Anyone with a JH Outlaw on the board? I'm in the market for a new sled and just had some general questions - performance specs, rigging must haves (tabs?), pros/cons, and curious what price ballpark I'm playing in. I can generally guess off of used prices but there aren't many used out there and I haven't seen Sport Marine advertise new hulls for sale.

Live in Corpus and fish ULM to 9 mile. I've fished most of the major brand cats and flat bottoms down here except for JH, however they have such a positive reputation I want to give them a look.

I'm not great at checking Texags often, so if anyone willing to exchange contact info, I'd be grateful.

The Outlaw is an excellent platform for that area. Get a test ride and go run how and where you like to fish.

Definitely going to test ride soon. Hoping to get over there in the next week or 2 once this front clears out.

I'm looking to run a 23 ft with 250 SHO.

I don't have any experience with them, other than almost buying one. I ended up buying an El Pescador Cat instead. JH has a great reputation, I've never heard any complaints about them. Good luck with your purchase.

Absolutely love the Pescador, one of my favorites rigs, but to get one how I want it, I'd be a bit outside my price point.

Yeah, I was lucky to buy mine used before covid made the prices go crazy. I think I could still sell mine right now for more than I paid for it.

I have several buddies that have the Outlaw and they all love it. I've fished out of it several times and have zero problems with it except I can't afford one, but that's the situation with all boats right now. I have a Shoalwater cat which is very similar to the outlaw. Our group fishes Port Mansfield a couple of times a year and the Outlaw performs very well in that water. I love my boat but would buy the Outlaw if I was in the market.

I had a 230x from 2015-2020. Great boat and Sport Marine is phenomenal to work with. Sold it to a fellow TexAg member on here and it is still going strong nearly a decade into service. His place is off of Whitecap and Bonasse so I could possibly get him to run you on it. I chose it over a Shoalwater, Hayne Cat, and Dargel.

The biggest con of owning one in the ULM is distance to the shop if warranty work is needed. Other cons are speed and storage. I ended up replacing it with a Gulf Coast Saber Cat. It's a faster hull with more freeboard which allows deeper hatches. If you are looking at a 25' boat, I'd recommend you look at the Saber Cat and the Pescador Patron 25 as well as the 250x. If you're going with 23', the Outlaw may be the best 23' boat outside of the Simmons

Wonder what the actual draft is? They list 8" but it's probably 10-12. Maybe more. I know the 24 shallow sport is 10 to 11 at the stern with a 250 and normal gear.

DargelSkout said:

---

I don't have any experience with them, other than almost buying one. I ended up buying an El Pescador Cat instead. JH has a great reputation, I've never heard any complaints about them. Good luck with your purchase.

---

I have an El Pescador Cat…. It does everything I need it to do, runs smooth as well. Just wish my 250 SHO engine was a 300… (not sure they will even put a 300 on it ) little more power to go on those long runs, my T top slows it down a little.. but everyone wants just a little more power …

Thanks Fido, I found some old threads on here and 2cool of you speaking highly of the JH. if you could connect me with the guy that bought that 23 from you, that would be awesome. Happy to share my contact info if needed. I'm pretty set on a 23 foot boat. I'm also going to go with a raised console to help with storage.

Your point on distance to Sport Marine is a good one and one I have some concern with as well. I imagine I'd be staying local for engine warranty work unless it was something major.

Let me know how to get in touch. I'd be happy to jump on the phone and talk deeper about the Outlaw

Shoot me a text when you have it and I'll take it down so I don't get too many OB prank calls.

The Coast Guard tag on the boat will tell you what they rate it for as far as horsepower. As far as Coast Guard regs are concerned any boat over 20'1" can be unlimited in HP. However if the boat manufacturer wants to attain NMMA certification they have to test the boat for rated HP and placard it for what HP they tested for. The NMMA test consist of a maneuverability test done at wide open throttle with the boat set up for best top end speed….
That's why you see some boats that are over 20' 1" that have 250 HP ratings and have the NMMA certification sticker on them. In addition many manufacturers rate their boats for lower HP due to liability concerns.
Just for discussion, this also applies to level flotation requirements. Coast Guard says any boat over 20' 1" is not required to have level flotation. NMMA certification requires all boats that a manufacturer wants to get certified, regardless of length, pass a level flotation test.
Due to product liability many manufacturers have opted to spend the time, engineering cost, and money to get their boats NMMA certified. Having a NMMA certified product also benefits the consumer on a legal liability standpoint in the event of an accident and people are injured or killed.
Most of the larger well known boat manufacturers are members of the NMMA and have their products meet NMMA standards for certification. Surprisingly a lot of the small regional niche market manufacturers are not. Boat owners and buyers are often not aware of this.
With that being said you can always contact Hydra -Tech in Springfield MO and they can flash your ICU on your Yamaha SHO and it will then produce about 320 HP. It's not cheap but it's just what we spend on our toys right?

My buddy owns the gray Pescador Patron on their website pictures. He has a 350R on his boat so they're at least rated for that.

