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I hesitated about responding here because somebody always seems to get offended so remember, these are just my impressions after driving some boats Saturday. Larry took me out in a 2006 21' Ranger Camanchee with 250 Yamaha. Very heavy feeling boat, trim and jack plate hieght had to be just right or steering was stiff. Motor did not impress me. Lots of bow lift to get out of the hole. None of the storage compartments had the slot system for standard lure boxes. To start this boat I was told you have to hit the start button, a four digit code and then another button. Amazingly, you have to go through a similar sequence to shut her down. I'll take a simple ignition switch any day over this. In Rangers defense, this boat had some maintenance issues. The hot foot would not return unless pulled back with the top of your shoe and the speedometer was not working. Larry could see I was not impressed with this boat and insisted we take a ride in his personal 20' Comanchee with a 225 E-Tech . I was amazed, totally different boat. Feather light steering no matter the trim setting. Hole shot is good but still has a lot of bow lift. The storage compartments make more sense and seem more usable than the 21 footer. Front deck is definatley too small for me though. The E-Tech is shockingly quiet but seems to lack any serious midrange punch. Nice boat, thank you Larry for all your time and information.
Jeff Preister brought a TR21X2 with a Merc 250XS that had never been in the water, just 25 minutes of tank time. Even though I never gave the boat full throttle (remember, not broken in) this motor clearly had more power at any rpm than the other two motors. Jeff had guessed at motor height and prop, he guessed very well. The lack of bow lift on hole shot was amazing, especially considering this boat had zero weight up front. The location of the fuel tank midway in the hull makes a world of difference. Overall handling of the new X2 hull is about as flawless as you can ask for. The adjustable seats are super comfortable and hold you in, no need to grab a handrail. The storage compartments make sense, to me anyway. The console and instruments also seem more logical then other boats. And, I gotta say, the quality of the X2 has no equal. Yeah I know, your saying I drive a Triton now, I'm biased. Well, the X2 is light years ahead of my 98 TR21. That's a no brainer. What suprised me was, as I left the boat ramp Saturday, I realized I would rather have my boat than either of the Rangers I drove. It accelerates harder, handles bettter at any speed under 65 mph and has better storage. What about Stratos or Skeeter? They were well represented at the demo but I just don't find either boat's styling appealing. Those are my opinions, anybody alse want to share? Smitty, thanks for bringing the demo to my attention, I would have been very unhappy had I missed it.
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On-the-water Boat Show (Read 5492 times)
