We need a “blown away” emoticon! 
As for the performance of the boat… I’m in love. This is my dream boat brought to life.
Top speed, into the current and a 25 MPH wind last night was 58 MPH. Carrying 4 guys between 220 and 250 pounds and a nearly full tank of gas! Top speed with two guys was nearly 61 MPH turning a salt water prop. Prop testing begins in earnest later today.
The hole shot is fantastic. The bow stays low and the boat just shoots forward when you roll on the throttle regardless if you have 2 guys in the boat or 4.
The mid-range throttle response of the 300 Yamaha is something else. I expect the guys at some of the up-coming Ride N Drive events will be walking away from this boat sporting grins with some staying power.
As for the fishing performance last night we had some high winds gusting 20 – 25 mph. The MX 2025 sticks like glue to the water and that deep REACT keel keeps the boat from sliding in cross winds. Control is easy and predictable and like nothing else Skeeter has made prior to the 1825 or anything else I’ve fished from. I know the pronounced keel on these new MX boats hasn’t really received the attention it deserves but that one design feature may very well be the difference between a good boat and what is a great boat.
The on-plane handling of this boat makes driving it fun and effortless. Again, likely due to the REACT keel. The interior layout makes the boat feel bigger than 20′ long and the hull handles waves like a champ yet the boat feels nimble and quick when you’re putting it through turns, cornering or even doing simple stuff like coming into a dock under power of the big motor. Its fun and easy to drive but if you want to get a little “racy” with it the 2025 goes from luxury car to sports car quicker than I can cook up an evil grin. I know Joel and I did some things last night that I’m not sure I’ve ever done in a boat before… and we’ll leave it at that since the boat is a loaner. 
As for the rough water ride Pool 2 is definitely NOT the proper testing grounds but we did have strong winds and ample barge traffic to give us a feel for what this boat is all about and it was surprising how well this multi-species hull did in waves. I’ll need more time on big water before I’ll give it a “double thumbs up” rating but barge wakes and 2′ chop means nothing to this hull.
We had 4 guys in the boat last night and there’s room everywhere. The back deck is the perfect size. The longer front deck is bigger than I hoped it would be or will ever need.
I haven’t even begun to utilize all the available storage. The Rod Holster swallowed up all the rods Joel and I brought in the boat last night so we didn’t even touch the center rod storage. The driver side lockers, the rear deck storage areas and the shelving under the consoles didn’t even get touched yet… meaning I need more stuff!
So how was the fishing? We really only fished for about 30 minutes. Joel and I each stuck a nice eye on Shad Raps just as we were running out of day light. The fish were SHALLOW. As in inches of water, not feet. We had dropped the two camera guys off on shore in an area with some current and a steep drop. We positioned the boat about 10′ off shore and started fishing. As rarely happens the fish cooperated and we pulled 2 quality fish right from the feet of the guys filming. There’s some good luck in this boat!
Here’s a couple cell phone shots from last night. When I say the fish were shallow… I mean it. Ben was able to shoot a couple quick pics from where he was standing and we didn’t move any closer. I would expect the video will be equally cool given these guys were right in our laps.
I love fishing that river!
Well, that’s all for now. More in the coming days. I’m off to Skeeter Boat Center to get some electronics installed.
