Venture 27 Review

Venture built its reputation on its 34, considered by many to be one of the finest limited-production center consoles on the market. In fact, the company claims to be a custom builder, and close inspection of any Venture hull would make you hard-pressed to deny that. Now that manufacturing has moved into much larger quarters in West Palm Beach, Florida, Venture can stretch that size in both directions. The infamous 34 now boasts a cuddy version. In addition to a 39-foot center console, Venture offers this 27-footer as well as a 23-foot bay skiff.

Since all the players at Venture fish in their off-time, you can rest assured that each Venture – this 27 included – comes with all the features anglers need.

Performance Honestly, if we hadn’t absolutely  needed to run this boat when we did, we certainly would have stayed at the dock. The 25-knot, southeast wind pushing against the outgoing tide at Lake Worth Inlet in Florida’s Palm Beach County stood the water up on end. Seas in the inlet hit 6 to 7 feet, and swells offshore ran a steady 6 feet. We had an open, 27-foot center console to test. When the weather service talks about small-craft warnings, they mean us.

Into the head seas, I found that going too slow got very wet. Too fast, and the hull would pound. But moving about 18 mph out of the inlet kept the spray to a minimum and the bow riding smoothly.

The Venture 27 cruised quite comfortably at 35 mph running in beam seas of 6 to 8 feet. With that said, as with any center console in a strong wind, I’d keep side curtains aboard for the really nasty days. However, here’s the summary: Never once in those extreme (for a 27-foot CC) conditions did I feel our safety bordered on compromise. I honestly could have fished that day on the Venture 27.

If the boat had a roll problem in a drift, those conditions would point it out. I found the roll moment stable and gentle with very mild transitions. Quite amazing.

I headed back into the Intracoastal Waterway for our speed trials. At idle speed, the twin Mercury OptiMax 200XS outboards pushed us along at 5 1¼2 mph with an absolutely clean wake. You’ll have no trouble trolling live bait with this boat and power package. At the other end of the speed spectrum, I reached a top speed of 52 mph at 5,800 rpm. A comfortable cruising speed of 35 mph turning 4,400 rpm used a modest 18 gph total.

Though rated for up to 500   horses, twin 200s worked very well, and you might even be able to get away with two 150s.

Fishing
Again, drift fishermen will appreciate the gentle ride of the Venture in a beam sea. Bottomfish enthusiasts will also like the roomy anchor locker with its     fiberglass tube. This tube houses the anchor’s shank, which keeps the hook upright and out of the rode   when stored.

Though you could  easily add more, Venture provides excellent rod storage. Five holders in a rocket launcher across the back of the leaning-post module, five more across the back of the optional hardtop and two in each gunwale might easily be augmented.

Venture does a superior job laying out the cockpit. Two 30-gallon fore and aft in-deck fish boxes feature macerators. And the 44-gallon livewell in the transom lets you change out baits quickly  without having to traverse the cockpit. Immediately adjacent, a bait prep station with cutting board, sink and fresh- and  saltwater taps keeps all your  rigging centralized.

The leaning post provides two compartments for removable tackle boxes as well as a huge drawer at deck level for lures, weights and other heavy or bulky gear.
 A boxlike transom gate – such as you might find on a larger sport-fishing      convertible – folds over onto the transom gunwale for access to a swim platform/integral engine bracket.