Originally Posted by
Meadows
So I've had my 2022 ZXR 20 for almost two years now. I bought the first one sold in the state of VA back in July of 2021. I wanted to give an honest review of the boat with pros and cons after tournament fishing with it for almost two years now.
*Side note: This is my first Skeeter/Yamaha, last three boats were all Triton/Mercury.
CONS:
1. Leaky compartments. Every time it rains I have to take everything out of the starboard rod locker and the two rear compartments to let them air out.
2. Cooler. Is there any insulation in them at all or is it just a plastic tray insert? They don't hold ice whatsoever. I'd also rather have the cooler placed at the step-up to the deck instead of between the two seats, but that's just me.
3. Lack of a "catch-all tray". I wish there was somewhere to throw lures & soft plastics in the boat without having to open up a compartment.
4. Humminbird. This isn't a Skeeter issue obviously, but unless you custom order - they come stock with Humminbirds. I'm less than impressed with them to say the least and will probably end up converting my trolling motor and graphs to all Lowrance.
5. Livewells. I've never had issues keeping fish alive until this boat. Not sure what the deal is, but I spoke to another Skeeter owner who mentioned the same thing. And the pumpout/recirculate system is horribly engineereed IMO. Not sure why there can't be just a simple pumpout switch instead of having to pull the lever in the livewell to change from recirc to pumpout. Also, the pumpout location. I made a simple fix by putting a 3/8 plumbing fitting in the hole and use tubing to connect it every time I fill up my weigh bag, but still. This is poorly designed.
6. Unused space beneath the step-up to the front deck. I know AMPD Marine makes an aftermarket drawer, but why can't Skeeter have something built in beneath there? It's completely wasted space.
7. Fiberglass. To me it seems like the gel coat just holds onto dirt & grime much more than previous boats. I'm pretty good about wiping down my boat when I get home and use Bass Boat Saver after almost every trip, but it seems like it takes about 3 wipedowns for the fiberglass to really shine, and even then it seems almost dull sometimes. On previous boats, one wipedown with Bass Boat Saver would really make the fiberglass pop, give it a waxy feel, and protect it from a lot of dirt & grime. I can't really say the same for this one.
8. Bow Riser Graph Mount. I like the location of it, and like how they have it up in front of the trolling motor mounted directly to fiberglass, but it seems very thin and cheap. Almost everyone is adding two graphs to the bow of boats these days, and you would think there would be a more convenient system from the manufacturer than what they have. I added a Precision Sonar dual stacker mount to the factory riser, and after a really nasty ride on the James River the factory riser broke. After that, I ordered a replacement bow panel from Precision Sonar, and basically had to disconnect the trolling motor, trolling motor tray, and trim some fiberglass to make it work. It just seems poorly engineered IMO.
9. Lack of a splashwell. I like how it looks, and maybe I still need to get used to coming off plane with the boat, but it seems like I constantly flood the rear part of the back deck when I come off plane. And with the compartments leaking as bad as they do, that's a problem.
10. Rod strap downs. The curve on the little latch constantly catches my line, especially on spinning tackle. It's a minor issue, but something a little more inline would be better IMO.
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