As “In Depth Anglers” few things in the open water excite fisherman like a new boat. These days the sophistication in modern hull designs, extreme motors and detailed rigging options exciting times.
Just over a year ago I received my first Skeeter WX2100 from the Skeeter Boat Center. So many here will echo the dominance across the board with this friendly staff of experts. The initial thought of a Glass boat ran exclusively in a Granite lined Massive body of water was questioned by…………MANY!! A year later I was so impressed with the entire package I purchased…….”Sho Time”. The WX series hull design simply scoffs at Mother Natures angry days!! Qouting a customer last year as we saddled up some 4 footers “GRANRUD……….THIS BOAT IS A WAVE SMASHER!!” Needless to say in sort of a twisted way we welcomed tough conditions.
In Starting I want to make sure in showing my custom designed boat we understand it is just that…….Custom to what I wanted. Many other Skeeter customers in the past, present and future will bring their own set of dreams to the SBC team to bring into reality!! These boys at the SBC are all ears when it comes to the rigging options that best fit customers style of fishing. Moreover after the functionality we all desire is met we all have a few WANTS in the back of our minds!!
Last December Dave Marquart and I started working on my guide boat for 2011. Due to my extreme loading of the boat with customers and guide Gear I wanted to strap on the 300 SHO from Yamaha! Beyond that I remember telling Dave “I said I don’t really “Blend” well…….. nor do I want my boat to”. He got a bit of a smirk on his face as we began desiging this boat. I knew this was the going to be fun!!
The color schemes Cheryl and I simply fell in love with blended the rich Midnight star with Laser Red, and Gun Metal accents. The brilliant colors that can’t really be shown via camera of the Midnight sun is jaw dropping. The Greens, Reds, Silvers and Blues are amazing.
I also wanted to bring a “Cool” factor to the functionality of a full windshield. For many years I’ve felt the “Double Bubble” was a dominate sporty look on many boats. Still I have always enjoyed the wind protection both early in the spring or late fall fishing. The tinting of the windshield sets off this “Darth Vadar” boat and I believe also has further function. The dulling of the bright early morning or late evening sunlight will be easy on the eyes allowing for easy driving.
I often load customers from the docks in tight spots or from the bow during shoreluches. I asked the SBC to strategically place further No-Slip/Glass protectant Pads to a few locations. This way we can load and unload safely without scratching unprotected glass. We added these to the front bow both starboard and port as well as another on the Starboard front and transom by the big 300!!. I also requested another set of cleats to further protect the boat from any potential “Dock Rash”. The guys did a fantastic intallation of these requests.
I added a dual purpose Snap-on Day Cover/Travel Cover to protect the boat from extra sun exposure and morning dew. I am extremely pleased with this addition and believe it will keep “Sho Time” looking very sharp for years to come and no more Morning wipedowns and wet pants!!
General rigging in a nut shell includes a Terrova 101 complete with Ipilot. A 1198C at Dash and a 788CI HD at Bow. These units are connected with a Ether Net Cable allowing me to create waypoints while in bow saving which will also save on my Dash unit!! The combination of these two dominate Humminbird units are the underwater eyes of anglers and simply provide a dominate advantage when combing structure for anglers. Last year was my first year with Humminbirds Side Imaging, and I can say that this is a monumental advance in sonar. Still anglers NEED to invest the time to learn how to use this advance in technology to their advantage. The information you can uncover underwater is mind boggling and drastically increases anglers ability to uncover key structure most fisherman never find.
I’ve included a Rainydaze “FUN” add!! When the entire SBC team and I were discussing this boat I said almost in passing “THIS BOAT WOULD ROCK if it was Backlit!!” I noticed some Eyebrow raising, but not a lot of comments! LOL!! Not knowing how a guy would even do it I had nearly forgot about the off the cuff request!! When I picked up the boat the team killed the lights in the showroom to show me the new color matched “Backlighting via Rope lights”!! In all honesty there are few times in my life I’ve felt like I was out of words……This was one of them!! Simply BAD ***!! Sorry no other way to describe it!! It is a bit tough for me to catch these effects on camera, so I guess you’ll simply have to see it for yourself. The Rope lights are hidden under the dash of the passenger and driver as well as both open side compartments. These lights are turned with the courteasy lights!!
9.9 Yamaha 4 stroke kicker with Trollmaster
300HP Yamaha 4 stroke “Off Shore”
Tough Coat on dual axle trailer
Ship to Shore Radio with Color matched Black antenna
Tinted Windshield
The WX series of boat is s perfect match for me here in Borderland. The ride has recived a lot of due press, and I can verify is well deserved. I believe the present hull design of this boat has set the bar for the entire boating industry.
The storage is second to none as I can efficiently store my guide gear in an organized fashion. Many guys may remember the illustration I featured last year in which the “Fishing Queen” was able to fit in the Smaller of the two front storage compartments. I assure you this took some convincing!! 
The 300 Hp SHO/Off Shore by Yamaha is simply “GAME CHANGING” I’m not sure if anyone can give this breakthrough justice with words, so I simply suggest experiencing this for yourself. The Jawdropping hole shot and mid-range power is unbelievable. I elected to match up my 300 Ponies with a 4 blade Rev in a 19 degree pitch. My choice was based more on Mid-Range power and stability versus top end speed. In my initial testing of the boat we were in rough conditions and I hit 57 MPH without hardly any playing with trim. Looks like I’ll hit 58-59 MPH with the 4 BLADE!! WOWSER!! Last year in testing the 4 blade on my 250 it took about 5mph off the top end. So………Looks like for the guys that are after top end you will probably be in the 62-63mph on this deep hulled glass Skeeter!! 
We are currently working on one last custom feature which should be installed in a few weeks!!
In closing……….Thank you to Skeeter Boats, Yamaha Motors and the Skeeter Boat Center for Developing, Manufacturing, Selling, Rigging and Servicing a dominate product. I greatly have enjoyed your hard work!! 
I said it last year and believe it is worthy repeating. In the hustle and bustle of todays world we are experiencing much less customer service in all aspects of business. I can refer with Confidence anyone looking for a Skeeter Boat this year or down the road to Dave Marquart and his entire experienced/Friendly Staff! I assure you they operate under an increasingly rare…….. high standard of service 
As many have already requested if anyone is looking for a ride in “SHO TIme” this summer feel free to send me a PM/Email or Phone call. I will gladly take you out for a ride!! I know sometimes guys here in the Northwoods aren’t able to make the ride and drives due to our remote locations. My relationship with the SBC 5 hours south of Rainy Lake couldn’t be better! In fact I’ve got Greg, Shawn and Dave in my Speed Dial!! 
There are so many Rigging details it is nearly impossible to cover it all. From the Ram Swing arm on my 1198C to the Ship to Shore deep marine radio This boat is “TIGHT” and ready for the big water!! 
