I’m 3 months into my new WX2060 purchased from The Boat Center in Chippewa Falls and I thought I’d give a review of my experience to date.
This is my 3rd purchase from SBC in CF and I worked with Justin on all of them. Justin, Dean, Sean, Brian, Eric and the rest of the crew there are nothing short of awesome. Every part of the purchase through rigging and taking care of things after the fact are flawless. These guys just do what it takes to provide the best customer service I have experienced in any large item purchase.
Background: I started with an MX 1825 with the inline 4 200. I loved fishing out of that boat, but I have a tendency to run very heavy and do quite a bit of Salmon fishing which involves tons of extra gear (downriggers, rod trees, extra rod holders, 14 or more Salmon rods and reels, A big cooler full of ice, etc). As much as I liked this boat, for my use, it just wasn’t up to the task. I went from there to the MX2025 which got me loads more power with the 300 and more room aboard which was great. I also loved fishing in this boat, but over time with more and more trips to big water, I grew tired of the ride. It’s a very capable boat, but you do need to slow down quite a bit to keep from pounding in big waves.
In June, I traded the MX2025 in on the WX2060 and have been VERY happy ever since. Going into this purchase, I was sure I would get the better ride in big waves I was looking for, but somewhat apprehensive dropping down in motor size on a slightly longer, wider, deeper, heavier boat. I’m not a “speed guy” by any means, but wanted to make sure I wasn’t giving too much up in low end grunt to haul my heavy loads around. I’m happy to say that I honestly can’t tell the difference in low/mid range power from the 300 to the 250 SHO. There might be a slight decrease in overall speed, but not more than 1-2 MPH tops. No big deal in my book.
I was also apprehensive about the height of the fishing decks and higher sides. While I certainly did notice the difference, so far for me it’s been a non-issue. I got used to the WX very quickly from the front deck and I no longer even notice the different in fishing height from the water. This isn’t the greatest setup if you’re planning to skip docks, or trying to get a bait under some trees near shore, but the MX wasn’t great for that either. The deck was lower, but I always found the trolling motor to be in the way.
Since I do a lot of trolling at times and especially when Salmon fishing I was really looking forward to having some seating on the back deck so I could leave the back two pedestal seats at home. I think the older model jump seats would have been fine, and I was not sure about the newer center bench seat. Again, I’m happy to report that I’m not disappointed in any way here. I really like the layout of the center bench and in fact, I hardly ever have the 2 back pedestal seats in the boat. We typically fish 3 guys on Lake Michigan and the guy on the back bench was just as comfortable for the ride out as the guys in the drive and passenger seats. This center back seat is also easily removed, so you can put it on the front storage compartment when not needed.
Big water capability?……AWESOME! Justin made sure to get me in a boat with trim tabs and hydraulic jack plate since he knows how I fish and what I’m looking for. This combo is great for driving in big water. Those trim tabs can be adjusted to balance the load, and to keep the bow down when conditions call for it. The jack plate is great for dropping down for better control in waves, or to bring up to reduce drag when the going gets easy. I’m honestly astonished by how much better the WX2060 handles in waves than the MX2025. It’s really a night and day difference. This was my number 1 goal for making the switch and I’m completely pleased in this area.
Storage: The side rod locker is different than the 2025 and pretty much only holds 2 rods since the gunnels are narrower. This is fine with me since I only store my long Dipsy Diver rods in there. The front rod locker will still take a bunch of long rods. The back storage compartments are awesome and I’d say the front storage is about the same.
Remote hydraulic kicker: Totally awesome! Way better than having to kneel on the back deck in big waves to tilt the motor down, install the steering connector rod, etc. This kicker I tilt from the driver seat, start from the driver seat, and control the speed from the driver seat. No need to risk going on the back deck in big waves. Very happy with the new kicker.
Negatives: They are few and pretty minor, but must be mentioned. This hull (at least mine) is trim sensitive. If you have much weight in the boat and try to trim at all between 28-38 MPH it will start to porpoise and won’t stop until you either drop off plane, speed up over 38 MPH, or start dropping the trim tabs. This is a bummer because the boat isn’t running free without a little trim. With the motor down, the bow is being forced down and fuel economy takes a hit. It would be great if Skeeter could find a way to fix this issue. On the bright side, with the trim tabs, you can combat this and make porpoising go away completely. At this same speed range (28-38 MPH), the boat is what I would call “squirely” for lack of a better term. An ever so slight steer into the wind / waves will cause the boat to list that direction. Turn it just a bit the other way and the boat lists back over the other way. This too can be controlled by trim tabs, so it’s just a minor annoyance for me, but might be a bigger deal if the boat was purchased without tabs. While I do really like the center seat on the back deck, it is a bit annoying if you want to put a fish in the livewell. You need to flip the bottom cushion forward to open the hatch on the lid, then when you pull the lid open, the seat needs to flip back and hits the back rest. It’s not a big deal, but just one of those minor annoyances. I don’t typically put fish in the livewell, so no biggy for me, but might really be an issue for others. The new Fulton F2 jack LOOKS much beefier, but I can assure you it’s not. Put a little side pressure on this thing and the cast aluminum snaps like dried out twig.
The best part? IT CATCHES FISH……..big……….and small……..
