Hey guys if the boats are physically the same size say 18x48 what is the difference other than looks?

Bow profile, thats it.

if u need to ask you have no business in one. jus my 2 cents thou. u can get a pointed bow bateau if u wantin one to run teh timber with.

Damn man, I dont think the guy implied he was gonna go out and buy one or even run one.

Duck Hunter, I cant give you a technical answer but if you go to the reviews board and look at any skiffs, you will see the difference immediately. A bateau is profiled more like a typical jon or flatbottom.

didnt mean it like that.. but more and more ppl are buyin them b/c *they look cool*. alot of us that run them use them commercialy, or have only ever driven a skiff since we was old enuff to drive period. its like my good pal river said, one day.. someones gonna get hurt in a skiff that aint got no business in one. ive seen the best of the best bateau drivers bust there ass in a skiff.. ask hizzy, he lost a croc drivin joels skiff at mudi gras 08!


skiffs is da devil.

I've never had a skiff but my brother in law and father in law had small glass skiffs for running nets that they had 50hp outboards on and they will tell you they are the devil.They can scare the be-jesus out of ya

just10la...you need to get your tampon outa your arse....

Thanks for the replies guys, just wondering the functional differences between the two

not sure if i have the right answer or not, but i always assumed that a skiff was built the way it is because it turned narrow curvy bayous better. def could be wrong tho..i never really put that much thought into it. i fish out of my boats on the front deck so i rather a beateau, just10...y would u give a rats ass if people bought a skiff cause the looked cool or not

I have alway owned skiff until now. I currently am running my first bateau.
Skiffs are desighned to run through thick stuff without having to slow down. If you get da point through da rest will follow. They are also great for putting stearing up front. Da area of danger is da bow of a skiff can bite da water when in choppy water or crossing a wake and when dis happens only da lord knows how its gonna end. May just scare you, may throw everything and everyone out da boat, may flip and or sink da boat. So if one wants stearing up front or wants to run through thick sh*t get a skiff otherwise you have been warned.
On a side note you can avoide the bow of a skiff biting the water if you let off the throttle enough to raise the bow of the boat when crossing wake and running choppy water.

I own both. I have 2 skiffs and 2 bateaus. I use my bateau for my mudmotor and 1 for my 9 year olds 25 merc. It is a great boat to frog out of, because you can lie on the deck. Like they said above. A skiff can scare the shit out of you, easy to flip over. I have attached pictures of both. My skiff has a 150 bored out to a 200. I flipped that one trying to race. It was running 72 mph (didn't flip it running that face), trying to go over a wave, rather than slow down, i hooked it up and over I went. Make sure if you buy something try to go ride in them both.

man killers for sure. skiff that is.

I own the last skiff I will own.
I love the boat...it does great but I've had 3 very near misses and 1 flip due to never driving one and learning as I go. (the flip was some not normal conditions so I give myself a pass there...though if I was in a bateau hull it prolly never woulda happened) It is the cats ass in the timber and the thick stuff as we call it. It hauls a good load too...hate to throw that load in the drink should something go wrong so as I said....last skiff I will own-

Not comfortable taking my son out in...I'll put it that way
By myself I really don't care what happens, I'm responsible for myself-

Definitely dump the throttle when faced w/ a roller or a wake...another learned form the wrong experience