Boat Notes
Sportsman Open 302: Full Bore Ahead
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30-foot center console is a midsized fishing machine, but how do you make it look and feel like the king of the fleet? Equip it like it had 10 more feet of LOA, power it for highway speeds, and finish it as finely as a center console yacht. Net result: the Sportsman Open 302. The twin pressurized 30-gallon “aquarium style” livewells bracketing the transom on this new model are akin to the livewell rigs you’ll find on uber-expensive center consoles in the 40-plus-foot range. Six flush-mount gunwale holders, three flush transom rodholders, under-gunwale rodracks, five console-cabin rodholders, rocket launchers, and a tackle station with six boxes and four drawers give you the ability to haul plenty of
By Lenny Rudow
armaments. The console cabin has a compact berth/stowage area and a head compartment with as much elbow room as many significantly larger CCs. And, is there any other 30-footer like this on the market that can boast twin side-entry doors, so you can step in and out easily no matter which side the pier is on? We think not. The aforementioned goodies are all standard features, and all in all the stock Open 302 isn’t equipped as well as most 40-footers—it’s equipped better. In fact, peruse the standard equipment list and you’ll discover that everything you need to hit either the Bay or bluewater is included in the package. For the most part, the optional features consist of specialized goodies (like undergunwale electric reel outlets and
add-on sun shades) or big-ticket items that aren’t for everyone (such as an upper station or a Seakeeper 2 gyro-stabilization system). Now, as for performance: hold on to your hat or kiss it goodbye. The Open 302 is designed to run with a pair of F300s and hits an eyewatering 55.3 mph with two people aboard and about a half-load of fuel. Pull the throttles back to a 4500rpm cruise, and you’ll be charging forth at around 42 mph. That’ll more than keep pace with most of those big center console yachts but unlike those triple and quad engine rigs, fuel efficiency never goes below a mpg. In fact, if you can stand to pull the throttle back even more (a big if!) and cruise at 3500 rpm and 31 mph, the boat gets an impressive-for-size 1.8 mpg.
For more boat reviews, visit proptalk.com or scan this code with your phone’s camera. 34 August 2021 PropTalk.com