H20B Owners Thread

[Philmanchu]

I'm new to the bay boats , actually I'm still looking. Real interested in the 22' (200 SHO) or 24' Xpress (250 SHO) or the 22' Excel Bay (200) . Been in glass bassboats since the 70's with the
last 2 being 21' Tritons. New grandbaby on the water in Charleston & friend in Everglade City are steering my direction.

The big question that I have is handling rough water & overall handling. Every aluminum boat I've been in beat me up. I know that the hulls I'm looking at are faster than the general alum.
boat but how do they ride ??

Hoping to still be able to fish my bass lakes and mix up with inshore , near shore etc.

Any thoughts ?

I recently purchased a H20B and we took it to Sanibel Island and did some long runs on the intercoastal during some pretty decent wind and significant boat traffic: the boat handled the chop and the boat wakes just fine. It is fine for freshwater too, but the boat comes rigged for salt so the livewell system is extremely basic, no depth finder on the bow, etc. I wouldn't hesitate to take the boat off the east coast for near shore in typical weather conditions. Since the boat is light, wind pushes it around pretty good but it is a wonderful fishing platform and can go in some real skinny water.

Good luck with your purchase!

[Take Em]

Look at the first post in this thread. It has my exact set up and some do's/dont's. In my opinion, you are taking steps backwards by getting a prop before the jackplate and you wont get max top end/holeshot without the full set up. The prop you get now may or may not work best with the jackplate. Sine you know a trophy 19" works (from my trials), you can go with that but i dont think you will be able to turn a 19" fast enough or get the desired lift without the jackplate.
If money is a issue, Bobs makes a jackplate that is upgradable to a hydro from a manual. this is the route i took. $600 or so for the manual then another $600 to upgrade later on if you want to. or look for a used plate on the forums.

- I bought 3 different props before a jackplate. it wasnt until i bought the jp AND prop that i could get the boat to run better. The 115 needs all the help you can give it.

Thanks SeaPickle, I'll look into the manual (upgradeable) JP. Sounds like its a good idea.

[Jbrannon11]

Guys, I recently ordered an h20bay w/ a 115 and I will be fishing central Texas and the gulf coast bays. The boat will have 10" hyd. Jack plate and hyd. Steering, will the trophy 19" be suitable for both fresh and salt water environments. My concerns are mostly the shallow salt water flats. I read through the forums and appreciate all the knowledge yall have given, any advise or expertise with these boats would be greatly appreciated. Also does anyone have a minnkota 24volt riptide 80lb on there 20' bay? How does the to handle this boat in the windy open bays and lakes ?

[Jbrannon11]

Also I saw a post about checking the boat for fit and finish issues with h20bay. When going to look at boat what common problem areas would you suggest looking at besides screws in console and the trolling motor panel ? I'm really hoping xpress would not use steel staples on a "bay boat". I would rather not tear apart brand new seats or replace staples.

[seapickle]

I have heard that the trophy props aren't the best for oysters. I have a Yamaha pro seriesthat I run when in Cocodrie (coastal saltwater marsh). I have turned up bottom with the trophy but never ran across an oyster bed. I've hit items underwater and never damaged the blades of the trophy.

[billseals]

I have a 2014 H2O Bay boat with 115 Yamaha. My problem is the boat takes on water (yes the drain plug is in). It has three black grommet style holes as well as the livelwell intake and bilge drain. The black hole to the left of the motor (facing the back) is the back livewell. the other two are on the left side of the motor, one I would imagine is the front livewell drain- does anyone have any idea what the other black hole goes to>

[billseals]

I have a 2014 H2O Bay boat with 115 Yamaha. My problem is the boat takes on water (yes the drain plug is in). It has three black grommet style holes as well as the livelwell intake and bilge drain. The black hole to the right of the motor (facing the back) is the back livewell. the other two are on the left side of the motor, one I would imagine is the front livewell drain- does anyone have any idea what the other black hole goes to>

[seapickle]

Make sure you put the plug in the bilge drain, ive made that mistake before and found out quick what my mistake was i have no idea what the 4th hole is for...follow the line that connectas to it and see where it goes...im curious. Maybe its a separate overflow drain. Mine overflow tubes are T-ed into the drain lines though. Is the water entering through this hole or somewhere else? Fill the bilge area with withe from the hose and see where it is leaking

[Jbrannon11]

I'm also curious why you have three of the rubber groment drains. I just recieved my 2015 h20bay and it has a center which is the bilge drain then a right and left black groment drain which is for the live wells. The bildge pump is plumbed into the transom and is not a through hole drain. Do u have any other pumps on the boat like a wash down or an extra livewell pump? Maybe your screen came off of the pick up ? Also how much water are we talking? My boat is brand new and I've taken it out 5 times and every time I drain the bildge there's a cup or two of water. Hopefully we can help

[seapickle]

