8 Best Bay Boats Reviewed in 2025

A bay boat is a class of center console fishing boat built for near and in-shore waters rather than rough offshore conditions. They aren’t as small as a skiff, flats, or jon boat.

By all rights, bay boats look like downsized fiberglass center consoles with outboard motors, space to move around, and tons of fishing features. Like center consoles, however, their utility extends far beyond fishing—they’re great for family cruising, hanging at sandbars, and snorkeling or diving trips.

Plus, they can access shallow waters where big offshore boats just can’t go.

Bay Boat Buying Guide

Over the last few decades, bay boats have become wildly popular in coastal areas. Descended from stout offshore center consoles, bay boats bring all of the advantages of these multitaskers to skinnier water. Their crucial characteristic is being able to float in about 12 inches of water, making them perfect for cruising nearshore and bayside waters, lounging at the sandbar, and—of course—fishing the backcountry.

If you’re in the market for one or just curious if it’s the right boat for your lifestyle, this bay boat buying guide is for you. Here’s a look at what bay boat features to look for, the best brands, and what you need to know about owning and maintaining them.

What to Look for in a Bay Boat

Generally, all bay boats share a similar set of features and layouts. The forward deck is a raised, open casting platform with storage lockers underneath. The center cockpit has short gunwales that allow you to move easily around a center console. Finally, the aft deck is also raised, allowing you to use it as another casting area.

In some ways, a bay boat can be considered a saltwater version of an inland bass boat—low profile and with lots of open space to stand up and cast a line.

Compared to offshore center consoles, bay boats have lower freeboard and short gunwales. Their hulls have less deadrise, too—they aren’t that “deep-vee” design that cuts through chop and rides so well offshore.

A bay boat is more likely to pound in a chop, but the shallower vee allows them to access the skinniest water. An offshore center console usually has a transom deadrise of 20 degrees or more, while bay boats generally have deadrises of around 15 degrees.

Safety is a consideration when the water gets rough. The low freeboard and short gunwales mean a bay boat is easier to fall out of. But there are benefits, too. On nice days, these boats are super easy to get in and out of to go swimming or play on the sandbar. There is no one perfect boat; you must find the design that best suits your use.

Top Rated Bay Boats for 2024

Most center console makers have a bay boat option—the smaller boats in their lineups better suited for near shore rather than offshore adventures. Be wary of boats that claim to be “hybrids”—something that’s not quite a bay boat and not quite an offshore center console, either. These boats tend to be compromises that excel at neither—center consoles with too little deadrise and low freeboard or boats with too deep draft and too much freeboard.

The top rated bay boats are ones purpose-built for inshore fishing and cruising. They must be easy to use, operate, and maintain in saltwater. Your location will dictate the best boat for your family since it’s the conditions you face daily upon which you must make your decisions.

A Florida Keys boater with a deep-vee offshore boat will opt for a smaller shallow bay boat to play on the sandbar and take into the Everglades backcountry. On the other hand, a coastal fisherman in the Carolinas may opt for a hybrid model that can handle choppy open waters on marginal days while still providing plenty of access to shallow creeks and coves.

Where Bay Boats Really Shine

Bay boats are built for skinny water, so they’re best used in places where anglers want to stick nearshore. Much of the southeast US coastline qualifies—bay boats are extremely popular from North Carolina down to Florida and all along the Gulf Coast. In these areas, tidal estuaries have some of the best fishing in the world.

Miles of marshes and creeks are begging to be explored, and the bay boat is the perfect vessel for the job. In these areas, boaters are not taking these boats into the open ocean except on exceptionally calm days. But the larger bays and sounds they regularly cross will get bumpy, and a bay boat can handle that just fine.

Unlike a flats skiff, a bay boat is large enough and stable enough to take your family out. It has enough of a vee to cross a bumpy bay or sound without problems, and the shallow draft means it’s easy to beach it for a day of sunning or swimming.

Bay boat features are more robust than jon boats, skiffs, or flats boats, with more space for things like coolers, built-in seating, and live wells. One feature to watch for is the presence of flip-up seating that makes the boat more useful for cruising and family adventures. Serious anglers will want to look for bay boat features that include trolling motors, Power Pole anchor systems, and enough space and capacity to fit your group.

Comparing Bay Boat Manufacturers

The key to finding the best bay boat manufacturers is to look at where these boats are used. The best boats come from builders who are making boats they want to use themselves. Therefore, it’s no surprise that the best bay boats are built by companies in the Carolinas or Florida, where they are most popular.

The top-rated bay boats come from a select group of manufacturers that have zeroed in on this market. Pathfinder, Scout, Everglades, Contender, Robalo, and Sea Hunt make dedicated bay boat models. Many other center console companies, like Boston Whaler, Grady-White, Regulator, Caymas, and Yellowfin, make “hybrid” boats aimed at skinny water boating. Finally, a handful of bay boats, like Ranger and Skeeter Boats, come from bass boat makers looking to expand into the saltwater market.

Best Inshore Fishing Boats for Anglers

Nearly all boats marketed as bay boats are designed from the keel up for saltwater fishing. It’s generally not a problem to find the best inshore fishing boats ready to go, with rod holders, aerated live and bait wells, rod storage, and pre-rigged trolling motors. Jack plates are a feature to look for if you’re interested in scooting through the shallows often, and a Power Pole anchoring system is a great addition to these boats.

If a builder doesn’t offer something as a factory option, adding fishing gear after purchase is generally straightforward because these boats are so simple and easy to work on. Alternatively, semi-custom builders like South Florida-based Contender can outfit your bay boat with literally any options you may want.

Tips for Maintaining Your Bay Boat

Bay boats spend their time in brackish and salt waters, so they should be designed from the outset for easy maintenance and upkeep. All hardware should be high-quality stainless or powder-coated aluminum. For the most part, maintenance should be little more than keeping the boat clean with regular washes and waxes.

Engine maintenance is another concern for saltwater boats, but these boats universally use reliable outboards. These engines are stored tilted out of the water and can be flushed easily after each use with a garden hose.

The absolute best way to care for one of these boats is to store it out of the water. Their small size makes them easy to trailer, making all maintenance and storage problems much easier to tackle. If you have water access at your base, a boat lift is an excellent investment and will keep your boat safe and secure for years.

Conclusion

Bay boats are popular because they really are one of the best inshore fishing boats you can buy. They are shallow water boats that still have lots of versatility for fishing and adventuring on nice days—the days you want to be out in the boat most anyway. The big offshore center consoles might turn heads, but the best bay boats are more useable by more boaters—they are simply some of the most versatile boats on the water.