Shoalwater 21 Cat Walkthrough and Prop Test

[@jeffreygavlik3733]

nice to see a fellow Salt Strong member, nice boat bud, my dad and I have a 2017 shoalwater cat with the raised center console, great boat

[@chrislamonaca5011]

Saltygillz appreciates the support brotha!

[@ryanhorton2340]

Chris, I own the same boat 2021 21 cat, almost the same color. I have one power pole pro series 2 and it makes huge difference when wading. I honestly never use the anchor just pole it down.

[@chrislamonaca5011]

Good stuff! Yea, I may be adding the power pole real soon!

[@mikewinfield6079]

Chris, you made mention that you use to drift instead of wade fish because of your fear of being hit by a sting ray. I have the same fear and it prevents me from wanting to wade fish. What did you do to overcome this fear? What type of areas are more prone to have sting rays? Love the videos & content!

[@chrislamonaca5011]

Honestly, how I overcame my fear was jumping in. I constantly did the stingray shuffle with my feet, and after time I found myself being more comfortable. You can get extra protection like Burt’s wading boots or stingray shield guards to help as well. Like they say, the only thing to fear is fear itself. Hope this helps!

[@adolphvega121]

Nice videos guys. If you don’t mind but can you in short explain how different pitch props effect the boat ride, hole shot etc…..

[@chrislamonaca5011]

So in theory Up in pitch, increase in mph but reduction of hole shot. Down in pitch, increase hole shot but loss in mph. With that, there are variables when you start adding Extra Cup to the prop. My advice is to jump on a forum or talk to the dealer and see what people who have the same boat/motor. Hope this helps.

[@jeremy6480]

Have a Shoalwater 23 cat and love it. Fish Rockport Aransas Pass area and love how it handles chop and runs super shallow. Had a Haynie 25 magnum used it on the jetty didn’t like that I couldn’t go shallow so traded it.

[@SaltyGillz]

Ya if you are spending most of your time below the knee cap then that is defiantly the right boat for the application.

[@adurso1005]

nice and informative walkthrough. will be monitoring for anything similar on your Haynie boats. these shallow water cats are optimal for what I am looking for, thanks

[@SaltyGillz]

Glad it was helpful! We will be doing one for the haynie!!

[@KGFishyFingers]

Can't beat that Suzuki. They are the best 4 stroke on earth.

[@adurso1005]

hey, i've watched this a few times because it was really well done and addresses my interests, but here is my situation and I am hoping you can offer your insights and/or suggestions. Have you experienced fishing the lowcountry waters of South Carolina (Charleston, Beaufort, Hilton Head) ? this is where I fish & we have vast and expansive marsh systems, so an abundance of flats & skinny creeks. however, we also have 7-8ft tide swings & our marsh & flats are typically right off, or not far from, deep river waters that could be 1/4 - 1/2 mile wide and offer steady CHOP & periodic white caps. quite unlike the many miles of flats along the Texas coast. with that background, how does the Haynie or other cats you're familiar with handle some chop? Is the Shallow Sport quadrahedral hull the only cat hull that is an option for these waters? there are some but not many cats around here yet I suspect that has as much to do with the history of Carolina skiffs & bay boats, along with most cat manufacturer dealers being in Texas (now increasingly florida as well). would appreciate any thoughts you may have on this. tight lines!

[@SaltyGillz]

Personally not any experience with the waters up there. With what you’ve described, a cat boat sounds like it could fit your needs well. When looking at these, would just suggest finding out which ones do what better. Example, the haynie cat is gonna run just as skinny as a shoal water, but not take off quite as shallow, however, haynie cat is gonna handle some chop and rougher water just a little better and is a little faster hp to hp. The quad hull design by shallow sport is great, but is gonna offer just a little wetter ride and can have a tendency to slide out on you while running skinny and turning quickly. Companies like new water boats that offer advanced material design in a large skiff platform may also work great for you. If your looking at some of these boats we’d suggest making a trip to a dealer in Texas or Florida and finding a way to get on several different options and experience them yourself since we all care about pros and cons a little differently depending on the situation. Thanks for watching!

[@adurso1005]

@@SaltyGillz that is very helpful, thank you. I've tentatively scheduled a sea trial down in Tampa -- just waiting on delivery of a dealer ordered model -- and I may do a road trip to visit several Texas manufacturers much appreciated, and enjoy your week

[@marvinsimoneau6126]

Hey bud, where did you get that Shoalwater Helm Pad made?

[@SaltyGillz]

Waypoint marine

[@jeffsaddiction7183]

I fish the Rockport area and run a Haynie Z 21, wade fish 99% of the time, and have been thinking about making a change. I like how the Haynie handles the chop around Aransas Bay, but always get nervous inside Estes and some of the other shallow water spots in the area. Am I limiting my fishing ground too much with the Haynie Z or should I be able to get to the majority of the same spots as a Shoalwater or Haynie cat ?

[@SaltyGillz]

Really just depends how you fish, that boat is defiantly gonna handle a bit more chop than most tunnel boats. Nick really likes his haynie cat because it lets him stop and jump up in almost nothing when he is duck hunting. Most of the time a tunnel isn’t needed for our style of wade fishing, putting in and out of a little shallower water isn’t that common, and the running draft isn’t a big enough difference to scare us out of a smoother ride with a magnum. To answer the exact question, yes, you will be able to run and take off skinner with a tunnel Boat, what your sacrificing for a couple inches though is the consideration you’d have to make.

[@johnross6314]

Top speed seems low considering the light weight, being a cat which should lift the hull out. Being required to have tabs down at high speed running is wrong. Using trim, AND jack plate (creates desired rear lift pressures based on bullet/prop height, partial surfacing. Also dramatically lowers drag), better way to go. Leave trims out of water, This boat should show zero tendencies to “chine walk”. You should be able to run much higher pitch. Still have good hole shot. Have many other ideas.

[@jefflovesdogs9973]

How much do these things cost, more or less? I'd be game for one once I set up my finances for it. And can you fly fish on these things?

[@SaltyGillz]

They are about 80k and up brand new depending on what all you get out on them. Yes you can fly fish on them, probably best to minimize layout so you don’t snag fly line on anything

[@johnross6314]

Top speed seems low considering the light weight, being a cat which should lift the hull out. Being required to have tabs down at high speed running is wrong. Using trim, AND jack plate (creates desired rear lift pressures based on prop height, partial surfacing. Also dramatically lowers drag), better way to go. Leave trims out of water, This boat should show zero tendencies to “chine walk”. Have many other ideas.