Running in skinny water is a must for poling skiffs. Those anglers going after fish in a poling skiff are seeking very wary and hard-to-reach fish, so any advantage is welcomed. Naturally, I started to research some poling skiffs and found folks asking which poling skiff manufacturers make tunnel hulls for running extremely shallow.
What is a poling skiff?
A poling skiff is all about shallow draft and stealthy performance. To help with these needs some poling skiff boat manufacturers have models with tunnel hulls.
What does a tunnel hull do?
A tunnel hull is basically two planing hulls attached together with a solid center section. This center section is solid but open like a trough, the center section traps air and provides lift for the hull while displacing water to the rear and up towards the motor. This means a tunnel hull boat can run in shallow water less than a foot.
Poling skiffs with tunnel hulls
We’ve listed nine skiff boat manufacturers that make poling skiffs with tunnel hulls. All of these boats would do the job as a shallow water tunnel hull poling skiff, but there are differences in hull construction, composite materials, fit, and finish that will set these different models apart.
Tunnel hull boat brands
New Water Boatworks Stilt
has Lamiflow and Lamivent technologies. New Water’s exclusive tunnel design, Lamiflow, allows the propeller to be run above the hull bottom in an energy-efficient laminar flow of water. The lamivent patented technology provides tunnel or non-tunnel hull performance with the flip of a switch
Maverick HPX-v
features internally recessed pole holders that are connected to each other, you only have to pull one holder up, and all three pop up or go down at the same time.
East Cape Fury
BeaverTail Strike 17
employs a semi tunnel hull design and large flared bow for drier rides and more deck space
Hell’s Bay Professional
Carbon Innegra hull and Vacuum-Infused Core Cell construction for a strong lightweight hull
Chittum Laguna Madre
has state-of-the-art carbon hull construction and is ultra-lightweight at only 300 pounds
Baycraft 180 tunnel explorer
Ankona cayenne
has an optimized tunnel hull for getting on plane in shallow water and staying there. The Cayenne also features large walkaround gunnels.
Microdraft skiffs
feature a raked tunnel hull design for maximum shallow running capabilities
What other tunnel hull poling skiffs did we miss? Let us know if you’ve had any experience with these boats in the comments section and sign up for our email list.