If you’ve boated much, you know boats aren’t always easy to own. Even on the good ones, things need to be fixed. Jumping aboard the 250 Outrage, I could tell Whaler’s engineers figured out how to balance the equation in favor of more play and less work. When I landed on the nonskid sole, there was a muffled thud, not a rattling of hatches and creaking of joints. The 250 has the toughest-looking hardware I’ve seen on an open fisher of its size too. And even if something does go wrong, getting to the problem to fix it is easier on the 250 Outrage than many boats we’ve seen.
Propped against the leaning post, I peered through the all-glass windshield, which protected me from the elements. Tinted to reduce eye fatigue, the glass is set in white, powder-coated t-top tubing that is stylish, sturdy and provides a ton of needed shade. On either side of the helm – in the port and starboard coamings – were two panels that plopped down to make additional aft-facing seating for anglers.
But you don’t buy a Whaler to look under the hatches and behind the dash; you buy it to launch yourself far offshore in a boat secure enough to bring you home no matter what. A Whaler won’t sink. The company’s literature makes it clear, and its repeated demonstrations of chainsawed, machine-gunned hulls prove it again and again.
So when we left the inlet, we kicked the twin 200 hp Verados into high gear and leaned back in comfort as the deep-v hull sliced through waves. Whaler still gives its boats the strong shouldered reverse chines, but in this hull, a new, sleeker bottom shape gave it a softer ride than we’ve experienced in previous Whalers. The comfortable experience goes beyond hull length and speaks to carefully researched hydrodynamics that balance stability with agility. If you’ve boated much, it will take just five minutes in the Outrage 250 to tell you why boaters covet the brand. ****
Boston Whaler – Edgewater, Florida; 877-294-5645; bostonwhaler.com
