Hybrid Skeeter boat?

If I had my wish list it would be a Skeeter hybrid boat. Half deep V and half bass style boat. Multi-species focus with a large front casting deck and a fold up rear casting deck. Kind of like a Tuffy x-190, maybe a couple different models in the 17-20 foot range. Skeeter does deep V and bass boats well, would seem possible to do something very functional in between. Not everyone is 100% walleye or 100% bass.

Just dreaming but after attending boat shows and sport shows this winter it seems to be a missing segment IMO.

Isn’t that exactly what the MX series from Skeeter is all about?

+1 lol, it honestly meets all of those needs mentioned…dreams do come true

Okay this is just my opinion but I think the MX 1825 is a step in the right direction but still more of a walleye platform to me. The cockpit is big which leaves a smaller front casting deck. Don’t think you could get 2 guys up front very easily. It’s also very heavy…again my reference point is the Tuffy x-190 which is a foot longer but 800 pounds lighter. It’s narrower but sleeker…yet deep V enough for trolling, some bigger waves. I do like the rear casting deck of the MX and lower freeboard.

I did go out with 2 different guides last year that have the MX1825 (one a bass guy, the other a Muskie guide) and they were pretty objective about pluses and minuses. They both like their boats but mentioned the same things I did.

Don’t get me wrong, I think Skeeter makes a great boat…and you can’t make a platform for everyone. I fall somewhere in that “in between” category and maybe the x-190 is the one option out there for someone that fishes like me. Just wish they made an 18 foot version that would fit in my garage and had a single axle trailer.

Anyway, that’s my wish list…

I know nothing about them but have you looked at Recon Boats?
X-190’s dry weight is listed at 1,300 pounds on their site which seems light to me for a 19’4″ glass boat…simply an observation… Most glass boats around 18 and half feet seem to be north of 2,000 pounds for comparison. Good luck with your search.

boats are a study in compromise. would i like a boat that can handle 4′ waves one minute and swing bass over the sides in the next? sure, but that doesn’t exist, so we have to choose the thing that best fits how we’ll use the boat 95% of the time.

i owned 3 different Tuffy X-190s. it’s a very light hull with a high-performance (bassboat style) running pad which makes it exceptionally fast: ~65mph with a 200hp Opti. the front deck is huge, but it’s not that common to fish two up front anyway. the cockpit quickly gets crowded with people and gear, especially if the rear deck insert is installed. it’s long enough to handle large water fairly well, but it’s not a big water boat by any means if the weather starts blowing. i speared a few waves both while running and trolling that a different hull would have smashed or rolled over; being light and fast is less than ideal in those conditions. the ride is good in waves up to 1.5′, choppy but fun in 2’ers, and requires skillful driving beyond that. it offers very good access to the water and a slow drift rate due to the low freeboard height.

i don’t think the MX1825 is very comparable to the X-190, largely due to the impact that length has: neither have deep hulls so the longer boat will definitely ride better. the 1825’s small deck is crowded for guiding two clients, but when fishing 2 guys in the boat like most of us do most of the time, it’s plenty big for the guy up front and offers additional cockpit space for storage and trolling comforts. with a relatively shallow/flat hull, it’s ride quality will clearly be affected by it’s length but offer good access to shallow areas. the MX2025 is longer yet so would offer a better ride and fishability for more people at once. the MX2025 is probably the most appealing “hybrid” boat available out there right now from my perspective.

i spend a couple weeks each year on LotW, casting in summer and trolling late fall, and then various short trips to big MN lakes or WI great lakes water. for me, being able to go where i want when i want became the most important thing, so i moved from the X-190 to a WX2000T, and now to a WX1910. as a muskie fisherman i used to drink the kool-aide that being close to the water was extra important. but now i’ve got 9’6″ rods, so 6″ closer to the water really isn’t that much, and it’s much less important than it was just 10 years ago. at the same time, that extra freeboard and deep-v depth really matters when running around and the big cockpit is great for trolling or panfishing with the family. plus, with the new boat being a bit shorter it fits in my garage…

Excellent perspective, enjoyed your post…

My previous boats include a Ranger Reata 1850 and sometimes you learn what you don’t want by owning a specific model. The Reata was good for walleye jigging/trolling but really not a boat I enjoyed for bass/Muskie fishing … Which is 80% how I fish so after 3 years I sold it.

I now have a small Yar-craft tiller but am planning to go back to a side console eventually. Not a full windshield again.

