The Sun Dolphin 12 is a nifty little poly fishing boat.
Sun Dolphin Pro 12: A Mini Fishboat that's a Polyethylene Prince
I've had a Sun Dolphin Pro 12 that I bought used a few years back, and even though this boat seems a bit out of place on HookedOnFishingBoats.com, I've found this little mini-mite so fun and useful I thought it would be of interest to saltwater anglers everywhere. The Best feature of the Pro 12? It's essentially unbreakable, thanks to rotomolded polyethylene construction beefed up with aluminum stringers. Bang it, bash it, run it aground, bounce if off of rocks - you just can't hurt this thing. Another surprising feature of the Pro 12 is its stability. With 11'3" LOA and five feet of beam, it's an incredibly stable platform and I've never seen a boat this small that felt so safe to be in. Compared to aluminum boats of the same size, stability has to be boosted threefold. Added safety bonus: there's foam between the hull and deck, so sinking isn't an option, either. The Sun Dolphin Pro 12 comes with a small fore and aft deck, constructed of plywood and covered in outdoor carpet. There are three stowage compartments built into the front deck, and two in the aft deck. The one on the starboard side houses a livewell, and the port side is designed to carry a deep cycle battery (with wiring that runs up to the bow, which has an electric motor plug). I ditched the decks and instead covered the molded stowage compartments with hatches, because those decks account for a lot of the Sun Dolphin's 225 pounds of weight (and when they became soaked with water, increased weight even more). That led to a speed boost and more overall interior room, though it also meant no more fore and aft pedestal seats. Rigged with a 9,9-hp Yamaha outboard, the boat planes out with two people and a light load; pile in a ton of gear, and it has a hard time getting over the hump. The transom can take another five horses, however, so I'd recommend getting the full 15 if you plan to go anywhere fast with all but the lightest loads. Once up on plane it zips along at 18-mph, which is plenty of speed in a boat this small. But the best news of all is that you can run over stumps, bump off of logs, and slam into the shoreline all you like - you just can't kill this little critter!
