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Concept 30 Sport Deck

Get ahead of the game.

If the noise of a go-fast isn’t enough to earn the big thumbs-down from your wife, the lack of cockpit space will almost surely kill the deal. That’s why you must show her Concept’s new 30 Sport Deck.

With a cockpit that measures 6′-by-6’5″, the 30 Sport Deck has more space than a Cigarette 38′ Top Gun. That’s because Concept, which has been building outboard-powered center-console sportboats for more than 20 years, outfitted the 30 Sport Deck with outboards. No cockpit space is eaten by stern drive engines, which require a compartment at least 4′ long. That’s 13 percent of the length of a 30′ boat.

With 300-hp outboards, this single-stepped-bottom boat runs 75.1 mph and handles well. It feels rock solid heading into and running with waves, but side seas can get a bit dicey, which is what you’d expect from a lightweight, narrow-beam 30′ boat. Handling is predictable during turns — the boat acts more like a conventional V-bottom than a stepped design.

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You’ll be hard-pressed to find a boat this size that’s better built or finished. The 30 Sport Deck is constructed with a solid fiberglass bottom and the hull and deck are bonded with Plexus adhesive.

Rigging is easy and neat. The engines are on a bracket with the cables, wires, and hoses run through bezels that are powder-coated to match the boat’s graphics. There are small lockers for dock lines on the curved transom. In the aft bench seat, there’s a removable cooler that you pull out to access the batteries and oil tanks. Up front, the bolsters have power drop-out bottom cushions. The placement of gauges is well thought out, too.

Although stowage in the cockpit has been traded to make more space, the cabin has a 2’8″-by-1’7″-by-10″ locker aft to port. The molded head to starboard has good headroom while you’re seated, and a zip-out curtain lets you access the dash rigging. The V-berth has stowage in the base. It’s 6′ long and will comfortably accommodate two adults — including a cynical wife. Maybe that will convince her.

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