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MA 21 compared to Red Fisher 21


Purebred

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21 MA....more storage, dryer, tons of livewell room, more stable platform

21 RF - speed, drafts less

I just sold my 17MA and my fil had a 21 MA that I spent some time in, no doubt the 21 MA is a different beast. Great platform and a much better ride than the 17 and 18. 

 

 

 

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Thanks for the replies.

Really want to stay with a skiff platform, we have an offshore rig as well.

Would you say the ride difference is a major difference or marginal?

Thinking that the extra length going from an 18 MA to a 21 RF has to be close in ride quality? Am I off base?

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1 hour ago, Purebred said:

Thanks for the replies.

Really want to stay with a skiff platform, we have an offshore rig as well.

Would you say the ride difference is a major difference or marginal?

Thinking that the extra length going from an 18 MA to a 21 RF has to be close in ride quality? Am I off base?

I went from a 18 RF to a 21 MA.  The 21 is a completely different animal.  I cant find anything I liked more on the 18.  No more picking and choosing days.  The 21 eats chop, no more getting wet from spray.  I go the same places and routes and run the same depths as my 18 with much more comfort.  The storage on the 21 is great and you can carry a crazy amount of live bait and days catch.  The 18.5 MA is much better than a 18 RF but a 21 MA takes the cake. 

I have not run a 21 RF but many on here have.  What I do know is the 21RF is narrower, a little faster with equal power and does not have a running pad.   PM linesider 159.  He has run them all and will give you the scoop. 

One thing to note:  The 21 MA was designed for light 2 stroke power and performs best without a jackplate.  My boat has a 2.6L 175 proV and no plate.  My brothers 21 has a sport F225 with a 6inch bobs plate.  My draft at rest is much better, I only use tabs if I want to, his boat requires a good amount at cruising speed or it porpoises.  Both perform very well but it is something to note.  Don't be discouraged by a 21 without a big block.  My 175 pushes my boat 55 mph and runs fairly square throughout RPM range.

 

 

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The 21 Hewes also has lower freeboard and has the typical Hewes squat at rest - looks neat but I like em level.

(I have a  21MA with the 2 smoke Big Block 3.4L 225 sits almost level unless the livewell is full - therefore eventually going to move the 36v TM batteries up front)

If you go 21MA, try for a 2003 or newer as they made a few nice hull changes.

Both are cool boats, but for coastal action the MA wins. Mine also runs fairly square through the rpms up to ~59mph with a worn OFX4 20 - but I rarely go over 50. At those extra mph's I cant see anymore...eyes watering and crap just happens to fast over 50mph... I must be getting old.

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One of my favorite videos of the MA 21 running up on the pad.  Maybe there's a video of a RF 21 running as smooth and steady without tabs, and I just haven't seen it yet.  Man, I wish MBG would bring back the MA 21.  The Egret 2011 needs some competition, at a price that won't crush your budget!

 

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Ridden both and owned a hewes 21. I like the layout of the hewes 21 and feel the finish/console design is a little more refined. 

The maverick definitely rides better, and while I never measured, I wouldn't doubt that it drafts the same or less because of the red Fisher 21 squat. My personal experience was the hewes 21 seemed to pound a bit if you didn't use the tabs in a chop. If you tabbed down it did a great job but got a little wet, as do most boats anyways. That was my only real complaint on mine, but I sold it because I wanted faster. 

The maverick setup right can run mid 60's (I've done it), but generally the hewes will outrun it. 

My hewes ran well with the jackplate and the maverick seemed to handle it well also. I'd consider the redfisher 21 to be like a Corvette and the maverick to be a Cadillac.  If I had intentions to fish more inlets and near shore I'd lean towards the maverick. If I wanted something to blast around in and fish I'd get the redfisher 21. The hewes was very efficient at cruise and I could cruise 10 mph over my rpm.

Not to throw another brand in the mix, but I bought a ranger 223 Cayman a few months ago and that thing is a blast. It will absolutely soak you in a cross chop but is one of the smoothest riding boats I've ever been on. It's more of a crossover between the maverick and the hewes. I forgot how fun airing out a vhull was. 

 

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10 hours ago, geeviam said:

One of my favorite videos of the MA 21 running up on the pad.  Maybe there's a video of a RF 21 running as smooth and steady without tabs, and I just haven't seen it yet.  Man, I wish MBG would bring back the MA 21.  The Egret 2011 needs some competition, at a price that won't crush your budget!

 

Gary, If I remember right (which I don't always do) there was a video of Rick Murphy with a new redfisher 21 he got airing it out up and down making several passes. I looked but can't seem to find it. Maybe MBG has the video and can post it up?

Heck, get Shane to make a video of his friends Fusion running on the pad aired out. I believe that is the 21 redfisher hull?

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We have a video of the fusion 21 (same bottom as red Fisher 21) running 68. I'll post it in a few when I can. 

We don't have any video running 74 since it was basically dark, but the boat was completely stable, or at least as stable as you can be at those speeds.  At 66 mph the boat would hop around but once you got into the upper 60's it smoothed out. We got best speed running a 26.5 bravo fs at 4 on the jack plate (almost surfacing)

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