The changing face of Canadian cruising is reflected nicely in the Wellcraft 290 Coastal–a family size cruiser from the well-known and time-honoured Wellcraft boat company–a name synonymous with Florida-style deep vee fishing boats. But, does this style of boat address the needs of Canadian boaters?
Recently, we have witnessed four new dimensions. The first is the new generation of powerful, reliable and very efficient outboard engines capable of driving a cruiser. The second dimension is that we are starting to experience a shortage of slips for boaters who want to keep a large boat in the water. Combine that with the third point; many people now have large powerful trucks, partly because of fashion but largely because they use them in their work. They can pull big boats on a trailer. The fourth factor is the huge interest in fishing.
From the Economic Impact of Boating Study commissioned by the Discover Boating group and the Canadian Marine Manufacturer’s Association a few years ago, we know that over 40% of Canadian boaters like to fish.
The 290 Coastal is a boat that would be well-suited to Great Lakes fishing and to family cruising duties too. The range of features is intended to please dad, no matter how serious (or not) a fisherman he is, but there are comfort and convenience features to satisfy mom and others to delight the kids in their quest for adventure.
You can sleep two forward and another two in the mid-cabin; in fact, Wellcraft claims the 290 sleeps 6. There is a lockable cabin door, fiberglass liner, snap out carpeting and an AC/DC electrical panel. The cabin is quite functional as well, with a galley featuring single alcohol electric stove, Tappan microwave, hot and cold water and a fridge. There are four port lights for ventilation and reverse cycle heat and air conditioning is available.
The forward vee berth converts to a dinette and there is storage in the seats as well. Another nice family feature is the enclosed, private head. With full standing height, vacuum flush MSD, sink in vanity and mirrored door to add a sense of space, this is a very livable head.
With a weight of about 9,000 lbs., this is a big boat to trailer but then, as an example, the new Ford Super Duty 2500 with diesel power can tow 24,000 lbs! Suddenly you don’t need a slip at a marina anymore and you can drive to new adventure areas rather than having to cruise there.
The Wellcraft 290 Coastal is a shallow draft boat, equipped with twin Yamaha F 250 outboards; you can go almost anywhere at 50 mph and with reasonable fuel economy too, and then pull into the shallows for fishing or swimming or overnight mooring.
The Florida offshore heritage pays off when running open water in this 30 footer.
The high bow and 19 degrees of deadrise at the stern, smoothes out the rough stuff very nicely. An important aspect of her seaworthiness is that there is plenty of room at the helm, looking out the windshield for four or more, so everyone is comfortable facing forward.
The captain gets Sea Star hydraulic steering with tilt, Yamaha multifunction gauges, lit switches and breakers. Also, there’s an angled foot brace for the helm that we like. Both seats have flip-up bolsters. You usually stand to run this boat, looking over the windshield. The view is great and the hardtop has a sliding centre section to make it easier to go forward for anchoring.
On the deck, there is an electric windlass with foot switch and an anchor halyard so that it can’t beat against the hull in rough running; the non-skid deck finish is serious.
For mooring, three cleats are at the bow, there are spring cleats and two large stern cleats. Other exterior or hardware features are the huge cockpit scuppers, bronze through hulls and wiring carefully laid out to prevent chaffing and wiring shorts.
Another new boat feature that is very important to buyers in the market for express cruisers is a spacious cockpit. People want space to walk around, a bit of separation from the others onboard and room for entertaining as well.
The Wellcraft delivers a large cockpit made all the more usable because the outboard engines are at the transom, so no interior space is lost to an engine room. In fact, outboards really free the designers up.
The cockpit is set for fishing with a transom door to the swim platform, non-skid fiberglass floor, a fold-away aft bench seat, stern access hatches and rigging that is extra HD for offshore running. There are two gasketed live wells in the sole. Behind the companion seat is a storage bin. Behind the helm seat is a really nice bait station, with a cutting board top and clear lid.
Rod holders are placed around the gunwales and the stern mounted holders (usually called rocket launchers) are angled to hold the rods for trolling. It’s a serious fish-raiser.
You can really travel with this boat, especially with the sweet-running Yamaha F250s. They cruise easily between 3,500 and 4,000 rpm doing between 20-30mph. Top speed was 51.7 mph, but you can troll down at 1,000 rpm doing 5.3 mph too.
We ran the Wellcraft 290 Coastal in Lake Ontario, in high winds that were raising a wicked chop; three to five feet in a close random pattern, sending the Wellcraft airborne one second then burying the bow in the next wave; there wasn’t a squeak or complaint from the hull.
The Yamaha F 250s are four stroke V6 blocks with 3.3 liters (204 ci) displacement, dual overhead cams, electronic fuel injection; they are tuned to favour low and mid-range torque–ideal for a boat like the 290 Coastal.
This is a rough and ready boat that can be your partner in lots of summer adventures and the twin Yamaha’s make sure you can get there fast!
To see if this boat is available, go to http://www.boatcan.com to check listings!