Regal 26 XO | Intrepid 475 Panacea | Manitou 25 X-Plode XT SHP - 08/09/19
BoatTEST Newsletter August 9, 2019
Test Video
Regal 26 XO:
Trailerable Day Boat Sleeps 4
The Regal 26 XO is a dayboat because she has seating for at least eight adults in her versatile cockpit. The port companion seatback folds down to create a clever chaise lounge with the backrest on the dash. In the up position, the seat back adds to the cockpit capacity. Taken together it is a good-sized entertaining cockpit, as well as having a swim platform large enough to comfortably launch watersports. Below, she has standing headroom for most people, a private wet head with bulkhead-mounted shower, mini galley, and sleeps four. The table forward makes a cozy place to enjoy a good bottle of wine in the evening. More...
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Review Video
Hargrave 100 Sassy:
Ready to Party Topside
The Hargrave 100 Sassy is a five-star entertainment platform, starting with her massive flying bridge. It features dining space for as many as 16, a wet bar, grill, and a hot tub. The flying bridge is covered by a standard hardtop that has LED lighting and the ship’s stereo speakers. This level also includes a large boat deck and power davit rated for 2,000 lbs. (907 kg). A large sun pad and a 68” (173 cm) diameter Whirlpool fiberglass hot tub are just forward of the storage to port. Just above the sun pad on the portside bulkhead is a 46” (117 cm) LED TV that is installed standard. Accommodations are equally sumptuous. With five en suites, including a huge main deck master, she welcomes 10 guests and would make an attractive yacht for the charter business. More...
Test Video
NITRO ZV19 Sport:
Fiberglass Style in a DC Fisherman
The NITRO ZV19 Sport is a fiberglass version of the popular dual-console aluminum fishing boat that is seen so often on northern lakes throughout the Midwest. She has the high freeboard, high windshields, movable fishing seats, a jumbo livewell aft and a smaller baitwell forward plus centerline locking rod boxes found in many aluminum boats. But the gleaming metal flake gelcoat and upscale seats and trim add an element that is missing on the aluminums. The pad-vee bottom design produces strong performance. With the 225-hp Mercury V8, top speed was 52.2 mph. She’s sold as a complete package with a tandem-axle trailer, 24-volt trolling motor with deep cycle batteries and Lowrance Sonar/GPS starting at $39,995 with a 150-hp Mercury FourStroke. More...
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Test Video
Intrepid 475 Panacea:
Quad OBs, 1700-hp, 60.7 MPH WOT
The Intrepid 475 Panacea is long, sleek, sexy, and very fast. We tested her with quad Yamaha 425 XTO V8s. She planed in 5.3 seconds and hit a top speed of 60.7 mph. In many boats, going that fast in anything other than flat calm water is very tough on the occupants, but the Panacea we tested had six Stidd Slimline Low Back Admiral helm seats with bolsters, armrests, and integrated footrests mounted on Shockwave S5 marine suspension systems to take the bumpy ride away. The helm seat includes electrical height adjustment. She is built to take it, too, with a fully-infused running surface combining uni- and multi-directional glass for maximum strength and minimum weight. More...
Test Video
Manitou 25 X-Plode XT SHP:
Not Your Grandpappy’s Pontoon Boat
What puts a lot of veteran boaters off of pontoon boats is the cheap-looking aluminum “fencing” around the perimeter of platform of a pontoon boat. For people that find that look an eye sore, there is a solution: The Manitou 25 X-Plode XT SHP with sculptures fiberglass sides. It’s definitely not your grandpappy’s pontoon boat, as clearly announced by her sweeping fiberglass sides, bright colors, bold graphics, and two 200-hp Evinrude E-TEC G2 outboards on the transom. The total weight of the package is 5,402 lbs. (2,450 kg). Combined with all of the torque from the advanced 2-stroke engines, she performs almost like a sportboat. She went from 0 to 30 mph in 5.2 seconds and had a top speed of 52.4 mph. At 28.8 mph, she’s an economical ride -- with the fuel-efficient, direct-injection outboards burning 10.9 gph for 2.1 mpg. More...
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Boating Safety
How to Cope with Fog
Keeping a dedicated lookout in fog is a Colregs requirement.
Dag Pike, an internationally known powerboat operator/owner for the last 65 years based in the foggy UK, gives us his advice on what to do when visibility is limited: “We were just a few hours out of London in the notorious Dover Straits on my first trip to sea at the age of 16 when we collided with another ship in thick fog. It was only a glancing blow so we could carry on with our voyage to foreign ports but it was a lesson about the dangers of fog. Things can happen very unexpectedly with little or no warning and you realize just how your world has changed when the visibility is close to zero.” Take advantage of Dag’s experience here...
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