I had a great time out on the water with this boat; of course I was with what I would consider to be a professional boat operator and that would be JE Van Natta.
I have known JE for quite a few years and I know he can put his boat in the water and run the baby! JE is very fluent in boating knowledge. I don’t think that ffice:smarttags" /><ST1
lace w:st="on"><?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com
</st1:City>Phoenix</ST1lace> boats could have chosen a better representative for their boating line.
At first I was hesitate about the boat being that its in its infancy, but those thoughts were quickly extinguished when I was advised of the years of boating knowledge and experience that actually stands behind the boat. The Phoenix Boat Company may be new, but the people behind it are not, they have several years of boat development and manufacturing behind them. That is the only way that they could have developed a boat of this caliber.
After making our usual jokes at each other, we started to the lake. One of the first things I noticed it that the boat was towing very easily, heck we were talking the whole time and you would not have known there was a 21ft bass boat behind us. We arrived at the ramp, a very steep ramp, and the boat was splashed in the water with ease.
At first looking at the boat in the water it appeared to be stylish, it’s definitely a boat that turns heads. We buzzed down the lake…
This is normally where I would tell you all about the fishing, but we are going to skip that part due to the fact, JE was the only one to catch fish this day, which is a rare occasion when we fish together!
We were able to reach a top speed of 69.8 GPS at 5500 rpm with two men (I am not a super small man) a lot of tackle (JE, runs a tackle shop off his boat), and a full tank of fuel. I know this boat has the ability to go a bit faster, JE was pulling back a little bit due to the fact that I had a hard time catching my breath for some reason ( Embarrassing for me, but says a lot about the boat). JE stated he sees 71-73 GPS with a tournament load and 77 GPS by himself. The lake was slick so we made quite a few wakes in the water by doing figure 8’s and then running through our own rollers. The boats turning capability was very impressive along with its ability to take some decent wakes in the water. The boat is light enough to cut thru the water and yet heavy enough to withstand a beating.
The boat trailers fairly easy, we were on a very steep ramp and had no problems.
Back to the parking lot for a complete walk around and picture taking of the boat……………Here’s what I found:
Mercury Pro XS: Nice motor looked very sharp on the back of this boat, it definitely stands out!
Rear Pads: Easily accessible for those personal times on the back of the boat, to be honest with you, I was quite impressed on how something so simple could really stand out. No more hanging on the motor!!! Standing on a non-slip pad really helps.
Console: Was very stylish with big bold, easy while your driving, to read console. Not a lot of wasted space all utilized quite well. Accessible fuse box, Perfect amount of space underneath used for your hot foot throttle and non slip pad for your spare foot, trim on column. This boat was really geared towards the professional and Amateur Fisherman. The Hummingbird fish finding/GPS unit was perfectly mounted and snuggled into the console.
There is a Net Storage built into the boat as well, perfectly placed between the new seats.
They have taken almost every step possible in this boat having all the accessible compartments as possible, even the cooler is of good size and is located in the step towards the bow of the boat where other fisherman friendly compartments are located.
There is a pliers and scissor holder built right into the boat on the bottom of the console, out of the way and yet still accessible.
Great upholstery on the seats and when I first saw these I thought for sure I would have to jump over them to get to rear of the boat, this was not true as Phoenix Boats has thought of everything, there was a non-slip step between them which made it very easy.
It does come equipped with an emergency ladder at the rear of the boat which is pinned up for a quick release if needed. This fisherman believes that every boat should be equipped with such a ladder. The interior of the boat is also equipped with LCD lights perfectly located thru out the boat.
Talk about ease, there is even a small cleat located on the driver’s side within the interior of the boat for the driver to attach upon docking, no more running to the front or back of the boat in a rush to get tied down.
Front of the Boat: Although a lot of you will say it looks like a Stratos, you can tell the difference upon inspecting the boat, the deep v hull of the boat may have been brought over from Stratos ( about the first quarter of the boat ) , but the rest is all a Phoenix design. The trolling Motor didn’t bounce and properly installed. The bow console was beautifully designed for easy access of your electronics, light switch and trim. It does have a recessed area for your trolling motor controls. No reason to cut and install one yourself.
Trailer: Had a fold-in tongue for those who can store the boat in the garage, this is really a handy item. The custom trailer had LCD lights and along with their logo on the sides. “Good Quality Trailer”
Thumbs UP!!!
