Skeeter WX 1850 Solera 189

For those of you that have been around or own one of these rigs few questions. Looking in that 2013-2020 year range.

Are they the same hull ?

Is the 150 underpowered and what type of speed are you getting out of them ? I see alot with hydrofoils. ? The new ones have 200s

Is there any wood in the transoms and or floors or are they fiberglass?

Rod storage differences between the two ? Solera has that weird step lookin deal?

Anyone know can I mount 2 – 10 inch graphs on the dash, 12s even better?

Are they dry or smooth rides comparable to 18 foot tinny? ?

Bow cushions – this is my wifes #1 concern and why she loves the solera- do they come as an option on the WX ?

Trailers good quality or junk ?

Any overall general comments would be great- I was pretty deadset on riding the crestliner into the dirt, but the carpets starting to go, trailers rusting, floors getting soft in a few spots and the transoms likely a ticking time bomb . Wife wants a smoother and dryer ride, bow cushions. Not interested in buying brand new.

I can’t answer all your questions…I’d maybe call Skeeter Boat Center and they’ll be able to help.

My buddy has a Solera and it’s a great boat for family and fishing. His has the 200hp and that’s a beast. I’d definitely maximize HP if you can.

Boat rides great..the hulls on the newer ones (his is a 2020) are really good. I think they changed hulls around that time. There is literally no comparison between the ride of a tin and a glass boat. I would never go back to tin for the ride alone.

He’s had some minor quality issues with the boat but overall he loves it.

I have a Reata and while the overall quality of the Ranger is better, I like the layout of the Solera, especially the bow. The full front cushions are awesome.

I don’t know about the graphs but I know you give up some storage.

I’ve ridden in an old neighbor’s twice, that’s the extent of my experience.

It had a 200hp but we never cruised over mid 30mph range. He was extremely happy with it at that time and the fit/finish sure seemed nice. I know it is on a single axle bunk trailer and he hauls it all over the Upper Midwest without mentioning an issue.

See if Spam man has his for sale still, I know he had it posted a couple times and it was not selling at the time.

Speaking of BK where has he been hiding?

bigcrappie wrote:

See if Spam man has his for sale still, I know he had it posted a couple times and it was not selling at the time.[/quot

@BK sold it, not to me unfortunately despite a compelling offer of All You Can Eat Spam and Drink Hamms. BK did post a bunch of info/reviews on it, if the OP wants to do some searching.

I went and looked at BK’s as I was considering buying it and I live near where he had it stored. It’s a very nice rig no doubt, loved the setup and everything about it. My deciding factor was not having the HP maxed out, but BK was up front and honest about the performance and I have no doubt I would have enjoyed it; I just couldn’t get past MORE IS BETTER mentality and didn’t want that haunting me forever

I have been on the lookout for lightly used Reata or Solera too. You will find the vast majority in that year range have a 150 on the back. Most describe the performance as “adequate” with top speeds in the 46-47 range. That would be fine for me, but I find myself wondering if I will be disappointed by the performance, especially when most of the new ones have 200’s.

There are some decent deals to be had out there from what I can see, but again they are all 150’s.

The 150 on my aluminum boat goes around 45 and I think it’s adequate . Just didn’t know if the glass was much heavier .

I haven’t looked, but I’m guessing you can get a better deal on one compared to the Reata or glass Lund Tyee. No one really knows about the Solera. The Skeeter fans are going to be looking for their other models.

All boats in the same class are about the same now. Like any comparison, it comes down to the storage, and other small things like console layout, livewell configuration, etc.

Reatas always seem like they sit very
low in the water to me . Maybe it’s just an illusion .

isu22andy wrote:

For those of you that have been around or own one of these rigs few questions. Looking in that 2013-2020 year range.

Are they the same hull ?

No 2015 I believe is when WX changed hull to react keel. Either way they have different hulls.
Solera came out in 2016.
Surprised MX guys haven not chimed in. I believe all 3 are different hulls.

Is the 150 underpowered and what type of speed are you getting out of them ? I see alot with hydrofoils. ? The new ones have 200s

Don’t know about underpowered but top speed would not be a main concern as that happens rarely. Especially if you are fishing big water otherwise normal lakes you are talking seconds or minutes from spot to spot.
Hole shot and getting to plane would be main concern.

