The Best Offshore Fishing Boats of 2020
Finding the best fishing boats for your needs is no small task — even if you limit your search specifically to the best offshore fishing boats, only. Truth be told there are always a number of trade-offs to make with any boat. Design a deeper V in the hull and you may improve ride characteristics, but you’ll likely reduce stability. Make a lighter boat and it’ll be more fuel efficient, but it’ll also be tossed around a bit more by the waves. The list goes on and on, and the best offshore fishing boats are those that attain a measure of balance in both critical and peripheral elements. Reference
That said, some features are more important than others and we can boil down the most important to the following main characteristics:
Hull design
Deck layout
Power system
Fishability
Comfort
Considering these among the most important attributes an offshore angler is likely to consider, our top contenders for best offshore fishing boats of 2020 (ranked alphabetically) include:
Albemarle 27 DC
Bertram 61
Caymas 34
Grady-White Canyon 336
A dual console may seem like an unlikely pick to include as one of the best offshore fishing boats, since the deck layout is less ideal than that of a center console for fish ability. But truth be told many anglers with boating families will be wise to choose a DC. The flexibility this design provides can keep non-angling family members happy and onboard with the boat-buying decision. Unfortunately, the vast majority of dual console boats are built with little attention paid to maintaining maximum fish ability. Not so, with this Albemarle. The company has never built anything other than fishing boats, and it shows. The livewell holds a hefty 40 gallons, there’s a 60-gallon macerated fishbox in the deck, coaming bolsters line the cockpit, and the helm is designed to house a pair of 12-inch MFDs. The clincher: an unusually tall wrap-around windshield provides far more protection than you’ll find on most DCs.
When the Bertram 61 hit the water last year we were impressed — very impressed — and it remains a top pick among best offshore fishing boats as we move into 2020. From the 188 square foot cockpit, to the mezzanine MFD, to the electric reel outlets under the gunwales, this boat lacks nothing in the fishing department. But the real stand-out feature is its construction. This is a vinylester resin-infused boat with Kevlar reinforcement, so it’s light for its size (if you can call 88,000 pounds light) yet it’s also uber-strong. Plus, with a pair of C32 ACERTs in the engineroom it can cruise at over 40. The clincher: the comfort factor is off the scale. Seriously. Book-matched grain woodwork, gyroscopic stabilization, and three en-suite staterooms are all in the mix.
Offshore anglers who don’t like to burn up all their fishing time with a long cruise will love the Caymas 341 CC, which can run at 60-mph with a brace of triple Mercury V-8 300-hp outboard engines on the transom. And it can do it in surprisingly tough conditions, too, thanks to the aggressive 23-degree, twin-step hull it rides on — which also gives it an additional boost in the comfort department.
The Caymas scores high for fishing features, too, including a 70-gallon transom livewell plus the option for 60 more gallons in the deck, 125- and 60-gallon fish boxes, coming bolsters, toe rails, six gunwale rodholders, and 10 rocket launchers. The clincher: the hardtop has a pass-through hatch so you can get up on the hard-top and spot fish from an elevated position whether you opt for the upper station or not.
Grady-White Canyon 326
The Grady-White Canyon 326 was a surprise introduction, since Grady-White already had another model very close in size, the 336. However, that boat is just large and heavy enough that it needs a pair of Yamaha F425 outboards or triple engines to perform up to Grady-White’s standards. By shaving off a bit of size and weight, the 326 is able to run quite well with a pair of 4.2-liter Yamaha F300s and comes close to 50-mph at top-end — yet gets 1.6-mpg at a 30-mph cruise. As is true of all Grady-Whites it also checks the fishability box, and scores high for comfort. The clincher: The 72-gallon fishbox in the transom is literally big enough to climb inside of.
When you think of 35-plus-foot triple-engine center consoles you probably don’t think of Sea Fox boats. At least, you wouldn’t have prior to 2020, because Sea Fox didn’t have any offerings in that range. But now they do, and when we got a ride on their new 368 Commander we liked what we saw. Serious fishing cred is instantly established with a huge tackle station in the back of the leaning post, a pair of twin 50-gallon pressurized transom livewells, and an aft-facing hard-top MFD. Comfort gets a boost with an extending aft sunshade and a huge forward console lounger. The clincher: 27 rodholders ring the boat, line the hard top, and grace the transom.
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Named Boat of the Year by Boating Magazine and awarded an NMMA Innovation Award at the 2020 Miami International Boat Show, the Solace 345 isn’t just among the best offshore fishing boats around, it’s also one of the most unique center consoles ever built. Fishability gets a massive leg up due to the cockpit extension which goes back aft of the outboards, while touches like a pair of flanking 45-gallon pressurized livewells, electric reel plugs, and 18 standard rodholders make this boat battle-ready right out of the box. Construction is cutting edge, too, and the boat’s built with Innegra and epoxy infusion. It gets cured in a heated, oven-like mold, which produces the lightest, strongest fiberglass part possible. The clincher: helm seats are mounted on Shockwave S5 shock-mitigation mounts, to help smooth out the ride and seriously enhance comfort levels.
