Skeeter WX 1880 Questions?

I am in the process of purchasing a new boat in the next month. I have been looking pretty hard at the Ranger 1750 Reata and had almost made up my mind until I saw the Skeeter WX 1880 that James and Jason were fishing out of on this morning’s show. (Dragging Jigs for Mid-summer Walleyes) Unfortunately, I haven’t seen the rig up close and personal yet and I’m looking for info. from those who have fished out of the Skeeter. Any info. would be appreciated…

I would take a closer look if I was you.Skeeters are priced well for what you get and because they are owned by Yamaha they all come with a fairly reliable Yamaha motor.I would splurge for the 200 HP on that boat just for more fun.Your probably looking at the low to mid 30s for a new one.I think there is a new one advertised on WC right now.

Certainly worth a look, I fished out of Eric R’s boat early January, I was a great fishing boat, great ride, and with the 150 yamaha 4 stroke, it ran real nice. As much as I like max power, That 150 is one great motor and worked really nice for that boat, I wouldn’t have any reservations running a 150 on the boat if it was the yamaha 4 stroker.

I know you’d apperciate the extra room in the 1880 versus the 1750.

I have a 190 Reata, from the surface ( I didn’t go with the intentions of comparing/reviewing his boat, I went for the walleye ) and a days fishing I got nothing to knock the skeeter on, overall I think both boats have a well proven reputation and you can’t go wrong with either boat. Heck that 1750 with a 150 on the back would fly pretty nice I will note the 1880 hull and my 190’s hull are quite a bit different (the 190 is quite a bit different that the 1750 too) , I think the 1880’s ride would be much nicer in rough water, impressivly smooth. Mine rides a bit higher up on the water.

I bet if you keep your eyes open skeeter boat center will have a ride along event in the near future, or I’m willing to bet the can arrange one. I keep hearing a lot of good quality buzz about their service, from people I trust.

I have a 2006 model and I love the rig. I always had aluminum prior to this boat. I have an F150 on it and can get 50 MPH/GPS with 2 persons and a full tourney load. If I did it again though, I would put a 200HPDI on it. You won’t get much more from it (7 MPH +/-), but it will be better. If I could, I would also buy the tandem axle too. Look at Walleye Central’s site (classifieds). The shop that advertises on this site (Skeeter Center) has a new 2009 for sale with a 200 on it now (pictures included) and it’s loaded with other options as well. It’s a very good deal! I was going to get a Reata too, but bought this instead. I’m very happy I did. PM me if you have specific questions.
Splitshot

Skeeter Boat Center here in Eau Claire will let you test drive, I would contact Jason Halfen here and he would be happy to arrange something on P4 that would include fishing. It really is a pretty cool program they run at that store…

I’ve seen the WX 1880 in person and had a couple of chances to sit in it. Skeeter is really putting out some great boats and this is one of them.

I’ve also have met with Dave Markquart and Dan Meyer over at the Skeeter Boat Center and these guys truly get it. They have created a program and a service area that caters to serious anglers. There are a lot of good boats out there but what makes a boat great is the service you receive the day you walk in and every time you bring your boat in after that. Skeeter Boat center has some of the top professional technicians in the industry.

I’m in the process of selling my 1890 Warrior and Skeeter is at the top of my list.

Hey str8shooter, While talking to Dan he mentioned that you may want to test drive a 1880 with the 150. Well I have just that boat with that motor and I know of a place with open water, and even some walleyes biting.

There is plenty of things I could go on about that I like and would say are better on the Skeeters than other boats, BUT I believe a guy has to get in one, go out fishing, and put the boat through the ropes before really getting serouis about anything.

With that in mind, I am free all week and this weekend, and would be more than happy to meet ya on pool 4 so you can take it for a ride. We can also make a day out of it and go fishing.

Let me know if you may be interested or if you have any specific questions and I will see what I can do. Shoot me a pm or feel free to give me a call. (715) 829-2160.

I have a bunch of hours behind the wheels of both a Ranger Angler 1860 and a Skeeter WX-1880. Both are good boats, but I think there are distinct advantages to the Skeeter.

The Skeeter is a VERY fishable boat, and can easily do dual service as a fishing/family fun platform. The 1880 features MUCH better storage, and doesn’t waste valuable storage volume with an oversized cooler in the bow. The seats, IMHO, are more comfortable in the Skeeter. The 1880 has flip-up jump seats across the stern that make it easy to carry 4 people without taking up space with extra pedestal seats. The driver’s seat is positioned such that most people won’t have to crouch to get behind the windshield. The Skeeter will carry a 200, and is a 56-57 mph boat when equipped that way. An F150 will push the 1880 in the high 40s-low 50s without any trouble. And the bottom line, especially in today’s economy, is price…Skeeter wins, hands down.

