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I noticed the 10-foot beam of the 308 gave it terrific lateral stability when we all stood to starboard at the stern looking at the scupper arrangements, and it is wider than virtually all of its competitors. The noteworthy Yellowfin 29 ($94,000 base with test power) maxes at 9 feet 6 inches but offers an option in a build-to-order craft. You can add a hard top ($5,500) and a dual station ($13,000.)
In the cockpit, a transom livewell kept 50 gallons of water fresh for bait. The leaning-post tackle center boasted another smaller livewell, tackle drawers and a sink, handy for rinsing hands after baiting. What looked like a padded bolster on the pod flipped outward and down, forming a comfy seat for two. A rod butt gimbal at its center turned this seat into a fighting chair for bigger quarry. A similar, but wider, bolster flipped out Stamas 308 Predator of the transom, morphing the fighting cockpit into a leisure conversation pit — all enhanced by the softer purr of the Suzuki 175s. For big crews, forward seating is cushioned as well.
Lifting the cockpit hatch revealed twin 135-gallon fuel tanks, with their hardware easily accessible for service. In a previous review, Boating magazine cited Stamas as tops for keeping all the bilge works easy to access — this rig is no different. A sump and pump intrigued me. Tubing extended to the sole scuppers and valves opened or closed them.
“Sometimes you get so many people in the cockpit you force the scuppers under,” John Stamas explained. “We rigged them so you could also close them and drain any deck water to the sumps to be pumped out.”
Just one more small touch that comes from 60 continuous years of Stamas tradition.
Comparable model: Yellowfin 29
