WEBVTT
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The following opinions are solely
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those of boatTEST.com and it's test captain.
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Hi, Captain Steve from boatTEST.com
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and today I'm on an all new boat from Chaparral,
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the 297 SSX.
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I'm gonna do a full features walk-through and sea trial,
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but first the design team at Chaparral told me that they
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made this to be an open concept day cruiser
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for people with a lot of friends and family,
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so let's take a look and see how they've done.
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Well, the cockpit of course is gonna be
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where we get our first introduction
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into the usability of the 297 SSX,
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and seating wraps nearly all the way around,
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including the two forward seats,
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that can swing around to join the crowd.
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Naturally, the pedestal table adds functionality
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and notice we got two stainless steel drink holders
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integrated into the table,
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and it's the stern seating
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where we have the lion's share of the functionality.
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At the touch of a button,
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it lays down into a sun pad,
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six feet four inches by three feet eight inches,
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and it also easily converts to a chaise lounge,
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in two separate positions.
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And this can be forward facing, too.
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Of course we've got a distinct comfort level
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in the cockpit area.
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Wraparound bolsters add to that.
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The seats, multiple densities of foam,
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plus we have differing materials,
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along with double French stitching,
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stainless steel drink holders, grab handle,
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and aft facing speakers are tucked into the bulwarks.
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To the starboard side there's a 35-quart carry-on cooler,
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onto the port side seating plenty of storage,
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and includes a water toy inflator.
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I also like to see that the seats are hinged.
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Now the comfort level continues,
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as we move forward to these seats,
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not so much double-wide,
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but seat and a half width at 26 inches.
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Includes a single, flip-up bolster,
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extra padding on the back, with differing materials
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and diamond stitching, custom embroidery,
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and notice the adjustments are on the side,
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easy to spot rather than having
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to hunt around underneath the seats.
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On the left hand side, we've got a comfortable arm rest,
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with a stainless steel grab handle,
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stainless steel drink holder and just ahead,
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is a glove-box that is separated,
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this time from the door where we usually see it.
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Now we've got a beautifully molded door
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with a small space up on top for putting stuff,
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but look at the fabric going around the sides,
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integrated with this nice trim piece.
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Inside we've got a double latch,
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leading to a beautiful head with an electric toilet.
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A pump out head is optional.
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We've got Corian counter with a stainless steel sink
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with a pull-out sprayer,
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and an opening port light for ventilation.
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And notice that we have shelving in the back for storage.
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And in true Chaparral fashion,
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there is storage within storage.
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Overhead, look at this tower, not only
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does it provide us an elevated tow-point
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six feet, nine inches off the deck
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but it's got an integrated Bimini top
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and the whole tower is collapsible.
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At the swim platform,
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in addition to the adjustable seat,
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we have a single seat, over to the port hand side.
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Combined they're 65 inches across.
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Now the swim platform comes out
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32 inches from the transom,
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we've got a grab rail on the back
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with an integrated tow point,
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so this is the second one,
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in addition to the elevated tow point
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we have on top of the tower.
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Over to the starboard side, tension hinges
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on the hatch, conceal a four step re-boarding ladder
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with a integrated grab handle.
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I like this stainless steel accent
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piece that has an integrated cleat
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that keeps it high up out of the trip zone.
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However, we do have another cleat
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on the deck level, this is a pull-up cleat
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so it still eliminates the tripping hazard.
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Just ahead, the Polk audio stereo
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remote also has an integrated trim switch.
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Now the 297 received a makeover
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giving it completely new DNA,
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separate from the rest of the Chaparral line-up.
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And a lot of that went into the panel
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right here at the helm,
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it starts with a soft touch dash,
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on top of the panel which has, two seven inch screens.
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Now, these are integrated with the engine
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so they can both give you, gauges, moving map
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and sonar, and we can swap back and forth
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from one the the other and also notice
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how they're slightly bevelled to give us a
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better field of view, to the sides.
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Chrome mounts, for push button switches
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that are all lighted when activated.
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Small cubby for your cell-phone
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right next to, an accessory port
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and then the ignition, over on the
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right hand side, Lenco trim tabs
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and over the side,
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we've got our Polk audio system.
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Just underneath, MP3 and USB audio connectivity.
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Right next to the drink holder,
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where the phone is probably going to go.
