completely and respectfully disagree with this being a great all around Galveston bay boat.


No kidding just look at the hull, Laguna Madre yes, Galveston no.


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## capt. david (Dec 29, 2004)

22 triton seaflight or a 23 kenner. repower with a new engine and your good to go.


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## odie5962 (Aug 28, 2011)

I like my Shearwater 25 LTZ. It is everything yu would want.


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## southbay (Aug 30, 2010)

Cougar Challenger 200 to 240. Handle really rough waters and still get skinny.


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