Boat Test: 2025 Sailfish 232 Center Console
The 232 CC rides well in all kinds of conditions.
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Overview
Sailfish Boats was one of the first fishing-boat companies to embrace a Fishing-Focused/Family-Friendly Boats mantra in the early 2000s. According to internal research at Sailfish, those buying center-consoles 27 feet and shorter didn’t list fishing as its primary purpose, unlike owners of its 30-plus-footers who overwhelmingly had fishing as their No. 1 activity. Accordingly, Sailfish designers applied that owner input when designing the new 232 Center Console. It is a versatile craft designed to please angler and family boaters in equal measure and delivered with more standard features than other boats offered at comparable prices.
The 232 CC comes well-equipped with standard features.
Courtesy Sailfish Boats
Engine
Our test boat was powered by a Yamaha F250 that provided excellent performance. Time to plane was 3.6 seconds, and the 232 CC reached 30 mph in 7.4 seconds. The top speed was 48 mph (a Yamaha test driver got 49 mph in calmer water just before our test). In addition, owners can choose a 200 hp engine, which may not be enough if watersports are on the agenda.
Available 300 hp engines would push it past the 50 mph mark. Sailfish gives buyers a choice of outboards from Mercury, Yamaha and Suzuki. We like that boat buyers can choose their engine brand, and thus have a choice of servicing dealers. Bravo, Sailfish.
The Entertainment Package includes a removable bow table.
Courtesy Sailfish Boats
As we shoved off from Point South Marina in Port St. Joe in the Florida Panhandle and idled into Saint Joseph Bay, we were greeted by a corrugated surface created by 15 mph winds.
The 232 CC boasts twin 10-gallon livewells beneath the rear bench seat.
Courtesy Sailfish Boats
Fortunately, the new 232 CC employs Sailfish’s three-hulls-in-one Variable Degree Stepped Hull (VDS), which uses a sharp 24-degree keel section to help slice through the chop, the next section outward moderates to 23 degrees that, when combined with its downward turned strakes, creates lift when accelerating or running. The outer section of the hull is a flatter 22 degrees, giving it greater stability at rest. The other factor that makes Sailfish boats ride well in rough water is their relative beefiness, thanks to a stout layup with quad-axial fiberglass mat, reinforced by Kevlar at high-stress points, contributing to its 5,065 rigged weight. The 232 CC easily ate up the 2-foot chop while running at its best cruise speed of around 25 mph, which netted an impressive 3.5 mpg.
The console sports 5 feet of headroom plus a standard portable marine head.
Courtesy Sailfish Boats
Interior and Accessories
Prospecting for redfish and seatrout, I fired a plastic lure with a gold spinner in all directions at the designated fishing spot, where the depth ranged from 2 to 6 feet deep. I had no problem moving around the boat’s perimeter thanks to the minimum 16 inches of walkaround space around the center console. A generous 27-inch minimum gunwale height at the stern grew to 30 inches amidships, and with standard bolsters all around, I felt contained and comfortable. I left the bow and stern cushions in place, and we didn’t have the filler board to insert between the bow rider benches up front, which would have created a roomy casting platform. I only saw one fish that day and identified it as a 40-pound black drum lazing on the surface. But, to paraphrase the scariest line in “The Shining,” it was only a floating “dead drum” clearly past its expiration date.
When trying to figure out a boat’s intended purpose, a good guideline is if there are more places to park a beverage than to store a rod, it’s a pleasure boat, not a fishing boat. Our test boat has 22 standard rod holders and eight cup holders.
Storage abounds on the 232 CC.
Courtesy Sailfish Boats
Vertical racks for two rods each are set inside recesses on either side of the center console, keeping them tucked out of the way but ready for action. Other holders are set into the gunwales and on the hardtop. The 232 Center Console has twin 10-gallon livewells beneath the rear bench seat for those who fish with live bait.
The 232 CC comes well equipped with standard features that most companies charge extra for, such as the well-braced hardtop, premium Fusion stereo with Rockford Fosgate lighted speakers, 58-quart slide-out Engel cooler, raw-water washdown and trim tabs with auto-retract, to name a few. To up its fishing game, add a 75-inch Garmin Kraken trolling motor with a 36-volt lithium-ion battery ($10,700) and a 12-inch GPS/fishfinder from Simrad NSX 3012 ($4,509) or Garmin GPS/Map 1243xsv ($7,700). One of the most innovative features is the optional, reversible leaning post ($1,467) that lifts and can be securely reinserted into rocket launcher-like receivers to face aft, not only to increase fishing area in the cockpit but also to provide a rear-facing throne while fishing or watching the kids swim.
A retractable ski pylon is a nice addition for family boating.
Courtesy Sailfish Boats
It’s easy to enhance the 232 CC’s non-fishing game by adding the Entertainment Package ($3,296), which includes a retractable ski pylon, removable bow table, Fusion transom stereo remote control and Hella underwater lighting.
Shopping? Sea Hunt’s Ultra 234 also offers a fixed stern seating arrangement. It’s less expensive, but unlike the Sailfish, features such as the $7,500 hardtop cost extra. The Ultra 234 has more livewell capacity when you add the optional leaning post with an integrated bait tank. Its max horsepower is 250 compared to the Sailfish’s 300, and Sea Hunt is a Yamaha-only boatbuilder.
Read Next: Sailfish 312 CC
The 232 Center Console combines fishability with performance.
Courtesy Sailfish Boats
How We Tested
- Engine: Single Yamaha F250
- Drive/Prop: Outboard/Yamaha Saltwater Series II 15.5″ x 17″ 3-blade, stainless steel
- Gear Ratio: 1.75:1 Fuel Load: 55 gal. Water on Board: 0 gal. Crew Weight: 400 lb.
- Its console interior opens from the front for easy access, and sports 5 feet of headroom plus a standard portable marine head.
- Many high-end standards.
- There is enough quality seating for 12 people.
- The large dash offers space to flush-mount a 12-inch MFD.
- Stern seating is more comfortable than a folding bench, but it comes at the expense of cockpit space.
Sailfish 232 Center Console Certified Test Results
Boating Magazine
Contact Sailfish
Sailfish Boats – Cairo, Georgia; sailfishboats.com
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