SeaVee 340Z (2019-)

The SeaVee 340Z is designed and built for the serious offshore angler. Fishing amenities are abundant and all add to the vessel’s focus on landing fish on long days offshore, which is the primary reason for anglers to consider this vessel. While triple outboards get the job done in terms of speed and power, they are not easy to manage unless they come with a full complement of features including power steering, iTrim and iSteer – all of which were incorporated in the triple Evinrude E-TEC G2 rig on our test boat. For anglers who want to bring their family aboard, a set of options are available to increase the number and comfort of seating aboard.

• Color-matched triple Evinrude E-TEC G2 300s make the engines look like they were designed to be part of the boat, and virtually any color or graphic treatment can be painted on these engines. No other engine brand comes close to the color selection that Evinrude makes available.

• SeaVee livewell plumbing will be on serious anglers’ list, with a seachest directing the raw water to two pumps per livewell, the kind of redundancy that shows this builder knows a day when the bait all dies is a day on the water ruined.

• Evinrude clean rigging means the swim platform is tidy and usable, without extra hydraulic hoses to trip up swimmers or anglers trying to secure the catch. Because the engines tilt 81-degrees – more than any other outboard – the props and lower units come completely out of the water when not in use.

• In-deck fishboxes are laid out so they can be handy, and handle loads of fish. In the foredeck is an electric-ram-actuated lid that will raise the optional coffin box, even when it’s full.

• Evinrude ICON Touch engine-monitoring display has an intuitive interface that lets the skipper track tank levels, set automated trim and steering systems, and keep an eye on the outboard performance, and more.

• An optional upper helm station is designed to give the skipper a game-changing view of the fishing action, with a seat that will help keep everyone comfortable.

• The optional Seakeeper 3 gyro stabilizer is built into a custom-designed leaning post that lets this device slow the roll when seas get rough and uses power from a few additional batteries (rather than adding a genset).

The SeaVee 340Z is a proven design that has a 10’ (3.4 m) beam and draws just 20” (51 cm) with gear up. She can store as many as 42 rods in lockable compartments, and in the model we tested there was full access to the gunwales forward, something we don’t see on most center consoles because of the raised casting platforms that are molded in forward.

The 340Z can be customized to fit an owner’s fishing and boating lifestyle. Families seeking extra comfort may find removable forward and rear seats along with toilet and shower facilities appealing. Sun pads or molded-in seating is also available in the Luxury Edition (LE).

The forward sections of the hull have a sharp forefoot with reverse chines to knock down spray. The bow expands to a subtle flare in the topsides. With a 23.5-degree deadrise at the transom, the SeaVee 340Z has a deep-V to create a soft landing when waves grow large and conditions get sporty.

This design means she’ll hold turns at speed in sloppy conditions. The hull is twin-stepped and cross-ventilated, and uses the company’s proprietary patented design, called SpeedRail Technology. The idea is to use multiple flat planes in the wetted surface to create lift, using the surface geometry to provide a fixed trim angle throughout a wide range of speeds.

SeaVee says it means the view of the horizon is clear, and fuel efficiency, speed, and handling are optimized.

The bow layout is wide open, with plenty of fishing room. Covering boards forward are 30” (76.2 cm) high and 19” (48.26 cm) wide and all-around coaming pads are 8” (20.32 cm) deep. Anglers can work fish all around the bow without the encumbrance of a casting deck. In fact, the whole bow is a casting deck.

The bow deck has a clean design, with a hatch revealing a locker with an anchor hanger and an additional locker forward.

The upholstered seat built into the front of the console has details like diamond-pattern quilting and custom stitching, and it slides to port to reveal a compartment.

There’s variable geometry in the compartment, and the overhead measures 5’ (1.52 m) in the aft area, and higher forward at the entrance. There’s a sink in here, room for a Porta-Potti, or an electric toilet with a 14 gallon (53 L) waste holding tank. There is an electrical breaker panel as well as a locker for additional stowage and access to the backside of the helm control panel.

Generous walkways to either side of the console have eight vertical rod holders per side in our test boat, and bring us past the T-top frame pipes, which are mounted to the console sides. Built-in ladders to either side have steps 10” (25 cm) apart, in compliance with ABYC standards for NMMA certification, as are grab handles of a smaller diameter than the main support pipes.

An isinglass windshield protects the helm console from the front and sides right up to the finely finished molded hardtop with LEDs built in, including one that can switch to red, preserving night vision. The compass lines up with a centerline wheel on its fixed base. The main helm panel consists of two 16” (40.64 cm) Simrad multifunction displays behind a protective, latching acrylic panel that holds itself up on gas-assist struts.

The Evinrude ICON Touch controls all of the engine features and functions, including engine information, including RPM and fuel flow monitoring, water temperature and boat speed, it also provides precise readouts of fuel and oil levels, and control of iSteer, iTrim, and automatic winterization.

Evinrude ICON II Touch 7” (17.78 cm) CTS Features

• Touchscreen display

• RPM for up to four outboards

• Fuel-flow monitoring

• Water temperature

• Boat speed

• Fuel levels for up to four tanks

• Oil levels

• iSteer

• iTrim

• Winterization

The ICON II Premium EST binnacle provides LED indicators showing neutral, forward and reverse, trim and tilt control, engine synching with an RPM up or down key to allow 50 rpm jumps in engine speed at the touch of a button, all in an ergonomic electronic control package.

ICON II Premium EST Binnacle Features

• LED shift indicators

• Trim and tilt control

• Engine synching

• RPM up or down key

• Ergonomic electronic control package

There’s an upper helm station on top of that hardtop that’s accessed by the side ladders on the top’s pipe frame. The upper station helm has a centerline wheel on a fixed base, a Simrad multifunction display, an Evinrude ICON Touch display, and trim tab and engine trim controls as well as start and stops, and the ICON II Premium shift and throttle binnacle.

