Chaparral’s Signature 330 is the double whopper with cheese of express cruisers. With two distinct accommodation plans to choose from, you can have it your way. The dinette layout ($2,971) I tested is perfect for those who day-boat more than actually cruise. This setup arrays a V-lounge with a real-wood table forward, a broad galley counter with a deep shelf built into the backsplash, a salon loveseat and an aft berth that also serves as a quiet alcove. A TV and other goodies also come with this option. So built, the 330 is ideal for the mix-and-mingle, extra-seating- required type of boating many “cruisers” do. But can you sleep aboard? Absotively.
In one of the most unique berth-conversion methods I’ve seen, Chaparral utilizes an electric table pedestal and an air mattress that fills the dinette to create a queen-size berth. Flip a switch, draw the concealed privacy curtain and hit the rack.
If you really cruise, sleeping aboard more than not, choose the standard fixed forward berth layout. Here, there’s an innerspring mattress in the bow with an l-lounge extending one leg across the berth’s foot. An inflatable cube extends the berth’s length over the lounge. With this layout, a stowable pedestal table for dining serves the l-lounge.
The Signature has still more going for it. The hardtop neither wracked nor vibrated during my test. Additionally, this top provides fantastic access to the bow, by virtue of a hatch strategically placed above the helm steps, precluding the need to duck. At the helm itself, everything is shipshape, with gauges and switches in easy view and with great sight lines fore and aft. Hit a switch and the aft lounge electrically extends into the cockpit, creating a sun pad.
And it can run. My tester hit 45.5 mph at wide-open throttle, attained plane without undue bow rise and offered confident control at the dock where wind and current challenged us. Features like these let any skipper sleep better at night, regardless of his berth.
Comparable model: Four Winns V335
