What is the best boat for a waterfront property?

Waterfront properties differ from each other, and so do boats, so the answer depends on a multitude of factors including –

Location of the property

Does the property border the ocean, a big lake, a small lake, a pond or a river?
Is the water adjacent to the property deep or shallow?
If the property borders the ocean, how strong are the tides there?
Is it a beachfront property, or does it border a canal, or a cove?
Are waves and currents too strong there?

Physical attributes of the property and access to the water

Does the property feature a beach or a dock, or both?
Is it necessary to carry the boat from the house or the boat shed to the water and back?
Is the water at the beach very shallow, and does it feature rocks, and/or vegetation?

Docking

Is the dock high or low above the water?
Is it a permanent or a floating structure?

Boat size and type

Some boats are too big, and they draft too much to be docked close to shore. These boats may be moored close enough, but then they require a small service boat, namely a boat tender to allow transportation of passengers and goods from shore and back.
Other vessels, such as canoes, SOT kayaks and sit-in kayaks, don’t offer much as far as boating goes, and they are not comfortable.
Jon boats and skiffs work well on flat water, and they can go in relatively shallow water. However, they are not seaworthy, and they are not useful in water where abundant vegetation grows, unless they are outfitted with a surface drive (mud motor). These flat bottomed boats are usually too wide for their users to paddle them effectively over any meaningful distance.
Inflatable dinghies are typically more seaworthy than Jon boats and skiffs, but they are notoriously uncomfortable, and similarly, they don’t paddle well. Most anglers would be reluctant to fish out of an inflatable boat, because fishing hooks can easily perforate their walls.
Pontoon boats work well on flat water, but despite their extreme stability, they are not comfortable in choppy water.
Big motorboats are fun, and they are more seaworthy than small boats, but they draft too much to go in shallow water, they won’t go in water with vegetation, and there is no way to paddle them, even over very short distances.
In general, the bigger the boat the harder it is to carry it over land, and the more its owners depend on docks. Needless to say that maintaining a large size boat is not cheap, even if it’s possible to moor or dock it next to your property.

Could this boat fit your waterfront property needs?

The main advantages of the S4 as a boat for a waterfront property are:

1. It is lightweight and portable – barely 100 lbs without the motor. This means that you don’t necessarily need a dock to launch and beach it, and if needed, you can haul it on top of your dock. Moreover, being a car-top boat makes it available for you to take on trips to other places, even without a trailer.
2. It’s a kayak, and it paddles well as such, and as a canoe.
3. Very shallow draft, even with a motor. For many anglers and paddlers, this feature means everything.
4. It’s seaworthy – more than Jon boats and most micro skiffs.
5. It’s fast – 17 mph sustained with a powerful outboard motor.
6. It’s an all-terrain boat that you can outfit with a surface drive (mud motor)
7. It’s comfortable and back-pain free, thanks to its saddle seat that its passengers ride similarly to the way you ride the saddle of high performance personal watercraft (jet-ski), all-terrain vehicles (ATV), and snowmobiles.
8. It’s extremely stable – more than Jon boats and micro skiffs of similar size, which makes it great for fishing. It even features a front deck for casting.
9. Plenty of storage space and good carrying capacity – The S4 can carry a payload of 600 lbs, which means a powerful portable outboard motor and three passengers. The on board storage space it provides is equivalent to the storage space offered by good size skiffs and Jon boats.
10. It’s durable, thanks to the fact that it’s rotomolded from High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), and you can carry and launch it over rocks.

Do you have any questions about this article?

By Mike Silva

Massachusetts

I sold my 15 HP 4-cycle outboard and got a 9.9 HP modified instead. The old motor weighed 135 lbs, and it was too heavy. The new one weighs 108 lbs, and I outfitted it with a hydrofoil.

My friend tells me “You have a nice 24 ft boat, so why do you fish from that kayak?”… I like fishing with the S4 because it puts me on the fish – My big boat drifts too much with the wind because it has a big high deck, and it drifts too much with the current because it drafts 3 ft. No such problems with the S4, and since it drafts so little I can get much closer to shore without fear of hitting rocks.

The other day I was going with it through the Cape Cod canal, which can be a nasty place because of the currents there, especially when there’s a strong wind blowing. The water was rough, and you could see that even big boats had problems, but not the S4. We made it without any problem.

My dad and I caught many stripers out of my S4 this year, in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. I heard the tuna were biting now, so I think I’ll try going after them.

My next project will be adding a large size spray shield so we can go faster in big waves.

 

 

 

Another striper on board

 

More rigging and fishing with Mike »

By Chris Henderson

 

The S4 with the 6.5 hp Twister mud motor performed well towing the W700 back, but it still needs a bit more work to maximize its performance. You can see how a W700 and the S4 combo gives you a lot of versatility.

The wheel cart I made needs more work too.

 

By Chris Henderson

Hunt was a bit more sporty this week in that my shooting was off and I ended up winging some birds. The big problem with that is that it results in water swats. In the spot I am hunting you are limited to 25 shells. Although I do not believe many adhere to this rule, I do. So spending a bunch of shells on water swats and a particularly crafty wigeon which was probably eaten by the seals, I came down to my last four shells with 2 birds to go. Got one with two shots, and only had two shots left. After shooting them I thought I would be foiled in my quest to get a limit. So I searched my box and then found one more live shell in my pocket! I let the bird come all the way in with feet down before I smacked him. That 25 shell limit did make it much more sporting I will tell you that. Wigeon will often come in with no calling necessary, but today the wigeon whistle proved it’s worth turning a few birds and bringing them all the way in. Torrie is improving with each trip.

Of course the W700 hunting kayak was solid as ever!

Enjoy

 

 

By Chris Henderson

A solid day on the mud flats.
Torrie, my retriever, improved over last time, and is starting to get this game figured out. Some work to do to finish the retrieves, but we will get there! She has not had a lot of practice with the whole transition from water to land holding the bird.
Can’t beat the weather or the birds! Wigeon whistle worked like a charm.

Stuff I Use  –

Duck Hunting Boat: Wavewalk 700

Decoys –
Avian X wigeon decoys
Assault Widgeon
Tangle Free Full Body Wigeon

Gun: Benelli Nova Tangle Free

Dog Blind: Little Buddy