November 9, 2024
Trophy striped bass have been on a rampage and you want in on that action, but it just happens to be snowing at the moment? You’ll have to be prepared for a very tough day if you step aboard a center…
November 3, 2024
They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, and some boats that look great from afar turn out to be utterly incapable once you shove off the dock. But on rare occasions when you get your first…
October 7, 2024
What’s the biggest problem with most dual console fishing boats? They try to do so many things at once — please the angler, please the family, please the cocktail-cruiser — that they feel cramped and…
September 25, 2024
Center consoles are great in good weather, but their biggest downside is undeniable: during the colder months of the season you’ll need to layer up in a big way. You’ll still freeze your keister off…
September 6, 2024
You drive a Bentley, wear a Rolex, drink Dom Perignon, and you love to fish — but only with the same level of luxury and style? Step aboard a Formula 457 Center Console and bask in its glory, because…
August 31, 2024
You know it’s a blustery day when the drone can’t keep up with the boat as you’re running upwind, even at just-planing speed. The roiled water and white-caps are another indication. And the big, bold…
August 6, 2024
We love fishing from center consoles, but as the market shifted in that direction many manufacturers ceased building walkarounds and cuddy cabin boats altogether. These days they’re few and far…
August 2, 2024
You need a new small outboard? Mercury Marine has just announced new 12.8 cid in-line-two 8.0- and 9.9-hp FourStroke engines, along with a 9.9 ProKicker model. The big news here is that these are…
July 29, 2024
Boston Whaler boats have an advantage over the vast majority of the other boats out there: they can legitimately claim to be unsinkable. The hull and deck are laid up separately, then are mated and…
July 20, 2024
Whether we spend our time Chesapeake Bay fishing or we head for the open Atlantic every time we leave the dock, we all want to make our fishing boats better. But the vast majority of the things we do…
July 7, 2024
Some center console boats are built to skim through the waves and some are built to hop across them, but a rare few (these days) are built to squash waves underfoot like bugs. Let me share my Pair…
June 27, 2024
My first experience with an Albemarle: Back when I was an editor at Boating Magazine we got a new boat every summer for a season-long extended test and review. This boat would be run for thousands of…
June 26, 2024
Are you sick and tired of hearing the boating industry catch-phrase “smooth dry ride”? I know I am—if I read one more press release with the words “smooth dry ride” in it I might throw up. What’s…
June 11, 2024
Boat owners consistently report that docking is the most stressful part of their day, and outboard manufacturers managed to thoroughly de-stress that experience with the addition of joystick controls…
June 3, 2024
It was decades ago, but I can still remember when my knee-high kids were ping-ponging around in the cockpit of my 19’ center console wearing Scooby-Doo life jackets. Sure we tried to catch fish back…
May 15, 2024
For the 2024 model year Suzuki Marine announced their Stealth line, with glossy black lettering on matte black cowls and lower units. While what’s inside those cowls remains the same — beefy,…
May 13, 2024
Go to any boat show or large dealership, look at a dozen 26’ dual consoles boats, and chances are that a day later you’ll barely be able to remember one from the next. That will be a clear indication…
May 7, 2024
The Grady-White Coastal Explorers have always been a great option for people who like a good dose of open water attitude in a hybrid-style bay boat. But since they stopped building the 191 CE years…