I own an H Skiff and honestly every point you touched on is pretty accurate. I don’t think it’s for everyone and that is why you should definitely try it before buying. Needless to say, I DO NOT regret my purchase. Size is exceptional. Hull is very Stable. My engine can go all the way up so I truly have been in water less than 6”. All in all, I would say it’s not for everyone but believe me this is the top choice (in my opinion) compared to other vessels in its class. I’ve tried SOLO, Mako, and Mavericks skiffs and none caught my attention.
@@chrisnavarro9531 I do not doubt that he’ll do great when the bite turns on, he is a great fisherman . But if I have to choose between videos so far I had much more fun enjoying the kayak ones.
I was the same way for months when I got my skiff. Then I told myself I bought this skiff to be in inches of water. I’m not going to hit oysters at 30mph but if the fish are there and I rub bottom at trolling speed then no biggie. No one sees the bottom of your skiff and I had to tell keep telling myself if I was afraid to scratch the bottom why the hell did I get a shallow running skiff. Plus the boat dealer made fun of me when serviced and asked if I’ve even had it off the trailer yet. I’m still careful but I’ll be damned if I’m letting scratches on bottom deter me from using it for what I bought it for. Honeymoon phase is over and it goes where my kayak goes if the fish are there.
i have a 15ft vhull jon boat rigged like a skiff. i can draft 8 inches easily with two people and fully loaded gear. plenty of casting room, smooth ride, riding 25+ mph with a 20hp. I would recommend a jon boat to anyone who wants to rig it properly, they look sick when properly outfitted. Also did i mention i don’t have to worry about oysters whatsoever. Just my opinion
Great eval! I actually decided to build my own skiff after Mark announced he was buying the H-Skiff this past summer. I looked at the H-Skiff and others like the Skimmer Skiff and based my design on those and blended design elements of those boats with the stitch and glue offerings I found on Boat Builder Central and Salt Boat Works. One significant change I made was to make the bottom width and beam width wider than what's found on most skiffs. I'm almost finished framing it out and I'm about to start putting the skin on, hopefully in about three to four weeks.
My envy of Mark's skiff (lol) has waned each time I've watched another video of him fishing from it. This video has put any idea of buying one to bed. If I want a two man fishing skiff, I'm going to buy one that has enough room for two men and can handle at least some "choppy" water. I doubt this will happen since I have my Old Town Sportsman 120 PDL now. I'm going to have to give this kayak, which I'm liking more and more, a fair chance. No, I can't run five miles to the "hot spot", but I'm hoping I can park and put in closer to the action than that! Keep up the great vids Nick - and your drone footage is just awesome!
I think that if you are looking for a micro skiff you are not worried about person capacity so to me that isn’t a con. You don’t buy a microskiff for 4 people.
Not sure dogging on someone else’s investment after he is good enough to take you along is good form. I am not disagreeing with your assessment but it just came off wrong.
Yea, I agree with a lot of the comments. I lost interest in Mark’s videos once the skiff came along. I just can’t relate. Mark was a huge influence on my decision on buying and to start kayak fishing. I think he needs to get back on his Hobie and get back to his roots. Great video Nick.
First of all, I like both yours, and Mark's videos. Been subscribed to both for over a year now. Seems you got over the Bote Rover pretty quickly and got back into a kayak, and I feel that the most enjoyable of Mark's videos are when he's in a kayak. Just my opinion. I'm just graduating from a paddle to a pedal. Just picked up my Old Town Sportsman 120 PDL today, and maybe we will cross paths out on the water.
I haven’t been watching his fishing stuff lately on the H skiff. I related a lot more to the kayak fishing episodes because most people can afford a pedal kayak and even the trolling motor kayak (Although that’s right in the edge of being affordable) I don’t watch a lot of content I can’t relate with and idk a lot of people that are able to spend $14k on a fishing rig.
