We've all seen them, the recent parade of inexpensively made small boats, usually one of the many canoe/boat hybrids, all dolled up to look "just like a Towee" at an astoundingly low price down at Joe's Boat Sales. These boats are generally designed, built and sold by people who's occupation is turning chop sprayed fiberglass into a product at the lowest cost rather than by professional watermen and fine boat builders. This lack of understanding of the needs of their customers can lead to some very interesting offerings.
Case in point are the small skiffs that have shown up lately with huge center consoles and steering wheels. These are normally being promoted by a dealer who is trying to catch the eye of the new or uneducated buyer by offering what appears to be "all the features of a big bay boat in a small package". This can be cute - if you're 4. My granddaughter has an amazing battery powered mini dune buggy that she rides around the yard but when you're an adult angler who needs a piece of equipment that works - not so much. These folks are doing their customers a grave disservice.
In over 30 years of running small skiffs from Idaho to Key West, we've learned that the small technical skiff is an amazing tool but the trade off is real estate. Space is precious on a small skiff so why in the world would you plop down a huge console and destroy both valuable space and fishing access just to be able to have a steering wheel like a big boat? It makes no sense when tiller steering is available and takes up almost no space - the tiller folds right up out of the way. A small side console or coffin box with a grab handle - sure - but a center steering console with a wheel on a small technical skiff should be relegated to toys - not Towees (see what we did there?).
In all seriousness, our point is that we wont ever do something that is bad for our clients just to make a sale. If you're ready for a hand built, lifetime warrantied, custom skiff of your own, now is a great time to give us a call and get you started down the road to your next adventure. See you on the water.