[Pierson]

To any who have have owned this boat or spent a day on the water in one, what are your thoughts? It claims to be able to cross open water a little better than their other poling skiff. This is the real draw to this boat for me as i live in Tampa. Does it handle the chop well/better? Poling ability? Tippy? All the good and the bad, tell me what you know!

 

[Shadowcast]

I have been running the Cayenne for almost 2 years now. I fall in love with it a little more each time I go out in it. I went with the Cayenne specifically with beach tarpon in mind. The higher freeboard gives you the feeing of being in the skiff rather than on it. I am able to traverse big water as I live and fish the South Shore of Tampa Bay. It performed beautifully from 7 mile to Bahia Honda last August with 4 adults in it. I also wanted a skiff that can allow me to do my skinny water winter redfish on fly. No problem. I can consistently get 6-7" all day. The skiff is very sensitive to trim so you can really get it dialed in or trim it to give you a drier ride on a sloppy day. It poles silently with little effort and the 71" beam makes it very stable comparatively speaking. I am located near Apollo Beach so let me know if you want to take a demo ride out or come by the house to see the skiff. If you have any further questions feel free to call or text me at 863-860-7250.

 

[Pierson]

I have been running the Cayenne for almost 2 years now. I fall in love with it a little more each time I go out in it. I went with the Cayenne specifically with beach tarpon in mind. The higher freeboard gives you the feeing of being in the skiff rather than on it. I am able to traverse big water as I live and fish the South Shore of Tampa Bay. It performed beautifully from 7 mile to Bahia Honda last August with 4 adults in it. I also wanted a skiff that can allow me to do my skinny water winter redfish on fly. No problem. I can consistently get 6-7" all day. The skiff is very sensitive to trim so you can really get it dialed in or trim it to give you a drier ride on a sloppy day. It poles silently with little effort and the 71" beam makes it very stable comparatively speaking. I am located near Apollo Beach so let me know if you want to take a demo ride out or come by the house to see the skiff. If you have any further questions feel free to call or text me at 863-860-7250.

Well that pretty much sums up exactly what I want in a skiff. I am a ways off from from getting a new skiff (getting a house comes first) but down the road or in the mean time I would love to get out on one to see for myself.

 

[paint it black]

Everything he said. We have a Cayenne and he described it perfectly.
I'd also recommend checking out their Salt Marsh line. The Heron 16 is incredibly dry, I got one to do tarpon fishing down in the Florida Keys and Biscayne Bay, while still being able to float in 6-7" with three adults on board. The Heron 16 Tournament Edition is a little shorter than the Cayenne, but much wider. It is 75" wide at the widest point, but tapers down to about 73" at the back, whereas the Cayenne tapers down to 64" at the back. The downside for the Heron is the 18 month waiting list, but if you are in no hurry to get a skiff, I'd recommend checking one out and putting a deposit in if you like it, to expedite the process once you are ready. The lengthy waiting list for the Heron is a testament to the quality and performance of the skiff.

The new Heron 18 that is in the works will be another animal with added freeboard as well as length, and will be rated for more power.

 

[Pierson]

So is Saltmarsh a separate line from Ankona? Or a whole other boat manufacturer all together? Why such a long wait for the Saltmarsh boats and not the Ankona boats? Explain this for me. Thanks.

 

[Shadowcast]

Both Ankona and Salt Marsh are built under the same roof in Ft. Pierce. I believe the wait on the Cayenne is between 6-8 months. Like Eric said, the wait on the Heron is a testament to how awesome it is. It is fairly common for newer models to take an upswing in popularity and lengthy build times.

 

[zlenart]

What Shadowcast said.

I got my Salt Marsh 1444 when the skiff was relatively new, and the wait time was 6 months. When I first started talking to them a couple months before I got my deposit down the wait was more like 10 months. I think it's around 4 months now.

 

[THX1138]

I paid the deposit for my Cayenne back in December for a July pick up. I went to the shop a year ago and checked out all the hulls they had. Fell in love with the Cayenne the moment I saw it. Erin is the sales lady and she has the best customer service of ANYONE I've ever dealt with in any industry.

Lou

 

[Battfisher]

What Shadowcast said.

I got my Salt Marsh 1444 when the skiff was relatively new, and the wait time was 6 months. When I first started talking to them a couple months before I got my deposit down the wait was more like 10 months. I think it's around 4 months now.

I put a deposit down on a 1444 a couple weeks ago, and the wait time was around 3 months. It's a tiny boat but surprisingly stable, and on my wet test we went through some minor chop and it was relatively dry. I'll fish alone quite a bit and it was the perfect platform for me. Their shop is hopping and it's really cool to talk to Mel about his boats - obviously a labor of love for him and Rose.

 

[[email protected]]

Pierson,

I just bought 2016 Cayenne a few months ago. I have to admit, this is the first true poling skiff that I've owned but have spent some time on different skiffs of friends and guides.
It appears to be as advertised. I can verify that we've floated in less than 6 inches of water with three people aboard and being fully loaded.

I haven't had the chance to run in true "open" water but we were out crossing some bays in the LA marsh with 25+ winds and it handled very well. It responds exceptionally well to trim tabs which allowed me to "fine tune" the ride as we went. Still, we were only in what could be considered 1' seas but the boat didn't pound and we stayed dry.

I wouldn't consider it tippy, I'm a larger guy and don't have any problems walking around. It has the feel of a larger skiff, to me at least. Our first trip out, we fished three people comfortably...at no point did I feel crowded. Two in the front and one on the back poling platform (a bit windy for fly and made the switch to spin and beer).

I can't give you a true opinion on how it poles because I'm a notice. Again, first true poling skiff for me (other boat was a bay boat) and I'm just starting to learn how to pole to begin with.

One other thing that first jumped out to me was how quickly and easily it jumped up on a plane. I have a 60 e-tec on the back and it pushes it around quite well. If you are in some very shallow stuff, put the trip tabs down, and it will jump right up on a plane without any hesitation.
As far as gas millage, our last trip, we fished from 8 am to about 4 pm and did A LOT of moving around. All day of fishing and we burned 4.5 gal. I don't have the exact burn rate but I was shocked with how little gas we used that day.

Hope this helps and I would certainly test drive one. It's a great boat and certainly better value than most on the $$$ to boat scale.

Patrick

 

[Pierson]

Pierson,

I just bought 2016 Cayenne a few months ago.

Patrick

Awesome reply! Thank you. Hearing nothing but great things about this boat!