1986 Mako 224

Step aboard this 224 and you’re reminded why so many captains still chase these older Makos. The layout is simple and honest: wide, uncluttered decks, high gunnels, and a no-nonsense center console that puts everything within easy reach. The boat’s weight and hull shape give it a planted feel at drift, whether you’re working live baits or bottom rigs. There’s room forward to throw a cast net or set up a cooler as a makeshift seat, and plenty of fish-fighting space aft. For someone who likes to tinker, the straightforward rigging and classic construction make upgrades, rewiring, or repowering far less intimidating than newer, over-complicated designs.

A 22-foot center console like this shines in waters where conditions can change quickly—calm one hour, stacked chop the next. The hull is soft enough to run the open stretches yet compact enough to slip into shallower bays, river mouths, and nearshore structure. Its size makes trailering to different ramps and fishing grounds easy, opening up reefs, wrecks, flats, and inlets without needing a big truck or marina slip. For anglers who split time between family cruising and serious fishing, the open layout, secure bow, and stable platform fit the mixed demands of local sandbar days, evening harbor runs, and early-morning offshore pushes.