Seakeeper Gyro Stabilizer

In the bottom of this custom leaning post is the Seakeeper 3 gyro stabilizer in a striking installation behind a window. We didn’t test its ability to reduce the rolling effects of rough seas on the boat.

 Remember the array of batteries in that foredeck locker? They provide the juice to spin the gyro in the Seakeeper system. The 50 available amps produced by each of the three Evinrude G2 magnetos supplies more than enough power to the batteries to keep the gyro operating. The Evinrudes are particularly important in this application because they produce more available amps than any outboard on the market in class.

The cockpit sole is finished with the same SeaDek except on the lid of the 60-gallon (227 L) in-deck livewell. A pair of fishboxes to either side hold 40 gallons (151 L) each. There’s a centerline lazarette with a sea chest that serves four raw-water pumps, two for each livewell. The through-hull fittings are all double-clamped, exceeding ABYC standards, a sign of a boat built with care.

The transom features another livewell with an aquarium window to simplify bait checks. The lid is gasketed and has a latch so it can be pressurized.

A sink is located to starboard in the transom under a lid. This can be changed to another 30 gallon (114 L) livewell. Beneath that is a door to a locker where the trim tab pumps are accessible. On the port end of the transom is a door to the swim platform. It has a flip-over top section hinged on its inboard side and held in place with a bungee latch. It measures 19” (48.26 cm) wide, and is a 9” (22.86 cm) step up from the cockpit and a 2” (5.08 cm) step down to the swim platform.

The swim platform on the SeaVee 340Z is finished in SeaDeck and extends 29” (73.66 cm) from the transom. There’s a walkway along its forward edge for the full width, allowing the crew to get around without putting a foot in the well where the outboards mount.

We would like to see a grabrail on the transom somewhere to allow crew to work here more safely. A pair of zero-degree rod holders are mounted to the transom.

The E-TEC G2 outboards are direct-injection 2-stroke engines, and they provide far more torque in the low- and mid-rpm range than 4-stroke outboards. All 2-stroke engines have more torque because every turn of the crankshaft is a power stroke.

Clean Running

Direct-injected Evinrude E-TEC G2 2-stroke technology produces the lowest emissions of any 4-stroke outboard on the market, according to information made public by the EPA. When it comes to deadly carbon monoxide, Evinrude’s G2 engines are 95% better than 4-stroke engines and the only one not releasing a potentially lethal amount of CO.

Controlling Combustion

Because the E-TEC G2 has an EMM (or Engine Management Module) with a computer monitoring the conditions and throttle input, Evinrude says it measures out just the right amount of fuel, in the right pattern, at the right pressure up to 800 psi, and at precisely the right time – all go to optimize combustion.

That, together with stratified combustion, the swirl of incoming air scavenging the combustion chamber, and the “plugging pulse” compressing still more air into the combustion chamber, further optimizes combustion for both greater fuel efficiency and lower emissions than 4-stroke engines.

The SeaVee 340Z has a LOA of 34’9” (10.59 m) and a beam of 10’ (3.05 m). With an empty weight of 7,950 lbs. (3,606 kg), 50% fuel and four people onboard, we had an estimated test weight of 11,811 lbs. (5,357 kg).

With the triple 300-hp Evinrude E-TEC G2 outboards powering our test boat, turning 20” pitch 4-blade props, we reached a top speed of 57.9 mph (93.1 kph) at 5800 rpm.

Best economic cruise came in at 4000 rpm and 35.8 mph (57.6 kph). It was at that speed that the 31 gph (117.2 lph) fuel burn translated into 1.2 mpg (1.0 nmpg) and a range of 379 statute miles (329.4 nm).

Acceleration

From a standing start, the SeaVee 340Z got onto plane in 4.8 seconds and accelerated from zero to 20 mph in 5.9 seconds, and to 30 mph in 8.9 seconds.

The SeaVee 340Z is built to get anglers to the fishing grounds in a wide range of conditions. She’s a stable boat with a strong feel. While we didn’t have notable sea conditions to really put her through her paces, crossing wakes showed a solid transition with minimal spray maintaining a dry ride.

She has a high deadrise forefoot which sliced through waves and that warps out to a 23.5-degree deadrise at the transom. That deadrise is one of the deepest Deep Vs on the market in class, and ensures the owner that the ride provided at high speed offshore will be about as good as it gets.

• 65-gallon (227 L) live baitwell with pump

• Integrated platform with transom door

• 2 insulated fishboxes

• Trim tabs

• Dual automatic bilge pumps

• Pop-up cleats

• Under-deck dry stowage

• Lockable rod stowage

• Freshwater and saltwater washdown systems

• Key West-style T-top

• Low-profile second station

• T-tower option for upper station

• Kingfish-style rod holder

• Additional spreader light on hardtop

• ACR remote searchlight

• Lee Sidewinder outriggers

• Captain’s Edition or Supreme leaning post

• Available customizable forward and rear seating

• Flush-mounted transducer

• Windlass including rope, chain and stainless steel plow anchor

• Armstrong or pull-out dive ladder

• Electric head with holding tank and macerator pump

• Rack for six dive tanks

• Pneumatic extend and retract cooler actuator

• Stainless steel towing eye with strike plate

• 2 additional baitwells are available

10-year hull warranty, and 1-year warranty on all factory-installed electronics and accessories.

The SeaVee 340Z has been in production for some years and has proven itself to be a practical fishing boat. Because the 340Z is sold factory direct, and because of the design of the boat, a high degree of personalization can be made. And, since it is factory direct, there are sales cost savings that may accrue to the buyer.