Everglades 295 CC Review

The brand new Everglades 295cc a serious fishing boat that also comes equipped with just about every feature you could ask for, making it a great craft for taking the family out for an afternoon ride on the water.

Over the last several years one of the most noticeable trends in boating has been the re-imagination of the center console. Originally designed as a pure fishing boat for serious offshore anglers, the versatile layout of the center console – combined with its low maintenance requirements – has resonated with families who would rather spend their time enjoying the boat than cleaning it.

While this trend has inspired some truly innovative designs, not all have resonated with serious anglers who like these boats just as they were – hard-core fishing machines built for serious work far offshore.

The all-new Everglades 295 CC is a rare gem in that the boat manages to neatly balance demands for family comfort without giving up anything in the way of serious fishability. For a fishing family, this is about as good as it gets.

The best seats in the house might just be the pair on the front of the console, which share a central console with stainless steel drink holders.

The Everglades 295 CC rides on an unsinkable, deep-V hull with a variable deadrise that gives it excellent manners in rough water. It’s fully self-bailing, so any water that does get into the boat simply runs down the cockpit floor and out through a drain in the transom. It’s a thoughtful design feature, and a true blessing when a heavy overnight downpour leaves your neighbors at the marina with wet feet the following morning.

Rod lockers in the bow and under the cockpit gunnels safely secure expensive tackle.

The basic overall layout is comfortably familiar, with an elevated platform in the bow covered in this case with removable seat cushions, allowing the space to double as seating when fishing time becomes family time. Pop-in backrests make the bow surprisingly comfortable, while the option of putting up a sun screen allows families to use this space for lunch with a view. Lockable rod storage in the bow provides a safe place to stow valuable tackle when not in use.

The helm provides space for twin touch-screen displays.

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The center console itself is intelligently designed, with its large fiberglass helm station neatly laid out for intuitive operation. A Massive flat dash space accommodated tow very large multi-function touch-screen displays for a true glass cockpit experience, while a neat row of sealed electric switches along the bottom controls lights, live wells and other equipment. The standard stainless steel steering wheel is a classic touch on any center console, while there’s still plenty of space for a joystick mounted neatly ahead of the throttles. A large glove box secures small valuables.

Optional joystick docking provides the ultimate in convenience.

The console also conceals a surprisingly spacious head compartment, complete with a China bowl head that’s connected to a macerator and a holding tank. The compartment also features a solid-surface countertop with an integrated sink and even a pull-out shower faucet.

The head compartment is simple but surprisingly spacious.

Surrounding the console is an aluminum power-coated frame which supports the standard fiberglass hardtop. As far as options, the Everglades 295 CC doesn’t leave out anything. Amenities like LED lights, an electric sliding windshield, a large electronics box, five rod holders, a premiere Fusion 770 audio system (driving a JL amp, a subwoofer and multiple JL M-Series speakers) all come as standard equipment. Same for the 75-quart Yeti cooler, and the exceptional attention to detail throughout.

Side-by-side helm seats offer flip-up bolsters that allow the seats to quickly convert to a comfortable leaning post.

The aft cockpit is all about serious fishing, as evidenced by the things you do see – like the beautiful workstation on the aft side of the leaning post, complete with a freshwater sink, removable bait cutting board and abundant tackle storage. There’s a 66 -gallon fish box in the cockpit floor, just in case the 105-gallon fish box up in the bow isn’t enough. There’s even a 34-gallon live well in the transom with water circulation and a clear acrylic lid.

The prep area behind the leaning post features a freshwater sink and a removable cutting boar for preparing baits.

Then there’s the things you don’t necessarily see – at least right away. The 316 stainless steel pull-up cleats retract flush into the deck to avoid snagging lines, and you tend to forget all about the side door in the hull, which opens inboard to allow easy boarding from the dock or – after deploying its removable ladder – after a swim.

The standard hardtop includes plenty of space to mount radios and other equipment.

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Rated to handle up to 600 horsepower, the Everglades 295 CC runs very well with twin 300s, the maximum power wrestling every ounce of performance from its elegantly designed hull. Time to plane from a dead stop is under five seconds, and closer to four seconds with a touch of negative trim. Push the throttles forward and the boat accelerates promptly, quickly attaining its top speed of near 55 mph at wide-open throttle. Pull the sticks back to a more leisurely 3,000 rpm and you’ll find yourself still coasting along at 25 mph or so, while enjoying optimal fuel economy of 1.92 mph for a range of over 335 nautical miles. For a 7,000-pound boat, that’s really quite good, and says a lot about the engineering that Everglades has applied to this delightful boat.

Top speed with twin 300s is 55 mph.

Looking for a serious offshore fishing rig that you can still take the family out in for afternoon rides? The Everglades 295 CC almost certainly fits the bill.