Over a two-month period, Florida Sportsman staffers fished the Dusky 19 Bay Shark in a variety of settings, inshore and off. Here we’re running on the St. Lucie River with a full tank and typical fishing load. Top end, with 175 E-Tec, was 37 knots at 5,700 rpm.

You don’t see many flush casting decks and trolling motors on 20-degree-deadrise boats. That makes the Bay Shark somewhat unique, an inshore fishing platform that provides an offshore-grade ride in a chop. The tradeoff is she’s a bit tippy when your buddy joins you on one side to land a fish. Also, trim tabs are a must to level out the ride on plane, but you’d want them on a boat this size anyway, for lots of good reasons.

Wide console with mounting surface for Lowrance HDS 5-inch chartplotter/sonar combo. It’s a sweet little unit, but we’d go with a larger screen.

Forward port storage compartment, about 36 inches long. This and an identical compartment starboard drain directly overboard, a nice feature if you plan to use it as a fish box (Yay! No scales in the bilge).

Trolling motor batteries mounted forward, as they should be, right next to the receptacle for the motor and the plug for charger.

Fuel fill. Standard tank is 60 gallons.

Popup cleat next to the trolling motor bracket. The 24-volt Motor Guide 75 Wireless model with remote control is easy to remove and stow for security.