I have the same boat 2017 250 zx and Mine will only do 67 with a tail wind and on a perfect day. I had an I-class 21 ft with the 250 hpdi and it would do 75-76 and it was a much wider and heavier boat. The zx is not near the quality of finish of the older I class carpet live-well valves etc. I have replaced the live-well valve twice already. The boat takes rough water very well but is slow as heck. The skeeter contingency money has about paid me enough to get a different boat. And yes I Know how to drive a boat and trim a boat. I had one of the first tritons with the hydraulic jack plates that would do 80. I drew a big co-angler and the zx would only do 60 you talking about a competitive disadvantage and a loss of fishing time!!!

Something’s up. My TZX190 with a 2003 F150, 12” jack plate, reliance prop, 3” PTP will run 60 GPS with a full load, two 200 lb guys, 4 batteries, two blades, two half tanks of fuel. It does get slower by about 1 mph per livewell full of water. 57-58 by the end of a tourney.

I’d imagine your boat should easily be a 70mph, fully loaded, rig.

so is your motor a four stroke or 2 stroke, I noticed when I had the I class with the two stroke 250 I could leave any skeeter with a sho in the morning at take-off. My zx is a completely tournament ready boat with twin blades, graphs batteries etc. but the I-class had the same equipment. I have no doubt your boat will run the numbers you are saying, because I started with similar boats and those were the numbers I got. I honestly believe my boat is engineered to run like that for liability reasons as it is incredibly stable running down the lake at that speed. Just about any novice could drive my current boat at WOT. It seems to run beside every other skeeter- sho in the morning, sometimes a guy in a fx may be going a mile or two faster but I think that's because of a hydraulic jack plate. Speed does make a difference on tournament day going to the same spot, long travel times etc. all take away from the number of casts I can make.

My boat has a four stroke. It is REALLY good from the hole and gets to 60 quickly. Then it’s just a wall. Doesn’t matter what little trim adjustments I make (to an extent), it doesn’t go faster.

I think your boat should be faster. I know a few friends with ZX250’s, FX21’s, ZX225’s, and they ALL are 70ish boats. That said, a couple of friends have brand new ZX190’s with 150 SHO’s and they are not even close to running with my older hull and F150. So, maybe the newer boats are heavier, or the SHO’s have been neutered. Ha. My team mate runs a 4-5 yr old ZX21 with an SHO 250 and that boat is noticeably FASTER than all the others with the same length/motor combo. So, maybe tolerance stacking works out better on some and has negative performance impacts on others boats.

Anyways. Good luck with the boat.


As for racing to a spot? It isn’t about getting one more cast, ITS ABOUT GETTING “THE SPOT”!!! Some lakes fish small. And one spot is getting paid and a spot close by ain’t getting a limit.

I could be wrong but I don't think the SHO's are quite as fast as the two strokes. My 04 ZX225 runs 70-72. My cousin just got a new ZX 225 and his is running 65-67.

2018 ZX 225. My boat is very load sensitive. 2 man full load in the summer, 67. Light load, me only, in the winter, 75+. I’m showing 9 dots on jp, came 7 from factory. Dual power poles. It’s a real sporty ride solo!

Update on my ZX250 Skeeter I send my MPH & RPMS to Josh @Steve Prop Service he suggested to drop my motor 1/4" and run it to see if number changed and they did I got 68 instead of 65 MPH and lowered RPMS also tried a Prop my neighbor had re cupped at Steve's Prop shop and it i got 71.5 @ 5900 RPMS so my Prop is going to Steve's for Prop work. Thanks to all of you for the information on how your boat preformed.

Good info. I have a question about the "need for speed" if you will. Let's say it's a small water tourney and a certain point is producing Fish and it's open water from ramp to the spot. Two or three boats take off and it's neck and neck all the way....who gets it?