New to forum, 2420 questions

[qualey99]

I am in the process of buying a new bay boat. I was going to buy a Champion, but since Genmar (parent Corp) has gone bankrupt, and Platinum Investments purchased their assets, it was announced today that the Champion line would not be made in 2010. My local dealer in Shreveport also sells Blazer. My local dealer is an outstanding retailer, with a great service department. If possible, I would like to continue to do business with him. I have the following questions after reading through the owners forum:

1. With the takeover of the trailer manufacturing by a new management company, are the trailer issues resolved?

2. Has Blazer boats addressed the electrical problems which are apparently very common secondary to not using marine grade wiring and making the switch console water tight?

3. How does the 2420 with a T-top handle an off shore run in a moderate chop of 2-3 foot? If it is rougher than that, I will be in the bays.

4. What is the dry storage and fish box capacity on the 2420?

5. Apparently everyone on the forum has been very satisfied with customer service from Blazer, and their willingness to address all warranty problems. Has anyone had any negative feedback?

6. The other boat that I am considering is a Pathfinder. Does anyone know how these two boats would compare?

Thanks for any responses in advance. I am going to commit to one of these boats within the next week.

Frank in Shreveport

[Capt. Eric]

Frank,

I guide out of a 2005 2420 which I bought new and have loved ever since. I have put A LOT of hours on my boat and have had virtually no issues at all. I have followed this forum since I bought my boat and am familiar with the issues that other blazer owners have had. I have not had these issues. The only electrical problems I have had are that my horn went out and the trim switch on the bow has gone out. That was only after I took a very big wave over the bow in Pensacola pass that filled the entire boat. I have also trailered my boat from the panhandle of Florida to south Texas and regularly travel over 200 miles at a time with NO PROBLEMS with my Starline trailer. It fits my boat perfect and pulls great at highway speed. My previous boat was a hewes 21 redfisher and my blazer bay 2420 will float just as shallow, maybe even less, but handles rough water better than any other bay boat I have been in. I have run my boat much further offshore than I think Blazer intended but it handles great, and will get you home if it starts to kick up. With all of this said, it is still a bay boat. I cannot say enough about my blazer bay and if you are still undecided just go for a ride. I promise the ride is far superior than a pathfinder. Tons of dry storage as well. I will buy another Blazer Bay if I ever wear this one out, but it's still going strong.

Capt. Eric Lucas
reelflysportfishing.com

[qualey99]

Eric,
Thanks for the comments. I am guessing that you guide fly fishing by your sig, but I could not get your site to pull up. Drop me a line at
qualey99@mac.com if you would. Have a few more questions.
Frank

[stjupau]

Welcome to the forum, tons of helpful info. and great people. I have 07' 2420 that I love. It is great boat and true fishing machine. I have a little over 200 hours on the boat and motor F250. I mainly fish for Specks and Reds, with the occasionally sprint offshore to catch a few snappers, you just have to pick your day, but the boat does handle 2-4' seas very well. It is a very dry riding boat, I had a custom T-top made for the boat, install on the Center console, instead of installing it on the floor. With the T-top you do lose about 3-5 mph on top end speed. But the comfort and fish ability is a trade off for speed for me. The boat has 5 fish boxes / lives wells, and two large rod boxes. For the trailer issues it appears to be isolated to the single axles, I have hauled my boat to Aransas Pass twice and frequently fish "Big Lake" from Lafayette, La. I no issues at all, same factor tires. The 2420 is just laid out better then the Pathfinder, my .02! I had one warranty issues, which the staff at Blazer immediate resolved. The boat was picked up at my dealer in Lafayette, warranty work done and return to me in three weeks. Now that is excellent service. I have some pics of my boat after a cd/radio install, just do a search for my ID or radio/speaker install.

[topdog]

I too run a '07 2420. The ride is excellent and it is very dry. Overall the performance with the F-250 Yam is very good. My complaints come from the interior. The only dry boxes are the rod boxes and the large box in the front deck. If the 2 rear livewells on the boat were designed with the same lids that are on the rod boxes, one could use them for storage if he so chose to. Also the console leaks around the switches and gets wiring and everything else wet. As for insulated boxes--forget it! Will not hold ice for drinks 3 hours in low 70 degree weather. Ice chest under leaning post will only open about 6 inches because of rod holders.
Again--I like the preformance of the boat and I have no problems with the Starline trailer.

[qualey99]

Thanks for the replies, guys. I ordered my new 2420 with T-top this morning. I guess that officially makes me a member of the "Owners Forum" I am certainly not a speed freak, so all this talk of boats going 55 or 60 mph scares the heck out of me. I am uncomfortable at anything over 40, so I think the Yam 250 will do me nicely. Keith Craft is supposed to be calling me this morning. Again, thanks for the input.
Frank

[Capt. Morgan]

Not sure what comes standard on the new 2420's but the 04' & 06' that I've run certainly have needed trim tabs to get the bow down in chop. I would strongly recommend them

[qualey99]

Capt. Morgan,
The trim tabs are standard equipment now.
Frank

[blazinscott&alice]

Hi, my wife and i run a 2220 pro with a suzuki 250ss, with t-top,,storage is more than anyother boat made,,,3 live wells with pro air, 2 rod lockers with rod orginizers,,,huge dry lockers,,,,have not had any problums in chops, with this boat and top,,,my trailer is starline and other normal things it is a good trailer,,,no wiring issues,or any for that matter,,keith built it they way we wanted, and she preforms wonderfully,,would recommend blazer for the money you cant go wrong,,scott