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Then we've got a conveniently located
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digital throttle, and shift right alongside.
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The steering wheel is a custom
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wrapped model, and notice the logo
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in the center is free-floating
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so no mater which way the wheel
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is turned it always points up,
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and the entire wheel is mounted to a tope base.
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The helm seat, like the passenger's seat
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not so much double width,
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but seat and a half width.
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And again we've got the controls
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on both sides, for rotating and sliding forward aft.
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The windshield closes off,
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and we have an air dam just below,
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and with the air dam in this position we have access to:
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a storage drawer,
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and an opening hatch leading inside the console.
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With the windshield opened up and the air dam
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closed off, now we can access
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the roomy bow, look at the spaciousness
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and the safety level here.
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It starts with the usual bow rider configuration
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of two lounge seats, but notice
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how the seats curve down as it meets the bottom.
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Plus, we have two flip-up arm rests
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one to port and one to starboard.
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The upscale features continue
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with multiple densities of fabric, diamond stitching
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again the flip-up arm rest,
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the safety factor comes into play,
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where we have 20 inches above the seat,
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to the top of the bolster.
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These bolsters wrap all the way around the bow,
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and as we move forward we've got a removable cushion,
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leading to a step up to the foredeck,
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underneath that step we have an integrated cooler
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that is self-draining.
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A convenient grab rail is above the seats,
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storage is below,
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and naturally we can transfer the side-bound
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pedestal table to the bow,
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to increase the functionality of this area as well.
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Chaparral also did a nice job
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with placement of the courtesy lighting.
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At the foredeck, two six inch pull-up
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cleats to either side of a hatch.
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That lifts on tension hinges to hold it in position,
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underneath is a Lewmar windlass, with access to the side
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to get to the road, the road leads
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out to the anchor roller,
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the anchor is mounted through the stem.
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We have a safety chain, and there's a cleat
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to secure the road to, a wrench is alongside
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so we can manually operate the windlass
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and two control switches are just alongside
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fully forward, the nav light rotates into position.
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And finally, the engine compartment
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is accessed from the switch at the helm
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controlling the electrically actuated hatch.
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Inside is the single 380 horse power
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Mercrusier 8.2,
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with plenty of room to the sides for servicing.
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Engine start and house batteries are
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easily accessible and secured properly.
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The Chaparral 297 SSX has a length overall of 29 feet,
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a beam of nine feet and a draft of 38 inches.
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With an empty weight of 6200 pounds full fuel
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and three people on board, we had an estimated test weight
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of 7,405 pounds.
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Now admittedly, that's on the heavy side
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with three men aboard, and full 100 gallons of fuel.
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The temperature was 86 degrees with winds
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blowing from 10 to 15 miles per hour
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creating a light chop on the water.
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The top RPM we could get out of the 8.2 Mag
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turning a bravo three out drive
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with 24 pitch propsets was 48-50 RPM.
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In those conditions and at that RPM,
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we recorded a wide open-throttle
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speed of 48.1 miles per hour.
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However, when the Chaparral team subsequently
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tested the boat, with two men aboard and half load of fuel
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on a 70 degree day with light winds.
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They recorded 50 miles per hour, and we think that under
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those conditions those numbers are accurate.
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We recorded a best cruise of 3000 RPM
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and 25.5 miles per hour.
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At that speed the 12 gallon
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per hour of fuel burn, translated into
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2.1 miles per gallon and a range of 191
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statute miles, all while holding
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back at 10% reserve of fuel in the bag.
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As for her handling, with their extended
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V-plane hull that carries the running surface
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well past the transom, along with
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the flat running pad at the bottom.
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We reached planing speed at 4.1 seconds,
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accelerated to 20 miles per hour at 6.9
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and 30 in 10.1 seconds all with minimal bow rise.
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While we had calm conditions during
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the camera portion of our program.
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Crossing back and forth across the wakes
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showed a smooth transition, and a dry ride.
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In turn test, she clings to the water like she's on rails
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and we found her to be very responsive to the helm.
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(upbeat rock music)
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Well, not only do we have a great
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handling boat, but an open layout
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that can accommodate a lot of people for having
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a great day in the water and that's my look
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at the 297 SSX from Chaparral for boatTEST.com
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I'm Captain Steve, we'll see you on the water.