Seaswirl 29

 
It's easy to warm up to Seaswirl's new 2901 Striper Alaska Pack.

By Tim Banse

The good news is you don't have to live in the Yukon to revel in the cold-weather comfort of Seaswirl's 2901 Striper Alaska Pack. In fact, the beauty of this model is the way it allows boaters in the lower 48 to get on the water earlier in the spring and stay fishing long after Jack Frost comes to call.

This boat is a spin-off. It's a derivative of the venerable 2901 Striper, a walkaround affectionately nicknamed "fish killer by its builder. "Our goal with the Alaska Pack was to create a world-class boat that offers comfort and protection from harsh weather, a boat that can handle anything Mother Nature throws its way, says Bob Troutman, Seaswirl's vice president. To better endure the cold, a safety- glass windshield wraps around the hardtop to keep wet spray away from the helm station. Aft, the pilothouse is enclosed. Two wipers, backed up by heavy-duty defrosters, clear the windshield when waves come across the bow. The Striper also comes with a heater to keep the captain and crew as warm as toast.

For the angler, there are a number of nice features on board, including the 38-gallon aerated live well, oversized fish boxes, tackle drawers and a bait-prep station. No big surprise, rod holders are abundant. If it were my boat, I'd add fender cages to free up deck storage.

Belowdecks, amenities include a galley with sink and stove. A generously proportioned V-berth does double duty as a dinette, and there's an enclosed head with a freshwater shower. Interior headroom is 6'5", which means there's enough room in this cabin for the installation of optional bunk beds above the V-berth. Must-have options include the 5-kW generator, microwave, air conditioner, shore power and water heater, which allows family members to get hot showers aboard.

I sea-trialed the boat with diesel sterndrives, but it's also available with outboards or gas sterndrives. The twin Volvo D4 diesels on my test boat were mated to Duoprop drive legs with twin, counter-rotating propellers. The additional blade area of the prop sets lent greater efficiency to the engines and substantially improved the boat's handling. Docking was a dream, even without a bowthruster.

Acceleration proved impressively quick for a diesel; the Striper went from zero to 25 mph in just 10 seconds. According to Seaswirl, when rigged with 280-hp Volvo gas V-8s, the Striper accelerates to 25 mph in nine seconds. During my test, the boat produced a top speed of 40.7 mph, which is only about four mph slower than the boat would be if equipped with gas V-8s. Cruising at 23 mph and 2500 rpm, range with the diesels should be about 460 miles, with 10 percent of the fuel held in reserve. Compared to the gas V-8s, the Volvo diesels add another 200 miles to the boat's range, in addition to the fuel savings.

A tilt steering wheel, an adjustable captain's chair and footrests made it easy for me to get comfortable at the helm. I also liked the substantial stainless steel bowrail that wraps around the foredeck and extends almost all the way back to the cockpit. That feature, along with the wide sidedecks, makes it easier to go forward to handle a bow line.

©Motor Boating Magazine, September 2004

Other Sea Trials featured this month:

• American Tug 49
• Boston Whaler 370
• Minor Offshore 31
• Endeavor 40
• Monterey 320

Electronics Archive

• More Electronics from past issues.