The trend toward outboard power keeps getting stronger and stronger. Now Cutwater Boats is introducing a new 30-footer with twin Yamaha 300-hp outboards because, says Cutwater President John Livingston, “We’ve had customers asking us to build a boat like this for a while now.” Livingston also says the new boat is “our biggest, fastest and most exciting Cutwater to date. The boat absolutely screams across the water.”
I haven’t tried the new 30 yet, but two summers ago I drove a Cutwater 28, with a single 260-hp Volvo diesel, from New York Harbor to Quebec City, and it cruised easily at about 16 or 17 knots. I think the new 30 with 600 horsepower would easily double that, particularly since Cutwater redesigned the hull to accommodate the higher speed. The new boat has a fuel-efficient, double-stepped hull to get the boat on plane faster and what Cutwater calls a Laminar Flow Interrupter to make for positive turning at speed.
The 30 sleeps six people in three separate areas. The forward cabin has an island double berth, a hanging locker, four portlights in the hull sides and an opening hatch overhead. The master head has a vanity, toilet and separate shower with a curved sliding door. Two more people can sleep on the convertible dinette, while two more can fit in a 6’8”-long cabin that’s tucked under the raised dinette.
The cockpit is made for fishing with a 30-gallon live well and large fish boxes, but it doubles as an entertaining center, with seats that extend out from the hull sides and a drop-in BBQ grill, sink and shower. On the foredeck, two flush hatches open up to reveal cushioned seats with a forward lounge.
As with all Cutwaters, the new 30 comes ready to cruise, with bow and stern thrusters, a nav package that includes a Garmin autopilot, Garmin 7612 GPS/chartplotter andGarmin radar, plus a 5-kW gas genset and Kyocera solar panel. The boat also is trailerable with a bridge clearance of 9’9” with the mast down; its height on a trailer is 13’2”. The Cutwater line now goes from 24 to 30 feet; all the boats are made in Washington state.
Specs: LOA: 30’; Beam: 10’; Draft: 2’5”; Disp.: 10,200 lbs.; Fuel: 300 gals.; Water: 80 gal.; Power: 2xYamaha 300hp counter-rotating outboards. Price: $299,937.
