I’m walking down the isle at the Baltimore boat show day-dreaming about casting for winter pickerel or maybe soaking bait for some tidal blue catfish, for when I see it: like a blast from the past, there’s a Pro-Line 23 Sport center console. Back in the days when Pro-Line was one of the nation’s biggest builder of center console fishing boats, I was a big fan of the 23. It rode well for a boat of its size, had a good fit and finish, came well-equipped out of the box, and cost notably less than most of the competition. Could today’s Pro-Line 23 Sport recapture some of that glory?
Upon first look, it seems like the answer is a yes. Today’s 23 features the same things that made it so popular when it was first introduced. Check out the healthy list of standard features, for example: LED courtesy lights, four gunwale-mount rodholders, hydraulic steering, an 18-gallon livewell, raw water washdown, cockpit bolsters, and under-gunwale rodracks are all on the list. That’s great, but that’s also stuff that you expect. The surprise comes when you realize that many unexpected items – things that other builders usually charge extra for – are also on the list: a portable MSD for the console compartment, an aluminum leaning post with the backrest and rocket launchers, a Bluetooth stereo with four speakers, and a compass, for example.
Another thing the 23 Sport always had going for it was good looks. The modern version seems to be just as well finished, and the way the curvaceous Euro-transom melds into the rubrail and gunwale cap is quite striking. But looks, of course, play second-fiddle to fishability. The bowdeck has seats that do double-duty as fishboxes, and create a raised platform for one or possibly two carefully casting anglers. The cockpit posts just over 80 square feet of lure-tossing territory, and trollers will like the fact that between the five hard top rocket launchers, four leaning post launchers, and four gunwale mounts, you can pull 13 lines in your spring trophy spread from the boat in its stock form. Note also that the forward T-top legs mount to the console itself, not the deck, eliminating a common tripping-point.
One of the nice things about a boat of this size is it’s small enough to get by with a single outboard, but still post excellent performance numbers. Pro-Line claims that 200 horses gets you a top-end of about 40 mph and a 300 hp powerplant ups the ante to around 50 mph. We couldn’t put those claims to the test in the convention center, but those numbers jibe with what we saw from the classic 23 Sport Pro-Lines with similar power. One other thing we saw from it was excellent stability, due no doubt in part to the 20-degree transom deadrise. Yes, a steeper deadrise makes for a smoother ride. But it also increases the rock and roll, and for many people having the most stable platform possible to fish from is a key feature.
Would a new Pro-Line 23 Sport be the right pick for you? That question, we can’t answer. But we can say that anyone looking for a single engine 23 center console that’s well-equipped and ready to fish right out of the box should give this model a look-see, and then set aside an afternoon for a sea trial – preferably, with rods aboard.
Quick Facts:
LOA – 23’0”
Beam – 8’6”
Displacement – 3,450 lbs.
Draft (hull) – 1’5”
Transom Deadrise – 20 degrees
Fuel Capacity – 118 gal
Max HP – 300
Area Dealers – PYY Marine, Pasadena, MD, (410) 255-1771.