Posted by JimM on August 06, 19103 at 06:17:05:
In Reply to: Motorwell??? posted by Jeff Brunot on August 04, 19103 at 16:06:17:
For an outboard skiboat, the motor well is vital. For a little fishing skiff, not so. A skiboat does a lot of stopping and starting - high-speed to dead stop to pick up skiers. When you stop a boat fast, its wake catches up with it and water washes in over the transom in LARGE quantities. The motor well absorbs that flow and lets it drain overboard. I've had a lot of boats, and I would not want a skiboat without a motor well. The extra room would be nice, but I think you'd be annoyed with all that water coming in.
The skiff tends to chug along at relatively low speeds, and doesn't need to make those short stops. That, and the need for plenty of room for fishing, result in skiffs often not having motor wells.