Caymas CX21 or Pheonix 921 PHX

[Mike n Grey]

I’m buying a new boat I narrowed it down to the Pheonix 921 PHX
Just about ready to pull the trigger and order but I have recently ran
across info and videos on the new Caymas CX 21, I’m very impressed
with what I have been seeing
I would really appreciate feedback on this as I want to get this right, I hang onto
boats so I want to make the right decision
We fish big water such as the Great Lakes and also a lot of smaller water
We need a great rough water boat but yet a boat that has great fish ability
and is very stable with the TM down
I know the Pheonix PHX is a great rough water boat
From what I can tell this CX 21 might be the best of both worlds
Really like what is see so far with the design and fit and finish
Really appreciate feedback on this
Thanks

[Buck456]

I own the 20 footer. I took a buddy of mine on the river one day and the wind was blowing supper strong up river. The current was strong as well and made some serious rough water. After we made a short run to fish a creek my partner told me "I'm getting one." What you have to realize is this guy has been fishing his whole life.. (He is 79) Owned numerous boats, and traveled all over the United states to fish. He's been on lake Erie, and Kentucky Lake multiple times to just name a couple. Once we got in the creek we wanted to fish he went on and on about how well it handled the rough water. Again he is 79. Knowing him for as long as I had and hearing his comments just reassured me I made the right choice. I too was looking at a couple different Pheonix models, but I'm very satisfied with my choice.

The Caymas is a great fishing platform, and also is the most stable boat I've owned. It also sits flat with the trolling motor down. I'm am by no means knocking a Pheonix. I have couple buddies that love there's. I also do not have a lot of experience in one either. I do the Caymas, and I have no regrets going with one. I'm sure the 21 is even better in the rough stuff, and just a stable. I came out a 2015 20 TRX. It is also a great boat, but I feel the Caymas is better built, and over all a more complete boat. Meaning performace, stable, rough water ride, and comfortable. That's my .02..

[Sam378]

I came across this same problem two weeks ago after I sold my Phoenix. I called my dealer where I bought it from and told him to give me numbers on a 921 elite. So the elite package is around $70-74k in my area but standard options on the elite are way less then what you get with the cx21 pro , the Phoenix didn’t even come with power poles for the same money I could get the cx21 pro and don’t have to put anything into it for options so I ordered the caymas

[CaymasMan250]

You will like the Caymas better, two of my buddies ordered their new Caymas rigs yesterday and put their Phoenix boats for sale.

[Mike n Grey]

Really appreciate everyone’s comments My son and I will be taking a friends 20 PHX out on Monday for the afternoon certainly not the 921 PHX but it will give us a good idea of how the boat handles, if we like it Im sure we will love the 921
We are also traveling to Wiedas marine in Kentucky on Wed to run a Caymas CX21 on the river and also to compare a 921 PHX to the Caymas side by side
Really looking forward to this and hopefully making a final decision

[opaleski]

Really appreciate everyone’s comments My son and I will be taking a friends 20 PHX out on Monday for the afternoon certainly not the 921 PHX but it will give us a good idea of how the boat handles, if we like it Im sure we will love the 921
We are also traveling to Wiedas marine in Kentucky on Wed to run a Caymas CX21 on the river and also to compare a 921 PHX to the Caymas side by side
Really looking forward to this and hopefully making a final decision

Please let us know which way you went!!

