Upon arrival to the pre-determined public boat ramp I immediately noticed a chip above the rub rail the size of a flattened quarter. The motor looked its 20 year old age, but still glossy and roared to life when requested. Her idle over zealous and spotty for a few moments until she relaxed down to a comfortable 800rpm, the pisser became a solid stream. The boat it self was dated but clean, her 22 year old lines resemble the brand new mavericks of today. The aluminum dry launch trailer was in similar condition.

I always knew I would upgrade my pathfinder 15T one day. I could not have asked for a better first boat to guide me through the excitement and disappointments of boat ownership. I figured out a lot about what I wanted and what I didn’t want in a skiff during my 9 years of ownership.

I had two reservations when it came to purchasing the Maverick. The first being the 10” draft, and the second being and the 22 year old motor. Trusted confidants and mechanically-inclined buddies all assured me that a 1999 Yamaha two stroke is “bullet proof.” But I have become accustomed to the luxury of a 5 year warranty and a 5” draft. My current outboard never crosses my mind until the tiller is in my hand.

My new acquaintance passed me the throttle and the skiff lurched to life in spitting wind across the large central Florida lake. I tried to hide my grin as I imagined the pathfinder bouncing across this sloppy cold front. The Maverick sliced through chop at an alarming pace.

The main reason I wanted to upgrade from the pathfinder was to gain the ability to cross bigger water and make longer runs in comfort. There was no suitable place in this lake to pole the boat, but after a firm handshake I pulled away with my “new” 1999 Maverick Mirage II.

Now to go home and give her a bath, and also sell the pathfinder before my wife murders me.

The following are some of the upgrades I made to my new steed over the past year or so, in case any other skiff nerds are interested…

First things first: I removed the broken fish finder mount and replaced it with two drop in, powder coated aluminum cup holders. After lots of youtubing and elbow grease, I determined that the foggy old compass needed to be replaced with its new counter part.

The boat came with and old ratty casting platform. i removed the 20 year old carpet from the plywood, before sanding and painting it. I also sanded down the aluminum and gave it a quick once over with black rustoleum. not the prettiest platform, but it will do.

After the sale of the pathfinder, I had a little extra money. I drug her up to the Skiff shop in Oak Hill, FL. I had them install a new Minn Kota trolling motor with quick release bracket, and replace the original rope rub rail insert with a black rubber one.

The carpet has to go.

After some paint thinner and about 6 hours of tedious scraping.

I had Castaway customs come out and laser measure the gunnels for Seadek. I saved on cost by applying it myself, it was just like a really large, very expensive decal.

Since I had to remove the old rod holders to replace the old carpet, why not make new ones from mahogany?

I applied a few strips of Velcro and a Yeti Side kick dry bag to store cell phones and other accoutrements. Then I dipped into my first born’s college fund to replace the original steering wheel with and Edson “Special Ops” wheel.

There are still a laundry list of things I want to do, but this is what I have done in the first year of ownership, not to mention working some bugs out of the old Yamaha. She has been on a fair amount of adventures with my in the first year, and has proved to be fishy. I think I’m in love.