Man, you're going to get all kinds of opinions. The 19' Shoalcat is a good boat, throw in a 185 JH Outlaw, 20' Transcat, and some I'm forgetting about. I have a 21' Shoalwater, great for what i use it for, but way more than 30k, lol.

 

Check out the JH Outlaw as well in 18'. Sport Marine is the builder/ dealer awesome crew. Test them all.

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Majek RFL 18ft. Buddy has one. Those things run stupid shallow

 

All the boats that have been listed are great shallow water rigs, but not very good in big open water of east bay and that dreaded ship channel. I have a 21’ shallow sport and it sucks in heavy chop. I don’t mess with ship channel in it. As SSST referenced, none of them listed will be cheap. You’ll probably have a hard time finding one under your $30k mark that doesn’t need some work or has a lot of age on it. Honestly if I had to do it again I’d get a SS Mod V for Galveston bay instead of the sport.

 

Look around the marshes you fish in at the other boats. There is your recommendation of what works best for where and how you fish.

But shallow water boat and all of the Galv bay complex doesnt go together. Marsh is great.....but for 90% of Galv marsh ain't it.....

Look into the tunnel Vs.... Haynie Bigfoot is so much more versatile. And rigged right will get you very very shallow. I used to fish mine sight casting to reds right next to lots of cat boats. But it was rigged specifically for shallow water. Blue wave, Explorer, man I could go on all day. Lots of tunnel V manufacturers. All.of them make one. They are popular and come up all the time
And resell easy.

Under $30k used all the time. You give up so so so SO much just to get that last inch or two of skinny. If you were further south I would keep steering you to shallow runners but for Galveston area no way. So much more and better opportunities than a dedicated flats boat. Look into the tunnel Vs. I run a 26ft Southshore in the marsh all the time even duck hunting. You dont need shallower up in Galv.

 

Gotta agree here.
Looking at what yopu want is a tough call. The Shoal, Shallow Sport, JH are all great boats and will run shallow. $30k is where the snag is. Also like SGREM said, tunnel V would suffice and the blue wave STL is a solid boat. Ran one for a while all over chocolate to the pass.

 

Galveston Bay And the marsh are 2 very different environments requiring very different hulls/setups to excel. My advice is to figure out which one you’re going to fish more often and get a boat that is great for that place, and hopefully at least ok for the other location. There are no boats that are great for both that I know of.

 

Galveston Bay And the marsh are 2 very different environments requiring very different hulls/setups to excel. My advice is to figure out which one you’️re going to fish more often and get a boat that is great for that place, and hopefully at least ok for the other location. There are no boats that are great for both that I know of.

X2 for this ^^^

 

Having grown up in the GBC, none of the boats you mentioned are what you need. I’ve been beat to hell in a 25 V in open water on that complex when it was glass an hour earlier.

As suggested before, get a tunnel-v. Haynie Bigfoot, Explorer 21 or 23, BW 22STL or evening a Parker 21 Big Bay.

Galveston Marshes aren’t that shallow so you should be able to go almost anywhere with a tunnel. The explorer will be the shallowest and the Haynie will be the fastest. The Parker will likely have the best ride and the BW will work.

 

Curious, why is the "hole shot" so important? I hear guys talk about it constantly. I get it if you're a tournament guy, but most of us ain't. Is that the equivalent of "burning rubber" when you're a teen?

I guess my fast days are behind me. Fishing is to relax, not go fast and blow my ears out with loud music.

Oh man....am I old or what?

And, in response to the original question, I run a Blue Wave 2200 STL, and it's a great boat for the bay. Handles chop, and runs skinny enough for me. I suggest riding on LOTS of boats. Find out what works. OH, and one last thing, because it looks cool doesn't mean it runs well.

 

It’s so you can get on plane quicker and not scrape bottom while you’re getting up - to make sure you can get out of wherever it is you got into. It’s very important and has a legitimate purpose, not the equivalent of burning rubber at all. It’s also more a function of torque versus speed, which is why 2-stroke motors historically had more torque and thus better hole shot than 4-strokes, and as others have said, hole shot props are not designed for top-end speed.

