The Captain has always wondered: does size matter or is it all about the motion of the ocean? Peter Pakula has an opinion on this.
The Captain: Does the size of your boat have any bearing on raising fish?
Peter Pakula: More than likely. It’s pretty logical that bigger boats have bigger motors that are usually louder and have a lower throb that travels further underwater. Another advantage of bigger boats is a larger beam – and usually a larger spread.
What about certain engine configurations? Do outboards, stern-drive or shaft perform equally at raising fish?
In my experience, shafts are the best, followed by stern- drives, followed by outboards.
Does the construction of a boat (timber vs glass vs alloy) have any impact on raising fish?
The best is timber, then glass, then alloy.
Do polished stainless propellers attract more fish?
Not to any great extent at lure trolling speed. If they did, there would be more red puffs and short-faced fish around. However, a nice polished prop will put out a cleaner wash than a dinged-up aluminium one – and a nice clean wash is a good thing.
Is there such thing as a fish-catching boat?
Not really. I know of many boats that had a great career, winning lots of tournaments, that got sold to new owners, but never had the same success. Success is a combination of things, not just the boat.
Is there any way a small, outboard-powered tinny can compete with, say, a big timber boat with shaft drives?
Sure, it’s more the ability of the crew to find and catch the fish they raise. Simply adding teasers and exciters to the spread can make a small boat much more competitive. One of the greatest differences between the big boys and the little guys is the many years of experience bigger boat crews usually have.
The Captain: ….”Does the construction of a boat (timber vs glass vs alloy) have any impact on raising fish?
Peter Pakula:…The best is timber, then glass, then alloy.”
Interesting comment about timber being the best in Peters experience. There has to be some merit in this as you find nearly all of the serious game boats in the USA are constructed from either composite strip plank/ cold molded ply or timber construction, or both. Fibreglass is down the list and alloy…doesnt even get a mention