I guess everything is a compromise. I paddle kayak so I’m limited to about 2.5 miles each way if the wind is not too much. If you were by yourself I would think a Solo Skiff with a 3.5 hp outboard would be good. Get there pretty fast and could still paddle or push paddle while standing. No problem with oysters. Still light enough to manhandle without a trailer. I still like Mark’s videos since he generally goes to spots you can get to in a kayak. He is very conscientious about writing detailed fishing reports for Patrons.
I found you guys channels looking for Old Town kayaks fishing vids. I own a 106MK myself and don`t get me wrong, I have learned a lot about inshore fishing with you guys but ever since Mark stopped using the AP i don`t enjoy the vids as much
Dude I been feeling the same way. I love watching Marks channel when he is on the kayak because that’s the platform I’m interested in. When he started using the Hskiff I lost interest in those videos. And Nick have you upgraded those sissy plastic sights on the Glock yet? 😂
I have an older model H Skiff. I've enjoyed it but its really only meant for 1 person. I wish it was just a bit wider and a little deeper because once I get into a little bit of swell the water tends to come over the sides in the back.
I myself would not buy the skiff simply because of 2 reasons. The price is expensive, second it is motorized. In KY, anything motorized you have to pay property tax on, you have to register with the Fish and Game, and you have to pay a launch fee at the marina. It is a nice craft. Not knocking Mark, I watch his channel. Just not for me, I watch kayak channels, I keep telling myself this is close to kayak fishing. Still on the fence though. Appreciate the honesty. Great video!.
It seems like since MDLR bought the skiff, his hook up rate has dropped significantly. The skiff is nice but needs some modifications. I do agree that it is not 2 person friendly. But if you are looking for just yourself it’s not bad. Needs to be a little wider and definitely needs a new design with tunnel hull. But regardless, I enjoy both of guys being brutally honest about the pros and cons with this platform. Keep up the good commentary. Tight lines!!🤙🏾
Dang my Salt Marsh Savana Drafts shallower with 2. $7500 with 9.9 hp motor and trailer. Now I’m looking at a trolling motor so that will up the cost. Now the 9.9 is heavy on the back at 94lbs. A 9.8 or carburetor 9.9 at 84lbs would help and if you don’t mind topping out at 12 mph a 6hp at 54 lbs would be the best option. Waiting to try my new 8 pitch prop to see how much top end I lose to gain more low and mid thrust.
Prodrive, Gatortail, Excel/Mudbuddy… All shallow water mudboats that will draft less water than that, hold a ton more weight and eat those oyster beds for lunch…
Look my opinion is this, mark is a big time KAYAK guy for a LONG time I’ve been following him since idek dude almost when he barely started. I think mark needs to get used to fishing off a boat/skiff. It’s different. And on top of it being winter, this cold did affect the fishing a bit and he isn’t completely used to it yet. I bet you eventually he will get the hang of it and kill it on the skiff as well. He just needs to try different spots. All the spots he knew before he went on the yak.
I feel like this style at 17'L and 60"Bottom would be pretty good. I like the minimal design without tons of clutter everywhere but at this size is probably too small unless going alone.
The biggest problem that I see is the inability to pull the motor out of the water because of the poling platform. That keeps the boat from getting as skinny as it could if the motor was up. However, I just watched a video from a dealer in Florida and see that the platform must be an option because none of the 3 boats in it had a poling platform. Still expensive, though.
Disagree with a big portion of this. So draft in 1 foot for the width of the boat is pretty good . My boat drafts 6-8 inches but I'm wayyyy wider. To jump up in a foot of water is pretty decent. Gotta remember that outboard is so small it doent put out very much torque . I think it's a very unfair pole seeing you fish from a kayak. I know for a fact with your autopilot in the water you will only draft a foot aswell.
Fiberglass is tough. You don't want to hit things if you want your boat to stay pretty. Your poly will grow weak over time by the sun alone. Fiberglass won't. I've never heard of anyone that's been around claim fiberglass as weak. I've rolled over rocks, oyster beds, you name it. Is my boat scuff and scratch to hell sure but I use my boat it's not a driveway monument. I can touch it up when it gets bad enough and every other year I do.
