Late last summer while standup paddling, I watched a fisherman glide up atop a seafoam green multihulled paddleboard. Though pushed along by a trolling motor, he was gracious enough to stop for a quick overview of his 14-foot Live Watersports L4 Expedition. The dude was armed: battery box, tackle box, a Yeti cooler seat, a side track/rail system to hold rods, a cupholder, and a paddle. He’d fashioned a throttle control handle from a length of PVC and simply slipped it over the end of the tiller handle to pilot from mid-board. An aluminum bolt-on mount held the motor and beige no-slip EVA decking kept his feet cool. It was bad ass.
I’d seen these setups before on social media. Jimmy Buffett even had a Live 12-foot “Mango” fishing model he co-designed with company founder John Cleckner. Buffett used to strap his to a flats boat to reach yet skinnier water. My son was in search of a small boat for himself wondered how one of these 70-pound multihulls—fitted with a gas kicker—might compare to a 600-pound skiff for our local waters. I pinged Cleckner and soon enough was shoving off with a $3,099, twin-hulled L4 Expedition “microskiff” from our backyard dock. Instantly, I discovered that these boards make tons of fishing sense. First, they’re incredibly stable. Second, the cat design means they draw mere inches of water depending on how close you are to their 700-pound load limit, and third, with their sleek sponsons, they’re incredibly quiet on the flats where a ripple on a hull could spook a jumpy red or bonefish.
Since then, my son and his friends and I have experimented with the board—a lot. The L4 is pretty heavy. One can lug it, but a two-wheeled trailer is better. It paddles very fast and is remarkably maneuverable for its size. It is quite high-sided though, so with a beam breeze, staying on course requires considerable effort in any wind over 8 knots (a good excuse for a tandem-paddling date). Our board also came with two FCS surfboard fins that snap into boxes at the back of each sponson. These do help maintain direction in mild following seas and crosswinds, but they also increase the draft by 6 inches and catch on marsh grass if you’re in seriously skinny water—so just unsnap them when you reach your flat. To hold position, you could mount a mini power-pole (yes, they actually sell these), but we just throw out a small anchor.
My eager son bought a 6-horsepower short-shaft Yamaha kicker off Craigslist. We thumb-screwed the incredibly lightweight, SUP Customs motor mount to the stern and bolted on the gasser. We quickly learned that the mount, motor, and human weighs the stern down when you’re trying to start the motor. You can counteract that with another human or a big battery or ice-filled cooler up front, but barring that you’re on your knees right at the waterline to pull start—a wet and unstable process. And even with a counterweight, don’t expect choking, priming, starting, and running a gas motor—while attached to a kill switch—to be simple. We also found that while L4’s are sleek and gorgeous, a 6-horsepower outboard is only fun to maybe 15 knots. They are just not meant to go the considerable speed a 6 (or higher)-horsepower kicker can push them and you’ll chine walk without the fins.
No, the elegant solution is an electric drive and a good deep cycle or lithium battery. We kept it simple, with a Minn-Kota trolling motor and a forward AGM that keeps the speed around 4 to 5 knots. The board’s so stable that we have yet to dump anything overboard. Mostly though, I prefer engine-less simplicity; paddling to a secret spot near home to cast from the board or sand never gets old. I get a solid workout, and I’m much more in tune with all the wildlife—especially the dolphins and tailing reds. And that, to me, is what these remarkable paddleboards are truly all about.
LOA: 14’
Beam: 2’10”
Weight: 70 lbs
Draft: 2-3”
Price: $3,099
Live L4 Expedition Paddleboard
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MHP&S Winter 2025
