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Old 03-23-06, 02:46 PM   #1
Futurepro22
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Default Opinion on Skeeter Boats?

I've heard that these boats are cheaply made and dont ride good. I just want to hear some of your opinons... i was maybe saving up and getting one next year..
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Old 03-23-06, 02:50 PM   #2
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get a gambler...you'll be glad you did.
never been in a skeeter so all i can do is badmouth them.
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Old 03-23-06, 02:53 PM   #3
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i've ridden in 3 gamblers.. they are really fast in calm water.. but in rough water.. they are horrible.. my a$$ hurt after one tournament
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Old 03-23-06, 02:59 PM   #4
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mine is rock solid even in rough water.a gambler is not like any other boat..you have to really learn to drive it to get the most out of it.it takes time on the water to master a gambler.they are very unforgiving if you don't know what you're doing.
they will turn on a dime and scare the cr** out of you if you drop the nose too low when turning.
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Old 03-23-06, 03:35 PM   #5
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I owned a 87' skeeter starfire, for 8 years, It ran great, including the ride, but, I haven't been in a bunch of different boats, and wouldn't be able to say who has the best ride. Thinking back on the Skeeter I had, I'd say it had a better ride than my New Ranger, but it was bigger and heavier. I am not a engineer, and I suppose there is something about the hydrodynamics and how well the seats are made, etc. but can there really be that much of a difference? I would think, the heavier the boat, the better the ride??? I dunno? I'm just happy to have a boat that starts when I turn the key
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Old 03-23-06, 06:46 PM   #6
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skeeters are a well built. boat rides decent they handle good. the leg room is very limited. and they imo are short power rated. what ever you do don't put a four stroke on these boats..

short powered rated. this means the max horse power rating is lower than what is found on other boats of the same size...

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Old 03-23-06, 07:30 PM   #7
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that is the same as with my boat

skeeters are i nice boat i know someone who owned one and he loved it
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Old 03-24-06, 07:22 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zooker
skeeters are a well built. boat rides decent they handle good. the leg room is very limited. and they imo are short power rated. what ever you do don't put a four stroke on these boats..

short powered rated. this means the max horse power rating is lower than what is found on other boats of the same size...

zooker
You right there ole buddy. I used to fish outta a skeeter that was a buddy's of mine. It was rated for a 120. He put a 140 on it and man she really woke up.Dont recall the model I do remeber it was a late 80's model. Hell BassinTom you probably know the fella if you get to Pa much. He worked at a used car dealership in East Sroudsberg just down the road from the truck stop. Dont even recall his name but short balding guy wears glasses,fishes as much as we do.
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Old 03-24-06, 07:27 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bassintom
mine is rock solid even in rough water.a gambler is not like any other boat..you have to really learn to drive it to get the most out of it.it takes time on the water to master a gambler.they are very unforgiving if you don't know what you're doing.
they will turn on a dime and scare the cr** out of you if you drop the nose too low when turning.
I know I am double posting so shoot me. You brought up a VERY GOOD POINT and I want to stress it again. There are hulls out there that are forgiving and hulls that arnt. I stress the fact to PLEASE get some seat time before friving a high performance bass boat. There are to many things to learn. I've seen it time and again and hot headed young person or a older fella with too big of ba@@s jump in a high performing rig and get the *** in trouble before they know whats going on. Trust me impact with water at high speeds HURTS. I cant stress how important it is to learn your boat be it a aluminum with a 15hp or a 20ftr with a 225. Learn the boat and how to handle her in all situations so you dont become a statistic.
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Old 03-24-06, 10:32 AM   #10
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I've had lots of experience driving a boat.. I've been on the water since i was 1.. and when i got to be 8ish my dad would let me drive the boat(90HP) , i would sit on his lap, he would control the throttle and help me steer and stuff, and eventually when i got older like 12 he woul let me control the boat by myself, and he would sit the passenger seat to tell me to adjust if i needed to.. THen when i was 16 i got my own aluminum boat with a 15 hp and used it for 2 years, and then last fall i got a 19ft nitro w/ a 150 hp and i've been drivin that.. so i've got experience behind the driving boats.. it is now required by las that anyone under 25 operating a boat over 25 HP has to take and pass a boater safety course.. which I did.. I asked you opinons on skeeter boats b/c i am starting a NBAA division in Central PA and the directors get a "directors rate" from skeeter. I'm thinkin about getting one b/c the boat I have now (19ft nitro) is a 92. I trust it and all,m but the amount of tournies i'm gonna be fishing, i feel more comfortable in a new boat..
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Old 03-24-06, 08:44 PM   #11
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well if you trust the boat your in i would stick with it

besides nitros are better
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Old 03-25-06, 06:21 AM   #12
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You will enjoy the new skeeter if you get one. They are a good dependable boat take the rough water fairly well ,have a good warranty and run pretty quick . As stated they are under rated but thats Skeeter's way of staying out of court. They dont want litigation and any advertising caused from it. You can expect GOOD performance from a skeeter and I promise you it will be MUCH better performance than a Nitro.

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I hate to tell ya but aint NO and I repeat aint NO way a Nitro compares to a Skeeter. Never has and never will. First off re,enber skeeters have been around for decades. Nitros where introduced in the late 80's. Second off every and I do mean EVERY nitro they have developed gets sqirrrely around65. Its in the design of the hull. Some of the big Nitros you can drive through this envelope and push onto around 70. Nitro's make good ebtry level boats. PERIOD. I know some of the Pros you see are fishing out of them but look in there garage at there PERSONAL boat. I personally gurantee you you wont see Nitro.
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Old 03-25-06, 05:22 PM   #13
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laser is right nitros jump to the razors edge of nearly out of control at any speed over 65..

