Robalo R317 (2019-)

Key Features

• Large head compartment
• 50-gallon (189.27 L) fishbox under the aft seats
• 36-quart (34 L) removable cooler
• 25-gallon (94.6 L) cooler/livewell with LED lighting and clear plexiglass lid

Test Results

Specifications

Length Overall	31' 9.45 m
Beam	10' 6" 3.2 m
Dry Weight	9,050 lbs. 4,105 kg
Tested Weight	10,422 lbs. 4,727 kg
Draft	21" 53.34 cm
Draft Up	21" 53 cm
Draft Down	32" 81 cm
Deadrise/Transom	21 deg.
Max Headroom	Open
Bridge Clearance	10' 4" 3.15 m
Weight Capacity	Yacht Certified
Person Capacity	Yacht Certified
Fuel Capacity	260 gal. 984 L
Water Capacity	25 gal. 95 L
Total Weight	10,422 lbs. 4,727 kg

Acceleration Times & Conditions

Time to Plane	4.2 sec.
0 to 30	9.8 sec.
Props	19T 15 1/4
Load	3 persons, 2/3 load, no water, 50 lbs. of gear
Climate	86 deg., 56 humid.; wind: 10-15 mph; seas: -1

Engine Options

Tested Engine	2 x 300-hp Yamaha 4-stroke

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Mission Statement

Robalo designed the R317 dual console for the family that both fishes, cruises, entertains and is involved with watersports. Further, it is designed for people who know boats and appreciate the sophisticated amenities offered.

Features Inspection

The Stern

Vista View Seating. The most popular and attention-grabbing feature on the R317 is the power adjustable aft lounge. It is standard. When fully extended flat, it measures 6’10” (2.1 m) fore and aft, and 4’10” (1.5 m) wide. Retract the seats fully and there is a two-person aft-facing lounge just forward of the wraparound swim platform, which, on our test boat, was finished in a soft vinyl mat.

To starboard, the four-step reboarding ladder stores in its own compartment. To port, there’s a pull-up shower in a locker and in the starboard passageway to the cockpit, the battery switches and circuit breakers are easily accessed behind an identical hatch. The passageway also closes off with a gate.

The Cockpit

From the base of the aft bench seat, forward to the back of the L-shaped seats forward, we measured 4’7” (1.4 m) and the cockpit is 5’3” (1.6 m) wide from seat base to seat base. Freeboard at the stern is 3’4” (1.01 m) and cockpit depth is 2’5” (.74 m).

Aft, there’s a forward-facing seat formed by the previously mentioned adjustable lounge. To port the boat has a side door that can be used to haul in fish, board from a dock or climb aboard after SCUBA diving or snorkeling. There are receptacles for a ladder to facilitate the latter. Forward to port and starboard, there are L-shaped lounges that stop at the forward passageway to the bow.

For fishing, there’s a 25-gallon (95-L) livewell in the aft port corner. Rod racks and a toe rails can be found in both port and starboard gunwales. Overhead, the hardtop measures 9’10” (3.0 m) long and 9’ (2.7 m) wide and it’s finished in Seafoam Green on the underside to match the hullsides. Overhead clearance is 7’ (2.13 m).

Cockpit Storage

Robalo makes the most of the R317’s under-deck space for much-needed storage. A large locking hatch in the center of the walking surface opens on a gas strut and there appears to be wide-open storage. The side-mounted table stores in a tub that slides outboard beneath the deck to port and there’s space in a drawer that slides out of sight in similar fashion to starboard.

In addition to the carry-on cooler beneath the starboard bench seat, there is a locker in the base of the forward seat and the bottom cushions to port that is raised on hinges to reveal open lockers, one on the starboard side facing inboard. Both have rubber mats in the bottom. Robalo uses drawers in the base of the aft bench seat so passengers don’t need to get up if a crewmember needs to get to the contents. Our test boat had the optional grill in one drawer.

Upholstery

Robalo uses 36-oz. expanded vinyl upholstery with a 10 mil Nano Block topcoat. This offers UV Protection and makes the material easy to clean. It is backed with a soft lining. Multi-density “flow-through” foams are used in the seats which allows water to pass through so they dry fast. Robalo uses triple French stitching.

We found the bolsters to be among the largest we have seen in class. Seven interior colors are available as standard: Deep Water Black, Deep Water Blue, Ice Blue, Ocean Blue, Sea Foam Green, Shark Gray, and Ocean Sand.

The upholstery has a three-year warranty.

The Helm

Forward, the R317 has helm and companion seats that are 31” (78 cm) wide behind the port and starboard consoles. Each has a fold-up bolster and they swivel and adjust fore and aft. In the port console, we found a glovebox in the door to the private head.

Instrument Dash. To starboard, the helm comes standard with a 12” (30.5 cm) glass display and an optional 16” (40.6 cm) upgrade is available. Accessory switches are on each side of the hand-stitched panel and the stainless-steel tilt steering wheel has soft rubber grips and a spinner knob. The boat comes with Lenco trim tabs with built-in indicators, a cell phone holder, and USB and auxiliary ports.

Controls. Outboard to starboard, the shift/throttle controls are in reach and just ahead was the optional joystick.

