POLING maverick 18 HPX V VERSUS MARQUESA?

[baitrunner]

Can a real owner or guide step in here and please give me the real deal here? Two great boats and am ready to look at buying the maverick 18hpx v and this person's article caught my eye about poling the marquesa... here it is    " My Marquesa I love, it does what I want it to do. Is it perfect no, but what skiff is, lol none!. The fit and finish is great, the rigging is great, the customer service is by far the best I have seen in 20 years in the marine industry. My boat will float in 7.5" with my 90HP 2 stroke, and run 41mph, w/115 it's a 48mph boat, and w/150 it is a 62MPH boat. Yes a Marquesa can be built with a HP rating of 150HP mine is and it was done custom per my request. The boat poles great and I would say is 80% +/- easier to pole than an 18HPXV w/150HP and 45-55% w/115HP. The Marquesa is dryer than the 18HPXV, but I would give soft ride to the 18HPXV by a smidgen, but its probably got more to do with it having a 150hp and 20mph faster. I only ran my boat with a 150HP for about 2 hours before I put the 90HP back on it, so I can't say how much better the ride will be with a 150HP. "   END......  So I am looking at a 90 4s or most likey a 115 4s [ weight difference is like what 14 bs more on the 115 than a 90 4 stroke? so it is not going to draw more water on the flats really and will get better performance unless i put on a two stroke 90, but noisy and smokie etc and hard to find a good one anyways...............so heres my question!!!   Is this comment above accurate? the Marquesa with a 90 two stroke is 50% easier to pole thn the 18 hpx v with a 90 4 stroke? I have heard tht the 17 hpx is easier to p[ole but also have heard that the 18 is a pretty good pole and a great all around boat........i will be chasing bones on the flats alot plus permit and tapron mixed in, but more bones. Hope you can help me out here guys, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you, Baitrunner

[jason p]

I own a 2010 HPX 18 and have spent quite a bit of time on both old and new Marquesas, I fish quite a bit on a new (flat transom) Marquesa with a 115 ProXS.

As far as the poling the two I personally don't think there's too much a difference, the Marquesa is a quieter boat though. The HPX tracks better, especially in the wind. The HPX makes some noise under certain conditions.  Depending on the weight difference of the guy on the front and back the chine that runs the length of the hull can be out of the water at the bow resulting in hull slap. This can be mitigated to some extent by keeping the gas tank full and putting batteries up front. Another noisemaker happens if you're staked out in the wind with the push pole tied off to the platform, water slaps in the pocket on the transom and makes quite a bit of racket.

The soft ride and dryness goes to the HPX. The HPX is more stable in rougher water fishing off the beach and has a deeper cockpit which may be a benefit if you have kids on the boat. My HPX and my buddies Marquesa are identical top-end speed wise (we both run Power Tech PTR4's) His jumps out of the hole a little better but I think that's more a product of the 2 stroke Optimax.

Not sure about new HPX's, but my 2010 version leaves a little to be desired in the rigging department. The rigging and overall fit and finish of the Marquesa is really nice, the only other small boat I've seen with this much attention to detail is an Egret.

Customer service hands down,  goes to Hells Bay.

 

 

[Wanaflatsfish]

6 hours ago, baitrunner said:

Can a real owner or guide step in here and please give me the real deal here?

Suggest you contact Conocean on this forum about the HPX...his buddy, and mine, is one of the "top" guides in Miami - Carl Ball.  He's running a NEW Marquessa and had the older model for about 10 years....I am sure Paul has poled Carl's boat and vice versa.

Carl is on pro-staff and will be able to provide you with a "sample ride" most likely if you meet at the ramp after a day of biscayne bay fishing.

Joe Rodriquez is also a pro-staff and has made a video.....many pro staff maverick owners here who will provide you with either a day on the water or at least a demo.

I have ridden and fished from both the HPX and Marq.  limited assessment and non-poling eval: IMHO: pros of MHP - dealer network, competitive price for the value, ride in a strong chop / HB: fit and finish - negative - must drag it back to Titusville for any issues.

Enjoy the adventure of  selecting your next vessel....

 

dc

 

[conocean]

I have experience poling the old style Marquesa with the sponsons but not the new model so I cannot comment on that. 

My opinions.....

Rigging, fit & finish is definitely higher quality on any HB versus a Maverick. Ride advantage goes to the HPX but just slightly and I think that every poling skiff performs poorly in certain sea conditions. With that being said, there's no rig I'd rather have than mine when I stop running & start fishing. Customer service advantage is questionable as I've heard stories of poor responses to warranty issues from both companies. My experience with customer service at Maverick has been good and it's nice having a dealer network to lean on in some instances.  

Overall, I enjoy poling my HPX. It tracks fairly well in all conditions and does all I ask it to do. I ordered my boat with small motor, 35gallon tank and had TM batteries installed on the shelf forward of the tank. My rig literally sips fuel at 30mph cruise speed. Hull slap is non-existent even with a quarter tank of fuel, TM and one angler on the bow. If I remove my TM and put cooler on bow with one angler then same result. Wave action against the transom can be a little noisy at times in certain conditions but nothing that passing tarpon seem to mind too much. 

My friend (Capt Carl Ball) recently took delivery of his 2018 Marquesa with a 115 Yammi 4s and absolutely loves it. He swears it blows my HPX out of the water from a performance standpoint. But I heard that from him for years when he owned his 2004 Marquesa and disagreed. I don't think you can go wrong with either boat powered by a 90 or 115 4s motor. 2s motors are becoming extinct and burn so much fuel that they don't make much sense to me but to each their own. 

How much you are willing to spend could become the biggest decision. I couldn't justify paying 15% more for a Marquesa when I ordered my HPX in 2011. Both rigs serve their purposes well and can't see a big advantage for one over the other.

Hope this input helps. Good luck with your purchase! 

[hurricane]

I have no experience with either one. However, if someone comparing two poling Skiffs says one poles 80 to 50% easier I would question their experience. 

 I would expect an hpx to pole 80% easier than a Pathfinder, and an hpx to pole 50% better then my 18 Master Angler. 

[captpn]

Resale value goes to the HB, enough so it justifies paying more for it upfront. Both are nice boats, but one is nicer than the other

[wayne]

It would be easier just to go pole them and make up your own mind... I personally prefer the way Mavericks pole, no matter which one we are talking about.. I think they are easier to fly fish out of because they spin easier... All the HBs I've been in track really well, but take more influence to spin to give the guy on the bow a better cast... Having that said, it's subtile and I wouldn't shy away from owning a Marquesa over it... IMO the difference between the two comes down to style, the performance is so close it wouldn't persuade me either way...