This!

Thanks for all the feedback here. I'm still on the fence. The more I research and look on various forums and facebook pages the more I lean towards Phoenix over Skeeter. I can't seem to get past all the quality issues I'm seeing as of recent with all the skeeter boats. I wonder if this is just a period of bad quality due to COVID or something else?

It’s all relative man. There is no perfect boat. They all have their good and their bad aspects. All the major brands will fish. Don’t bog yourself down with what random people tell you. Go look at them closely in person and buy what your gut tells you to buy. Then get ready to fix something with whatever you get. Cause they all have issues at some level.

That's the truth and good advice.

I see a ton of people complaining about the new FXR's but if you read the other owners pages you will see a ton of people complaining about their boats as well.

Any manufacturer that produces more than a handful of boats will have some problems.

If you spend too much time worrying about them you will spend less time fishing!

This is the best one yet. All boats have flaws sometimes. I had a Phoenix that stayed in the shop and sold it with 15 hrs. Hated it! But thats not to say I'd never buy another one. Ive had Skeeters have some issues too. Right now I think all manufacturers are having issues with build times, getting motors in, parts, etc.
Another thing you need to look at is re-sale.

Best quote ever and right on the money!

Exactly. If you read any of the owner's forums you will see ALL brands have some issues even the ones people claim they are joining a family with when they buy one. Some of those forums will almost not even allow someone to say anything negative about a brand without taking it personal, claiming the poster is a troll and tarring and feathering the guy for not worshipping the brand. I don't understand that mentality and never will. All brands have issues and when a person has an issue I care more about how it gets resolved rather than some guys thinking someone having an issue threatens their fanboyisms.
At the end of the day the person buying it needs to buy what they want, what appeals to them and what they feel is best for them no matter the brand.

So write my check for $75,000 and then be prepared to sink more money into the boat to keep it on the water. Might as well keep my 92 Javelin, that is basically what I do now. If I buy a new boat it is so I don't have to fix stuff any more.