XPRESS H18B
This aluminum center console
skiff is designed to be rugged,
easy to maintain, and lightweight
for towing. The Xpress Hyper-
Lift hull has a fl at pad keel, a pair
of lifting strakes and a reverse
chine, backed by three U-channel
welded stringers and a welded
aluminum deck. The boat is wood-
free — the transom is cored with
an aluminum grid. All voids within
the hull are foam-fi lled, which
gives the H18B a really solid feel
in a chop. The entire interior of
the boat is protected with Xtreme
Coat, a spray-on liner material
that is super-durable and has just
the right texture for good footing.
You buy this boat to fi sh
shallows, back bays and stump
country — environments where
quick hole shot is paramount.
The less weight, the better,
especially on the transom.
Despite the 13 percent increase
in displacement, Yamaha says its
new F90B weighs 13 pounds less
than the F90A it replaces, 366
pounds reduced to 353 pounds for
a 20-inch model. That’s nice workshedding weight, but the Yamaha
is still not the lightest 90 on the
market; the 1.3-liter Evinrude
E-Tec 90 two-stroke weighs just
320 pounds, and the 1.5-liter
Suzuki DF90 is the lightest four-
stroke at 341 pounds. Both of those
motors give up displacement to
the Yamaha. That’s the trade-off.
Testing with a light load and a
Talon SS prop, the Xpress popped
on plane in less than 4 seconds
with no bow rise, demonstrating
that displacement and torque are
also part of the hole-shot formula.· LOA: 18'0"·BEAM: 7'11"·DRAFT: NA
·DISPLACEMENT (AS TESTED): 2,143 lb.
·FUEL CAPACITY: 18 gal.·PRICE (BASE
WITH TEST POWER): $23,495 with trailer
HOW WE TESTED
ENGINE: YAMAHA F90B PROP: YAMAHA
TALON SS 13.125" X 18" STAINLESS STEEL
GEAR RATIO: 2.15:1 FUEL LOAD: 15 GAL.
CREW WEIGHT: 360 LB.XPRESS BOATS
501-262-5053; xpressboats.comSPEED EFFICIENCY OPERATION
rpm knots mph gph^ naut. mpg stat. mpg range range n. mi. s. mi. angle levelsound
1000 4.52 5.20 0.50 9.04 10.40 146 168 1 63
1500 4.95 5.70 0.90 5.50 6.33 89 103 3 67
2000 6.17 7.10 1.40 4.41 5.07 71 82 5 72
2500 9.04 10.40 2.10 4.30 4.95 70 80 8 78
3000 16.25 18.70 2.60 6.25 7.19 101 117 6 83
3500 20.77 23.90 3.20 6.49 7.47 105 121 5 87
4000 25.46 29.30 4.10 6.21 7.15 101 116 4 86
4500 29.55 34.00 5.00 5.91 6.80 96 110 3 92
5000 33.02 38.00 6.60 5.00 5.76 81 93 3 95
5500 34.90 41.00 9.20 3.79 4.46 61 72 3 91
5750 35.71 41.10 9.60 3.72 4.28 60 69 3 91
MOST ECONOMICAL CRUISING SPEEDPHOTOS: (THIS PAGE AND OPPOSITE) COURTESY YAMAHA (4), SHUTTERSTOCK (ICONS)BOATINGMAG.COM | FEBRUARY 2018| 81