On Mon, 27 Oct 2008 23:53:30 -0500, Scott Sexton wrote:
I will be using it mostly for fishing in West Galveston Bay so shallow
draft is important. Also, I have to go through West Bay to get to the
ICW. Most of the use will be around West Bay, with the occasional 20m
trip into Galveston, and sometimes into Clear Lake/Kemah ~40m. Took the
old one out to the 12m rigs a few times, but offshore capabilities
aren't a 100% requirement for the new boat.
What do you think folks, should I get another Mako 212 or is there
another option that would be better?
Older boat? New? Used?
If your looking at new, I'd take a look at the larger bay boats -
Triton or Bay Ranger. Given your preferences for shallow water (I
assume you like fishing for specs and redfish), that would be a good
option. Triton uses Mercury engines, Ranger you have a choice between
Yamaha, Merc and Evinrude. The bigger bay boats have the reach to do
the occasional 12M rig trip on good days and can handle moderate seas
just fine.
Dollar-for-dollar, and based on my own investigations and testing for
local dealers, I'd probably opt for the Triton 220 LTS if I were in
the marker for a new bay boat (I have one now - 200C Sportfisherman
built by Ranger - the first bay boat built by any bass boat
manufacturer.) I am a big Ranger fan, but their recent styling
changes leave me cold - very disappointed.
Triton:
http://www.tritonboats.com/boat_detail_new.asp?bid=131
Ranger:
http://www.rangerboats.com/flash/gal...ries=sal****er
The neat thing about these style boats is that they are very versatile
- you can take them big lake bass fishing, river system fishing, they
trailer very nice and you can pretty much set them up as you want to
with T-Tops and such. They are roomy with good interior space and
storage. Mine is set up for sweet/salt water operation with trolling
motor, custom T-Top, I have a leaning post/seat up forward for bass
fishing with a sounder on the trolling motor, but the trolling motor
is useful for salt water fishing - I use it a lot on flats in
Narragansett Bay or in the Napatree Beach area over in Westerly, RI.
In any case, those are my two favorites if you are looking new.
I would not, under any circumstances, buy another Mako. To put it in
plain terms - they ain't what they used to be. The ones I've seen
might as well have been built by Bayliner in the bad days. Even the
new boats built after the transition to Johnny Morris and the Bass Pro
Shops Marine Group are crap. Unfortunate - Mako was a great boat back
in the day.
As to engines - meh, I'm tired of arguing with morons. I repowered my
Bay Ranger with a ETEC 200 Evinrude HO, 25" shaft on a jack plate.
Runs like a champ, extremely fuel efficient, quiet, starts first time,
easy to winterize, no muss or fuss. I wouldn't buy another boat
without an Evinrude outboard ETEC. There is something to be said for
Verado from Mercury which, as I have admitted in the past, would be a
good choice - I've tested a lot of them on bass and bay boats - they
are great engines and I would purchase a Verado if Evinrude wasn't an
option.
Wouldn't buy a Yamaha two or four stroke if you paid me to buy one.
Jack plate is something I would consider a MUST have along with a
larger shaft size that the design spec. I know that doesn't make
sense intuitively to put a 25" engine on a 20" transom, but trust me
on this - it works and if you get a full hydraulic jack plate, it
works even better. You can adjust your running according to sea state
and believe me - on a bay boat, having the ability to lower the shaft
further into the water makes the boat behave much better in high winds
and seas - been there, done that, proved the point.
Used boat? Proably the same advice, only I'd be picky about it.
Good luck. Sorry about losing your Mako.