Capt. Steve Says…

At 20’2” LOA (6.15 m) and carrying a max HP of 225, going fast will be the least of your concerns. But sadly, I didn’t get the keys handed to me on this day. This was a look/see visit and so I climbed in and around to get a feel of how I would be using this boat. And I could see a lot of possibilities.



Starting at the Stern…

The model I checked out had an optional rear deck sunpad and it really brought out the family angle of this boat. Underneath it were the dual 22 gal (83.3L) livewells and storage. The pad can be left at home when using this as a fishing rig, or brought onboard with the wife and kids. Just ahead is a deck mount for either the pedestal fishing seat, or the two pylon. The further I went into this boat, the more it seemed as if two guys worked on the same design page and came up with an interchangeable boat. And it totally worked.



The Cockpit

In the cockpit, was what Skeeter calls a bench seat. Clearly their idea of a bench and mine differ. This was a comfortable, three person seat, and the middle seat folds down to make a convenient walk through to the sunpad/aft deck. The two side seats have insulated storage underneath. Moving forward, there are two bucket seats. The helm has a slider, the passenger seat is fixed. The passenger gets the stereo, which I never understand. There’s always a driver but not always a passenger. I’d move the stereo over to the helm.



This boat had the optional foot pedal throttle control. The fish finder is dash mounted. Steering is hydraulic and the tilt wheel is standard. I liked the curved windshield and note the deck storage ala skiboat.



The Helm

The helm is no muss no fuss. There aren’t a lot in the way of gauges so some features are left to alarms, such as oil pressure and engine temp. Aside from tack and speedo, you have trim and fuel, inarguably the most important of what’s available, but multi function gauges serve a good purpose for a limited space application such as this. The standard Hummingbird PMax170 Fish Finder is dash mounted. That makes for a solid mounting option, but it’s harder to remove from the boat and prevent theft. The upside is that the thieves will have a harder time removing it too. Notable options available, aside from upgraded fish finders, are the foot pedal throttle that bass boaters love, and higher windshield.

To the Bow…



At the bow is a control panel to plug in the electric trolling motor and a foot control. There are four trolling motors for this boat, all are optional.

Stepping through the walk through windshield and you are at the bow deck. Just as with the stern, there are bow deck pads, except these are standard and they do not cover the whole bow. Actually they only cover the storage that is just ahead of the consoles. It’s actually a very clever setup, since no one ever sits up at the bow with their feet on the deck, Skeeter left the whole bow deck flat, to use as a casting platform, and just added pads to sit on. Your legs are still out straight and there’s room to walk around. Under the seats is still room for storage. This is better explained by looking at the pictures. It’s very clever and functional.



Stats…

The boat has a length of 20’2” (6.15 m) and a beam of 7’10” (2.4 m). She carries 40 gallons (151.4 L) of fuel and has a capacity for 6 persons. If you’re thinking about storing this package in your garage, her length on the trailer with the swing away tongue is only 22’10” (6.95M).

She comes with a 10 year structural warranty and a 3 year component warranty. That, plus the sheer versatility of this boat, make for a very attractive picture. One that’s easy to paint yourself into.