I have known JE for quite a few years and I know he can put his boat in the water and run the baby! JE is very fluent in boating knowledge. I don’t think that ffice:smarttags" /><ST1
lace w:st="on"><?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com
lace> boats could have chosen a better representative for their boating line.At first I was hesitate about the boat being that its in its infancy, but those thoughts were quickly extinguished when I was advised of the years of boating knowledge and experience that actually stands behind the boat. The Phoenix Boat Company may be new, but the people behind it are not, they have several years of boat development and manufacturing behind them. That is the only way that they could have developed a boat of this caliber.
After making our usual jokes at each other, we started to the lake. One of the first things I noticed it that the boat was towing very easily, heck we were talking the whole time and you would not have known there was a 21ft bass boat behind us. We arrived at the ramp, a very steep ramp, and the boat was splashed in the water with ease.
At first looking at the boat in the water it appeared to be stylish, it’s definitely a boat that turns heads. We buzzed down the lake…
This is normally where I would tell you all about the fishing, but we are going to skip that part due to the fact, JE was the only one to catch fish this day, which is a rare occasion when we fish together!
We were able to reach a top speed of 69.8 GPS at 5500 rpm with two men (I am not a super small man) a lot of tackle (JE, runs a tackle shop off his boat), and a full tank of fuel. I know this boat has the ability to go a bit faster, JE was pulling back a little bit due to the fact that I had a hard time catching my breath for some reason ( Embarrassing for me, but says a lot about the boat). JE stated he sees 71-73 GPS with a tournament load and 77 GPS by himself. The lake was slick so we made quite a few wakes in the water by doing figure 8’s and then running through our own rollers. The boats turning capability was very impressive along with its ability to take some decent wakes in the water. The boat is light enough to cut thru the water and yet heavy enough to withstand a beating.
The boat trailers fairly easy, we were on a very steep ramp and had no problems.
Back to the parking lot for a complete walk around and picture taking of the boat……………Here’s what I found:
Mercury Pro XS: Nice motor looked very sharp on the back of this boat, it definitely stands out!
Rear Pads: Easily accessible for those personal times on the back of the boat, to be honest with you, I was quite impressed on how something so simple could really stand out. No more hanging on the motor!!! Standing on a non-slip pad really helps.
Console: Was very stylish with big bold, easy while your driving, to read console. Not a lot of wasted space all utilized quite well. Accessible fuse box, Perfect amount of space underneath used for your hot foot throttle and non slip pad for your spare foot, trim on column. This boat was really geared towards the professional and Amateur Fisherman. The Hummingbird fish finding/GPS unit was perfectly mounted and snuggled into the console.
There is a Net Storage built into the boat as well, perfectly placed between the new seats.
They have taken almost every step possible in this boat having all the accessible compartments as possible, even the cooler is of good size and is located in the step towards the bow of the boat where other fisherman friendly compartments are located.
There is a pliers and scissor holder built right into the boat on the bottom of the console, out of the way and yet still accessible.
Great upholstery on the seats and when I first saw these I thought for sure I would have to jump over them to get to rear of the boat, this was not true as Phoenix Boats has thought of everything, there was a non-slip step between them which made it very easy.
It does come equipped with an emergency ladder at the rear of the boat which is pinned up for a quick release if needed. This fisherman believes that every boat should be equipped with such a ladder. The interior of the boat is also equipped with LCD lights perfectly located thru out the boat.
Talk about ease, there is even a small cleat located on the driver’s side within the interior of the boat for the driver to attach upon docking, no more running to the front or back of the boat in a rush to get tied down.
Front of the Boat: Although a lot of you will say it looks like a Stratos, you can tell the difference upon inspecting the boat, the deep v hull of the boat may have been brought over from Stratos ( about the first quarter of the boat ) , but the rest is all a Phoenix design. The trolling Motor didn’t bounce and properly installed. The bow console was beautifully designed for easy access of your electronics, light switch and trim. It does have a recessed area for your trolling motor controls. No reason to cut and install one yourself.
Trailer: Had a fold-in tongue for those who can store the boat in the garage, this is really a handy item. The custom trailer had LCD lights and along with their logo on the sides. “Good Quality Trailer”
Thumbs UP!!!