Hello all,
Many happy years (15) of fishing out of a Triton 18DV CC with a Yamaha 130 Saltwater here. However, now that I have two small kids, and a spouse that would like to do some skiing behind the boat, and have better protection from the wind, the center console is in need of replacement. I am very impressed with what I see in the MX1825 thus far. I’m the type of fisherman who ends up with fishing licenses for up to six states each year & end up fishing for various species. We have family back in MN & MO, but live in WA. As I see this new boat purchase to be a very long term thing, I will end up fishing for anything from walleye, panfish, salmon & steelhead in the Columbia, muskies, stripers, and even redfish / flounder / sea trout in the in-shore / jettie waters of the gulf of mexico.
As far as family activities, I love wakeboarding, my wife is a slalom skiier, and the kids I’m sure will over the years be towed on anything that skims across the water.
With this background, here are my questions:
1) We currently live in the PNW (Spokane, WA). Here to extend the season for my family, a bimini top such as those available stock with the Lund Tyee’s will be a necessity. I know they are available after market. I’m pretty sure bimini’s are not an option from Skeeter on their boats. Have any of you installed a bimini on your multi-species Skeeter? As the boat will be used more with the bimini down, I like for example how the Lund Tyee’s bimini folds down into a small step in front of the jump seats and does not simply roll together, but remain suspended above the passenger seats when closed. What would some of the pro’s / con’s / things to be aware of If I were to try to fit a bimini to a MX1825? If anyone has installed a Bimini, care to share any pictures? Where did you get it from? Is such a beast even possible given the locations of the port and starboard storage compartments?
2) Has anyone skied behind the MX1825 yet? I’d guess since it is a wider boat than the WX series, that it may jump on plane faster. Any experiences with the ski bar option? I’d be curious why Skeeter opted to not have a pylon option on the MX, but do offer it on the WX (I think). Do the hulls on both the MX and WX each have the same amount of V to them in the hull & how would that affect skiing performance?
3) If I were to opt for the 200 HPDI, is there room for a remote oil fill reservoir such as can be done with the Ranger Reata 1850? This would allow both of the storage compartments beside the rear MX1825 livewell to be used for storage rather than one for oil.
4) How would the F150 be for skiing on the MX1825? I’m not interested in top speed at all, and would prop the motor to favor skiing. (4 blade prop with proper pitch). Would it pull a single slalom skiier up well with a few friends in the boat?
5) Lets not start a which motor is better rant here, but is it at all possible to get a Skeeter without the motor & have say a Etec 175 or 200 (both 433 lbs) or a Suzuki DF 175 (475 lbs) mounted on it? Would these motors meet the specs of the hull? Any of these options would eliminate the need for the oil reservoir in the storage box, and provide more power / torque than the F150.
6) Besides a standard boat cushion or crazy creek chair, has anyone retrofitted / made a jumpseat chair / backrest so one could sit on the MX1825’s livewell while running down the lake and still have a backrest. As an engineer, I see no reason why the lid of the livewell cannot be split in such a way that there would be a back that comes up and still have a cover over the livewell. To access the livewell, simply hinge both the top and bottom of the jumpseat up at the same time. With a minimum of padding, the whole affair could remain fairly thin. I’d give some padding comfort to have a backrest / stock jumpseat over the existing MX1825 livewell. For structural reasons change the (approximately) 70 / 30 split in the current livewell lid to a 50 / 50 split, and have two jump seats, each with their own integral backrest. I can see where one 50 inch long lid with one 50 inch built in backrest would flex too much, thus the need for two narrower seats rather than one long one. Skeeter… if you could add this feature to the MX1825, you would have even more WOW to the boat than it already has, even if you had to take an inch or so away from the depth of the livewell to do it. Buyers would gravitate toward your boat faster than you could build them!
7) Are the storage compartments beside the livewell on the MX1825 lockable?
8) From looking at the standards / options tab on the Skeeter multi-species website, there is a trailer galvanized option for all boats BUT the MX1825. I don’t really care about how the trailer looks… I do want it to still be holding together 15 to 20 years from now as my current original trailer has. (& it has seen MANY saltwater immersions.) Is there any way to get a galvanized trailer for it? There are freshwater lakes (Texoma for example) that are fairly high in salinity… one does not need saltwater contact to warrant desire for this option. Why is it not offered on the MX?
9) Which brings up a good question… how would the MX / WX series hold up in saltwater? My current CC has carpeted sides, but only a fiberglass floor. The side carpeting looks great… I always simply hosed it off after being in the salt spray. Other factors? I’d assume the hardware fasteners is all stainless steel in the MX / WX or isn’t it?
10) Does anyone have any pictures of the retractable boarding ladder, or ski tow bar which are available from Skeeter on the MX / WX boats?
Thanks in advance for you comments.
Jim
