I am heading to the Boat Show Tuesday to hopefully place an order with whoever is willing to give the best deal. Right now, The Mowdy 25' with a rear deck is the front runner. Second I am looking at is Shoalwater 23. Any owners with feedback on either is greatly appreciated.

Shoalwater 23CAT with 250HP+ hands down. I had a 250SHO on the back of my last one and will be ordering another one soon only change is I may get the 300 G2 because of their 10 year warranty they are running right now.

I have always ran Yamaha and just cannot bring myself to change. I have ridden in a dozen boats the last week with the SHO and 300G2, and it was impressive, but I love Yamahas. Its going to have to be a screaming deal for me to make the switch. Waypoint priced about $1500 difference in the two, but they probably will miss out on a sale with me cause they wont budge on price. I called Texas Marine and they said they can beat it, plan on speaking with them Tuesday in person.

Mowdy 25' hands down. They are great boats and the build quality is excellent. the ride in rough water is really good. won't draft as shallow as some of the others, but it makes up for it in ride comfort. Those G2's add a decent amount of weight. Don't think I would be looking for one of those, even on a 25' boat.

Have heard a lot positive for the new saber cats....

I personally run a majek

I run a 25 Mowdy Cat. Love mine. It can handle extremely rough water and runs very shallow as well. I have a buddy with a 23 shoal water and can go anywhere he can. Speed would be the only advantage to the shoal water. Keep mine in Matagorda if you want a test ride.

If you cross any big bays or rough water I would agree Mowdy MAY handle that better. Shoalwater carries more people, fishes more people, and runs shallower and faster than a Mowdy.

The sexiest boat at the entire SHOW is the 18' HPXV in sea foam green at $49,500. Went yesterday and it is always the prettiest belle at the ball.

sunchaser said:

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Never been on one that'll run that shallow...what happens if you lose power at speed like that? Will it sit that shallow or are you coming to an abrupt stop?

JH06 said:

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If you cross any big bays or rough water I would agree Mowdy MAY handle that better. Shoalwater carries more people, fishes more people, and runs shallower and faster than a Mowdy.

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If you like the shoalwater 23 Cat, you really would like the El Pescador 24 Cat.

A 250 on the El pescador performs nearly as well as the 300 on a shoalwater. Deck style is similar and the El pescador will do everything the Shoalwater will do except slide through turns. The El Pescador bites in the corners and feels like it is turning on rails. So much nicer when running in to the back lakes through some narrow channels/creeks.

Things I know about running around in the flats..that I haven't forgot.

If all of a sudden you find yourself running in 4" of water and don't know where deeper water is.Standing on your toes and puckering your butt up does not help.

There are a lot of places from Port Aransas to SPI that have my footprints. Getting stuck on a muddy bottom can be hard walking but pushing is easier.

Getting stuck on a hard bottom is easy walking but the boat won't push.

There is a pretty long list of boats that will run in very shallow water.

There is a much shorter list that will get up in very shallow water. Get one of these.

A Yamaha TRP will make a bad flats boat good and a good one great.

If you stick a 1984 plastic 18' Shallow Sport Classic in 4" of water you can drag or walk it out.

If you stick a 2000 20' Shallow Sport Classic in 4" of water a friend with a boat can drag it out.

If a friend sticks his 24' Hanie Cat with a 300hp Mercury in 4" of water you can't drag it out w/ a 20' Shallow Sport with a 150 Yamaha TRP. You can by adding an IBIS with a 250 Mercury and getting two fat people off the Hanie.

You really have to develop a knowledge base of where and when you can go to certain places. If you are running across a stretch of water that you can't hole shot in and your engine dies,you are screwed.

Best thing is to call a friendly Ag with an airboat and then join the growing group of fans that can say, "I never was a fan of airboats but they are good for something."

.and when NW80 sticks that Panga the drag out is going to be on Youtube.

I'm not familiar with the Mowdy, but, the Saber Cat, Catalyst, Pescador, Tran Cat, Dargel 230 HDX, Haynie Cat, and JH Outlaw all kick the Shoalwater in the teeth.

I love the way the ShoalCat looks, but, after my test drives every time I see one I wonder if the owner even bothered test driving other boats.

They didn't exist when I bought my JH Outlaw, but, if I were buying today it would with be the Saber Cat or Catalyst

Were you set on the 25 or did you consider the 23? 70% of my fishing will be me and my gf, but will have 4 or 5 occassionally. I'm torn on which one honestly, but I sure did like how the 25 rode across Copqno Bay in the chop.

https://instagr.am/p/Blp7XRLnYeS

Hoyt Ag said:

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70% of my fishing will be me and my gf

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Once the gf becomes the mrs your fishing party will drop to one.

HTH

I somehow doubt it. I would wager she loves to fish and hunt more than a large chunk of the OB.

Have you consulted the crazy/hot matrix lately?


Just kidding around. Good find.

Another consideration: trailer length may foul you up as most storage units aren't deep enough for a 27-28' long trailer.

I have a 40x60 barn with 15ft wide bays. I bet that will suffice

What happened to the 25' majek?

Cancelled the order for various reasons.

Does all this running in shallow water, stuck in mud, drag me out if the mud stuff damage the fishery down there in the bays and estuaries? I've never owned a boat. It's just random fishing stuff I've read about

Salt of the water said:

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https://instagr.am/p/Blp7XRLnYeS

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The Qualified Captain is my favorite follow in IG

Only real negative affects would be getting stuck or tearing up area with sea grasses, which many of those bays/areas are protected and should be avoided. The sea grass areas are the true nurseries and are vital to the health of the bays. Mud and sand flats not so much.

So how many of you have bought a new Shoalwater or Mowdy since this thread was started? Tell us a fishing/boating story.

This is a blast from the past. I sold this boat exactly for what I paid to build it. Used boat market was roaring hot then.