A Standard Fiberglass Hardtop

The standard hardtop measures 9’10” (3 m) fore and aft and 9” (2.74 m) wide. It is supported by white powder coating supports that measure 2-1/2” and 3” in diameter. (Black powder coated supports are available at no extra cost.) There are also some irregular extrusions in the four corners of the support system that are even greater in size. Visibility is unobstructed looking forward, although to the right of the helm major supports are present. Four rod holders are standard on the structure.

Optional Hardtop Accessories. Our test boat had the optional electrical retractable SureShade awning that measures 6’4” (1.93 m) long and is nearly as wide as the hardtop. Isinglass enclosures are available that will turn this boat into a three-season, all-weather vessel. Gemlux carbon-fiber outriggers are available as well as Taco Grandslam riggers. Pads have been modeled in.

The Head

Head Compartment. Our test model had an upgraded toilet with a stainless-steel sink and pull-up faucet in a Corian-style countertop to port. A screened port lets in fresh air and releases stem after someone rinses off with a quick shower. For easy cleanup, the compartment is all molded fiberglass.

There is 4’ (1.21 m) of headroom in the compartment and there is 3’ (91 cm) of sitting headroom on the toilet. This is an important measurement and means that most adults will be able to use it without bending their heads.

Sleeping Accommodations

Sleeping Cabin. Clearly, this cabin is tight for two adults, but it is certainly large enough for one adult and one child — perhaps just right for a father and son overnight outing. It is also a good place to take a nap or put a guest who is not used to boating.

If we were planning on using this boat for overnighting, we would buy the optional enclosure that goes under the hardtop. In that way, one person could sleep in the cockpit on an inflatable mattress and the other in the cabin. Since sleeping bags are the best way to go in this situation, both people should be warm.

Of course there are other uses for this cabin, such as storage for scuba tanks and gear, watersports inflatables, and boards and countless other things.

The Bow

The R317 has a walkthrough windshield with a passage that is 23” (58 cm) wide. There is a standard lower air dam to close off the passageway. Instead of the typical bowrider layout we usually see, Robalo used her 10’6” (3.20 m) beam to create an L-shaped lounge that wraps around the bow from the port side, and placed a single seat to starboard.

There are fold-down armrests for forward-facing travel and the gunwales have 11” (27 cm) padded bolsters, the largest we have ever seen in class.

The same table that clips into place in the cockpit does so in the bow, but depending on how one plans to use this boat, we would consider adding an optional table to the one that comes standard. In this way, two groups could have a picnic table or a cocktail table at the same time.

There is storage beneath the outboard bench seat to port and an insulated cooler beneath the step up to the foredeck on the centerline.

Ground Tackle and the Bow

The Robalo R317 comes standard with an electric windlass, 22 lbs. (10 kg.) of chain and 200’ (60 m) of line. There are foot switches at the bow to operate the windlass as well as at the helm.

The anchor rests in a thru-the-stem hawse pip and there is a stainless steel scuff plat on the stem. We like this arrangement as it keeps the anchor and a mess of the foredeck. There is also a raw water washdown outlet under the hatch. The installation also comes with a retaining lanyard and a cleat on which to tie the anchor rode.

Construction

We have not inspected the R317 while under construction, but the builder tells us that its hand-laid lamination uses bi-axle and tri-axle fiberglass, which is superior to conventional glass materials. A sheet of Kevlar is used in the keel, we’re told.

Robalo says that its transom is “poured ceramic composite which has three times the tensile strength of conventional compost transom.” It used no wood in the structure. All hardware and fastenings are 16 ss. The boat has a 10 year structural warranty.

Performance

We tested the Robalo R317 on a calm day with 65-degree F ambient temperature. This 31’ (9.45 m) boat has a 10’6” (3.2 m) beam and our test boat had 60% fuel, no water, two people and gear for an estimated weight of 10,422 lbs. (4,727 kg). She was powered twin Yamaha 4.2 L V6 4-stroke F300 engines turning 19T 15-1/4 props.

Top Speed. At WOT turning 5960 rpm — just 40 rpm below her rated maximum rpm of 6000 — the R317 was clocked at 55.4 mph.

Best Cruise. Her most economical planing speed was found to be at 3500 rpm where she traveled at 30.6 mph, burning 16.9 gph, getting 1.8 miles per gallon, for a range of 422 statute miles and 367 nautical miles, with a 10% reserves of her 260 gallon (984 L) fuel capacity.

Please check the chart for other RPM settings and related data.

Time to Plane was 4.2 seconds, to 20 mph was 5.9 seconds and to 30 was 8.4 seconds.

Options to Consider

Price

The price starts at $183,595 with twin Yamaha 4.2L V6 4-stroke F300 UCA 300-hp plus 30” (76.2 cm) shafts. Even with the options suggested above the boat comes to $190,518.

Observations

With the R317, Robalo set out to make a big-feeling dual console that will appeal to fishermen and their families — and we think the manufacturer accomplished its mission.

We like the Vista View seating arrangement, the large stern platform, the side door, the L-shaped seats abaft the helm, the optional wet bar, the standard hardtop, the wide helm seats, the good-sized head, and the ground tackle set-up. All of these things are either innovative or well executed or both.

We think the Robalo can serve most any family well for a long time. She is full of amenities, quality equipment and construction, and her price is mid-range.