Boat types

Skiff

A small, light, shallow-draft open boat, the tool for creeks and marsh edges.

Skiff covers a family of simple open boats that float in inches, run cheap, and get poled or puttered along the shallow edges bigger hulls cannot touch. Around marsh country that makes them fishing tools first.

Their limits are the flip side: low freeboard and light weight mean a skiff picks its weather, and open water on a windy afternoon is not its day.

← Back to the full glossary

Put the words to work

Vocabulary is easier at the helm.

The free South Carolina boater safety course teaches all of this in twelve chapters with a sixty question practice exam, and when you are ready for the water itself, one form gets you rental quotes from local operators.

Take the Free Safety Course Check Pontoon Availability