INDEPENDENT BOAT TEST RESULTS |
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"Pontoon & Deckboat" May 2000 |
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odfrey Marine, makers of the popular Hurricane deck boat line, has always been a company to watch.
Having such a rich history of innovation and leadership certainly gives this Indiana-based company the edge when it comes to producing an award-winning craft.
We found the tradition to continue at this year's testing of the Hurricane 217, a sporty little go-getter with teenage attitude and the performance to back it up. In other words, it's a fun boat. But it's also a well-built boat. Our on-land inspection of the craft revealed that the gelcoat has excellent finish, one of the best we had seen. Also, the stainless steel hardware used is of high quality including the four-bolt cleats. Plus, the 217 has chrome through-hull fittings. The hull is joined to the deck via two pieces of fiberglass that are secured together via bonding adhesives and stainless steel screws capped off with vinyl rub rails with a bumper insert. This is over and above some hull-to-deck joints we have seen that are simply pop-riveted together. The hull itself is a winner. It's a modified- V hull that offers great stability during acceleration and is quick to plane. It has a shallower draft than most of its competitors allowing this boat to access some backwaters other deck boats could only dream of. The hull carries a five-year warranty. The boat is designed with intelligence as well. For example, it has chaise seat backs on the bow, a curved windshield with easy through-access, and a deep bow anchor locker on the nose. It also has recessed docking lights, all radius comers and a beautifolly designed helm set in a self-draining cockpit with a dual bucket captain's chair that is positioned perfectly in relation to the throttle and wheel. We like the helm seat for its size and quality, but feel there needs to be more cushioning. We experienced some "bottoming out" as we tackled a few wakes, but nothing too severe. We found more than ample cushion on all other seating arrangements. As we said earlier, the helm is beautiful. It's a multi-tiered design with every gauge you could ever need, including a compass. The wheel is stainless steel and each gauge is trimmed in chrome and is set on attractive burl wood backing. This, contrasting with the clean, white fiberglass helm is simply stunning. Also noteworthy is the recessed dual captain's cup holder in the gunwale. There is a small (but ample for a 21-foot boat) entertainment center behind the helm chair and there are two boarding ladders, fore and aft, and three entry "gates" located rear, star- board and fore. We really like the huge wake-board locker under the fore deck and the self-draining, in-step cooler near the bow This Hurricane has a change room as well. Driving this smart little boat is fun. It would have been a blast had we not experienced some prop blowout in some of our hard turns (hard turns that everyday boaters would not take the craft into ), but despite this rectifiable problem the 217 simply performed well and was quick to plane. In fact, we are told that Mercury representatives tested this same boat at the Mercury Test Center and got the craft to plane in an amazing 3.2 seconds on average, and it and topped out at 48 mph experiencing no propeller blow out in turns. Where the boat really shines though, is in how the hull grabs the water in turns. If you are moving at any rate of speed when you dive into a turn, keep in mind this boat corners like a fat-wheeled roadster on hot asphalt. You are likely to experience some g-force. The 217 is a well-built, very fun family boat. It gets high grades from all test experts on our staff. |
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