Is there any wood in the transoms and or floors or are they fiberglass?

No wood.

Rod storage differences between the two ? Solera has that weird step lookin deal?

Definatley different I would look online to compare that lay out.

Anyone know can I mount 2 – 10 inch graphs on the dash, 12s even better?

Where there is a will there is a way. Many different mount options now and 2 10’s I’m sure would be doable.

Are they dry or smooth rides comparable to 18 foot tinny? ?

Not even comparable.

Bow cushions – this is my wifes #1 concern and why she loves the solera- do they come as an option on the WX ?

No bow cushions in WX. It’s a fishing boat not a fish and ski. Like Solera.

Trailers good quality or junk ?

Good.

Any overall general comments would be great- I was pretty deadset on riding the crestliner into the dirt, but the carpets starting to go, trailers rusting, floors getting soft in a few spots and the transoms likely a ticking time bomb . Wife wants a smoother and dryer ride, bow cushions. Not interested in buying brand new.

As someone else mentioned I would call the guys at Ramsey boat center.

isu22andy wrote:

Reatas always seem like they sit very
low in the water to me . Maybe it’s just an illusion .

They sit lower. The hull is a bit different (lower and wider towards the nose) and the batteries are in the front on a Reata versus the back in a skeeter. The skeeters are a bit nose up in the water.

Matt Moen wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>isu22andy wrote:</div>
Reatas always seem like they sit very
low in the water to me . Maybe it’s just an illusion .

They sit lower. The hull is a bit different (lower and wider towards the nose) and the batteries are in the front on a Reata versus the back in a skeeter. The skeeters are a bit nose up in the water.

Reattas a whole different hull then the angler correct ?

Reata and Angler are the same hull.

Matt Moen wrote:

Reata and Angler are the same hull.

I gotcha- looking on marketplace at them now . Some of the older ones have that bench seat in the back I swear look like a different hull, while some of the newer ones look much more fishing oriented without that. Maybe I should consider looking at them vs the skeeter. Yamaha fan boy got me on the skeeters.

isu22andy wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Matt Moen wrote:</div>
Reata and Angler are the same hull.

I gotcha- looking on marketplace at them now . Some of the older ones have that bench seat in the back I swear look like a different hull, while some of the newer ones look much more fishing oriented without that. Maybe I should consider looking at them vs the skeeter. Yamaha fan boy got me on the skeeters.

I don’t know when the hulls became the same…maybe like 2016 or something like that. Might want to look into that.

A lot of the newer Reata and Anglers are running Yamaha. I have a 175 SHO on mine and it’s a 2019.

I have a 2019 Solera 189 and love it. I have the 150 on it. When I bought it I was between the Solera and WX1910. The main deciding factor was the max # of people. The 189 was 6, but the 1910 was only 5. I spend a lot of time fishing with my kids and nieces/nephews, so I end up with 6 fairly often. I switched from a 17 foot Crestliner. There is no comparison as far as how smooth and dry the ride is. I can’t see myself ever going back to aluminum.

It’s got a 100 inch beam, so it’s steady while fishing.

I top out around 44 mph. I rarely run wide open, so maxing out HP wasn’t a concern for me. I fish big lakes for the most part. When I put on 30 miles in a day, it takes about 12 gallons of gas at 2/3-3/4 throttle (30ish mph), so the fuel efficiency is hard to beat. The hole shot is great.

They did a great job on the trailer. It comes with a beefed up single axel trailer that is pretty easy to maneuver.

Getting 2 10s on the dash will be a challenge. The Boat Center may have some creative solutions for that. I think the flush mount in the dash maxes out at 7″. I have a 10″ Humminbird on the dash, but it’s tight.

It comes with an 80 lb Terrova, which is a little under powered. With lithium batteries, I would think it would be doable to upgrade to something bigger.

The step you referenced is easy to remove, but I leave it in. The rod storage is decent. I pulled out the rod tubes that come in the center rod locker. As long as you use rod sleeves (to avoid rubbing on the fiberglass) I can get about 18 rods in there. Not the most convenient, but as good as I would expect out of a 19 foot boat. I don’t really use the side rod locker, but I think it accommodates up to 9 foot rods.

Appreciate the real world experience and all other replies.