[mactlman]

for results

[Mike n Grey]

We were able to test drive both boats, here is my opinion
Caymas In my opinion the CX 21 is by far the best fit and finish I have seen in any bass boat to date, very impressive Earl nailed this!
The cockpit area is very large and very well laid out, the seats very comfortable and very easy to move forward and back
the rear battery compartment area they really designed well, extremely easy to get to bilge pumps and other live wells pumps etc as they have created two separate compartment doors within the battery area for this
All the lids and latches were superior
Love the no carpeting in the compartments
Very good placement of all 3 tool holders
Console was very well done
I felt that this boat will last along time for someone that hangs onto one like we prefer to do
the forward deck is a great platform with the front shroud very well designed, plenty of room for a dual stack
complete padded front deck
With trolling motor down it was very responsive
The entire boat at rest was very stable, had a Ranger stability feel to it
Under power the boat seemed very responsive, and was on plane quickly
This boat rigged with Merc 250 pro xs 4 stroke
Boat was very responsive, handled well even at mid range as it carried well
Im not convinced that it is a smooth or soft ride, we were not able to run this in rough conditions, we had to create waves and wakes
We were able to use moored barges on the river to create a confused sea as our continual wake would reflect off the barges
I was disappointed how the boat ran thru that chop, I was expecting a much smoother experience
One other possible concern I have is that the gunnels seems to have a slight high spot that might catch wind with tm down, it’s the area between the front cleat and mid ship cleat, again I can’t prove this but in windy condition this may be an issue
While the console is very well made and I like the design, I strongly feel that they should eliminate the small glove box and provide that space for necessary gauges such as Jackplate gauge or other necessary gauges as it takes up to much space
Bottom line, Caymas put a lot of thought into this design and Earl for sure will be successful with this boat and the cx20
Great boat for anyone to consider

Ran the Phoenix 20 PHX
Powered with Merc Pro XS 250 4 stroke
It was the day before on a fairly large lake with a good east wind so we were able to see what it was like in some 1 to mainly 2 ft whitecaps and wakes mixed in from other boaters
I was extremely impressed with how soft this boat handled this condition, granted 2 ftrs are not a true test but I was very aggressive in confronting waves from all angles and at a decent speed of 45 mph with the highest of 50 Not my boat so I respectfully did not want to wear out my welcome at higher speeds but I’m very confident the ride would have still been very acceptable
I aggressively went after any wake from larger boats I could find and I did not lay off the throttle approaching them and again I was very impressed with how soft the ride was entering and exiting any wake or wave
With the trolling motor down the boat was very responsive and I really liked how low the entire gunnel front to back was from the water line, we measured this and it was approximately on average 15 inches from top of gunnel to waterline using a tape
We measured the same way on the Caymas and from the top of gunnel to waterline 21 to 22 inches
Im not at all saying that the difference in height is a negative issue as both decks were very good platforms to fish off of but there is a difference
At rest the 20 PHX was not as stable as the Caymas but it was acceptable
Compartment layout was better in the Phoenix in my opinion with more compartments overall and the compartments on the Phoenix are larger overall primarily in depth, really like the slam latches
I’m convinced they have an outstanding hull design, great compartment layout and storage capacity along with what seems to be a great platform for fish ability
It’s obvious bass fisherman built this with our needs in mind, great job
Dislikes
While I’m very impressed with the PHX I was disappointed with the fit and finish. Phoenix has been in the market for quite some time and has earned thru their designs what seems to be the leading boat out there overall, I would have thought that they would have re invested back into upgrading and some redesigning to include lids, placement of grab handles for both passenger, driver, placement of tool holders to name a few. They have a price tag on their boats especially in the PHX and Elite series that is up there and the quality should be there as well in these areas and overall
Let me give you 4 examples
The passengers rod locker lid when being closed conflicts with the outer edge of the seat and make it very difficult to close. Once the lid is shut it does not close securely and it is easily pried open to provide a big gap I have observed this now on 2 different new boats Makes this great boat feel cheap
The second example is the stainless grab handles for the passengers right hand and drivers left, no way are these able to be used as they are positioned low between the seat and the center compartment which absolutely pinches the back of your hand and when the passenger really needs to use this in rough seas they will not be able to without potentially damaging their hand
The third, seats are very comfortable but I can’t believe that they do not have the ability to be moved forward and back like many other boat builders offer, I realize that the hot foots placement can be adjusted but their boats absolutely should have adjustable seats, I would pay extra as an option for an adjustable seat
The fourth, while the padded deck is great, but for the money they are asking they should absolutely have it on the entire deck
I would extra as an option if that’s what it took

