East Cape technical poling skiff on a shallow flat

Skiffs · 17 to 19 feet

Flats boats and technical poling skiffs.

Eight hulls under 20 feet, built one at a time in Longwood, Florida. V hull or near-flat X hull, 17 to 19 feet, drafts from three and a half inches. This page explains the words, shows the boats, and tells you which one fits your water.

Build yours See the eight skiffs

East Cape builds eight skiffs: four 17-footers (a V hull and a near-flat X hull, and a lightweight Lite version of each), two 18-footers (V and X), and two 19-foot flats boats (the Vantage and the VHP). The X models float in 3.5 to 4 inches, and a tunnel is an option on them for the skinniest water. The V-hull skiffs float in 5 to 7. The 19-footers draft 7 to 9 inches loaded and cross open bays dry. Prices start at $31,500 for a 17 EVO Lite with trailer.

Plain words

What the words mean.

People search for five things and mean four boats. Here is what each one is, and which of ours it points to.

Poling skiff

A shallow-draft boat you push with a pole while someone casts from the bow. Light, quiet, low to the water, with a platform over the motor to pole from. Every boat on this page is a poling skiff.

Technical poling skiff

A poling skiff tuned for the hard part: no hull slap, a quiet chine, minimal windage, a hull that spins on the pole. Ours: the 17 EVO, 18 EVO and 19 Vantage.

Flats boat

A slightly bigger skiff that runs to the flat as well as it fishes it. More fuel, more seats, more motor, a drier ride across a bay. Ours: the 19 Vantage and 19 VHP, and the 18 EVO on the days you run outside.

Tunnel hull

A channel under the transom that feeds water to a raised motor, so the boat can jump on plane and run in inches. On an East Cape it is an option, not a hull: the X models (17 EVO X, 17 EVO X Lite, 18 EVO X) run a near-flat 2-degree bottom, and a tunnel can be added for owners who cover long distances across the skinniest water. Most do not need it.

Microskiff

A skiff under about 16 feet, often for one angler. We do not build one. Our smallest boat is the 17 EVO Lite at 16 feet 5 inches and under 400 pounds, which is lighter than most microskiffs and still fishes two people.

The lineup

Eight skiffs. Three lengths.

Same shop, same standards, eight different answers to the same question: how shallow, how far, how many.

17-foot technical poling skiff

17 EVO V

Shallow-minded performance.

Draft: 5.5"–7.5"
Power: 60–90 HP
From: $53,000 Boat · Motor · Trailer

See the 17 EVO V →

17-foot shallow water skiff

17 EVO X

2° X hull. Pure skinny.

Draft: 4"–7"
Power: 60–90 HP
From: $53,000 Boat · Motor · Trailer

See the 17 EVO X →

lightweight 17-foot flats skiff

17 EVO V Lite

Simple where it should be. Serious where it matters.

Draft: 5"–7"
Power: 30–60 HP
From: $34,000 Boat · Trailer

See the 17 EVO V Lite →

ultralight 17-foot shallow water skiff

17 EVO X Lite

2° X hull. Ultralight build. Built for inches.

Draft: 3.5"–5"
Power: 30–60 HP
From: $31,500 Boat · Trailer

See the 17 EVO X Lite →

18-foot flats skiff for inshore and nearshore

18 EVO V

Backcountry inshore. Offshore-capable on calm days.

Draft: 7"–9"
Power: 90–115 HP
From: $58,000 Boat · Motor · Trailer

See the 18 EVO V →

18-foot shallow water skiff

18 EVO X

2° X hull. 18-foot platform.

Draft: 4"–7"
Power: 60–90 HP
From: $57,000 Boat · Motor · Trailer

See the 18 EVO X →

19-foot technical poling skiff and flats boat

19 Vantage

The driest boat in its class.

Draft: 7"–9"
Power: 90–115 HP
From: $58,000 Boat · Motor · Trailer

See the 19 Vantage →

high-performance 19-foot flats boat

19 VHP

High-performance inshore.

Draft: 7"–11"
Power: 115–175 HP
From: $58,000 Boat · Motor · Trailer

See the 19 VHP →

Straight answers

Which skiff.

The honest version, the same one you get on the phone.

The skinniest water17 EVO X Lite, then 17 EVO X and 18 EVO X. Near-flat X hulls, tunnel optional. Not for open water.

One boat for everything19 Vantage. Poles like a skiff, crosses a bay like a flats boat, and it is the driest hull in its class.

The lightest17 EVO Lite and 17 EVO X Lite. Carbon and Kevlar, under 400 pounds, no hatches to maintain.

Speed and range19 VHP. Up to 175 horsepower on a 19-foot flats hull.

Guide duty18 EVO or 19 Vantage. Room for two clients and the gear, and hulls that pole quietly all day.

Bigger water than thisLook at the 21 EVO and the 25s on the Open Water page. A skiff is not the right tool for that, and we will not sell you one for it.

Skiff questions

The ones we answer most.

What is a technical poling skiff?

A small, light, shallow-draft boat built to be pushed with a pole across a flat while one person stands on the bow and casts. "Technical" means it is tuned for that job: quiet hull, no hull slap, a low profile in the wind, a poling platform over the motor. Our 17 EVO, 18 EVO and 19 Vantage are technical poling skiffs.

What is the difference between a flats boat and a poling skiff?

They overlap. A poling skiff is built first for poling and stealth. A flats boat is a little bigger and is built to run to the flat as much as to fish it, so it carries more fuel, more people and a bigger motor. The 19 Vantage does both, which is why it is our most versatile hull.

How shallow do East Cape skiffs float?

The near-flat X models float in as little as 3.5 inches and run in 4 to 7. The V-hull EVO skiffs float in 5 to 7 inches. The 19-footers draft 7 to 9 inches with a full load. Those are real numbers with a person aboard, not brochure numbers with an empty boat.

V hull or X hull?

X (the near-flat 2-degree hull) if the water you fish is measured in inches and you run across flats to get there. V if you cross open bays, want a drier ride and a little more speed, and eight inches of water is shallow enough. An X hull is built for shallow water and is not an open-water boat. We will tell you that on the phone too.

Do East Cape skiffs have a tunnel?

Only if you order one. A tunnel is an option on the X models, not standard, and most X owners take the regular hull. The ones who add it run long distances across water measured in inches and need to jump on plane there, the Laguna Madre in Texas being the classic case. If that is not your water, you do not need it.

What does a custom skiff cost?

The 17 EVO Lite skiffs start at $31,500 for the boat and trailer. The rigged 17 and 18 EVO skiffs start in the low fifties with motor and trailer, and the 19-footers at $58,000. Every boat is priced as you build it. The Builder shows a starting price for each model and marks the options by cost tier.

Where are East Cape skiffs built?

In Longwood, Florida, near Orlando, in the same shop with the same ownership since 2004. Every hull is laid up, rigged and finished here, one at a time. You can visit and watch yours being built.

Yours is next

Build a skiff your way.

Pick the hull, then power, colors and rigging. A person reads every build within one business day.

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