Dual console fishing boats continue to grow in popularity, and the Sailfish 245DC is a great example of why. Is it as ideal as a center console for fishing, fishing, and nothing but fishing? Nah. But it retains 90-percent of the fishability while gaining tremendous day-boating family flexibility. Before we dig into the details, let's take a quick look at the boat on video.
First, the good stuff: the 245DC has cockpit seating that folds up and out of the way into the inwales and against the transom, rodholders in the gunwales and lining the hard top and pipework, a 25-gallon livewell in the transom, fishboxes in the bow seating and cockpit deck, and a raw water washdown. We’re glad to see Sailfish takes the same detailed look at fishing features with this boat as they do with their center consoles including touches like rigging the fishbox with a vacuum pump as opposed to a (prone to failure) macerator, and coloring the livewell interior baby blue (which helps keep baits calmer, so they don’t freak out and smash themselves to death against the sides).
On the flip side of the coin, the cockpit doesn’t have quite as much fishing territory as a center console version might, you can’t cast from amidships due to the hard top pipework and side consoles, and the bow cockpit is taken up mostly by the U-shaped seating. Remember to pull the bow cushions and leave them in the garage prior to a fishing trip, and you can recoup fishability in this area of the boat by using it as a casting deck.
Now flip the coin one more time, and check out the day-boating features that make DCs like this so attractive to the masses. With all the seats folded out you have room for 10 people to lounge comfortably, the passenger’s side console houses a head, there’s a ski/kneeboard locker potential rod locker if you add racks under the helm-deck, and a freshwater shower at the transom. The pop-up ski tow bar is considered an option and while we hate the thought of losing precious fishing time to waterskiing and wakeboarding, the kids may never let you hear the end of it if you if you get the boat without it.
From construction and performance standpoints, the 245DC is no different from other Sailfish models. It has their multiple-deadrise 22/24 degree hull bottom, Kevlar reinforcements in the hull and deck, and a foam-filled stringer system. We also note that unlike some DCs in this size range, there’s space to flush-mount a 12-inch MFD at the helm.
Rigged with a single Yamaha V-6 Offshore F300 the boat cruises in the low- to mid-30s while getting around 2.5 mpg, and tops out in the upper 40s. Those of an economical mindset may want to consider going with a single F250, which still gets you a cruise of about 30 mph and a top-end in the mid-40s. Note, however, that if you tend to cruise on the faster side the F300 rig actually gets slightly better fuel economy at 30-mph and thereabouts, by swinging a slightly larger prop and spinning at around 250 fewer rpm to make the same speed while burning a couple tenths of a gallon less.
Will a DC be the best boat for your needs? Heck, that’s a call we certainly can’t make. But if you think the answer’s yes and you’re looking at models in the 24-foot range, the Sailfish deserves a test run.
Sailfish 245DC Specifications:
LOA – 24’0”
Beam – 8’6”
Displacement – 5350 lbs.
Draft (hull) – 1’6”
Transom Deadrise – 22/24 degrees
Fuel Capacity – 120 gal
Max HP – 300
For more information, visit Sailfish Boats.