Steiger Craft 31 Fisherman Review, a Long Island Pilothouse for Canyon Runs

Steiger Craft for sale, and why the 31 Fisherman exists

Most people searching for a Steiger Craft for sale already know the formula: a hand-built Long Island fishing boat with a pilothouse, a deep-V bottom and a cockpit that seems too big for the boat. The 31 Fisherman is the most fishing-focused version of the company's largest hull. It shares the 31-foot, 10-foot beam bottom with the better-known 31 Miami, but strips back the cabin and reworks the pilothouse for crews who care more about rods and fish boxes than about overnight comfort.

Steiger describes the boat as designed for the discerning fisherman. The headline changes are two large in-deck fish boxes, a large livewell in the transom, captain's chairs on both sides of the pilothouse with bench seating behind them, a simplified cabin whose berth was enlarged by deleting the enclosed head of the standard 31, and a Lone Star drum winch on the bow carrying more than 450 feet of rode. Seakeeper is available.

The Fisherman is a recent addition. It appears on Steiger's model list in archived snapshots from late 2024 and remains in the 2026 lineup.

From a Bellport bakery to Long Island's last major boatbuilder

Steiger Craft calls itself Long Island's last major boatbuilder, and its story is unusually local. Alan Steiger founded the company in 1972 on the site of his grandfather Santo Manino's wholesale bakery in Bellport, New York, where the family still works today. Steiger had been a commercial clammer, crabber and scalloper on Great South Bay, and he began by designing wooden clamming boats in a small shop behind the property.

By 1975 Steiger had switched to fiberglass, still laid up by hand, and in the mid-1990s the company developed deep-V bottoms for ocean fishing. Almost everything wood or fiberglass, including the molds, is made on site, and the only significant wood in the boat is the transom. Soundings has noted that singer Billy Joel, a Long Island resident, owned the only inboard Steiger ever built.

The 31 hull itself dates to 2015. Connor Steiger, the founder's son and vice president, told Soundings the company had built a 31 in the early 1990s but got away from that size until the 31 DV Miami, which was tooled in house from the popular 26 and launched with a starting price of $166,000 on twin Yamaha 300s.

A 26 on steroids, the hull underneath

Connor Steiger described the 31 as a 26 on steroids. The 26 DV Miami was a favorite with bluewater anglers, but its 200-gallon tank made canyon trips day-only affairs. The 31 added length to bridge the next wave, a hull closer to the ideal 3 to 1 length-to-beam ratio, and roughly 300 gallons of fuel for overnight canyon trips.

Steiger lists the 31 Fisherman at 31 feet with a 10-foot beam, 325 gallons of fuel, 10,000 lb and a 30-inch draft. The builder's spec block gives 21 degrees of deadrise, while Connor Steiger described the 31 Miami hull as a 22-degree variable-V aft in 2015. The hull is hand laid around what Steiger calls an indestructible I-beam grid that reduces flex, and the company backs its hulls with a lifetime guarantee on the 31 Miami page.

Note one inconsistency on Steiger's own Fisherman page: the description quotes a 300-gallon fuel capacity and a 450-plus mile range, while the spec block and standard equipment list both say 325 gallons. Expect 325 gallons on current boats, and confirm on any specific hull.

• LOA 31 feet, beam 10 feet
• Draft 30 inches
• Weight about 10,000 lb
• Fuel 325 gallons
• Standard power twin Yamaha F300 outboards; twin F350s optional

What twin Yamaha 300s deliver

No magazine has published an instrumented test of the 31 Fisherman, but the 31 Miami uses the same hull and standard engines. The Fisherman, the Northeast fishing magazine, reported Yamaha factory test results for the 31 DV Miami on standard twin 300 four-strokes swinging 18-inch-pitch SWS II props. The boat reached 51.4 mph at 6,050 rpm. At 3,500 rpm it ran 28.7 mph on 15.7 gph, or about 1.83 mpg, and at 4,000 rpm it made 33.7 mph on 19.8 gph, about 1.7 mpg.

Those numbers explain Steiger's canyon-ready claim. At 30 mph and under 2 mpg, 325 gallons supports a long run to the edge with a sensible reserve. The Fisherman's lighter cabin outfit should not change performance much, while optional twin F350s add a few mph at the top. For most owners, the more useful option is Seakeeper Ride or the standard Zipwake PRO trim system, which help a 10-foot-beam deep-V stay level in a cross sea.

Pilothouse, cockpit and the bottom-fishing details

Inside the pilothouse, the helm sits to starboard, with captain's chairs to port and starboard and bench seating behind, plus a large amount of tackle and gear storage. Standard equipment includes opening front windows, four opening portholes, windshield wipers and washers, a cabin hatch and fans, V-berth cushions and a marine head. Options include a full Chesapeake wall, a Miami canvas back, an extended roof, a port tackle cabinet or couch, a second station and suspension seats.

The cockpit is where Steiger earns its reputation. On the 31 Miami, The Fisherman measured 10 1/2 by 8 feet of cockpit with 25 inches of depth, and praised a combined toe rail, horizontal rod rack and sinker drawer under each covering board, a detail aimed squarely at Northeast bottom and drift fishermen. The 31 Fisherman's standard list includes sinker trays, rod racks, eight gunwale rod holders, a nine-rod rocket launcher with LED spreaders, a 40-gallon transom livewell, an aft livewell or fish box and a raw water washdown. Outriggers, a cockpit tackle center, a double rocket launcher and a drop-down transom seat are options.

The drum winch matters more than it sounds. Anchoring on wrecks and lumps in 100 feet or more of water is routine in the Northeast, and a drum that stores more than 450 feet of rode at the bow turns a two-person chore into a push-button job.

31 Fisherman versus 31 Miami and 31 Annapolis

Steiger now builds three 31s on the same hull. The 31 Miami is the family-friendly pilothouse with an enclosed head, sink and counter below, a 120-gallon in-deck fish locker and 100-gallon in-deck livewell in the cockpit, and options such as air conditioning and heat with shore power. It lists at $313,150. The 31 Annapolis is the priciest version at $367,734. The 31 Fisherman, at $267,275, is the least expensive way into the 31 hull.

Choose the Fisherman if the boat is primarily a fishing tool and overnights are rare. Choose the Miami if family members will use the head or you plan to sleep aboard often. The price gap of roughly $46,000 can buy a Seakeeper Ride, a bow thruster and outriggers with money to spare.

Ownership costs and the used Steiger market

With twin 300s burning around 16 to 20 gph at a 29 to 34 mph cruise, fuel costs are moderate for a 31-footer. Annual costs, including outboard service, insurance, a slip or storage in the Northeast, winterization and haul-out, typically run about $15,000 to $32,000 excluding fuel and depreciation.

Used 31 Fishermen are still scarce because the model only arrived around 2024, so most shoppers looking at Steiger Craft for sale listings will see 31 Miamis from 2016 onward along with the smaller 21 to 28-foot models. Steigers have a loyal following in the Northeast and tend to hold value well, helped by the hand-laid hull and lifetime hull guarantee. Buy through Steiger's dealer network if you can, and check that any lifetime warranty transfers to you.