Do u have any other pumps on the boat like a wash down or an extra livewell pump? Maybe your screen came off of the pick up ? Also how much water are we talking? My boat is brand new and I've taken it out 5 times and every time I drain the bildge there's a cup or two of water. Hopefully we can help

Good point, i think i remember seeing online the new bays with a wash down hook up or it could be the screen came off of the pick up. Ive noticed the plugs they give for the live wells are not made for them. They do not completely seal the drains. Also check you bilge plug/hole to make sure that it fits snug. The welds could be causing a bad seal

[billseals]

Yes I have the plug in the right hole and it is a tight fit, water does not get in there. It is just not a cup or two but quite a bit of water and takes the bilge pump a few moments to pump it out.

it is in dry storage about 50 miles away (5 minutes from a lake) so I cant easily check everything out in a day or so. Hopefully this weekend I will be able to check the connections using a water hose to see what drains are what, I do not have any options other than the standard livewell, I do not have recirculation or aerator systems in either livewell.

Hopefully I will get to check it out this weekend.

[seapickle]

good luck. maybe this will help...
Far Left: live well pick up
Middle left: front live well drain
Middle right: bilge drain
Far left: rear live well drain
* in my splash well is the bilge pump out.

If if you have another through hull drain, I have no idea but other than to trace the hoses

[Jbrannon11]

When I purchased my boat my dealer ensured me the transom savor was not necessary on the h20bay with the 115 and 10" jack plate ? Being this is my first boat, how do others feel about this advice ? I do however trim all the way up and lock the motor down so the tilt/ trim is not abused on roads. Any info greatly appreciated I would hate to have transom issues on a cheap " insurance" situation.

[Jbrannon11]

I found the trophy plus prop 19 pitch 4 blade for 350 on eBay do I need the hub kit also or does it bolt right up? I have the Yamaha 115

[seapickle]

If it doesn't come with a hub for the Yamaha, you will need to get one. For the transom saver - id get one. it's a small cost for ease of mind at the least. the dealer may not have wanted to take the time and put it on. mine came with it

[kj521]

I cant say enough good things about the Xpress H20B! I just bought mine two weeks ago and have not had any of the performance issues mentioned here. I have the 115 yamaha 4 stroke and a 6" hydro JP. I bought it from a dealer here in FL so could be set up differently. Its a stainless prop (not sure of pitch) but I get in the 50s with 3 people which is plenty fast for me. I will be using it inshore and took it fishing last weekend and loved it! I was idling along in less than a foot with the JP up no problem. I think alot of people discredit this boat because its aluminum and they have never actually been in it. Super stable -not sure what the other guy was talking about, I had 3 people on 1 corner while catching a fish and no problems. A 2.5/3ft chop had come up and I had to run about 5 miles back to the boat ramp....it handled fine. Of course its not going to handle as well as a deep v offshore boat but I felt completely safe running back in and after looking around at the other flats boats coming back in with me the Xpress did just as good if not better. Only thing I wish I would have done different is a larger trolling motor. I have the minn kota 12v and it would do better with a 24v I think. Other than that its a great boat for the money! Sure if you have 70k to spend on a pathfinder go for it but if you want to stay under 30k this boat is the way to go. Also better than buying something used thats 10yrs old that you have no idea how it was taken care of prior to you (I looked at used pathfinders in the low 20s and decided to spend a little more for a brand spanking new boat.)

Tight lines

[seapickle]

50s with a 115hp on a h20b with 3 people? ..!!?? please let everyone know what prop you are running and what's your prop to pad measurement. I'd have to see a picture of the gps saying 50+ mph. you are using your gps for speed and not the needle gauge, right? do you have the new, lighter Yamaha motor? I'm still not sure that one would push the boat 50+ mph - I could see upper 40s
i wouldn't want to be in true a 3' chop in mine. glad you like your Xpress. they do handle well for a alum bay boat.

[Jbrannon11]

he must have a different prop and not using gps . I have a 2015 with a 115 and there's no way it will hit 50 from xpress. I do however think the boat is solid and will not need many mods to last many years. The gauges they install are trash !

[Jbrannon11]

I'm look into the Yamaha digital gauges that plug up to the motor. What kind of boat doesn't have an hours gauge!

[seapickle]

I wish I had an hours gauge too. I installed a water pressure gauge
- on the 50mph issue...I've tried lots of props with only me in the boat and 1/2 tank of gas, no ice chest and still never saw over 46mph. to be doing 50+ with ANY dealer supplied unworked prop is very hard to believe until I see proof. the h20b with the 150hp does 52mph (gps) stock. there is no way an "un-modded" 115 put out those numbers. A 19 pitch prop, 2.15 gear ratio, turned at 6000 rpms at 50mph is 0% prop slip. ALL boats have prop slip, so those numbers don't add up.
He may have the 150hp and not know it lol