2010 Clearwater Skiff 16 Super Sport

   Now I was wandering around over at Marine Dynamics in Englewood, Fl as usual and stumbled across the latest in functional, small workboats….. the Clearwater 16 Super Sport.

    Probably this is intended as a tender vessel or perhaps a Hardcore, unsinkable, self bailing launch but it is a perfect little platform for the person wanting to have a boat that is easy to take care of and has very little to go wrong….. Now to me that last part is the most important; if I am 80 miles or more from home, I like to know that I am on something like this – because the less that can go wrong … the less that will go wrong. Clearwater Skiffs has a full line of boats that meet that criteria.  Here is what you get for your money with Clearwater: 1 solid hull that you will probably give to your grandkids still in pretty good shape a bunch of years down the road, a simple center console, engine controls (shifter/throttle/key switch), a seat that does double duty as a cooler and the knowledge that you have not spent a whole lot and dont have to worry about breaking a bunch of frou frou crap your Southern self does not want on a boat anyway………There is a livewell option for the 16 Super Sport and it don’t cost a whole lot either.

     Now while this is a very functional workboat and has a ton of deck space for all of your gear it is a durn good boat for the single person or a couple who cant afford or just plain dont want some decked out high maintenance frou frou toy. It is perfect for 1 or 2 guys fishing and even with a little Yamaha 25 on it – this sucker cooks and books and on very little gas – which means you can spend more money on beer and beef jerky than at the gas pump……. Sure most commercial guys would convert that seat to a livewell but its already a cooler and it will hold a couple of days worth of ice and beer no problem – or lunch for a couple out to play for a day.  Personally I would just add a portable livewell and call it good. Then again for the couple that just wants to get out beaching and wandering around on very little gas at speeds that are more than enough to make it fun…… With 9 gallons in the tank (all she holds) you are not likely to run out of gas in a day because these are light little boats and the Yamaha 25hp 4 strokes that Marine Dynamics is fitting on them just barely sip the fuel anyway.

   So looking at her from a redneck standpoint this is a boat that will not set you back enough to worry about, heck buy an extra for your dad and one for your kid and you will still be less than buying the average used bayboat and even though this is based around a near flat bottom platform these little pups handle like a Southern boys dream. A little sharper than a Boston Whaler, a little more swishy in the rear than a Carolina Skiff JV15 but a lot more “solid” feeling overall than either. Where the Carolina Skiff JV cuts through like a razor trying to chop steel and a Boston Whaler in this class will jar your spine if you so much as take a ripple; These little Clear Water Skiffs are still the solid feel you want for those “stand up and run it” days  and you wont go home feeling like you were water skiing on the side of a mountain all day. Now that is important in a small boat. You see where the Carolina Skiff JV kind of “pucks and pops” the water at the front, making for a miserable ride at the end of the day and the Boston Whaler (older 17 Montauk series – I have not had the chance to run a new BW yet) squats back and gets rough at anything over a ripple; The nose on these is more like an older Crazed Cajun style. It slops the water underneath the boat with just enough taper you can take the average wake at a reasonable speed without going airborne or slamming your spine. In light chop you still have to back off her a bit same as her competitors but she takes it smooth and graceful – which is important to those of us who are getting old enough that our spinal comfort is an important factor.

   I am going to do my best to get the full line of Clearwaters in the water and let ya’all know what I think. So far after looking over the 210dl which I am in lust with and this 16 Super Sport which I am thinking would make a great back and forth to the keys boat – bout a 6 hour trip, top off in Marathon and do the top off thing again on the way home the next day Probably cut the 200 gallons or so that my 24 takes down to about maybe 35 gallons – and strangely these little 16 footers are smoother than my 24ft Carolina Skiff even though the 24 has all that extra weight (and a monster Yamaha out back).