Having been a fan of Newwater Boatworks creations like the Avocet and the Curlew which are both 18’ models, when I heard of the new one that was coming I really perked up. Although both of these boats are great boats, I wanted something a little bigger. After about six long years of waiting Tim Clancey and his wife Leslie finally came up with the Lexus of the flats boat world, The IBIS.

At almost 22’ long and 102" wide the Ibis is a fisherman’s delight. It will run in 3" and floats in an amazing 5" with a Yamaha 150 or 200 HP. That’s with the full tank of 50 gallons of gas in the forward fuel tank. Tim designed it that way so as to offset the weight of the engine and make the Ibis float shallower than any other boat I know of in that 22 foot class. WOW !!! don’t believe it, try one out. The boat is built light for its class weighing in at 980 lbs, which makes the boat float high in the water.

What about the ride? Most boats that are built light for what Tim calls "ultra skinny water" don’t share a smooth ride. Not so with the Ibis. Tim designed the Ibis with a custom V at the bow that tapers off to almost flat at the back. At the end of the V about two thirds the way back, the tunnel starts to supply the engine with water. All of this makes for great shallow water capabilities as well as a great ride.

Now for the big question… how shallow will the Ibis get up and out of? Well Tim says it will get up in 7" which it does. However, I poled a client into 5" where the boat stuck and the boat got up and out with a Yamaha 150. Now I’m not an advocate of this kind of damage to the bottom and I don’t do that often, but in a pinch it did save me from having to pull the boat back upwind to deeper water. I was amazed to say the least and most people probably won’t believe it but it’s true. I measured the water with my foot and the water came to just above center of my ankle bone. Measure your’s….

With the craftsmanship and attention to detail, the Ibis is truly a beautiful, sexy and very functional boat for any fisherman.

Now he has added some new technology to his line of boats. Lamivent, pat. Pending, is a unique addition to the hull of the Newwater line which adds air to the bottom of the boat. The air is actually sucked into the tunnel by water pressure coming off of the forward part of the bottom. As the water starts its way up into the tunnel, it creates a vacuum that then sucks air from the console to displace the water in the tunnel with air there by reducing drag, lowering the bow so the V takes effect which gives an even smoother ride. End result is 20% more speed at the same throttle setting and 17% more fuel economy. Turn off the switch and the boat goes back into tunnel mode for shallow water running. I can only imagine what he’ll come up with next.

If you would like to see one in action give me a call and I’ll be glad to give you a demo ride.





Fishing Articles by Skipper Ray

Blind Casting the Flats
Catching and Handling Numbers of Trout
Fishing Guides Perspective
Fishing-Months
Effective Blind Casting on the Fly
Line Management Techniques
Lures of Choice for the Fall Season
More Tec Tips - King Mackerel
New Trout Techniques
Ready at the Rod
Spring is in the Air
Tarpon Techniques
Tech Tips - "Don’t Give Up"
Tech Tips - It’s a Drag
The Ladies Have More Fun
The Chosen One
The "Ibis" Built by Newwater Boatworks
The Old Gold Spoon
Time to Fish Free
It's Red Fishing Time in South Padre
Trout Fishing the Lower Laguna Madre
Trout on Topwater Flies
Wading the Lower Laguna Madre