What Flats Boat do you recomend?

[Shallow-Minded]

I am presently looking to buy a flats boat and would greatly appreciate anyones opinion an which boat you would recomend. I would especialy like to here from any of you fishing guides that have spent a lot of time on the water. I am looking for one in the 18' range. I have not done much poling and i'm not sure I will with the flats boat. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I spend most of my time fishing Flamingo, Ten Thousand Islands and the Gulf Coast, Sanibel, Pine Island, Charlette Harbor areas.. I presently have a center console, it's a 1996 175 Aquasport, I'm ready to graduate.
PS; any advice on outboards, Merc?Yamaha?Johnson/Evenrude?

[Pairomedic]

Hi, I have fished quite a few different flats boats and own my own. In addition I have spent about 10 years in the marine manufacturing industry. By far the most pleasurable boat I have ever poled was a Hewes Tournament Pro 16. A close freind and fishing partner had one which I poled often. He has since moved "up" to a 20 foot Avocet and it is not as much fun to fish from. Keep in mind that FLAT bottom boat such as the Avocet and my Kenner are difficult to pole and do not track as straight as a boat with a Vee. Most boats are built similarly, with the industry being relativly small( as far as designers and work forces go...trust me on this), don't be afraid to try several, choosing one in your price range, with the qualities of one that isn't.

[edfish]

Shallow-Minded:

There are dozens of boats in the 18' range. A good source to begin with is the January 2001 issue of "Sport Fishing" magazine. It has an extensive and *fairly* comprehensive boat listing broken down by category (be sure to cross check the "skiffs", "flats boats", and "center consoles" categories since each contains "flats" boats) and then listed by length. It covers most, but certainly not all, of the manufacturers. They also have a searchable version on their website.

Big issues you didn't specify are: a) cost, b) draft, c) manuf. w. dealer network or factory direct. Getting a clear idea of what you want before getting hit by sales speak will help you. You will hear good and bad about all the dealer oriented manufacturers (Hewes / Maverick, Back Country, Action Craft, Ranger). Then there are the "established" factory direct manufacturers (Egret, Dolphin, Release, Lake & Bay, GrandSlam, Hell's Bay). Don't assume factory direct models are cheaper -- usually its just the opposite. And lastly there are smaller manufacturers who don't advertise much and can be hard to find.

Get a short list going and find guides who fishings out of each model (who says research is dull?). A day on the water will tell you much more than a dealer and that new gelcoat smell won't blur your judgement quite as much.

Best of luck.

Edfish