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Old 06-27-11, 01:26 PM   #1
jasonfish320
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Default 2011 Blazer REVIEW

Hey Guys, this is by far my longest post (sorry) but I wanted to share wiht you a REAL review without any outside influences, so here goes:



I got a chance to try out a 2011 Blazer 625 Pro Elite dual console over the weekend, it was equipped with a 250merc pro xs 10" hydraulic jackplate a Minn Kota 101lb TM, lowrance HDS7 bow and console with interlink (it also had a shoot thrul hull 2d sonar..it had issues..I will explain later).

The boat itself: The boat has a very simple clean look to it, it was a black/gray flake with light gray carpet, which actually was very appealing. The boat was also equipped with a power pole (which I would not install on my boat after my experience with the blazer, explain in a minute)

The controls are very clean and well organized, the livewell seems deeper than other boats I've looked at. That brings me to the compartments, which are all well organized and have built in rod holders. The large storage at the bow in the middle is much deeper than most boats I've seen, I was able to put an XL bag full of tackle in it without it being at all cramped.

Driveability: I have been in or driven a number of different bass boats and this was the first Blazer I have every driven and to sum things up, if it was rated on a 5 star level it would get a huge 5 star rating. It gets on plane within seconds (with a full load and full livewell), it has a top speed of 82, but the most impressive part of the boat is it's handling and overall ride. The boat literally sticks to the water, the bow almost seems to ride lower than any bass boat I have every been in, I don't mean dramatically but more at a perfectly level angle so you can see directly in front of the boat without any effort. I purposely ran off speed behind a few other boats and ripped through waves with zero bow slapping, it cut through waves with ease and felt extremely stable and instantly built up my confidence behind the wheel. Although I never ran the boat faster than 60, it handled impeccably and I could not find anything to complain about.

Fishabilty: The deck is HUGE and gives you plenty of area to move around without worrying about tripping over rods...the windshields low profile is great when trying to skip lures side arm under overhangs or docks. The 101 lb TM never got used above 40 (it goes to 90) which was plenty of power and moves the boat around easily. The hull is more of a shallow design than others I have fished in and floated through 1.5 feet of water without any hang ups. The only complaint I have is the powerpole..this was the first time I have fished with one and yes it's great for using as a shallow anchor or parking at the marina, but for the co-angler it plain and simple sucks! I fished out of the back just to see how the back deck was layed out and it's immediately clear that this is a pro-level boat, the back deck is fairly small and the powerpole limits your casting angles substantially so you are stuck with an overhand cast, which doesn't help much when you have a ton of overhang or wanna skip at docks. Now for the real downer and maybe Todd can help clear this up, but the Lowrance HDS 7 with the shoot through would not read anything below 5 feet, and if it did the screen was covered in black vertical lines and I couldn't make out anything. From what I heard from some of the others was that was something to do with the shoot thru ducer but I'm not sure about that. The structure scan worked great and had amazing detail, very cool technology.

Overall: I broke this down by sections, because there are many variables or add-ons that if I ordered this boat myself I would have changed. The boat itself gets an A, I would have given it a perfect score, but the back deck is a bit small and the best part of fishing is bringing someone out with you who can have an enjoyable experience. The power pole gets a C, I can see it would come in handy in river systems or windy days and then it would not be a problem for the co-angler, but the rest of the time it's an annoyance for the co-angler and adds extra weight to the boat. The electronics get a B, the structure scan is cool and the sonar worked great at higher speeds than other boats, BUT try to make adjustments and it's menu city, way too many menus turned me off, plus the structure scan is on a separate ducer and needs to be turned on/off which can spook fish. I was completely overwhelmed in a matter of minutes and didn't dare to change anything without having an engineer and a translator for the manual. I won't criticize the shallow depth reading having problems as that is probably a simple fix, but a pain in the arse nonetheless.
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Old 06-29-11, 01:45 PM   #2
carolina-rig-01
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Great review Jason! I have never been in a Blazer but I used to fish a club that had a few of them in it and the owners loved them, I always thought of them as great looking boats. One thing I might bring up is from what I hear guys who have Power Poles on their boats will lower them part way when someone is fishing off the back deck. They won't lower them low enought to touch the bottom but just low enough that their partner can cast without having to worry about smacking the Power Poles.

Glad you liked the boat.
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