Slade, I read once on the MS board about some guy wanting to get all 18' rods and someone else said not to do that unless you have a 21' boat. I'm assuming it has to do with not being able to get to the end of the rod if you have problems, or maybe transporting them. Just a thought, I'm not sure how long your boat is, I'm working on getting 14 footers myself. Maybe someone else could comment on this if there is a problem with pole length vs boat length.