It started with a Facebook post from Gus Hatzistefanou on January 6th, 2019, stating, “Thank you Dean Charrier from Dean’s Team for coming all the way over to allow a few of us to test his various handling setups on the 2019 FX. What a great ski. Feels light and nimble but handles really well. Ran one up to 81mph and felt good.”
Gus’ post stirred quite a few who were interested in the newly redesigned FX but were concerned with the hull’s stability and initial acceleration and peek top speed versus the previous model.
Yet, what followed was an incredibly revelatory post by Dean’s Team head honcho himself, Dean Charrier who heaped tremendous praise onto the new platform and its responsiveness to performance parts, stating:
“This weekend I had the opportunity to meet with Gus Hatzistefanou and Shannon Pete Petrignani and have them help test with the new 2019 FX SVHO.
“I have great respect for the opinions of Gus & Pete because of their experience and passion for testing different setups in different riding conditions. They have over 15 years of knowledge with countless different models and setups and this gives them the ability to provide great feedback of how a craft should ride and perform…from casual everyday riding to ocean cruising to racing setups and everything in between.
“The feedback they provide is just an extra step I like to use to help improve the everyday lake riders experience and performance. I put so much effort into getting the best experience on the water, which goes past just getting the highest top speed possible, and Gus & Pete understand that as well.
“From my personal opinion, the feedback I’ve received, and the excitement I’ve heard from many other people that have rode this setup… I can already say that it is my favorite, and in my opinion the best watercraft that I’ve ever worked with. It has an amazing feel and ride even straight out of the crate and keeps getting better by the day.
“Through the development we’ve put into the ride plate, its really helped to perfect the handling and the feel on the water. Going from a out of the box unit to running the FX out at 81+ MPH it still felt so stable and smooth that I feel like I could drive it with one hand. It effortlessly cuts through the chop in rough water conditions too.
“I’m working with many other handling parts that will also enhance the craft to where I feel like its become one of my all-time multi use crafts I have ever rode. I’m very excited for even more performance work and to get even more gains out of this machine and I can already tell that this is going to be a great craft throughout all levels.”
