I know this is an old thread but having owned a BW 2350 for over 4 years and putting 6000 hours on it and now owning a Dusky 256 for almost 6 months I'm qualified to comment. I have also fished on the 2550.
I know I may be crucified if I say anything negative about Bluewater, the sympathizers will have to get over it.
The BW is an awesome boat, well built and a great ride. The 2-piece construction, the front step-up and the transom livewell are it's downfalls.
Having no toe relief you cannot get your feet underneath your body. When leaning out over the water I as well as many others on my boat have had my feet loose traction and nearly fall over into the water.
The front step-up may be nice for added room for storage but is a nightmare when chasing a fish around the boat. For me is was not that bad because you get used to it, but for new people on the boat many have tripped going up the step and many have stumbled when hastily stepping down.
The transom livewell is miserable! I ordered my boat will the full transom livewell which helped keeping more live bait but was a nightmare in roughs seas because 50-60 gallons of water sloshing back and forth actually blew out the port side hatch hinges.
I had to baffle the well and create to separate wells, which worked out better because if I only had a small amount of bait I would only flood the center well. But the baffle created a right-angle and the bait would bunch up in the corner, decreasing their life span.
The ride of the Bluewater is it's strong point. Very dry and fast, but will rock-n-roll at rest. When everyone one the boat would go to one side she would list heavily(very heavily) to that side. With a open livewell the bait would sometimes wash out into the water. Great for live chumming, not so great when you're paying $80 a dozen for goggle eyes.
If BW felt these were unimportant issues, why then did they create the "tournament" model with these corrections. They price has skyrocketed as well.
I've soaked to the bone in the BW when the seas were rough and the wind would blow the spray into the boat. This typically only happened with a cross chop and cross wind. Most open boats will experience the same effect in these conditions.
Fit and finish may be a little better on the BW, but not by much. My BW had air voids in the chines near the transom and the keel that once chipped exposed bare fiberglass.
The Dusky is a battle wagon! Heavy and slower than the BW but more stable at rest, I'm typically running less that 20 miles a day so for me the stable drift far outweighed a fast ride to the fishing grounds. A little salt spray never hurt anybody.
The Dusky is not a "wet boat" is it wetter than the BW, absolutely, but when the Dusky gets wet most other open boats will be wet to some degree as well.
My boat has 2 livewells, 60 gallons in the leaning post and 50 built in to the front of the console. Two 1000gph Mayfair cartridge pumps feed each. I can keep "bullet bonitos" in the 60 gallon well with both pumps running, no additional O2 needed. Some may know how difficult it is to keep bonito alive. When they come out of the well they are charged up and ready go. It's the same livewell Bouncer Smith uses on his 33 Dusky.
The Dusky has a level deck and toe relief, I believe it's 3-piece construction, but no sure. I had the rear boxes removed during construction and the storage/fish boxes insulated.
Although the Dusky has the fish boxes on the sides in front of the console, there is no step up and you can easily reach the bow if a fish swims under the boat. I only use the bow cushions when not fishing and the fish boxes are great for seating.
I am comparing the my BW 2350 to the Dusky 256, the Dusky is 3-4 ft larger. I'm running twin Suzuki DF175 and the BW had a single Yamaha F225. The Dusky get better fuel economy than the BW, even with the twins.
I do not know for sure what the top end speed of the Dusky is, I never run WOT except for the last 1/4 mile coming in Jupiter Inlet. To me top end speed is meaningless unless your doing tournaments. Top end and corny boat names may impress the neighbors but they will not help put fish in the boat.
I do not know how to post a photo but my Dusky can be seen at
http://www.reelfine.com/Jupiter-Fish...arter-Info.htm
Bluewater or Dusky
