The origins of the groundbreaking new MX 21 lie in the demand for an aluminum bass boat that can compete with fiberglass boats in national-level tournaments. Crestliner’s Category Leader, Bjorn Bloom, goes deep into the engineering and design processes involved in creating a 21-foot, 250HP aluminum bass boat—the most advanced boat in its class.
Q: What ideas drove the initial design of the MX 21?
A: The MX 21 rides the momentum Crestliner Pro John Cox has given us at the national tournament level in both the FLW Circuit and Bassmaster Elite Series. We will be leading the way with this aluminum bass boat that others will surely follow.
Q: What input did pro angler John Cox have in the boat’s design?
A: He was integral to the process. With John’s input, we maximized bow space and interior fishability while increasing hull speed and improving performance and handling while at those top speeds. Basically, we’ve taken everything John loves in his PT and made it bigger, better and faster.
Q: What is the advantage of the MX 21 over a fiberglass boat of similar size in tournament competition?
A: Aluminum is lighter than fiberglass, so the boat floats higher, performs better with less power, and transports more easily. Aluminum is more durable than fiberglass when you’re bumping rocks, docks, and wood. The MX 21 also has more bow deck space than similarly-sized fiberglass boats. Finally, performance and handling at top speeds—the MX 21 will hands-down outperform competing fiberglass bass boats.
Q: What advances in aluminum boat building allow for such a high-horsepower rating?
A: First, adding length to the boat helps immensely. Second, our redesigned internal structure and transom support provides the capacity to handle the force of high horsepower. Finally, the pad hull provides the lift/stability to allow full control at higher speeds. This boat was built from the ground up in CAD (Computer-Aided Design) which helped us validate design before any physical build was started.
Q: Describe the hull design, and why it performs the way it does.
A: The pad hull design provides greater lift and water flow to prop to maximize engine performance, while the footprint of the pad improves stability at all speeds.
Q: How does the interior layout of the MX 21 help it stand out from other bass boats?
A: Storage! Every useable space is dedicated to storage, from port and starboard rod storage to center tackle storage with dividers that will hold eighteen 3700-series tackle boxes. In addition, though we’ve previously led in the bow deck space category, by adding another foot in length, we were able to widen the gap against the competition with a massive 60 square feet of casting space.
Q: And now the question everyone wants to ask—how fast can the MX 21 move in ideal conditions?
A: In ideal conditions, we consistently see mid 60s—and we have seen high 60s to 70 in performance testing. This will vary significantly given load, altitude, weather conditions, etcetera.
Interested in learning more about the newest, biggest, baddest bass boat Crestliner has ever built?