So let me ask you for a recommendation… Is there a bass boat that you can still occasionally jig for walleyes or troll suckers for muskies in the Fall? I haven’t been able to find anything that fits the bill until I stumbled across the x-190. I’m certainly open to other ideas too. Love the Skeeter bass boats but I don’t want to be limited to just bass fishing.

Buy a skeeter bass boat, put a terrova or ulterra with i pilot link on it and go out and troll. Ive seen guys in bass boats troll for walleyes on winnebago.

You are looking for a Ranger 681.

I looked long and hard for a boat that would fit my fishing style – mostly casting for musky, bass and various walleye techniques on small to medium waters and while the Skeeter MX platform is good, I just didn’t feel it was right for me and ended up with an X190 – shows up in May – I am excited!! Not sure if I interpreted the comment right, but the X190 does come with a single axle trailer, at least mine will. Fitting in the garage is another story – I have a little modification project to finish this month!

Dutchboy wrote:

You are looking for a Ranger 681.

Or a Ranger 618.

-J.

Dutchboy wrote:

You are looking for a Ranger 681.

…and there you go ~

The last year I had my Ranger Reata, I was at a dock waiting to unload and a Ranger 681 side console “VS” came in too. The kind with the extra casting deck inserts for both the front and rear. It looked like a good platform to cast for bass/muskies but also has the flexibility to pop out the decks and jig for walleyes occasionally.

I said to myself – there’s a boat 10 years older than mine and less than half the price … and I’d much rather have it than the Reata.

My only hesitation was that it was only 79 inches wide, which seemed a little small.

This was about the same time Tuffy came out with the x-190, at 90 inches wide. Looked great, but how do I fit the extra length in my garage? Then I heard on their web site there were plans to make a 17 1/2 foot, 85-90 (?) inch wide version of the x-190. Sounds like a slightly wider version of the old 681VS.

Now after 3-4 years, it doesn’t sound like Tuffy is going to build the “x-176.” So I’m back to hoping someone like Skeeter would make a 17 or 18 foot version of the x-190…and/or a 681VS.

Joel Ballweg wrote:

Isn’t that exactly what the MX series from Skeeter is all about?

NOT, I am currently running an MX1825 w/ F200 Yamaha and get 52 mph out of it. My 20′ Skeeter bass boat w 200 Mercury was a 70 mph (gps) boat. Realizing the the F200 Yamaha is a dog and that was a 2 stroke Mercury the bass boat runs circles around any walleye boat.
I would like to find a bass boat with a full windshield like my MX for that 20 mile run in the morning or in the winter when air temps do not get about freezing all day. We have plenty of rough water here in the Columbia basin but bass boats are capable of handling it.
Rangers do not have enough LOCKABLE storage.

I’m of the opinion there is no boat that has enough storage. 50 years ago grandpa made do with a 14′ wood strip boat, 5hp motor and a folding tray metal tackle box & 1 rod. Today we have 20′ boats, 300hp motors, 4 batteries, 10 rods and enough plano boxes to last any sane person a lifetime.

Fisherman sometimes confuse NEED with WANT when it comes to tackle.

Dutchboy wrote:

I’m of the opinion there is no boat that has enough storage. 50 years ago grandpa made do with a 14′ wood strip boat, 5hp motor and a folding tray metal tackle box & 1 rod. Today we have 20′ boats, 300hp motors, 4 batteries, 10 rods and enough plano boxes to last any sane person a lifetime.

Fisherman sometimes confuse NEED with WANT when it comes to tackle.

That’s a bunch of BS … I have 12 rods

clawman wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Joel Ballweg wrote:</div>
Isn’t that exactly what the MX series from Skeeter is all about?

NOT, I am currently running an MX1825 w/ F200 Yamaha and get 52 mph out of it. My 20′ Skeeter bass boat w 200 Mercury was a 70 mph (gps) boat. Realizing the the F200 Yamaha is a dog and that was a 2 stroke Mercury the bass boat runs circles around any walleye boat.
I would like to find a bass boat with a full windshield like my MX for that 20 mile run in the morning or in the winter when air temps do not get about freezing all day. We have plenty of rough water here in the Columbia basin but bass boats are capable of handling it.
Rangers do not have enough LOCKABLE storage.

To each there own but what the original poster asked for in a boat is exactly what Skeeter advertises the MX series as and that’s the point I was making.

