(whooshing)
Announcer: The following opinions
are solely those of BoatTEST.com, and its test captain.
-: I'm Capt. Steve from BoatTEST.com,
and today I am on a boat made by Chaparral
that fills the need for a luxury, outboard deck boat.
It is the SunCoast 250, and I'm gonna see how they've done.
Announcer: The main feature here is
that this boat is outboard powered.
This is pivotal in providing more interior space
without increasing the overall length of the boat itself.
She can accommodate up to 300-horsepower
with 250-horsepower being standard.
We tested with the Yamaha 300 four stroke,
so let's start placing how she performed.
With half fuel and two people on board,
we had an estimated test weight of 4,648 pounds.
Top speed was 51.5 miles per hour,
with a 26.3 gallon per hour fuel burn.
We measured a best economy at 3,000 RPM,
at 23.8 miles per hour.
That speed reduced the fuel burn to 6.5 gallons per hour,
which gave our test boat a range of 249 miles,
and an endurance of 10 and a half hours
while still holding back a 10% reserve of fuel.
She was also quick to accelerate,
reaching planing speed at three seconds,
coming to 20 miles per hour at 5.2 seconds,
and continuing past 30 in 8.5 seconds.
Her minimal bow rise upon acceleration
produces no loss of visibility from the seated position.
We had a perfectly flat, calm test day,
so we can't comment on her sea handling capabilities.
But Chaparrals don't disappoint,
and she did present a solid ride of a much heavier boat.
This boat's home for those who tend
to bring guests aboard that are nervous boaters.
-: The helm gets an extra-wide
bucket seat with a flip-up bolster.
This is one of my favorite features with Chaparral.
You don't have to look under the seat
to find the controls to slide forward out.
Looking at the console itself,
earth tones remove any concern over glare.
Two digital gauges to either side, GPS map in the center.
All of the rocker switches have icons.
Stereo remote to the left hand side,
12 volt supply and MP3 jack to the right.
Announcer: Now let's look at some of the features
that make this boat such a standout.
First, plenty of seating while
still keeping the roominess.
-: We've got roomy bow seating,
to both sides of a pedestal table.
Space between the seat, 27 inches.
All the way across, we are looking at six feet, two inches.
Very comfortable, wrap-around bolsters.
Elongated grab handles, these are easy
for little hands to get their fingers around,
something that Chaparral does in-house.
We have blue courtesy lights, plus look at the
stainless steel speaker grills, and dual drink holders.
Port side seating, very comfortable, two grab handles.
Bolster forms a comfortable arm rest.
Just ahead in the console, head with a porta potty.
And look at the storage in back!
When water sports becomes a part of the action, seat flips
back to become an out-facing seat for the observer.
And now in this position, notice that we have
wrap-around seating surrounding the cockpit,
giving us seating between here and the bow for 12 people.
Now here's an interesting feature!
Take a look at this integrated swim platform.
We don't usually see full walk around capability,
and I would call this oversized, as it carries
all the way back, just to the aft end of the engine.
To both sides, there's aft-facing seats.
Hatches are covered with non-skid.
There's a stereo remote to the starboard bulkhead.
Inside, battery switches, and over on this side,
we have access to the batteries themselves.
I'd like to see both of these seats have a removable bin,
so they can be used as storage.
We've got the collapsible sports tower,
with the elevated tow point.
A lower tow point inserts in the center of the walkthrough.
When accessing the beach re-boarding ladder,
there's a step leading up to the foredeck.
Forward hatch, lift and lock latch,
it's held open by friction hinges.
Nobody seems to be able to get the hang of combining an
anchor locker with a re-boarding ladder, but Chaparral does.
Here we have a four-step re-boarding ladder.
(ladder creaks) Just underneath,
an anchor, held in place with anchor keepers.
To both sides, pull-up cleats, each one, six inches.
To the starboard side, freshwater wash down
for giving you a shower, and to clean off the anchor.
This one has a stainless steel hose,
and look at this: LED docking lights.
Of course every boat has storage,
but on the 250 SunCoast Chaparral seems
to have taken it to the next level.
Look at this, we've got a cavernous
in-deck storage compartment.
We've got a built-in cooler to one side,
a 25 quart carry-on cooler to the other, and look at this:
across the transom, full beam storage.
Of course we have the usual walk-through windshield.
This one held in the open position by a magnetic catch.
Just below we have an air dam,
it lies flush against the helm console.
But in the open position, we still have a door behind,
so it's not just an open compartment.
And underneath the console, plenty of storage.
Of course we have storage underneath boat seats,
but these are abscessed by articulating
hinges attached to the cushions.
Announcer: So it seems that Chaparral met its goal
of creating a roomy deck boat with luxury
appointments that also handles well.
-: And that is my complete look
at the SunCoast 250 from Chaparral.
For BoatTEST.com, I'm Captain Steve.
We'll see you on the water!
(whooshing)