I chipped up my SHO on the JH. It's not cheap, but if you're willing to get a 200 you can make 310-320hp significantly cheaper than buying the 250 SHO

Gunny456 said:

---

The Coast Guard tag on the boat will tell you what they rate it for as far as horsepower. As far as Coast Guard regs are concerned any boat over 20'1" can be unlimited in HP. However if the boat manufacturer wants to attain NMMA certification they have to test the boat for rated HP and placard it for what HP they tested for. The NMMA test consist of a maneuverability test done at wide open throttle with the boat set up for best top end speed….
That's why you see some boats that are over 20' 1" that have 250 HP ratings and have the NMMA certification sticker on them. In addition many manufacturers rate their boats for lower HP due to liability concerns.
Just for discussion, this also applies to level flotation requirements. Coast Guard says any boat over 20' 1" is not required to have level flotation. NMMA certification requires all boats that a manufacturer wants to get certified, regardless of length, pass a level flotation test.
Due to product liability many manufacturers have opted to spend the time, engineering cost, and money to get their boats NMMA certified. Having a NMMA certified product also benefits the consumer on a legal liability standpoint in the event of an accident and people are injured or killed.
Most of the larger well known boat manufacturers are members of the NMMA and have their products meet NMMA standards for certification. Surprisingly a lot of the small regional niche market manufacturers are not. Boat owners and buyers are often not aware of this.
With that being said you can always contact Hydra -Tech in Springfield MO and they can flash your ICU on your Yamaha SHO and it will then produce about 320 HP. It's not cheap but it's just what we spend on our toys right?

---

Dam .. thanks, learned something new today, had no idea how all that works. I'm gonna have to look for that tag on the boat or call El Pescador

Just to piggy back Gunnys informative post...

In Texas, nothing on that rate plate is enforceable. You can put as much horsepower as you have the guts to bolt on and you can have as many people on board as you have life jackets for until it is sitting on the bottom.

Insurance doesn't care either. My last ten boats either didn't even have a rate plate or I removed it. Insurance never asked for a rating. When I repowered with higher HP, let the insurance company know, they checked the box and moved on.

Now the liability in an accident is another discussion.... but otherwise the rate plate is mostly CYA for the manufacturer. Again....liability.

Theoretically Game Warden or Coast Guard could site you for unsafe operation. But not at all likely.

FIDO. What kind of performance gains did you realize with the flash? How did it affect the low range, mid range and top end? Where did you see the most gains with your hull?
Appreciate it.

As a manufacturer we get visited by the Coast Guard from time to time to inspect our products and to insure that we meet their requirements. The formula they use to determine HP rating must be adhered by all marine manufacturers. They also have the authority to pick a boat off the production line that they can perform flotation test on.
Albeit those HP ratings and flotation requirements do not apply to vessels over 20'1".
I have always wondered why requirements of the CG stop at 20' 1". I guess they feel it's ok if a boat longer than that can sink like the Titanic.
I'm glad the NMMA was formed and certification addresses stronger true upright and level flotation (that far exceeds the CG flotation test) requirements, and other manufacturing standards and requirements.
Frankly I would not own a boat that did not have certified upright and level flotation capability…… at least 35' and below.

Yea i know a lot of guys who have redone some older fishing boats and taken out all the flotation which was waterlogged. I know of a 21ft Mako the owner took out water logged flotation figured it was about 1000 pounds worth.... he did not put flotation back in when he redid it.
Seems common on older aluminum hulls to take out the water logged flotation and not go back with it again. That justify that with it open to the bilge they can get the water out.
Interesting discussion for sure.

Yea. You and I both know if a boat in constructed properly the flotation is encased in waterproof compartments below the waterline but flotation is also in the gunwales and deck compartments that isn't going to get water in it from the bilge area.
There is literally 1000's of boats built the last 30 years that have flotation in them that never get water in the flotation.
Not only that most quality boat builders have been using closed cell flotation foam, which is impervious to water ever soaking up in it, for the last 15 -20 years.
My feeling is the companies that don't want to meet NMMA certifications are doing if for a reason… cost to much money.
Appreciate your discussions sir. I always enjoy it my friend.
When you coming fishing in the Ozarks?

Oh man! I am all over that anytime we can make it work.

I'll give you a holler on phone.

Gunny456 said:

---

FIDO. What kind of performance gains did you realize with the flash? How did it affect the low range, mid range and top end? Where did you see the most gains with your hull?
Appreciate it.

---

Overall, everything performed better, but part of that was because it was slightly underpowered with the 200. My top end speed jumped from just touching 50 to about 55 which was not quite as much as I thought. Efficiency really got better in the 40 mph range. I was able to maintain that speed fairly close to 4000 RPMs where the 200 was closer to 5000. Hole shot definitely improved. And I was able to stay on plane at lower speed speeds.

If I had a do over with my current Boat, I would have got the 200 SHO, painted it white to match w/custom decals, and chipped it up. The Suzuki is geared different so even though it is the same 300 hp, the Saber Cat runs much better with the Yammy. My buddy could top 60 under the right conditions with a stock 250 SHO and would run 52 at 5K RPM. I'm running 5500 to go 50 and run out of steam at 54-55

Thank you for the reply very much. It answered what I needed perfectly. Tight lines always sir.
Again many thanks.