By the way, I also own a MX-2025 and I absolutely love it. You bass guys are so hung up on speed that it basically becomes the most important thing of all in a boat where as many of us walleye guys don’t put top end anywhere near the most important factor in what they want in a boat. Performance other than top end is much more important to me as a walleye angler.

So while your out there burning gas & running circles around other boats, I’m fine sitting in my Skeeter catching walleyes.

i had one of those old Ranger 680 tillers as well, and that’s an entirely different class of boat. great layout for sure, but not anywhere near the same due to the smaller size of the 680/681 at under 17′ long. even the later 681VS was only 17.5′ x 80″ beam.

lots of guys are buying mid-90s Ranger 690VS models, restoring, and repowering them. you can even find some 692VS versions that have got a full windshield. at 18’9″ x 90″ and rated for 175hp it’s popular as a multi-species boat for a reason. biggest limitation is probably the fact that you’ll push over $20k for a boat that’s 20 years old with a new motor.

it really sounds like you want a bass boat, as that matches what you’re doing the majority of the time: bass fishing or muskie fishing on relatively calm waters. unless you want to buy two boats, get one and be happy. there’s no reason you can’t put seats on the decks and jig for walleyes or drag a sucker while working a weedline occasionally if you accept that it isn’t best for those things.

Personally, I’m not concerned about going fast…its the layout that matters most to me. And the MX1825 just doesn’t seem right for me (and is it really a 2100 pound hull?). Again, my original post was that IMO there seems to be a missing segment for a “tweener” hybrid boat. And yet those types of hulls have existed before and hopefully will again.

I have thought about buying an older Ranger and upgrade the motor. Have done a rehab job before and while it can be fun it can be challenging too. There’s still old wiring, bad carpet, a livewell that needs fixing, fuses that mis-fire, crappy electronics, and the old trailers are rarely swing tongues (which gets me back to the original storage issue). Its always more expensive than you think and at the end of the day you still have a 15-20 year old boat that the trailer may not fit in your garage.

I could buy a bass boat and struggle with jigging and trolling for walleyes…

But I’d rather see a new x-176 or x-1825 type hull. I can’t imagine I’m the only one that would like the versatility, ease of storage, can tow with my V6, etc.

I think there’s always room for one more boat. If Skeeter or some other boat manufacturer did come out with a boat like your describing, at the very least it would be fun to crawl around in and give a good look over at a boat show while dreaming about how it would perform in different situations out on the water.

Joel Ballweg wrote:

I think there’s always room for one more boat. If Skeeter or some other boat manufacturer did come out with a boat like your describing, at the very least it would be fun to crawl around in and give a good look over at a boat show while dreaming about how it would perform in different situations out on the water.

X2!

One thing to keep in mind frydog from a manufacture’s point is that in order to design a new style boat, make the mold and jump through all the legal hoops you are looking at a $500,000 or higher start up cost. That is the cost before you can even make the first boat. Thats a lot of cash up front for a boat they have no idea how it will sell.

Would we all like to custom build our own boats so they have everything we want, sure we do, but that would be one expensive boat. Its a matter of compromise on most everything.

Your sugguestions are noted and will be sent on though!!!

Thanks Eric, I’ve done some work in the injection mold industry and know its very expensive and time consuming to build new molds. However, I’m sure Skeeter considers new designs for future boats. Count me in for the mid-sized multi-species rig of the future!

I’m from the era of bigger is better – 21 foot boats, driving Suburbans, etc. Then realized one day I was always prepared for the outer limits of what I may possibly encounter some day – 8 foot snow drifts to drive through in the winter, 5 foot waves on Mille Lacs. Reality is I’m not a guide, or driving to the North pole every weekend… so for 90% of the time mid-size usually works better for me anyway.

I guess I no longer want a huge high sided boat, or a hefty SUV that gets 13 mpg and barely leaves room for a work bench in my garage. I’m actually happier with mid-size and functionality. And I do think that size can still look pretty cool too.

I do think more and more people are thinking efficiency, versatility, agility, etc. Time will tell if the boating industry gravitates back that way. Seems that things go in cycles and maybe my somewhat unique perspective will come back around.

Have always had Yamaha motors and been an admirer of Skeeter Boats for years. If I could choose anyone to build a new platform like this that would be my brand of choice. I don’t have $500k laying around unfortunately but I’d be willing to sell my Yar-craft and flip you a downpayment on a prototype mold when you’re ready

Very much appreciate the feedback. We are always open and willing for new ideas and do our best to put those in front of the higher ups and see what we can do with it!!!