If I were to have to choose between these two boats with no alternative I would buy the Phoenix but I would be real disappointed in the fit and finish and concerned about the probability of various components of the fit and finish loosening over time and or becoming an issue, especially since I tend to hang on to my boats for a good amount of time
My primary reason for the purchase of a new bass boat is rough water handling and fish ability with great storage between these two I feel the Pheonix wins out
But like I said for me a lot of money to have to put up with lack of quality in other areas that absolutely should be there

While I’m leaning on buying a Phoenix before I let go of my hard earned money I’m going to look at a couple other boats and the make my final decision
Sorry for the long write up but I hope this helps others that are looking and comparing as well



,

[CaymasMan250]

One thing that is never mentioned about Phoenix is there cheap paper thin carpet, after a year or two you will faded worn out carpet. Every one of them I’ve seen used for sale the carpet is worn out bad, you might want to start looking at that if you are leaning that way.

Im a little baffled about your concern of gunnel height and catching wind, never heard of that before.
Come to west Texas for a weekend and I’ll let you experience 30+ mph winds and real riding conditions and not a wake from a barge.
No on eliminating the small glove box, it handy to put a phone and smokes etc in.

[billproxs]

Nice write up. My cx 20 pro has the touch screen viper. It has all the gages to pull up when necessary.

[Sam378]

I’m coming out of a Phoenix and ordered a cx21 pro the Phoenix was a great boat but the fit and finish could be better , and their trailers from marine master suck

[Mike n Grey]

We too deal with a lot of windy conditions as we fish about 50 percent of our time on the Great Lakes, specifically Lake Michigan, Green Bay and Lake St Clare A lot of wind and confused seas to deal with
In my experience higher sided gunnels tend to catch wind and can cause a lot of adjustments to getting the boat to track better with tm down and fishing, especially drift fishing No question the Spotlock is a game changer but the less you have to deal with the negative effects of the wind the more you can concentrate on fishing

[JustFishFor5]

What a review! Thanks for the detail...very interesting. Please let us know what you choose.

[Mike n Grey]

I want to thank everyone for their comments
No question that the CX 21 or CX 20 is a great boat, Earl did it again and created a hull with all the right finishing touches
Great choice by all if you who have purchased one or is strongly considering, congrats !
We have decided to go with a new 2020 Phoenix 21 PHX in Blackbird color, there was one at Wiedas marine in Kentucky
I have a deposit down on it, I will be going there Wednesday to see it in person and write the check
Deciding factor for us was the proven rough water ride that that the PHX provides
We have really vetted this out for over a year, looked at Ranger, Skeeter and Caymas
All great boats for sure but for us it’s a Bird
Not looking back, can’t wait to get all the electronics etc rigged by Trent owner of Sonar Pros in Georgia and splash this boat
Thanks again
Enjoy your Caymas ! Great boat

[billproxs]

Enjoy your choice. You'll have many great memories.

[Champ]

I’m guessing caymans uses marine master also triton did and Phoenix is going to the heavier carpet like the bass cat

[Cx21 Pro]

I’m guessing caymans uses marine master also triton did and Phoenix is going to the heavier carpet like the bass cat

Caymas uses benchmark trailers. Good for Phoenix finally going to a good carpet.

[Leo Carrillo]

I had a PHX920 then a Basscat Lynx. I now have a Caymas CX20pro. I really liked the ride in the Phoenix, however the fit and finish wasn't there and paled in comparison to the Caymas. I'm afraid that Phx will age prematurely...at least mine did.

[Landar]

I'm hearing of quite a few issues with Phoenix boats lately. Lot's of surface imperfections. I think they are just building them too fast to meet demand.

[DLane]

Leo- How does the Caymas compare to the Lynx?