About this board

Bay Boat Owners Forum started in September 2025 because the big Texas fishing boards had turned into kayak boards with a boat section, and the boat sections were mostly people asking what boat to buy. This one is for people who already own a bay or flats boat on the Texas coast, Sabine down to Port Mansfield, and want to talk about rigging it, running it and fishing out of it.

It is run by Steve R., who spent 26 years as a marine electrician at a shipyard in Aransas Pass and now lives in Rockport and fishes Aransas and Copano out of a 2015 Majek 22 Xtreme. He goes by mod_steve_r on the boards, reads the contact address himself, and is slow about it in October and November because that is when the reds are in.

Costs

The domain and the hosting run about fifteen dollars a month and Steve pays it. There are no ads, no affiliate links, and nobody pays to be here or to be talked about here. If that ever changes it will say so on this page first.

House rules

• Post the year, hull, motor and hours when you ask a boat question. A 2012 Shoalwater and a 2022 Shoalwater share a name and not much else.
• Say what you paid. Buying reports without a number get a mod note asking for one.
• No selling in threads. There is no classifieds board on purpose. Linking a public listing to make a point in a discussion is fine.
• No dealer, broker or auction employees posting as customers. If you work for one, say so.
• General areas are fine in fishing threads. GPS numbers and named spots are up to the poster and nobody gets to demand them.
• Mods can move, merge or lock threads and will say why in the thread.
• Registration is by request while we keep the bots out. Ask through the contact page.

What this is not

Not a dealer, not an auction, not a parts store, not a guide service, and not a substitute for the service manual or the TPWD regulations. When somebody here gives you a number, check it against the book for your motor and the current rules before you spend money or keep a fish.