As Brad mentioned above, Skeeter Boat Center in Chippewa Falls is an unbelievable place to work with. They cater to sportsmen…their support of this website, IDO-TV, Driven-TV with Pat and Nicole (deer show), and scads of free seminars and give-aways are evidence of their commitment. Their staff and facilities are fantastic, and they have 5-star certified Yamaha service techs. And, they have customers down in LaCrosse, so you’d have some local connections to Skeeter Boat Center in your area.

A couple people mentioned ride and drives. We have a variety of public ones during the course of the year, and we offer individual test drives as well. Drop me a line if you’d like to get behind the wheel of an 1880…we can set that up anytime.

Give the Skeeter line a good thorough look….you’ll be glad you did!

Don’t forget about Farm Island Marine as your Northern Minn . connection I think Eric can atest to there customer service , These Skeeters are awesome boat’s with great perfomance!!!!

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I am in the process of purchasing a new boat in the next month. I have been looking pretty hard at the Ranger 1750 Reata and had almost made up my mind until I saw the Skeeter WX 1880 that James and Jason were fishing out of on this morning’s show. (Dragging Jigs for Mid-summer Walleyes) Unfortunately, I haven’t seen the rig up close and personal yet and I’m looking for info. from those who have fished out of the Skeeter. Any info. would be appreciated…

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I don’t have extensive experience in the 1880 but I’ll be happy to share my thoughts on it from the perspective of someone that was given an opportunity to fish from an 1880 during the course of filming that draggin’ jigs episode.

Prior to filming that episode I had never fished from an 1880. When Jason brought it down the hill that July morning that was the first chance I had to put eyes on that particular rig. My primary concern was with being able to get the footage we needed for this particular show and boat control is critical to being able to put together a successful day of draggin’. So my #1 concern for that 1880 was how it was going to handle with me in the bow.

As I got on the electric I was holding out hopes that I wasn’t going to be fighting a poor handling boat all day long as we tried to complete our shoot.

The 1880 handled beautifully. The keel tracked well… where you pointed the nose is where the boat went. It didn’t get blown around by a side wind like is common in other boats. And speed control was simplified by the fact that I never needed to apply additional thrust to the troller to overcompensate for poor handling characteristics. In short… it made my boat control, which is typically very good, even better. And I spent less time focusing on it and more time on actually catching fish.

As for speed, the 150 would groove us well into the upper 40’s with little trouble.

Fit and finish was very good. I would put the Skeeter line of boats in the top echelon of boat builders with regards to quality and attention to detail.

I can’t comment on durability as my time with the boat was severely limited. However the build did seem very solid as nothing stood out as being a potential problem area.

I also didn’t have the opportunity to get out and bust some 3 footers out on the lake but I can say the 1880 handled those nasty barge and 30′ cruiser wakes with ease.

One last thing that sticks out in my head about that particular boat was how massive the storage areas were…. the bow lockers could swallow up teenage kids.

The 1880 is definitely a boat worth a serious look. If you can make it down to Everts for a day hook up with Eric so he can put you behind the wheel… and maybe even fish with him for a few hours. That would be the best way to get a feel for what the 1880 has to offer and how it will fit with your personal style of fishing.

Good luck boat shopping!

Im hoping I can stay away from FIRM a little more this year They do have great service though

Thanks for the informative responses and kind offers for test drives, I really appreciate it. There were a couple of other questions that I had regarding the 1880… does it come with hydraulic steering w/ the 150? and What lb. thrust would you run for a trolling motor? I like plenty of power on the t-motor for fishing wingdams and making short moves.

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Thanks for the informative responses and kind offers for test drives, I really appreciate it. There were a couple of other questions that I had regarding the 1880… does it come with hydraulic steering w/ the 150? and What lb. thrust would you run for a trolling motor? I like plenty of power on the t-motor for fishing wingdams and making short moves.

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Yes it comes with sea star hydraulic steering. I am currently running a 80 lb terrova. A couple reasons for this is that I didnt want to go to the 101 and add another battery. Also it seems to be plenty of power to move the boat around on the river. I havent had it out in the spring currents with the water high though. I wouldnt hesitate to put the 101 on since you can never have to much power up front, but weigh your options, meaning is the extra weight worth the extra power.
The 150 does a good job with that boat. The fastest I had it by myself and a full tank of gas was 52. Once you put a second person or more it would average right around 48. Having the 4 stroke is the reason I went with the 150, rather than the 200. If you need the extra speed I would go with the 200 but other than speed, and 4 stroke vs. HPDI there isn’t much differnce between the two.

