As I’ve mentioned in a previous message thread I’m looking for a reasonably trailerable center console that is fishable but also has seating/amenities for river cruising and is a good ‘value’ (ie not Southport/Grady/Regulator/etc money). The boat show price on the Southport 26 was $132K. By reasonably trailerable I’m thinking something in the 25/26 foot max range which has a towed weight around 8000 lbs or less (Our Excursion is rated for 10,000 lbs). We are planning at some point to get a larger express to replace our Pursuit 3070 and since this will be a ‘second’ boat I would like to keep the price as low as possible.
On paper I identified a number of candidate ‘value’ boats and I spent a lot of time on them at the Palm Beach boat show. We found four boats that both my wife and I like and they all fit the basic criteria, however all four have some flaws/compromises.
In order of how I ranked them before seeing all of them up close at the show:
#1) Sea Hunt Triton 260 – Available only with Yamaha F150s.
Pros – nice anchor locker setup, easy access all the way to the bow, plenty of seating with bow seats, forward console seat, rear bench seat, leaning post seat. Helm console has nice layout with plenty of space for dual large electronic displays, Spacious cockpit. Recessed trim tabs. Basic design and construction is good. Has beautiful clean lines. Decent bilge/pump access. Single thru-hull (for livewell/raw-water washdown)
Cons -- The only fishbox space for any decent sized fish (dolphin/wahoo/etc) is under the bow seats. The deck/hull joint is screwed, glued, and riveted! Very little built-in tackle storage. Very basic leaning post. It’s a fairly new model so there are few/none available on the used market.
Price: My research shows that I can get one for high the $50s with all the options and trailer from an out of area dealer. My local Sea Hunt dealer doesn’t seem too interested in selling Sea Hunts so I would probably buy from a non-local dealer anyway.
Ride: The ride should be tolerable with the very sharp entry, 24 degree deadrise at helm and 21 degrees at the transom
#2) Sailfish 2660 with Yamaha F150s
Pros – more fishable transom design, very nice ‘deluxe’ leaning post with livewell, Spacious helm area for large electronic displays, fit/finish/materials better than Sea Hunt. Plenty of seating for cruising with the bow seats, helm seats, and transom seats. Tackle storage in leaning post. There are quite a few available on the used market.
Cons – The only fishbox space for decent sized fish (dolphin/wahoo/etc) is under the bow seats. We didn’t like the bow seating where you have a big step up to get to the bow and we didn’t like the vertical cushions for the bow seating rather than bolsters. The trim tabs are partially recessed but not fully recessed. As a minor negative point the Sailfish 2660 looks kind of ‘chunky’ compared to the other boats. Some people might say it looks ‘stout’ or something, I think it looks chunky, but then I also owned two catamarans so obviously looks aren't overly important.
Price: Around $72K with options and trailer.
Ride: On paper it should have the softest ride of the four boats because of the 24/22 degree deadrise.
#3) Mako 264 with Suzuki 175s
Pros – Best cockpit layout. Can walk all the way to the bow with no step. Nice long fishboxes in the rear cockpit deck. Nice sized area for electronic displays. Spacious cockpit. Pretty nice leaning post/helm station (nicer than Sea Hunt, not as nice as Sailfish). Tackle storage in leaning post.
Cons – Some really bad design issues and the fit/finish was easily the worst of the four boats. The anchor ‘locker’ has no way to secure an anchor nor enough room to even store a decent sized anchor. What the hell were they thinking when they designed the “Doritos’s extra cheesy” helm windshield? The transom door had no ‘stop’ mechanism and it was clear that the hinges would have a lifespan measured in days. There were numerous instances of visible sloppiness in the construction that concerns me about what you can’t see and I’ve seen several posts from recent Mako owners that are having significant issues. If it weren’t for the fact that it has the best cockpit layout it would be scratched from the list already. It’s a fairly new model so there are few/none available on the used market.
Price: Boat show price with options (no trailer) was $69,900. Not sure how much lower they would go but I’m sure they could do better.
#4) Key West 268 with F150s
Pros – Spacious cockpit. Lots of nice seating. Nice helm layout with plenty of space for electronics. FIFTEEN rod holders on the transom seat, leaning post, and T-top. Easily the best console entry/exit and ‘potty’ area. 5 rod holders inside the console. Fit/Finish were fine for this price point.
Cons – Ride? Ride? Ride? Need a sea-trial in some real 3-4 foot chop to see how it does. The fixed transom cooler seat causes a long reach _if_ you ever have to bring a fish around the transom. I’ve fished euro-transom boats for 10 years and I have never lost a fish because of the transom, but…. Can walk almost to the bow without steps however because of the small ledge and bow molded in bow pulpit it's a little bit of a reach across the bow. It’s a fairly new model so there are few/none available on the used market.
Price: Boat show price was $85K but research shows that $74K with options and trailer should be doable.
Ride: This is what worries me most about the Key West. It has the same 21 degree transom dead-rise at the transom as the Sea Hunt and Mako, but if you compare the bow entry of the Key West to the other boats (especially the Sea Hunt) it isn’t nearly as sharp and it’s got a very wide beam at 9’8”. I’ve read several reviews of the Key West 268 that indicated it had a relatively rough ride into a head sea and I can see why.
I have numerous photos of all four boats if anyone is interested.
After the boat show I would rank them for our intended usage:
1) Key West 268 (pending sea-trial)
2a) Sailfish 2660
2b) Sea Hunt 260
3) Mako 264
At this point I'm going to try to get a good sea-trial of the Key West 268 to see how it rides. The Sailfish is a little better boat than the Sea Hunt but it's also at least 20% more money for a new one. The quality issues with the Mako are still scary after seeing one in person.
Doug
Sea Hunt 260 vs Sailfish 2660 vs Mako 264 vs Key West 268