Honestly it seems like for the size you get I’d rather have a mini jet boat or a solid ocean dinghy depending on if I fish rivers and creeks or the ocean more.
$14k sounded like a lot, but I am looking at 15ft RIB (Rigid Inflatable Boats) and they range from $25k-$35k, so $14k for something that size is about right. Those engines can drive up the price.
Don't be a hater just because his skiff can go faster than yours. LOL. The deal is he can't raise the motor or tilt it up because of the poling platform on the back. I would try to remove it, then he could probably float in about 4". Maybe replace it with a small seat, bucket or ice chest. You have some legitimate cons but we always learn from our mistakes. Any small boat is going to be a compromise, especially when fishing two people. Not trying to be Debbie Downer and I still like your blog. Keep up the work. I have a cheap Raso P14 and I think something like that or a Skimmer Skiff would serve any of you guys well. Still small and light but more room to move around in. An aluminum hull can also alleviate some oyster reef fears so don't rule out a small less expensive aluminum rig that can be tricked out. Its all about increasing your range.
but you certainly have a point. I would even go enough to say that i’d compare it to a 16ft fully loaded southdade skiff for only 15k is way better for the money than the h-skiff
Not really sure that you have enough skiff experience to give a review. Mark is going to need some time on it before he can get the most out of it, I like your KAYAK videos! Started watching you after Mark plugged you on his channel, not sure why you felt the need to do this video?
I have an Oldtown autopilot 120. What would be a step up from this to get a skiff? I had a Solo skiff and I hated it, it was soo unstable. Any recomendation?
You forgot 1 other well not a skiff but a scooter. Mowdy s10 ! 11 ft . Wider not built like the h13 but it will draft 4" with 1 person. They run in literally spit as they they . An fish if your doing super shallow wade spots not great for crossing big water though
I feel the same way. I feel that that's two much platform on it bust sadly not capability to perform with and extra friend. I feel the pilot 120 is a better go to for where you at. very expensive. I rather get me a boat flat bottom and ability to fish skinny waters
Just doesn’t make much sense at that price point. $15k gets you a very nice classic Boston Whaler Montauk. Or for a lot less a 13 which will still be far more versatile than these.
If you did not have the trolling motor and battery it would not be an issue. You guys had the skiff maxed out. When comparing to Florida boats, those are flats boats and not micro skiffs. I actually own a Skimmer so no vested interest in HSkiff. To bring up oysters and fiberglass? Really? That is not an issue with only this skiff but anything fiberglass. Price for my 14’ Skimmer was 21k without a center console.
I don't think the optimum vessel is out there yet... seems we are looking for shallow running but can handle the swells and rough water, looking for small water footprint but roomy for a group, a hull strong enough to take an oyster hit but still lightweight, something that will shorten the trip and lengthen the fishing....as a pedal kayak owner I have learned to pick an area to fish that is close enough for a reasonable pedal, in reasonable amount of time (not always easy)....and now I have motor boat envy (sure would like to cover more water with less effort/time)...will we ever find that perfect vessel ?.....we get what work$ and if it doesn't quite completely fit the bill, well, we try again or adapt or just live with it.....nothing in life or fishing is "perfect"..... Y E T .......
Seems a bit heavy given the size. My Boston Whaler 13 (1968) hull is only 25 lbs heavier. It will outperform that skiff. I paid $1900 during the pandemic for it.
Way too expensive. It's very nice looking. ut man the jump from a rigged Solo skiff to that is massive. I picked up a 15' Waley Boat, trailer, 30HP Suzuki with all the rigging for less than the H Skiff...
No, the H-Skiff was never designed to carry more than one.. Like a bicycle, it can carry two, but ... It does really shine when you need to transit multiple miles to fish very skinny water SOLO.
