6 of the Best Center Console Boats

Center console boats were once very much a south Florida thing, but over the years they’ve found all-new admirers all across the country. With their exceptional versatility, their ability to handle rough water with ease and their low maintenance requirements, it’s little surprise that we’re seeing more of these boats on the water every year. While boat builders continue stretching the limits by building bigger and bigger center console models – some now in the 65-foot class –for most families the traditional boat under 30 feet still represents the best value while still cradling them in opulent luxury. Here are a half-dozen of the best center console boats made today, offering something for everyone.

Contender 24S

Contender 24S

Contender enjoys a near legendary reputation for building tough, well-designed and well-build center consoles capable of handling the open ocean – and that certainly applies to its Contender 24S. Capable of handling outboards to 300 horsepower, this compact big water fishing ride comes with standard features like a 94-gallon fish box up front and twin 30-gallon fish boxes in the stern, a 26-gallon aerated live well, plenty of comfortable seating throughout and a step-down console large enough to accommodate an optional head.

• Length: 24’ 6”
• Beam: 8’ 6”
• Dry weight: 5,250 lbs
• Fuel capacity: 130 gal.
• Maximum power: 300 hp

Edgewater 245CC

Edgewater 245CC

Edgewater’s 245CC benefits from a hull design that maintains its full width for almost the entire boat’s length, giving this boat an unusually spacious bow seating area and a draft of only 21 inches for greater shallow water mobility, yet without giving up stability in the big waves. One of the best center console boats, going, the 245CC features all-composite construction providing high strength with no fear of rot, and an unsinkable hull form for maximum safety. A big 28-gallon transom bait well, loads of rod storage, a 19-gallon freshwater tank and a removable transom stern seat are just the start of the 245CC’s standard amenities.

• Length: 24’ 6”
• Beam: 8’ 6”
• Dry weight: 4,200 lbs
• Fuel capacity: 140 gal.
• Maximum power: 400 hp

Key West 244 CC

Key West 244 CC

Key West is well known for loading its boats with so many standard features it’s hard to imagine anything being left over for the option list. That’s certainly true for its popular 244 CC, which comes packed with goodies like a premium leaning post with a flip-up bolster and storage in the base for a 94-gallon cooler, a forward fish box with macerator, hydraulic tilt steering, twin 18-gallon aft live wells with independent operation, a molded in swim platform with boarding ladder, a raw water wash-down system, loads of rod storage, and an in-console change room large enough to accommodate an optional head. That all combines to put the Key West 244 CC on our list of the best center console boats available to day.

• Length: 24’ 4”
• Beam: 9’
• Dry weight: 3,100 lbs
• Fuel capacity: 140 gal.
• Maximum power: 300 hp

Robalo R222

Robalo R222

Building on the success of its wildly popular R180 and R200 models, the Robalo R222 brings the company’s new design platform into a larger platform that delivers more storage space for gear, greater ride comfort in big water, and more room for serious fishing adventures. Twin 30-gallon fish boxes, a 15-gallon aerated live well with LED lighting, a deluxe leaning post, mountains of rod storage and secure space for gear will appeal to serious anglers, while thoughtful amenities like a bow seating area that converts to a sun lounge and a big in-floor storage bin large enough to hold a five-gallon pail and store a cast net set the R222 apart.

• Length: 21’ 6”
• Beam: 8’ 6”
• Dry weight: 4,045 lbs
• Fuel capacity: 90 gal.
• Maximum power: 250 hp

Sailfish 220 CC

Sailfish 220 CC

With its heavy duty Kevlar-reinforced hull and variable deadrise stepped hull, the Sailfish 220 CC packs a lot of engineering tech into a comparatively compact center console that’s easy to tow and easy to launch and recover single-handed. But don’t let its trim dimensions suggest this boat’s missing anything, as Sailfish’s attention to detail is evident in standard features including cockpit coaming pads, a three-step stainless boarding ladder, recessed stainless drink holders, trim tabs and a walk-through transom door – features that are normally options on boats of this size. With value like that, the Sailfish 220 CC has earned its spot on our list of the best center console boats.

• Length: 21’ 3”
• Beam: 8’ 6”
• Dry weight: 4,450 lbs
• Fuel capacity: 93 gal.
• Maximum power: 200 hp

Stingray 216 CC

Stingray 216 CC

Stingray ticks a lot of boxes with its peppy 216 CC, a 21-foot center console versatile enough to do anything while remaining easily trailerable behind a moderately-sized vehicle. The company’s Z-Plane performance hull gives the 216 CC plenty of pep with even lower horsepower engines while delivering impressive fuel economy. Standards like a nano-block UV-resistant upholstery throughout, oversized drink holders, a deluxe leaning post with an integrated cooler speak to this ride’s family appeal, while a long option list allows buyers to personalize things exactly as they like.

• Length: 21’ 8”
• Beam: 101”
• Dry weight: 3,150 lbs
• Fuel capacity: 57 gal.
• Maximum power: 200 hp