Princecraft Ventura 23 RL Review

Canada is a pretty remarkable place, and that comes through in the design of Canadian boats. Built for families who want to make the most of short open water seasons, these are boats made for buyers who demand maximum versatility, maximum durability, and minimal maintenance.

Perhaps one of the best examples of northern innovation anywhere is the all-new Princecraft Ventura 23 RL.

Princecraft raises the bar on versatility with its innovative Ventura 23 RL, an attractive family runabout that combines the best of pontoon boats, deck boats and fishing boats into a single, sporty package.

Made in Quebec, Princecraft Boats – park of Brunswick Group – enjoys a well-deserved reputation for quality construction and thought-provoking designs. But even by their high standards, the new-for-2023 Ventura 23 RL raises the bar so perhaps we should take a closer look.

As the flagship in its two-model Ventura line (the other boat being a 20-foot sibling), the 23 RL neatly combines the comfort and seating accommodation of a pontoon boat with the fishability of a serious fishing boat and the sporty performance of a deck boat. That’s quite a trick, and speaks to Princecraft’s history building all three.

A huge bow casting deck provides more than just space for anglers to fish in comfort – there’s also room to mount a foot-controlled electric motor, and a cavernous storage space beneath for even bulky gear.

A visual inspection of the Princecraft Ventura 23 RL at dockside reveals this multi-faceted personality. Up front, a big, open raised bow casting deck provides space to mount a foot-controlled electric motor backs onto an expansive bow seating area with inviting lounge seats that beg one to lay back and get snug. Amidships, twin bucket seats and a sporty helm console speak to the boat’s sporty side, while the aft cockpit is dominated by a multi-position lounge seat and an innovative folding table. Far aft, a stern casting deck with twin fishing chairs adjoins swim platforms surrounding the outboard.

Let’s begin back at the bow, where a closer look at the big, raised bow deck reveals it lifts to conceal a huge, open storage space for gear beneath. There’s no trouble accommodating bulky gear on this boat.

The Ventura 23 RL features an impressive amount of storage space. A neat compartment under the step up to the bow casting deck holds smaller items.

Returning the deck lid to its closed position, an aluminum receptacle provides some versatility, being able to accommodate a fishing chair, or a pedestal-mount table, or even a small barbecue. A pair of recessed drink holders ensure a cold water or pop is never out of reach.

The anglers in the family will also appreciate the Ventura’s lockable rod storage for poles to nine feet in length, 20-gallon aerated live well, and battery tie-downs for a 12, 24 or 36 volt trolling motor.

The Ventura 23 RL offers a nice, open design that makes it easy to move throughout the boat.

The bow seating area is surprisingly spacious, partly the result of the Princecraft Ventura 23 RL maintaining its full beam all the way forward of the windshield, providing far more seating space. To starboard, a comfortable L-shaped lounger extends forward from the face of the helm console, providing forward, inward or aft-facing seating options. Facing it is a port-wide lounge that also offer aft, inward of forward facing seating, with an aft-end cushion that can be raised to face the bow.

Both bow seats include thoughtfully placed recessed drink holders for added convenience. Lifting the seat cushions reveals an abundance of storage space for gear.

The helm console is neatly laid out with all the key gauges and controls readily accessible.

The seat upholstery is a hard-wearing vinyl that stays soft in cold weather and cool to the touch under the summer sun, reflecting Princecraft’s need to satisfy buyers who enjoy being out on the water from ice-out to freeze-up. Stitch work is truly first class, and the underlying foam cushions provide a nice balance of comfort and support.

The helm console is particularly wide, allowing a double-wide helm seat with a flip-up bolster. Fold-down arm rests are a nice added touch.

A neat folding cockpit table includes four integrated drink holders.

The console itself centers around a very nice premium steering wheel, with the dash behind it presenting plenty of space for a speedometer, tach, voltmeter, fuel and trim gauges mounted right up top where they’re easily seen, a wireless cell phone charging pad and a glove box. There’s also space to accommodate the optional premium high-power stereo system that comes with a touchscreen Simrad Go7 XSR with digital media center, five high-performance speakers, Mercury Marine VesselView, downscan imaging, and a 10-inch subwoofer and amplifier. The Princecraft Ventura 23 RL comes with SeaStar hydraulic steering as a standard feature, including a tilt function. Twin drink holders and a small but surprisingly effective windshield complete the helm.

Opposite the double-wide helm seat is a sporty bucket seat for the co-pilot, which rotates 180 degrees to serve as cockpit seating as well. It faces a large rear lounge seat (hence the RL is this boat’s name) and shares a nice folding table with four integrated drink holders.

The stern lounge offers forward-facing of aft-facing seating or can lay flat to serve as a sun pad. Additional cushions extend the space even further.

The big rear lounge seat adjusts to allow forward-facing seating, aft-facing seating, or can fold completely flat to create a huge sun pad. But there’s another trick up its sleeve in that the aft-most seat cushion can be lifted and raised outward, revealing a hidden Porta-potti with a collapsible privacy screen. That’s pretty slick, and not something you expect to see in a boat of this size.

Looking around the cockpit reveals further amenities in the way of grab handles, drink holders, courtesy lighting and an in-floor insulated cooler. Overhead, the Princecraft Ventura 23 RL comes with a nice Bimini top to keep the mid-day sun at bay.

The stern deck provides plenty of space, including room for two fishing chairs.

The stern continues to reflect this boat’s ability to please everyone in the family with a large enough casting deck to accommodate a pair of pedestal-mount fishing chairs, as well as an in-deck storage compartment for water toys. A split swim platform surrounds the outboard, with a retractable stainless steel boarding ladder neatly concealed under the starboard-side platform. There’s also room at the stern for an available ski pylon for watersports enthusiasts.

Split stern swim platforms speak to the Ventura’s playful side.

Being built for Canadian lakes, the Princecraft Ventura 23 RL is constructed from heavy gauge, 5052 H36 aluminum – beefy .110 gauge on the bottom and .100 on the sides – so it brushes off occasional scuffs with rocks and docks without losing its cool. What’s really nice is that Princecraft rigs the boat with six cleats rather than the usual four, allowing another fender to be hung out at the dock to protect its attractive exterior finish.

Rated to handle outboards to 250 horsepower, Princecraft’s Ventura 23 RL blends seating capacity, fishability and a sporty ride in a single package.

Rated to take outboards of up to 250 horsepower, the 2,350-pound Ventura 23 RL makes the most of Princecraft’s expertise building sporty deck boats, delivering a responsive, dry ride in even choppy water conditions.

Looking for a great family boat that can do it all? Then look closely at the Princecraft Ventura 23 RL, a well-made family runabout that over-delivers on value.