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Old 03-25-06, 07:51 PM   #14
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FUTUREPRO
One of my fishing buddies bought a new 18 ft Skeeter in 96, just before I traded off my 91 Ranger. The Skeeter and Ranger were very comperable as far as ride, speed and fishability, except I had a 175 Merc and the Skeeter had a twin prop Yamaha. As far as hole shot, he beat me out of the hole like I was dragging an anchor.
Last year my buddy traded for a 20 ft Skeeter model that was designed for the 4 stroke, and has a Yamaha 225 on the back with a 6 inch jackplate. Another fishing buddy that has a 19ft61n Ranger like mine rode in the Skeeter and told me there is no comparison, that the Skeeter rides and handles better than our Rangers, but will not probably run as fast on top end. He advised that the Yamaha 4 stroke is one quiet, smooth running motor, and the boat they designed for it is a well built boat. All in all, I don't think you could go wrong with a Skeeter.
As far as the Nitro's go, I talked to a fiberglass repairman that had nothing good to say about the Nitro hull. He claimed that the strakes on the bottom of the hull are built around foam and if you hit something on the strake, it will crack it very easily, and is very expensive to repair. He told me about one of the BASS pro's that Nitro furnished 5 boats to start the season, and by the end of the year, he had torn up all but one, and was babying that one to finish out the year. That was about 10 years ago, and they may have corrected the problems since then, but looking at the price of Nitro's, compared to other top of the line boats, "You get what you pay for"

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Old 03-25-06, 09:37 PM   #15
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i was just told that nitros are one of the top end boats

and with any fiberglass boat if you hit something going 65 miles per hour there is going to be an exspencive repair no matter what type of fiberglass boat you are in

i fish in an aluminium i might get a fiberglass boat in the futur but before i do i will consult you guys first because you know what your talking about
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Old 03-26-06, 12:52 AM   #16
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i personally know of at least 2 nitros that split down the middle in rough water......a tip BK.engage brain before putting mouth into gear.it's better to make no comment than give bad advice.
and don't ask me what kind of boat to buy.i know you will get a nitro.
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Old 03-26-06, 01:33 AM   #17
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the only reason i 'have a nitro is because I was in the market for a boat, and was about the fish the Fishers of Men Regionals on Kerr. I had been using a 18 dt deep vee aluminum.. I knew the guy who i bought it off of from the bass club i belonged to ... He sold it to me for 5000.. so it was too good of a deal to pass up... and you say it gets squirrelly at 65? Mine gets that way at about 45 if its not balanced just right, maybe b/c my partner is heavier that me and/or i have water in my livewell.. I definatly wanna get a skeeter.. i was looking at the SX 200 model.. maybe even a ZX 200.. does anyone know the price difference??
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Old 03-26-06, 07:49 AM   #18
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If ya can cough up the money definatley go for the ZX. Got helluva good reports from several folks one of them being a good friend of mine. He's got his with the new Evinrude Etec 225 and so far LOVES it. The SX is a cheaper model with less bells and whistles. Prices down here would be differant than yours. Do a search for your area unless you are willing to travel and I will see what I can come up with.
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Old 03-26-06, 09:25 AM   #19
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sx come with a slower moter are a differant hull design the zx is the perforance hull comes with a big moter.

the reason i say don't buy one with a 4 stroke you loose the skeeter trade mark no nose stand hole shot..it just launchs..



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Old 03-26-06, 02:32 PM   #20
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Gambler makes a fast boat. The one problem that I see is that there is basically no back deck. I know it's going to be said that an angler may come to the front deck if so desired.
That shouldn't be the case. Thats what a back deck is for.
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Old 03-26-06, 09:40 PM   #21
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why would you need a back deck?
i'm not knocking any brand boat..i was just kidding about the badmouth thing and passing on info i know about nitros.you buy the boat that is right for you..no matter what anyone says.
maybe i was just lucky in finding my boat the way i did.it was used so it could have been any brand boat in my price range.i did look at stratos and champion that were priced a little lower,but the gambler and i (not sure how to explain this)connected..i just knew it was the boat for me.
you'll know the boat when you see it and the manufacturer worn't even matter....that's just the way it is.
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Old 03-27-06, 08:59 PM   #22
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that was the same with our boat we spent a year looking a boats some were a little different then other and when we saw ours we said thats the boat
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Old 03-28-06, 01:01 AM   #23
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Thumbs up Skeeter TZX190

I bought my Skeeter last year brand new. I checked alot of sources and at the time, JD Power had rated Ranger #1 overall with Triton and Skeeter tied for second. Stratos was next but Nitro was near the bottom. I haven't regretted my decision yet. The TZX190 has all the bells and whistles you want for tournament fishing. I have a Yamaha VMax 150 on a jack plate and it handles great. It rides great in all types of water. It tops out at about 65mph with me, two sons and a load of gas. Find a dealer and take a test drive.
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Old 03-28-06, 07:36 AM   #24
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Welcome to the boards Skeeter Dawg. Glad to see ya enjoying the skeeter. They been around along time and that was just proven like you stated about the JD power awards. What I dont understand is how they can put a tritoon and I did say tritoon in the same class as a skeeter. Skeeter IMHO is a FAR better boat than a tritoon.
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Old 03-28-06, 10:44 AM   #25
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Skeeter is the only bass boat I have been in and I really liked -- thought about buying one myself!
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