The Yellowfin 24 Bay Boat "Spider" Classic
The history of the “Spider” version of the Yellowfin classic bay boat. If you ever see one around or get a chance to fish one you will see that this is a really kewl boat.
Back in 2014 the Yellowfin 24 was becoming increasingly popular for many different areas of inshore fishing. This hull was sexy and desired. With the amazing custom build attitude of Yellowfin this boat was becoming a huge success and seemingly everyone had to have one or at least wanted one. I can remember build times of up to 2 years for this boat. At this point I was head over heels in love with the 24 Bay boat for what I do here in Key West. (still am) To me, it was the perfect boat that offered a great ride, speed and able to work the shallow flats fishing I did.
The Different Types Of Yellowfin 24 Bay Boats
Up to this point so far the versions of the yellowfin 24 bay boats were.
- The classic “flat deck” that had no tower or t-top. I had a few of these and they became my traditional build.
- Then there was the half tower where the operator could stand on the console dashboard and drive the boat from an additional upper control station. I owned one of these versions and fished it for a couple years, I did not use the tower as much as I thought I would.
- The T-top version. This version was done in mostly soft tops and a few hard tops at the point in the game. Ive never had a T-top version of the 24 bay.
The “classic” is a name I gave to the older deck configuration back then before the switch in 2015 to the CE model where the boats were done in carbon fiber, the step up to deck, separated compartments and smaller console came to play. The “classic” decks were pretty much all the same with loads of walk around and huge storage that was all met together up front accessed from three hatches. More deck area in the back with one main bait well in the middle and potentially two others on port and starboard that could be plumbed. In addition a rear seat that could be lifted up to provide amazing access to the pumps and some rigging. These were all fiberglassed cored boats and my flat decks usually weighed in around 3300 lbs.
Introducing The Yellowfin "Spider"
It was in this year Yellowfin introduced what I nicknamed the “spider”. If I recall correctly Wiley wasn’t a huge fan of this model but he allowed it to be built anyway. I thought it was unique and different so I ordered one from Wylie to be at the Miami International Boat show in 2014. I think Yellowfin had built a few of them that year most of which went to Yellowfin Ambassador members.
The spider was unique and different for a bay boat. My set up on the yellow spider 24 Bay was pretty static. We used the 25 inch shaft motor. We had an 8 inch setback on the Jack plate and I didn’t have any fancy rigging. OEM She had the Gen 4 Mercury Verado 300 Pro with the old style smaller 4.78 gear case with 1.75 gear ratio. I didn’t really go crazy with it. It wasn’t a speed demon but still ran up to 66. I wanted something that was basic reliable and kinda fast.
For my electronics I had all Garmin and used the GSD 26 with a B175 Airmar transducer because I knew that I’d be fishing this in a little bit deeper water and I wanted to have some great bottom finding resolution. There was not a bunch of room on the dash for more and my VHF is a command mic.
I had two power poles with the new bracket mounts right on the right on the Jack plate. It was also the very first year that I went with Bob’s machine shop for a jack plate and never looked back after dumping the Atlas, Jack plate, which I didn’t care for very much on my previous boats.
I don’t listen to music much out on the water but this boat came with a “Sandbar” stereo option from Yellowfin and JL marine. I gotta say it is intense. Also a shout out to JL for making stuff that lasts. this stereo is 10 years old as I write this and just now the speakers have given it up..
Why Is It Called The Spider?
I like nicknames. Sometimes they are flattering sometimes not. Sometimes they are descriptive as in this case. The term spider came from the physical characteristic that the console and the leaning post were held up by 8 legs. When I went to check out the boat being built I was speaking to Kevin Barker (then the VP of Yellowfin) and said… Lets call this version the “Spider”, I wasn’t sure it would stick but now see that it has… Here at my shop it is the YFS for short.. So.. as it goes.. this is the Yellowfin 24 bay boat Classic “Spider” Version. Also see my “Critter” version
What Did I Love About The Yellowfin Spider?
The Yelowfin 24 foot spider bay boat was kind of a game changer for me in my fishing. I had rod holders along the side of the box that everything sat on top of I had rod holders behind my leaning post and it really gave me a lot of diversity and Tackle that I could bring on my signature All In Wonder fishing charter out to the Marquesas Keys. And still be able to walk around the boat without getting hung up. It was really fun. Really impressive now with the box the way it was rigged. The batteries were moved back towards the back of the boat so this brought my CG‘s back towards the back which brought the nose up and made the spider version a very dry version of the Yellowfin 24 Bay. It was also very good riding boat. This was one of my favorite boats to fish offshore just because of the ride and again I was a little bit higher up when I was riding along I could see pretty well spotting fish and bottom features. A great dive boat. These things really gave me a lot of visual advantage and loved just running around driving that boat.
What Did I Hate?
Every boat I have ever owned has something I just hated.. The Spider had the box where all of its rigging is. It wasn’t the rigging I hated, it was getting to it. Once I got the hang of it I found that the rigging was pretty well protected in there and would live longer. The second thing as I got older was stepping up and down in the “Cockpit” behind the wheel. My knees just took a beating.
Performance and Very Economical
The performance of the Yellowfin spider 24 Bay is pretty good. It’s a 66 mile an hour boat with a 300 V8. Mid range cruise I am seeing over 4 mpg at 40 mph. I’ve had about every motor since 2014 on this particular boat, which includes the Mercury 300 Verado L6, 350 Verado L6, 300 V8 Pro CMS, 300 R V8 from Mercury Racing, which is what I have currently on that boat. It is a very impressive outfit very very good fuel economy and yet fast enough to thrill.
The Perfect Bay Boat?
I have been in the industry of boating a very long time and have had the pleasure of helping both Mercury Marine and Yellowfin Yachts present product to the public and spoken to MANY people about boats.. I have learned two things that are always consistent and I share this with folks often..
- There is no perfect boat for everyone
- Everyone wants the perfect boat.
I always suggest that folks counsel themselves with what they are looking for in a boat. Start with the budget. Then, what you will use it for. Lastly if it fits those two then get out on one and try it. See if you like it. Don’t ever buy a boat that you did not run.
Incidentally this boat is for sale. I have had it since new and it’s time for it to go to a new home.
Feel free to to contact me about her.
Text 305-304-0497
steven@fishingkeywest.com
