Its mirrored blue-glass hardtop neatly summarizes the new MasterCraft 300. The top is both clever and functional. Its novelty adds exclusivity. And it will help MasterCraft sell this new dayboat in desert climates other than Las Vegas.

The two-section, tempered-glass top, which mounts to the standard fiberglass-over-aluminum arch, is a $17,430 option, but I doubt MasterCraft will sell a single one of these boats without it installed. Like a pair of sunglasses, it filters UV rays while admitting plenty of visible light into the cockpit. The effect is dramatic. During my recent test on a cool morning, I moved from a sunny spot on the boat to a seat under the top—and immediately felt a chill. On a blistering summer afternoon, life “under glass” in this boat should be perfectly temperate, just the sort of pampered atmosphere MasterCraft is hoping to conjure with the 300.

A wide-beam, 33'9" day yacht might seem like a bit of a stretch for this Tennessee-based builder, but MasterCraft has been reaching beyond its skiboat roots since 2003, when it launched the wide-beam, open-bow 280 VLD, a dayboat that won Boating Magazine’s “Boat of the Year” award, and successfully brought MasterCraft’s reputation for top quality and design detail to a new audience. The company hopes the new 300 will do the same.