FX / SHO Test Ride Results!

I went dow and test drove a new 20FX/250 SHO this morning and here are my initial opinions on the boat...

Visually the boat was outstanding.. Fit, trim, finish and all. The SHO in no way looked like a giant on the back either. My only comment otherwise would be that from sitting in the driver seat for some reason it seemed visually shorter than my ZX of the same size... I'm sure it's just an optical illusion - but I noticed it right off the bat. This boat performed incredible. With two guys and full tanks we easily hit 77 and the guys were getting 80 alone in the morning. No doubt with some tweaking it truly is an 80+ mph boat. What was truly amazing was the holeshot but what got my attention even more was how fast we hit top speed. I'm not kidding when I tell you it was half the time I'm used to. Once you were on plane (which was nearly instant) you had to "race" the trim to catch up to the boat. You could feel just how hard the energy was driving the transom out of the water. It almost felt like the rear of the boat was jumping higher than the bow initially. That's why you needed to be on the trim ASAP..

Overall - excellent. The FX 20 - or 21 is for sure the only new boat I'd consider. Oh - and out the door cost was $57 - $59k

Awesome. That's still a lot of $ but I'm sure it's an awesome rig.

I agree with all you said about the performance of the FX Series. I am at the Classic and am a member of Skeeter/Yam National Demo Tour and we have been giving demo rides to a bunch of performance boat lovers/anglers/spectators. I have been driving a 21FX (20' 10 inches) with 250 SHO which has a 25 inch prop. The hole shot is the same as with the 20FX and 27 inch prop...almost immediate. One thing you did not mention is the mid range energy this rig has....it responds instantly as appose to the delay we have always had with 2 strokes. In addition...we have to remind ourselves...THIS IS A 4 STROKE. This boat is also a great rough wayer boat. I put the first three hours of test time on the Classic demo boat while on my home lake of Toledo and there was an 18 -20 mph north wind blowing so I was able to put it in some rough water. It was a great rough water ride and very dry ride with lots of bow lift. Another fact the Yamaha techs shared is that you change oil after the first 10 hours and then you do not need an oil change for 100 hours. That alone will save me $250-300 a month. http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/roll.gif

How does the boat drive ? I have a 202zx that I love the way it drives and handles.

I'll try to put it this way.. It "feels" like driving a BMW 5 series vs. a 3 series. It's so solid that you think it's a heavier - slower boat - but when you watch the GPS climbing as fast as it does you almost don't believe the electronics. I've been in some fast boats - but they usually feel like they are light and hard to control. This was not that way. I have a ZX as well and have always loved the handling. This is much better.

Thanks for the info

How would this boat perform with a 2 stroke out board? I know it was not designed for the 4 stroke.

Actually it was designed for the SHO.

http://www.skeeterboats.com/about/news/76

this is from Yamaha site the top end speed its less than 2mph different on the 20i but the no buying oil and better fuel mileage is what is so good about it to me hope they make a 300 sho just hit the comparison button
http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/bows.gif
http://www.yamaha-motor.com/ou...isons/

Is it as quiet as everyone says it is?

From in the boat it seems pretty dang quiet. Maybe not as much as the hype - but it is quiet. When they would run down the lake - I could sure hear it from standing on the dock though. Actually a pretty cool sound. A deeper howl than a two stroke - but I could hear it for a couple miles down.

I took the ride, and was truly impressed. The hole shot was everything they clam, the midrange is awsome. I have rode in a few skeeters before, this was by far the fastest (78.6) full of gas, early morning, 27T1 prop. I also thought it was a good ride considering how rough the lake was. Sharpe looking boat. I never have been that big a fan of a skeeter, but I just might be now. I am glad I took the ride. IMO overall a better ride than a Triton, http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/eek.gif http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/popcorn.gif I have rode in a few of these also.