Maverick’s 15 HPX-V goes on a diet.
One of the most common New Years resolutions is to lose weight. Maverick Boat Company set out to lose weight this year and their 15 HPX-V is the best candidate. Building on their success with the 17 HPX Micro the folks at Maverick Boat Company rethought the 15 HPX-V. The skiff received a thorough going-over. No detail too small or seemingly mundane was overlooked in the process. The goal: build a lighter, stronger more affordable skiff for their customers. Maverick Boats rethought everything, even how you command your skiff. More on that later.
Starting where the rubber meets the road, the 15 HPX-V hull receives the same updated build technique as their 17 HPX Micro. Maverick Boats uses a proprietary VARIS™ Vacuum Assisted Resin Infusion System with an updated lamination schedule, which is a list of the individual layers and orientation of the plies used to construct a composite part. This new schedule was developed and refined based on their experience gained from infusing over 800 skiffs. Maverick refined the process to a point where they don't have to use many of the flow medium materials used in closed molding. These materials allow resin to flow more freely during the lamination process, but they also are additional materials that hold resin, adding weight but little structural integrity. By tweaking combinations of different glasses (including Kevlar), high- density PVC cores and structural bulkheading (interior walls seen inside hatch compartments as opposed to acrylic liners that add weight and no structural rigidity), Maverick removed lamination materials that absorb resin and add weight without losing stiffness or strength.
The next area to receive refinements is the top deck, hatches and poling platform. New for 2009 is a lighter poling platform. Gone is the large white slab of heavy glass. In its place is a sleek minimalist platform. The process to create the standing surface of the platform is the same that all the hatches receive. Each is built using a unique squish molding process involving a pneumatic press and male and female molds. A combination of lightweight, viscous putty with fillers serving as resin, PVC core and glass makes for hatches and poling platform tops that are 30% lighter and have a visually appealing two-sided finish. Every glass part that goes into the boats is weighed to ensure it meets weight and performance parameters.
The culmination of new lamination schedule and hatch and poling platform construction produces a skiff that once had a published weight of 980 lbs. rigged with a Yamaha F40. The new fully rigged 15 HPX-V tips the scales at a slim and trim 715 lbs. This is a substantial achievement for a 15’ skiff, reflecting Maverick's quest to find the best technologies to create the lightest and strongest skiff without sacrificing finished appearance.
Does all this effort work once the skiff is wet? I received an invite from Charlie Johnson at Maverick Boats to see for myself. The morning of the review were greeted with perfect weather. Winds were gusting to over 30 knots and an ugly chop was set upon the water. Oh how I love these days for skiff reviews. Manufacture claims are won and lost in these conditions.
The 15 HPX-V has a couple advantages that the 17 HPX Micro does not. On this day the biggest is the 8 degrees of deadrise from bow to stern making short work of sloppy conditions. Ride was comfortable and dry. The integrated spray rails helped to knock down the spray while the skiff cut through the chop. Seating is comfortable even three abreast with a generous 76” beam. There are grab handles on the center console to steady ones self, but I would like to see a set integrated in gunnels like many other MHP models. Performance from the Yamaha F40 is good with plenty of power for hole shots. The 40 HP motor is not a speed demon, but will get you where you want to go with quiet, comfortable and fuel-efficient reliability. The skiff is a stable platform when walking the gunnels and has dead quiet poling prowess. Something the entire HPX family of skiffs is famous for.
Yet everything has a tradeoff. What is gained in ride is lost in draft. The 15 HPX-V has less surface area to displace water and when combined with the 8 degrees of deadrise draft with two average 190 lb plus occupants comes in at 7” measured and confirmed by Microskiff.com. This is not a bad thing. Based on some very unscientific calculations the hard work done by Maverick to shed weight off the 15 HPX-V resulted in a skiff that draws just under 2” less from it’s heavier predecessor.
Our test model included a few factory-installed extras like Custom SeaDek packages from Castaway Customs, carbon fiber casting platforms from Carbon Marine and a Wang Anchor. These are just a small sample of available options customers can get through their Maverick dealership. Also in a move that reflects the competitive nature of today’s skiff market Maverick Boat Company will build you new 15 HPX-V with options not seen in their model line up for quite some time. Customers can order a side console, which has not been an option since the days of the 15 & 17 Pathfinder Tunnel Models. Plus something that a lot of people including myself have been asking MBC to consider for a long time, the Tiller options is BACK! Not seen on a Maverick boat since the days of the Mirage Lodge. As Charlie remarked “We are willing to build this boat with a tiller or side console and are completely open to discussing a wide array of custom options. If interested, customers can contact me at cjohnson@mbcboats.com or (772) 465-0631 ext. 126. I'll be happy to work with them through their local dealer to customize this or any other Maverick to their specifications.”
So there you have it: a New Years resolution to lose weight has been followed through with. The new 2009 15 HPX-V is a lighter sibling to its larger brethren with all the same manners and character. Maverick Boat lost the weight but retained its muscle.
Cheers
Capt Jan
MAVERICK BOATS
3207 Industrial 29 Street
Fort Pierce, FL 34946
phone: 772.465.0631
fax: 772.489.2168
web site: www.maverickboats.com
SPECIFICATIONS AS SUPPLIED BY MANUFACTURER
Specs:
LOA - 15'
Overall Beam - 6'4"
Deadrise – 8 degrees
Overall Finished boat weight Ready to fish. - 715lbs
Fuel Capacity -15 gallons
Draft with two average 190 lb. - 7" - Full tank, rigged ready to fish
Standard Features:
electric tabs
no feedback steering
VARIS construction
Kevlar laminate
poling tower
push pole holders
undergunwale rod racks with tubes for 9 rods
under gunwale carpet
flush mount bow cleat
LED nav. Lights
lockable center console
cushion package
console grab rails
LED courtesy lights
Mil spec switches with breakers on panel
Yamaha power matched components including 10 micron filter with SS cap.
MSRP with F40: $25,899
MSRP as tested with toys (full Sea Dek Package, Wang Anchor, carbon foward tower, prop): $28,789
