Regulator 24fs - real deal or marketing gimmick?

[BWO]

Ok boys, is the Regulator 24fs the real deal or is it simply a maketing creation designed principally to capitalize on the Regulator name by bridging the gap between the legendary 23 and 26? Is this particular model better with a big momma single or twins hanging offf the transom?

Ride?

[Nomans]

It was intended for 23 buyers who wanted a head and forward seating (before there was forward seating available on a 23). Not a gimmick, it's pretty much like the rest of their line with similar ride attributes. If you fish and don't care about the head, stick with a 23. My vote based on having owned a 23 and a 32 and having spent many hours on a 26 is that the 23 may be the most successful of all their hull designs. They are great little boats that can go anywhere. A 24 is quite a bit more costly. I think a big single is fine on the 23 and 24 but many will tell you to get twins. If you live down south and have nice warm calm water, twins might make sense. In New England you can't use the speed often enough to justify it on a boat that small given how reliable four stroke outboards have become.

[joe j]

I looked at the 24 before I got my 23. I really felt that the room behind the leaning post was to small for my liking. However if you need a head than it would be a great choice. I can't comment on the single vs twins as I never ran one with a single but I love my twins.

[Drifter]

No personal experince with the boat, but I researched it to some degree. There have been reports that Regulator's 4-stroke-only Yamaha power options for the 24 (single F250 or twin F150's) were marginal for this particular vessel, with WOT speeds in the high 30's and maybe low 40's (mph) at best when loaded. Twin Z200's would probably be ideal, but not currently an option from the factory. (Twin F200's are not an option due to weight.) The new F350 would be a more suitable power choice if a single engine is acceptable. Performance bulletins are available on the Reg website, but keep in mind that Yamaha bulletins are usually overly optimistic for real-world performance on a loaded boat.

Generally speaking, I liked the 24, but chose something else that seemed to better fit my particular needs. Regulator makes some beautiful boats.

[lbh110]

I'm pretty sure a big difference between the two is having a full transom or not. The 23 has a splash gard while teh 24 has a full transom with storage... i can't comment on performance of one vs another is

[Chris996]

Im a little biased owning a twin engined 23.
I personally feel the 23 has more usable space than the 24. The 24 may be a foot longer , but gives it up with the euro transome. Some people are turned off by the open transome calling it a safety issue. Ive done about 10 trip to the NE canyons this year , about 80 miles out. To me its not a concern.
I couldnt imagine powering this with a single , as I feel the 23 needs twin power. I have not ridden one with the F350 , so my opinion could change on that.

[atlanticbeach]

Take out the tape measure and go run the tape on the bottom and you will find that the running bottom on the 24 is shorter than the 23. Yes you have the intergrated bracket, but running bottom has always been more important to me. When you consider the room in both boats, the 23 is the better choice with regard to fishing. I would love to have a head in my 23 but I will sacrifice it for more running surface in the water and more room in the boat. Where I fish, the more hull in the water the better.

[Nepenthe]

I looked long and hard at both the 24 and the 23 last year and decided to go with the 23 with no regrets. Once I decided on the 23 I also debated heavily between the single F250 and the twin F150 configurations with the nod going to the F150's, again with no regrets. Today, with the F350 a viable option, a strong argument can be made for the single, but that is not the case with the F250.

I agree with previous comments that the 23 offers more space than the 24 in every respect. The hulls are virtually the same size, but the 24 has a larger console in order to accommodate the head, which compromises space both in the bow and more significantly behind the console. I take the family out on the boat and it's nice to have a head, but since we don't have one no one knows what they are missing. Besides, when the dealer pointed out that they can install a retractable metal step in the fish box in order to make it easy to get at a portable head that can be placed in there, the deal was sealed. The sheer on the 24 is steeper, which gives the hull a sharp profile, but that also results in lower freeboard at the stern, which was an issue for me. I do like the closed transom on the 24 and the fact that it contains the raised livewell, as opposed to the livewell in the deck of the 23, but that is reflective of the lack of space behind the leaning post. I don't have issue with the 23's notched transom because of the effectiveness of the splashwell door. Once it's latched shut the transom is closed.

Despite the reliability of the four strokes, I like the security of having twins. I also prefer the handling flexibility the twins provide I had the opportunity to run the 23 with both the single F250 and the twin F150s and the power and torque were significantly better with twins. The single F250 offers marginal power at best. If you will use the boat for anything other than light pleasure cruising or nearby inshore fishing, then you will wish you had the twins. Again, the development of the F350 changes that dynamic.

I don't think the 24 is a marketing gimmick. It has its advantages for the right buyer and is a nod to the more modern "euro" design preferred by some. Regulator has done this elsewhere in their line as well. IMHO the 24 is to the 23 what the 29 is to the 26. When the 24 first came out it was thought the 23 was a lame duck, but the model is legendary and performs incredibly well that it justifies its existence.

[capecodder86]

my neighbor had the 23 and said it was a wet boat, he stepped up to a 33 hydra sport

[Parapapam]

capecodder86 - 3/17/2008 12:49 PM my neighbor had the 23 and said it was a wet boat, he stepped up to a 33 hydra sport

Yes indeed compared to a 33 foot boat the Reg 23 is wet.... But compared to other 23 foot CC's it is not wet. That having been said, it prefers to attack waves head on where it is very dry. It gets wetter if the waves are quartered.

As for a single 250 vs twins, I find my single 250 OX enough power for Cape Cod Waters, where there is an almost constant 3 foot chop in the afternoon. Cruising speed of 24 knots at 4200 RPM's... WOT of 36 knots and it seems like a hole in the gas tank (so I never run at WOT). Up by us it is very seldom when you can run faster than 24 knots in a 23 foot boat.

That having been said, I like the security of twins. I would prefer to have them. But I don't want to spend the money for the purchase, gas and upkeep... Money no object, then sure I'd have twin 150's... but then again if money wasn't an issue I would have a Reg 26 (or a Cabo 45...)

As for the 23 vs 24, the 24 was too new when I bought my used 23... so it was way out of the price range. I am also lucky that the admiral has no issue with a 5 gallon bucket in the front well as a head. I built a custom forward seating for the 23, so I worked around that benefit of the 24 (as mentioned, Reg now offers a factory 23 FS...). The open transom is not really an issue with me. I have backed into some fairly large waves. The splash gate knocked down the vast majority of the wave and the scuppers quickly cleared the rest...

So all in all I am very happy with the 23....

Mike

[WASQUE]

i like the 24 classic with the open bow. a couple of beanbag chairs are much better than the forward seating.
throw them in the console and you have a ton of room for bass casting along the elizabeths.

come on 60 degrees. i love global warming