Carolina-Bred Flats Skiffs
Quality // Performance // Style // Value
The Perfect Do-it-all Inshore Platform
The thing about highly specialized boats is that they’re usually great for that one application and marginal for the rest. That’s the case with today’s technical poling skiffs; they’re perfect for stalking fish in shin-deep water, but not much good for taking the family to the sandbar, pulling tubes, hunting ducks, or chasing cobia or mackerel along the beaches.
So we set out to design a lineup of highly versatile inshore skiffs that can float as skinny as most tech skiffs but still do lots of other things well too. Our Badfish 18 Inshore Edition, Badfish 18 Lowlands Edition, and upcoming Badfish 21 all feature true self-bailing hulls, generous freeboard, deeper cockpits, and open layouts aft, making them both more comfortable and more capable than specialized skiffs.
Another priority is offering a combination of high-level craftsmanship and exceptional value. Every Badfish is built with the best materials available, vacuum-infused for consistency and light weight, and hand-rigged with top-shelf components. We invite you to compare our pricing and value with any other skiff in the market!
Badfish 18 Inshore Edition
Full cap flats skiff // Center or offset console // Fiberglass seating pod // Open cockpit // Forward casting deck // Sub 6” draft // High 30s with 60 hp // Built to Order
Badfish 18 Lowlands Edition
Tough, lightweight utility skiff // Rolled gunwales // Tiller or side console // Forward casting deck // Sub 5" draft // 30+ mph with 30 hp // Fully customizable blank canvas
Badfish 21
Proportionally scaled version of Badfish 18 // Project to Launch Late 2025 // Now Accepting Deposits
Top-Tier Quality + Craftsmanship
At Badfish skiffs, quality and craftsmanship are top priorities. We combine new methods and materials with old-fashioned workmanship and attention to details.
Engineered lamination schedule — Layups are engineered specifically for our hulls by a world leader in composite reinforcement fabrics for the optimal combination of strength, rigidity, weight, and cost.
Top-quality materials — Our skiffs are 100% composite and made for a lifetime of service with vinylester resins, quadaxial glass, Divinycell closed cell foam coring, Coosa transoms, and premium gelcoat. All bonds are epoxy — no putty is used.
Vacuum resin infusion — Infusion yields lighter, stronger, and more consistent laminates by ensuring an exact resin-to-cloth ratio and eliminating the human errors that are found in virtually all hand-laid boats.
Superior rigging + components — Our skiffs are meticulously hand-wired with marine-grade tinned wire and heat-shrink connectors. Deck hardware is top-grade stainless steel, upholstery features Sunbrella premium fabrics, and trailers are custom-fitted to each boat.
One-Year Hull Warranty — Badfish skiffs are backed by a one-year structural hull warranty against defects in workmanship or materials under normal recreational use.
Badfish on Instagram
North Carolina Born, Ready for Anything
Badfish skiffs are designed for our Eastern North Carolina home waters, where you might fish the shallows and creeks in the morning but still have to make it back home across wide-open sounds in the afternoon, facing stiff breezes and white-capping chop. These boats are our take on a Carolina-style flats boat — essentially mini sportfishers with the same gracefully flared bows and classically understated lines that made our region an epicenter of boat design.
8˚ Deadrise — Badfish skiffs split the difference between typical 2˚and 12˚skiff bottoms for the perfect balance between ride quality and draft.
Wide reverse chines — Reverse chines promote stability and a dry ride but stay below the waterline at rest for quiet poling and drifting.
Delta Pad — Combined with hand-tuned lifting strakes, a small delta pad yields exceptional efficiency and reduces statis draft.
Self-bailing decks — With direct drainage through transom scuppers, Badfish skiffs are truly self-bailing — not just when empty.
Ample freeboard — More freeboard that typical skiffs means no afternoon chop or boat wakes washing into the cockpit.
Deeper cockpits — Increased cockpit depth makes Badfish skiffs feel more secure underway, like your riding in the boat, not just on it.
Learn More ABout Badfish!
Want more details about Badfish skiffs? Contact builder Preston Davis during normal business hours at (252) 269-0106, email daviscustomboatworks@gmail.com, or fill out the form below and we’ll get back to you promptly.