90% of the time I fish, I am going after freshwater bass, but recently, my wife and I have started to enjoy fishing in the port Aransas area. We are starting to look at boats that we could use primarily for bass fishing but also fish in the bay area when we go to Port Aransas. My wife really likes the bay boat set up, so that’s what we are looking at. I am looking at the skeeter Sx210 primarily, but I am also open to other options. Does anyone have experience with blue wave boats? If so, are they good? Are there other brands I should consider that are good quality and under $60,000? Im not interested in anything made by Bass Pro.

Haynie magnum
Tran XLR8
Majek extreme.
All proven.

Pat. Did you see his under $60K line.. If you are looking for new which it sounds like from your post the price will limit your choices right now with boat prices sky high. Used you will have lots of options and Pat has excellent brands listed and he sure knows his boats and gives unbiased answers.

They’ll all be about the same new. But I’tll get you a pretty recent preowned

So no thoughts on the Skeeter? I can build a brand new SX 210 the way I want it for $50-$52k. I definitely like the look of the Majeks.

They take a lot of water to operate in. That is a big negative fishing anywhere south of Port O Connor.

I have fished several times out of a blue wave in the bay and near offshore. They are a good boat. The bay boats require deeper water to run than some of the other brands. I ran a 21’ Kenner tunnel hull for years. I ended up wanting to fish offshore more than inshore but it still worked fine on calm days. I would look at Blazer Bay boats. They are basically the same as the Kenner boat. Some of the really shallow boats will not do well outside the jetties.

I personally wouldn't consider a Skeeter for bay fishing. Skeeter makes a great boat just not for the bay. Really wet boat and like Pat said you'll need over 2.5' of water to get up. I second the Majek Extreme and Haynie Magnum but with that budget and today's crazy boat market I doubt you'll be able to get into a new one for that. Nothing wrong with buying one that's a couple years old as long as it is checked out thoroughly before you buy. Blue Waves are nice but they're production boats not custom like a Majek or Haynie. Haynie will cost more and have better resale than a Majek. I have a Majek and can tell you they are very well built boats.

FYI if you're looking at new Haynies I hear they're running about 10-12 months out right now.

It gets complicated if you jam too many “needs” on your new sled. The first and by far most important question is what bay are you fishing? What works perfect in Galveston will be a disaster in Port Mansfield. And you want to bass fish also? Ok you’re going to compromise somewhere, now it’s a matter of what is or is not important.

The more honest the answers the happier you’ll be.
Percentage of fresh/salt use? Is that going to change after you get your boat?
What lakes are you fishing?
What is your bay fishing experience? Second part what is your style? Wading spots? Drifting areas? Anchor up slinging meat?

How experienced a boat pilot are you? What are you using now? Any experience running bays and marsh?

What’s your tow vehicle?

Honest answers will get it down to a few best choices. Remember a boat that’s bought to do it all will do nothing good.

Wellcraft.....

You need to buy a boat that fits your fishing style. If you plan on fishing from 3 foot to 60 foot of water a v bottom boat is for you. If you want to chase reds and trout across the miles of shallow flats port a has to offer, you need to be thinking about a cat hull or flat bottom. something that will get on plane in 8-10" of water and run just as shallow. Don't buy a boat simply cause you like the way it looks. buy it cause you like the way it fishes.

I personally run the 25+ Majek Illusion. it will jump up in 6-8" of water and runs across a 2-3 foot chop fairly decent. 99% of the water I fish is thigh deep or less. just my opinion, hope it helps when selecting a boat.

I bought a 2021 Blue Wave 19' STL back in September. So far I love it. Only drafts about 8'" of water so I can run all over the upper laguna madre. I have the Suzuki 115 4 stroke on it and I'd say it provides an appropriate amount of power for the boat. Sure I get passed up by the bigger boats when running up and down the intercostal but it doesn't bother me. If I had to nit pick I'd say my boat at 19' is a little tight when I have a fishing partner out with me. Also, because of the tunnel hull it doesn't reverse well which can be a minor inconvenience when docking it. I'll take the 8" draft over being able to reverse easily any day.

Something to also think about is warranty there r no motors available right now to buy all the dealers bought them up to rig their boats so try and get a boat with at lest a couple year warranty on motor times r tough boats r $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.00

I appreciate all the input folks.

Again, I primarily fish freshwater—I live an hour or two from freshwater lakes. The nearest salt to me is port Aransas which is 8-9 hours.

I usually fish JB Thomas, Ivie, Fork, and Amistad. When I bass fish, I’m usually fishing in 2’-20’ of water.

I do not own a boat, but I do use a friend’s 21’ Champion with a 300 Yamaha 10-12 times a year and consider myself to be experienced at it. I can load, unload, drive it at top speed, and troll with the trolling motor all very well. I fish bass tournaments several times a year. I’ve been using the Champion for 6 years.

However, I do not have experience in the marsh or bays, other than fishing them once with a guide in his boat last week and going out once in a kayak last week.

I drive a 2016 Tundra platinum 4x4 with the 5.7L V8.

OP one option is to buy the boat you want to fish freshwater and hire a guide when you want to fish the salt. You'd probably get $200 discount each time you hired a guide in the gas you'd save not having to pull a boat that far not to mention the additional maintenance that comes with dipping a trailer in saltwater then driving that far. And there's having to learn the bay and avoid running into a sandbar or reef.

I think you would enjoy a bay boat. Bay fishing is really addictive. Back in the 90's I was a hard nose bass fisherman. I got a taste of the salt, sold my bass boat and have owned center consoles and switched to fishing the salt ever since. You just have to figure out if it's worth it to trailer a boat that far and how often you would actually make that trip to the salt.