YOU get boats, and then you get serious boats. Upon arriving at Inanda Dam, I eagerly awaited the arrival of the new Skeeter ZX 200 by Yamaha. Seeing a few boats arrive on the slipways in the distance, nothing really caught my attention so I took the time to get a quick fly into the water. Then she arrived, and man, she stood head and shoulders above all the rest.

To put it mildly, this is a machine of note, looking like a sleek missile ready to be fired. Her looks said it all, and with the practical test ahead, I was sure I would be equally as impressed with her handling capabilities. The proud Yamaha crew — Greg Bennett, Shaun Lavery and Allison Naidoo — have once again introduced a top class product into the market. Our thanks to John Kelly, the proud owner, for allowing us the use of his new ZX 200.

CONDITIONS
A light-to-moderate breeze with sunny skies was the order of the day to complement the test on Inanda Dam.

TRAILERING
The Skeeter comes standard on a double-axle high-speed trailer that is just about as trendy as the boat itself, having quite a unique braking and lighting system. Launching and trailering on the slipway was a fast and simple task, and would be easy even if you were on your own.

MOTORS AND CONTROLS
When viewing the Skeeter on the trailer I immediately noticed the size of the motor. As is standard on most bass boat, it was large. Assuming that it was around the 200hp mark, I ventured around the back only to be startled by an extra 100hp — she is fitted with a 300hp VMAX Yamaha. When you see power like that on relatively small boats, it automatically makes you wonder what you’re getting yourself into.

Controls on the ZX 200 are all electronically assisted, making operating her exceptionally smooth and simple. The foot throttle or “hot foot” is also included in this model — a feature that’s quite important, as you are going to need both hands on the steering when you’re operating at high speeds.

PERFORMANCE
My expectations of the Skeeter’s performance were right on the mark. The 300hp VMax quietly purred on the out-mount like a lion getting ready to strike its prey. Accelerating out of the hole was fast, in fact something close to the feeling of taking off in a 737. The Skeeter has extra buoyancy that extends off the transom, and this feature aids with getting the hull onto the plane automatically, with the trim setting on the lowest notch. Once on the plane, accelerating to higher speeds was effortless, with the trim being adjusted to suit the speeds.

What I did find surprising was the consistent handling of the craft, even when trimmed right up. The Skeeter’s hull design is unique: the keel is a deep-vee, incorporating flared outer chines and reverse chines which all help to produce a ride that is super stable and dry at any speed.

Heading across the dam, John pushed her up to 130km/h, or in other words “Mach-4 with your hair on fire”! Well, I definitely had the white-knuckle syndrome at that speed, and he still had the cheek to take his hands off the steering for a second to prove how well the hull holds, which it did.

Another area that was impressive was how well she held on the turns at speed, something I personally don’t like to test. John put the ZX 200 into full lock turns at fair speeds, and not once did it feel like the hull was going to slip or bite. Quite remarkable.

Coming off the throttle to stop on most boats, you generally have to re-accelerate to prevent wake washing on the transom. In this case you have the extra buoyancy on the transom, which makes a huge difference and prevents this swamping. I could go on and on about the performance, but really, all you need to know is that the Skeeter is a remarkable performer.

LAYOUT
Sure, boats in this class are not your normal flyfishing craft, but being flat-decked it is extremely comfortable for flyfishing. At 19’5” long there is plenty of space to play with, even more so because the 300 VMax is mounted on an outmount so that you can get full use of the stern deck area.

The deck is fully-carpeted with all the hatches — and there are a number of them — being flush-mounted. The boat also boasts dual mount live wells with many features of their own, as well as a cooler box or boxes, stowage hatches for all the equipment, a rod locker that takes plenty of rigged rods, fully adjustable swivel stools, and a whole lot more. The hatches are easily accessible and even have built-in LED lights.

The driver’s console looks something like a cars’ dash, with many fancy features including an assortment of operating gauges, a sonar unit and an electronics panel that operates all sorts of different systems on board. The passenger’s console area has additional storage space, with both areas having wrap-around windscreens. This area is spacious and is nicely complemented by comfortable seating.

On the bow there is a foot-mount trolling motor with recessed pedal, another sonar unit and trim controls. Again, there are simply too many features to mention them all, but a quick look at the Yamaha website will give you more of her specs.

FISHABILITY
As previously mentioned, most flat-decked boats are suitable for flyfishing, but the Skeeter, with her well designed layout and extra features, offers a great deal more than just a flat deck.

The deck is carpeted and is thus gentle on equipment; it’s flat with no clutter at all, which makes it great for stripping lines onto; and the boat is very stable. On the bow you can operate the electric motor off the foot-mount pedal as well as cast the fly while you’re positioning yourself. This is a far better system than trying to operate tiller arm models or the boat’s main motors.

FINISH
The Skeeter is one of those boats that has it all. She’s a beautiful looking boat that has numerous flashy features in all areas, from the top deck through to the trailer. All of these just add to the super finish of this craft.

CONCLUSION

The Skeeter ZX 200 is definitely a head spinner. Although she’s not the normal flyfishing craft that one might use, she’s well worth a look or test if you’re a freshwater fisherman who wants a boat that’s fast, handles well and has a touch of class to it — even more so if you’re an avid bass fisherman.