2006 Bay Craft 180 Tunnel Explorer

What stands out on this 180 Tunnel Explorer is how much fishability Bay Craft squeezed into an 18-foot footprint. The wide, stable casting decks forward and aft give two anglers room to work without dancing around each other, and the low gunwales make flipping a fish or poling along a shoreline feel natural and controlled. Storage is thoughtfully laid out, with lockers and compartments that keep tackle, safety gear, and a day’s worth of bait organized and out of the way. The simple, open cockpit is easy to wash down after chasing reds in muddy creeks or bouncing through chop. It’s a rig that’s been set up to fish hard, then rinse and repeat.

In this part of the world, where winding creeks, grass flats, and oyster-studded shorelines demand a true skinny-water hull, the 180 Tunnel Explorer is right at home. The tunnel design helps feed clean water to the prop while you’re running shallower than many boats dare to idle, so you can slide over bars, work tight cuts, and reach pockets others leave untouched. Its manageable size tows easily, launches at smaller ramps, and lets you poke into backcountry coves on a falling tide. For anglers who split time between poling the flats, drifting channels, and making short bay runs, this model strikes a smart balance of draft, stability, and efficiency.