Just give me a shout if you want to take it out and go fishing.

I thought hydraulic steering was a option from yamaha on a 150, maybe it’s the case skeeter only does them that way, or maybe things changed.

I’m probably debating things with people that know more than me.

Hydraulic steering is standard on the 1880 according to their website

I have a 2007 2050 (the last year they made these,now they make a 2100)and it handles the big waves on ML and LOW very well.I also know several people that run the 1880s in the MTT tournaments and they really like them and they also handle big water well.The 1880 with a 200 will run almost the same speed as my 2050 with a 250 4 stroke and a few MPH faster than a new 2100 with a 250.

Hydraulic steering is standard. I have an 80 lb thrust Minkota on mine and it pulls through the best of current and waves – no problem. No need for the 3rd battery then. I’ve also tested 7 props on mine and riased the motor one hole. You can adjust and tweak things a little bit for better performance if you want, but you won’t gain “a ton.” Mine is maxed with the rev limiter at 6000 RPM’s WOT. I can hit 52 +/- by myself on good water and a light load. 49/50 loaded. It takes big waves very well. I fished in 5-8 footers on LOW once and had the boat completely vertical a few times (bad thing) – no problem if you know how to drive. In 2, 3 and 4 footers, it’s a very dry ride. As I said, if people sit in the back jumps, you will have hole shot problems with a 150. If you can swing it, get a 200 and this should not be an issue. The T-8 fits very well on either side and the beer cooler works GREAT! Mine is just waiting for the next 40 degree day for P4. See you on the water.
Splitshot

Without ever looking at the Skeeter, I can guarantee you that the Skeeter’s spare tire location is much more “ramp friendly” than the Ranger’s.

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Without ever looking at the Skeeter, I can guarantee you that the Skeeter’s spare tire location is much more “ramp friendly” than the Ranger’s.

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I don’t have any problems.

Now that I cut the spare tire holder off

Minor issue IMHO, but a stupid one, I carry my spare in the truck.

Overall take both boats for a spin, it’s a lot of money to spend, make sure you are happy

Yeah, I have thought about doing that too, but I don’t want the tire taking up space in the truck when going on trips. I need all the room I can get. Plus I think about how much money I spent and then cutting the trailer. Makes me a little sick. Yes minor issue, but it still stinks that there are ramps (like when the water is low at the Bluffs ramp on the St. Croix) that I cannot use. It certainly is not a reason to not buy a boat, but knowing the information ahead of time is better than finding out at the ramp.

My fishing partner and I have been running 1950 and 2050 boats for 9 years and we have never had to have our boats in for work. A couple minor tweeks on the motors, but nothing major. If you are going to get a kicker on the 1880, I would sugest the F150 or 200 HPDI as your big motor.

I bought a 2008 Skeeter 1880 with a 150 Yamaha 150 four stroke and a T8 kicker from FIRM in Aitkin last year and couldn’t be happier. Great storage and smooth ride (have never owned a glass boat before). I wouldn’t go with the 200 just to go a little faster if it means not having the four stroke.

Great information guys… I’m looking at a brand new 2007 WX1880WT as we speak. Wife actually mentioned that since we both have at least a half day off Friday we should go look at it.

Is there any difference between the 2007 and 2008/2009?

Scott,

I did drive the WX1880 with the 200 HPDI, if you have the choice I’d recommend maxing out that boat HP wise. You already will be spending a bundle of cash, what is a little more when you get to that point? It runs fine with the 150, whole different animal with the 200.

good luck and it is a great boat.

The 1880 performs well with either powerplant, but as Doc said, it’s a whole different animal with the 200 HPDI. It’s an almost-50 mph boat with the 150 4s, and a mid-upper 50s boat with the HPDI, with all of the hole-shot benefits that the 2-stroke motor brings along with it. The HPDI is also surprisingly easy on the ears.

The 1880 will have some new design features for 2010, with those boats arriving in mid-summer.

Whatever you buy, and from whomever:

1. Test drive, Test drive, Test drive
2. Max out HP
3. Reputable Service

Good Luck, shopping for boats “can” be pretty fun. At least you have to take a few people up on here for some trips to the river. Hey, come to think of it maybe I am looking for a 1880 too, can I have a ride n fish?

Oh yeah I forgot, Skeeter’s rule!