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Thanks a lot for pussifying my fishboat. What are you going to do next, dose my beer with estrogen? Going back to its emergence in 1964 with the Aquasport 22-2, the center console was intended for fishing. Period.
But just as 4x4s morphed from tough CJ-3 Jeeps into Cadillac Escalades, the center console has become the family minivan for the water. You might as well be wearing pink Topsiders for all the street cred it gets you.
The change was bound to happen, because the boat's potential is obvious. Add some seating and lots of cushions, and it's perfect for a fireworks-display cruise, runs to waterside fern bars, and keeping the kiddies dry and secure with its high freeboard. You can pull skis, tow toys, and boards. A center console is seaworthy for offshore yet can be beached for a clambake. It's easy to dock because the skipper has instant access to all the cleats without having to climb or open hatches and doors. Self-bailing cockpits don't rely on bilge pumps, and cleanups are quick and easy. Lovely. But I want my damn open Jeep and for-anglers-only, fish-guts-on-the-deck center console back!
So in an attempt to pump some testosterone into these girly boats, here are our suggestions on how to bring them back to their roots. Use them as a guide the next time your wife says it's okay for you to buy a boat.
Please No Girly...
• Head in the console. Putting one in anything under 24' makes the console too big, robbing deck space. • Forward console seat that takes up space and is uncomfortable offshore. • Oversized swim platforms.
• Bow seating area with drink holders, and definitely no table.
• Bench seat against the transom.
• Swoopy Eurotransoms. Square them off and leave open to maximize access around the stern and reduce reachover.
• Wood trim-anywhere.
• Pretty pastel green, blue, or yellow hull colors. Dings and chips less obvious in white.
• Backrest on leaning post, or worse, bucket seats. They get in the way.
