PRO-LINE’S NEW 23 SPORT

FAMILY VALUE

PRO-LINE’S NEW 23 SPORT PACKS A LOT OF BOAT INTO A FAMILY-FRIENDLY PACKAG

BY JOHN BROWNLEE

The 23-foot center console is the ideal boat for many people, because they run well with single outboard power, normal vehicles can tow them (no need to order the Hummer just yet), and storing them is usually no problem. They’re not too big, nor too small, they’re just right.

Given that assertion, the new Pro-Line 23 Sport will please a great many people. It has everything a classic center console should, including lots of dry storage, a well-designed console, and plenty of unobstructed room in which to move around. What’s not to like?

I ran the 23 Sport this past summer in St. Petersburg, Florida, spending a full morning running around on Tampa Bay. The water was as smooth as glass, so no rough water commentary here, just the observation that this boat is a gas to drive, and isn’t fun what boating should be all about? It ran very well with a single 200 hp Honda outboard, and tracked well over any boat wakes we could find.

The single Honda gave us a cruise speed of 34 mph at 4500 rpm, and reached a respectable 45 mph at full speed. The single engine setup will give you good performance while sipping fuel, so you can spend more time on the water without having to fret over gas prices.

The 23 features an 18-gallon livewell built into the transom to port, with a transom gate to starboard. The cockpit area had the optional coaming pads that extended forward to a point even with the console, and the aluminum rocket launcher/leaning post sits far enough forward to provide a surprising amount of cockpit space. Two big guys can fish shoulder-to-shoulder back there with no problem.

A lazarette hatch in the sole, just forward of the transom bulkhead, opens to provide inner hull access. This area houses the boat’s batteries, which sit atop raised, molded boxes, which keep them dry. The raw water intake and bilge pumps are down here too, and everything is easily accessed for service.

At the helm, Pro-Line has done an admirable job of arranging everything, with the wheel offset to port and the switches and gauge cluster to starboard, next to the throttle binnacle. There’s plenty of room above that for electronics, and an acrylic windshield provides protection to the entire area. An acrylic bi-fold door leads down to the sub-console space, which some may use as a head compartment, but it will be a tight fit for large folks.

The boat’s T-top featured an overhead electronics box, and it also had a zippered compartment, which held the PFDs, a wise use of space, and an easy place to reach in case of emergency. In front of the console, a cooler sits beneath the forward console seat, once again making the most of the available space.

The raised passenger seating at the bow has two large, insulated storage compartments built in which do double duty as fish boxes. A low profile stainless steel bow rail stays out of the way when fishing, but handy when you need a sure handhold in rough seas. An anchor locker at the bow has room for quite a bit of rode, and the recessed cleats help minimize the chance of snagging one with your fishing line. Pro-Line builds its boats using its proprietary "Fiberglass Integrated Structural Technology" (aka “FIST”), which is a heavy-duty fiberglass stringer system filled with closed-cell foam. This eliminates all wood in the boat, and thereby also eliminates rot. Empty spaces in the hull get filled with foam as well, to ensure positive flotation.

The 23 Sport comes with a lengthy standard equipment list, so it’s ready to fish, but you can also choose from a significant number of options, enabling the buyer to substantially customize his or her boat. These options include cockpit bolsters and lights, trim tabs, a porta-potty, a cockpit shower, several T-top options, as well as several Garmin electronics packages. Power options include outboards from Honda, Suzuki, Mercury, or Evinrude.

October/November 2006

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