re: Mako Boats

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Mako Boats

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Paging RingLeader.

Nothing inaccurate said here. The new ones are hit or miss. A lot of miss... I’d maybe consider a new 334 if the price was absolutely a steal. The 284 is a decent hull, but a fuel pig. The 21 LTS is a great bay boat. I have a friend that does Wounded Warrior charters on one with thousands of hours on the hull. But there’s better builders out there for the same money.

The old ones had a good reputation of being well built hulls that last the test of time, and that’s mostly true. Even those had lots of instances of shoddy glass work on the top cap, inner liner, stringers... as they were cranking them out like hot cakes back in the 70s-80s-early 90s. Then some of the below deck items such as the fuel tank compartments (coffin) were innovative, but poorly executed.

All that said, for their time they were great boats. Engineering and design has come a long way since then. Modern biaxial glass patterns are far superior to old fashioned alternation of mat and roven woven. Composite cores and etc make lighter and stronger panels...Then resin infusion gives ideal resin to glass ratios. 3-piece hulls give more foot room and a stronger hull with less stress cracks. Yada yada. If you can find a good hull from the 80s or 90s and want to put some sweat equity in it, you can have a solid boat for a fraction of the price of a comparable sized boat these days. I fish the hell out of mine. Treat it like a bay boat, run all over the marsh on a trolling motor, take it offshore a few times a year. I’d love a 36ft with trips but I’m not going to mortgage a boat. For what a new boat costs, this is what I can afford.

Pics of my 1993 repowered last summer with 2020 motors.





My first Mako (1985 21ft) with my 26

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I've heard issues with some of the center consoles that were built with brackets having a harder time getting on plane with heavier four strokes. However the issue is usually alleviated with tabs.

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The boats that have been loaded up with 600+ lb motors tend to ride pretty light in the bow. The new Merc 4-strokes are very close to what the boats were designed for, so a far better choice. I really wanted to go to 300s, but the extra 150 lbs and the hassle of finding someone to insure the boat being 200hp over rated hp kept me where I was at 225s. And honestly the boat rides better with less weight hanging off that bracket.

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Whereabouts was the second picture taken?

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Nathan’s Restaurant on Bayou Bonfouca.

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Those skiffs I'm not sure about.

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The old ones are gems

I’d kill for a Backcountry 18. They only made about 50 of them.

Considering most of these people don't own one, I will give you a perspective from an owner. We have a 2007 21'.

[link=(Over priced, under built entry level boats with variable service & warranty after the sale.
You could get a good one or a turd, gel coat, thru hull, stringer, hatch issues have all been reported by owners.)]LINK[/link]

I would never buy one new, but on the used market they are fairly priced. And much better than an entry level boat, they are not some tri-hull or Carolina Skiff.

Now the only negative that has been noticed is hte hatches are not the best. They wore out pretty quickly.

The wiring is much better than previous boats we have owned. Not the dryest riding hull I have ever been on but it isnt a "junk" boat.

As well stated: 1995 and older are "Classic" or "real" Mako's. Anything after that is subject to a cheaper build quality. The old 17' and 17' Angler models were what I wanted so bad as a kid growing up fishing in Delacroix with my Dad in our old 15' Glassmaster trihull.

What would you consider closest to a backcountry 18 on the market these days?

Asking for a friend.

I had a mid 80’s 23’ with a new 200 Yamaha and it rode like a Cadillac. We would run 40-50 mi out of Cameron on the reg. Damn were we brave or stupid.