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OK, looking for alittle bay boat, anyone have any experiance with a parker big bay?? My entire life i have been on whalers, but ready for something with alittle smoother ride.
ALSO
anyone know anything about the evinrude Fitch motors?

Matt,
The Parker 23 is an outstanding tunnel hull. Fantastic ride...dry...and won't swap ends like the El Pescador 24. We have a Exployer TV 23 with a Yamaha 150 TRP...the same ride characteristics as the Parker...but, no inner liner and spackled gel coat with rolled edges. but $20k cheaper and a little less draft which we need when we're fishing around Port O'Connor The fit and finish on the Big Bay is incredible, sporting an inner liner and all top quality hardware...trim tabs and the whole bit...drafts a little bit more than the Tx boats like Tran boats in Palacias, Hainey boats in Sea Drift, and Myjek boats in Corpus..about $60k for the Big Bay package...Matt, you can handle that with your deep pockets and what not.

Sorry, I meant, Explorer TV 23. Matt, if I lived in the Galveston area, I'd consider the Hainey Big Foot 23. It's a rolled edge and spackled finished boat with a big tunnel. The ride is great and also very dry...she'll run in a foot of water and will get up out of the hole in the same, as long as you're running a Yamaha TRP. Yamaha doesn't make that motor anymore, but. you can still buy the lower unit and swap it out on a HPDI or a Four stroke. Give me a call if you want to talk TX bay boats.

Ya john,
I have heard those TRPs are nice. I looked at a 21 banna boat with one.
Right now I am looking at a used 23 parker BB with a 200 evinrude fitch, which the fitch scares me. But my budy had one that went 3800 hours!!
That explore is nice, but I need more freeboard, I have a 2.5 and 3.5 year old. that haynie doesnt look to bad, i though they had short sides. Man my pockets are bottomless, everythingi put in them just falls right straight to uncle sam!!

Matt, you've obviously heard the other similar sounding nickname for the Ficht's right? Not to say this motor couldn't live as long as your friend's. Lots of horror stories for those motors and a rough time period for the company.
-Joe

I've got a 115hp Evinrude Ficht on a 20' skiff.
Suprisingly good fuel economy.
Uses very little oil.
I was advised to only run full synthetic oil thru it and have had no major issues.
Pretty quiet and smooth at idle, but howls (like the 2 stroke it is) when on step.
Mine stutters (like the two stroke it is) every once in awhile when throttling down.
Been meaning to get that looked at, but the 'factory dealer' that has the computer software required to do any diagnotics is not conveniently located.
A mechanic acquantance of mine suggested that it probably needs new spark plugs.
Good Luck

ok, so the wife has xed the haynie and parker big bay
nut likes
A. boston whaler 23 dauntless - 80K (not happing)
B. grady white 220 tournament - 80k(not happing)
C. blie wave 2400 purebay with a 250 suzuki
what you think ?

Matt - my son uses bay boats to makie a living guiding. The boat companies fall all over each other to give him free boats. He was with Pathfinder for a while and it is a super boat, but Skeeter came along and topped them.....his 24' Skeeter was the best riding bay boat you ever saw and with a 250 Yamahamma 4 stroke was fast, quiet, and economical. He's between bay boats right now as he's using his 27 Contender to haul CG guys around the oil leak area. He will get another Skeeter this fall when fising opens back up.

I thought the fit and finish, and the ride, of the Pathfinder 22 he had was super, but the overall quality of the 24 Skeeter is tops. If you would like to get with him for advice, let me know.

UV

Matt,

Last year I bought an Everglades 243 (24') w/250 Yamaha. I previously owned a Parker 23 CC DV and an old style BW 24' Outrage CC w/225 Yamaha. I can tell you that the Everglades is the best designed, best built, and best riding boat that I have owned in that size range. The 243 is a bay boat and suits my needs to a T. It is modified V, so it handles the chop well, but it's not so deep as to prevent shallow water operations. It has low gunwales, but takes big seas well (I stuffed it in a 4' breaker on the shoals due to poor timing on my part, and it plowed ahead and de-watered fine). The boss will love it because of the comfortable seating (leaning post/seat, forward of console, and aft flip-up seats). Has a great t-top with a sliding front window which will drop down for full air, or raise up for full protection. There are plenty of them on the used market with very low hours. I recommend highly.

Tommy