 

If your boat wont hoke shot it dips down, the prop drops down into the bottom sand or mud, and digs. It's like running your prop in a grinder. And you will have to replace prop every few months.

Additionally if you shut down in a shallow area and cant get back up you are putt putting along or pushing for possibly miles. Gotta be able to get up on the area you fish.

 

What does good hole shot have to do with going fast? I had a 13' scooter years ago that would snap your head back during hole shot but ran a whopping 24mph.

 

Yep. Had a Haynie Flats20 that would get up from sitting on the bottom not floating. If you weren't holding on it would eject you. But that boat wouldnt break 35mph.

Hole shot props aren't fast.
Fast props wont hole shot.

Hole shot needs are just dependent on where you fish. Where your boat shuts down and how far you are willing to putt putt to deeper water....IF you can even get to deeper water from where you shut down.

 

Another brand worth looking into the the blazer bay. The 2170 and 2200 both can be bought with a tunnel. You can find a lightly used one in the 30k range. Like some folks said above, everything is a trade off. Galveson is a big body of water and it's deep compared to the lower coast. The haying bigfoot would be a great option. Test ride several and see what fits your needs the best.

 

Shoalwater - old school

I was able to find an older Shoalwater. It's a '96 Stealth with a new 2018 4 stroke Pro XS Merc. Got it on the cheap but it's the best riding boat I've owned. It smooth in chop, your stay dry and will go skinny. I've owned an old Mako 23, a piece of **** Redfin 22 and a Cobia 274 for comparison.

You can a newer one and still save a chunk of change.

 

Have same boat. Rides good wouldn't trade it for anything. Those 80K boats look sweet but a boat payment is dumb. Where you fishing ? Im usually 90% in Brazoria and down to matagorda.

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Well I’m not nearly as experienced as most of you but I have some experience here. Found myself in the same place a couple years ago Ended up with a JH Outlaw. I love love love this boat...it does many things extremely well namely holeshot (with the 150 3 banger and a 18p 4 blade it’s stupid quick), corners like it’s on rails and will run in water so skinny if you stop...your done for (take this lesson from me lol). However this is what it doesn’t do well...open water.
Take the advice of the group here, a Mod or tunnel V will do a better job for an all around boat. If I had my time back I would have gone with a bigger Outlaw (an option, but not on your current budget) to get me out in the open bay more and still run skinny...but like I said...I love the boat and since I fish alone a lot it’s easy to handle, trailer and tow.
My $0.02.

BTW I think Sport Maine has a 185x with a 115 on it, it’s brand new so you’ll pay a little more but the warranty is excellent (so is their service...the other reason I purchased from them...they are excellent)


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We have 21ft NauticStar ShallowBay that is 6 years old. Had one minor issue. Fairly decent V hull with a shallow tunnel. Bobs jackplate. Been very happy with it. We fish Trinity bay, East bay, Sabine, and Lake Livingston. Was mid $40's new, should be able to find a used one reasonable.

 

I'm not familiar with NauticStar SB boats. Are these shallow water boats? By shallow I mean get up in 12"-16" of water or less.

 

Stoner Cat is another good hull that can take a beating and will go shallow. Better ride than an Illusion and will go go shallower than a Shoalwater. Stoner Super Cat is available in 19 or 22 ft.

 

You'll be pleased with the 20' Shoalwater Cat. The 19' rides very low in the back and will take on water.

 

I'm in the same boat but looking at 23' or bigger. Shallow Stalker, Shoalwater, and Haynie Cats have been my focus but finding good used under 60k has been difficult. There is a JH 24 out there but wasn't certain if it would get as shallow as the cats. I will spend most of the time from Corpus down past the land cut so roughest water will typically be the mouth of baffin but I can avoid some of that by running outside the channel using the islands for protection want to get in and out of 9 mile too. Is the JH or a Tiburon comparable to SW, SS, & Haynie cats?

 

My understanding of the tiburon is they can go very skinny, the JH not as much. Their outlaws go shallower than their v-hulls, but still not as shallow as a RFL. I think the outlaw may compare favorably with the boats you’ve listed, maybe some outlaw owners can chime in.

 

Thoughts

Run west galveston bay almost every weekend, run a 20' Tran SVT, great choice for the area the vast majority of the time.