After nearly two years of exploration, it's time to do a Salt Marsh Heron 18 skiff review. Its why I believe it is a standout in the world of shallow water skiffs.
About Salt Marsh
Located in Fort Pierce Florida, Salt Marsh is a family-owned business that takes pride in creating high value technical polling skiffs. Meaning every boat starts with a purpose or place really. Ankona Boats, Tavernier Skiffs, and Salt Marsh make up the entirety of the brands. All their models will excel in the type of water or for the type of fishing they were designed for. This makes it important to know where and for what you intend to use the boat for when choosing the right model. So, what lead me to the Heron 18? Continue you reading to find out!
Official web site: www.saltmarshskiffs.com
Salt Marsh Heron 18 Review: Size and Dimensions:
– Length: 18 ft 6 in
– Beam: 77 in at the widest point
– Draft: 8 to 10 in (depending on rigging)
Customization:
Each skiff that is built by Salt Marsh is built to order. They all come with a list of standard features but the sky is the limit from there really. You choose everything right down to the color, so you can really personalize the skiff to fit your personal needs.
Performance and Handling:
I wanted to talk a bit about what the Heron 18 is designed to do. It is super key to choose a boat that fits what you plan to do with it. You would not by a big offshore boat to bass fish with. So you would not want to buy the Heron 18 for it either. To chase Tuna 50 miles offshore. The Heron is a polling skiff and is designed to fish the salt flats. It is still able to cross open water when needed.
Open water means that it is more subject to the weather and can get a bit rough, but a boat designed for rough water often doesn’t have the hull shape to get you in less than a foot of water, which is where redfish, tout, snook, etc. like to hang out. So, the Heron has a bit more deadrise, meaning it has more “V” to the hull, than some of the other skiffs in there line up. This translates to a smoother ride in chop, but you lose a couple of inches in draft. Still only drafting between 8 and 10 inches, it is a boat that is ideal for a lot of flats fishing conditions. Now let’s jump into to a few categories.
Speed:
The Heron is rated for up to 90HP and some models have even been built to order with a 115HP motor. The recommended range is between 60HP and 90HP and both offer some benefits. I choose to go with the 90HP to have the extra power knowing that I would have my boat pretty rigged out and plan to take the whole family, two kids and my wife, along with me. The extra HP offered more speed with and power to handle the extra weight. The tradeoff is that you lose some draft over the 60HP options due to the extra weight of the motor.
All in all, I am seeing speeds in the low to mid 40s, which I feel to be plenty fast for this size boat. That is with two angler and a full tank of fuel. For comparison, my friend runs a 60HP on the same boat and he is seeing 33-35mph with a similar load. He drafts about a bit less, but we are talking at most a couple of inches. When choosing a motor, weight does come into play and while this is not a review of the Suzuki outboard, I am running, I will say it was the lightest motor in the 90hp range that I was able to find and I have been super happy with its performance.
Stability:
I find the skiff to be super stable. With two-three anglers moving around, I have no issues walking the gunnels to fight and land fish. I have, however, always thought that stability is relative to what you are comparing it to. For example, it is way more stable than a kayak, but not as stable as a wide flat bottom boat. So, keeping it in comparison to other skiffs in the same class, I feel it is right where it should be. The added “V” to the hull allows for it to handle chop when running but is not enough to cause the draft and stability to suffer.
Fishability:
This is probably the most important thing to consider when choosing a fishing boat of any kind. Keeping in mind where it is designed to excel, shallow water flats and larger water crossings, I love fishing from the Heron. The large front and rear deck allow for 3 adult anglers to fish very comfortably and I even find with my family of 4 we have plenty of room.
In addition to that I have space for a casting platform on the bow and plenty of storage. Two other standouts are the rod storage and ability to stay silent on the flats. The rod storage is located under the gunnels and there is room for four 9’ fly rods on each side, but this is not what sets it apart from a lot of other skiffs. The rod tips go into the tubes on the stern and the rod butts are located at bow. This makes it super easy to swap rods from the bow of the boat, which is where you are typically fishing from.
And for its stealth, the hull shape allows the boat to pole super quiet with no hull slap. This is so key when chasing fish in shallow, clear water.
Maneuverability:
This can be looked at both while driving the boat and while fishing from it. To start with, I have been very impressed with how it handles while underway. I find myself pushing back into tight creeks and then needing to pick up and move and they can be a bit narrow and have sharp turns throughout. It jumps up quick and holds to the water even in tight turns. This is supper important when navigating backwater. In addition to the the hull features a unique radios transom. This allows water to escape easily off the stern of the boat specifically when polling.
Squared off transoms tend to trap water whereas the eased transom seems to allow it to escape making the boat a bit easier to keep moving and turn like a smaller skiff. It is still an 18.5’ skiff though so it is not a nimble as a 16-footer, but when compared to other skiffs in the same class, I believe it turns with a bit less effort. Overall, I have been impressed and have zero complaints with the maneuverability.
Value:
One of the biggest things that I believe sets Salt Marsh apart is their value. In fact, this is what led me to them. The focus is on performance and keeping the price as reasonable as possible however, the Heron 18 is at the top when it comes to options and price. As I have my skiff rigged it would likely come in at a price point ranging from $51,000 to $52,000. Comparable skiffs in the market often surpass the $70,000 to $100,000 range, so while it is the highest priced boat in their lineup, it still carries a ton of value and can keep a bit of green in your pocket for road trips to new fishing destinations!
Final Thoughts:
In summary, the Salt Marsh Heron 18 skiff has been a great boat for me so far and I am continually impressed with its performance. Its stability, speed, and capacity to handle choppy waters make it a standout choice for anglers seeking a skiff to cover open water with but still get skinny.
For more information, please check out the Salt Marsh Heron 18 skiff.
Full Review Video
For a more detailed look at my rigged Heron 18, be sure to explore the full walk-through the Road Trip Angler video below.
Here's my Salt Marsh Heron 18 review video as well:
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