Tri-Hull or Flat Bottom for shallow water

[_Reg]

Recently bought a lake house in east Texas on a little cove where the water is only around 3 feet deep until you get about 100 feet out from the shore. My neighbor has a flat bottom Alumacraft fishing boat and has almost never had a problem getting it out. I am looking for a little more boat, and have heard that tri-hulls will handle the shallow water. Does this sound right? I want to be able to fish, but also allow kids to jump out and swim and maybe even pull a tube or ski. Wouldnt hurt if the boat had a bit of a cool look to it. Do I need to stick with a flat bottom boat in water that shallow, or will a tri-hull work?

Appreciate any adivce

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Tri-Hull or Flat Bottom for shallow water

Welcome to iboats.

A tri Hull will draft more water. It really depends on how shallow you are talking - three feet. Some companies make a shallow tunnel hull too which would work. Just remember the best ride will come from a V hull.

Three feet is plenty of water for any boat up to 21' regardless of hull design. There are not many boats that require 36" draft.

 

[etracer68]

Re: Tri-Hull or Flat Bottom for shallow water

Older tri hulls are more stable, and as Bob has stated a Vhull will ride better at planning speeds. As long as you trim up the motor in shallow spots, not while planning, you should be ok.

 

[81_chapparel194]

Re: Tri-Hull or Flat Bottom for shallow water

Welcome to iboats.

A tri Hull will draft more water. It really depends on how shallow you are talking - three feet. Some companies make a shallow tunnel hull too which would work. Just remember the best ride will come from a V hull.

Three feet is plenty of water for any boat up to 21' regardless of hull design. There are not many boats that require 36" draft.

+1 on v hull i have a 19 ft v hull fiberglass chapparall and i have ran in as shallow as 18" slowly over sand bars when the tide left me with no choice.. i didnt like it but trimmed way up so skeg wouldnt hit and putted back in.. with a 100 ft area u should be fine as most water bodies have a idle speed only code for with in 100 ft of shore... in my area at least.. so just dont try to plane it out and remember to trim up while in shallow water.. although 36 inch draft should be no problem for anything ~22 ft or under as mentioned above
pontoons and deck boats usually require less drafts..

 

[southkogs]

Re: Tri-Hull or Flat Bottom for shallow water

... boats like Carolina Skiff and Boston Whalers are a little more utility oriented, but would kinda' blend a shallower draft with a little more boat (respective to other boats the same size).

Though like Bob said, you can get away with a quite a bit of boat in 3' of water.

 

[_Reg]

Re: Tri-Hull or Flat Bottom for shallow water

Thanks for the advice. I like the look of those Boston Whalers, so may focus on finding one of those.

 

[SotRH]

Re: Tri-Hull or Flat Bottom for shallow water

Where I boat, like many other places right now, the water level is really low right now. The last couple of evenings I've been out doing a little scouting for the upcoming gator season, and I've had to watch the depths really closely. We have a 21' tri-hull deck boat (pictured below). When trimmed up in shallow water, I haven't ran into any problems until the depth drops below about 2'4".

I can't speak for all tri-hulls, but I hope my recent experience with mine helps some.

 

[steelespike]

Re: Tri-Hull or Flat Bottom for shallow water

I don't have any direct experience with dealing with shallows. But it seems to me that a flat bottom could run no wake speed
in 8 or 10" of water with the motor trimmed up. In aluminum it could be bigger lighter and faster out of the hole.
A long wide aluminum Jon or Jon like boat would be real stable and carry a lot but will ride terrible as will a tri hull.
I think most tri hulls are glass so besides built deeper they are heavier using more water and slower out of the hole.

 

[Campylobacter]

Re: Tri-Hull or Flat Bottom for shallow water

I'm on lake width lots of shallow coves, Pontoon or Jetboat (yamaha or seadoo) is the usual solution. I use a hurricane deck boat (needs about 2') but I have a few extra feet at my dock.

 

[southkogs]

Re: Tri-Hull or Flat Bottom for shallow water

Pontoon...

That's a pretty good idea too ... if you're primarily cruising and fishing, a 'toon will get into real skinny water nicely. We used to run an old Crest that we had in Less that 2' without really thinking about it and could get into "inches" of water if we paid attention.

Thanks for the advice. I like the look of those Boston Whalers, so may focus on finding one of those.

I like the Whalers, and the Carolina Skiffs that I've seen have been nicely done too. If you start getting into too big of either though (or weigh one down with add-ons), you may not gain too much over a run-of-the-mill bow rider.

My folks have a 19' I/O and the area of the lake they're on requires about a 150 yard run in 3' of water. It's never been a problem ... unless you forget to trim up

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Tri-Hull or Flat Bottom for shallow water

three feet isn't shallow! it won't make any difference what hull you use (assuming under 20') in three feet.

Of course you want an outboard, regardless of depth but especially if you will be going to real shallow water. And a stainless steel prop.

A sand/mud bottom gives you the safe margin of error and an oar or shove pole gets you out! Sometimes you just hop overboard and walk it out; if it's knee deep you drive. Oyster rocks can be a problem.

Look at the stern and the deadrise, and the depth from the bottom of the hull to the waterline, to get your minimum float depth. For my 19' Carolina skiff it's about 4". A 17' whaler would be about 6" (guessing) and when you get to other hulls, there's lots of variation. Of course when you add weight (people) it will change, too.

I can run slow with the motor kicked up with just a few inches below the hull. Putting people up front helps--it's a skill you just have to learn not to put too many and have the bow dig. With the motor up you lose some steering and control.

Power tilt is your best friend for shallow water use.

You can run on a plane over water too shallow to run at hull speed but you have to be on top of your game to do this, and have all passengers secure.

Rememer, too, it's dangerous to pull a skiier, etc. over shallow water even if the boat runs fine, due to spinal injury or oyster bed slicing if they fall.

I just came back from a week on a barrier island running several boats in skinny water. there's a lot involved in successful and safe shallow water boating.