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Sailfish 2660 CC Review

The bottom line is that the Sailfish 2660 qualifies as one tough, solid, seaworthy and handsome boat for an affordable price. If that sounds like a sales pitch, so be it.
Sailfish 2660 main page

Sailfish 2660 main page

Within the current climate of corporate scandal – Martha Stewart, Bernard Ebbers and the like – I almost hesitate to talk about the new Sailfish 2660 for fear that someone will indict me for spreading insider information. So, shhh – here it is. Lots of people haven’t heard about them, but Sailfish boats may represent one of the best deals available today.
 
They offer high-quality construction, superb performance and affordability. OK, now that it’s public knowledge, go tell your friend down the dock.

Performance
It doesn’t matter what the weather is doing if you’re driving boats at the Miami Boat Show. So many boats big and small running in packs between bridge openings churn up the most unbelievable seas. Then you can escape to calm areas for speed runs. If a boat has a performance flaw, it can’t cover it up in those conditions.

Idling out the waterway, I couldn’t even hear the twin Yamaha F150 engines at 500 rpm. Plus, idle speed uses so little fuel that the sensors can’t measure the flow. Both four-strokes together used less than half a gallon per hour.
For some unexplained reason, I found lots of boats with stiff steering at this show, but the Sailfish exhibited steering as smooth as silk. Trolling speed (10 mph) produced substantial centerline prop turbulence but little else. Overall, you’ll enjoy the remarkably clean wake for your trolling pattern.

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Off by ourselves, I touched 47.8 mph at 5,600 rpm using a total of 28.7 gph. A very comfortable cruising pace of 37 mph at 4,500 rpm burned 17.6 gph. But optimum cruising speed turned out to be 26.4 at 3,500 rpm using 9.7 gph, for a whopping 2.72 miles per gallon. The factory claims a top speed of 61.6 mph with the twin 250s on the transom.

Offshore, the 2660 displayed a terrific head-sea ride, landing softly coming off waves. Drifting in a 3-foot beam sea, I found the roll moment very comfortable with no snap roll and a relatively quiet wave noise on the chines, all thanks to Sailfish’s new variable-deadrise hull design. Backing up quickly, the Sailfish locks into quarter steer for a short while before it finally catches and changes direction. But turning at cruising speed was perfect. With the wheel hard over, the 2660’s stern slid just enough to keep everyone safely aboard.

**Fishing **
Although the gunwale pad hit me midthigh – just as it should – I found it a bit of a stretch to reach the water’s surface to bill a sailfish. You’ll discover more than the usual amount of standard-equipment rod storage on the 2660. For example, in addition to the usual two rod holders in and three under each gunwale, Sailfish integrates shin-level rod holders as part of forward seating plus four more across the transom. Then there are the three rod holders along the starboard side of the console with holes through the T-top for rod tips.

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Since you’ll obviously have a lot of fishing line aboard and don’t want any of it snagged on hardware, Sailfish uses pop-up cleats and bow light, as well as recessed bow rails. An insert fits between the forward seats, making the area into a sizable casting deck. The boat I ran also sported a very nice optional spotting tower on top of the T-top that would be so perfect for cobia fishing. Of course, the twin 56-gallon insulated fish boxes in the bow would handle more cobia than the regulations allow. You’ll also never run out of bait with a livewell in the starboard side corner and another, optional one in the helm seat. I particularly liked the built-in StarBoard ruler on the transom covering board. It makes measuring fish quick, easy, and safe for the fish. Sailfish puts two downrigger ball holders under each gunwale, just aft of the stainless-steel toe rails.

Honestly, I don’t remember seeing a boat with as many drink holders scattered around. And it boasts plenty of tackle storage space for removable boxes, too.

Design and Construction
As you’d expect, the forward seating hides storage, and the anchor locker has a Danforth hanger. In-deck storage on centerline augments the footrest storage at the helm. But the best has to be the segmented area on the console top for catchall storage, a really nice feature.

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In addition to the seat in each aft corner of the cockpit, Sailfish has an excellent drop-down stern seat. And I thank the company for the swim ladder deployable from the water.

Sailfish Boats touts its no-wood construction, consisting of a composite stringer system, high-density foam transom, Polycore decks and Spraycored small parts. Interplastics gelcoats and vinylester resins in the hull prevent osmotic blistering. The T-top and leaning post are glued down with Plexus, as well as thru-bolted with aluminum backing plates.

The bottom line is that the Sailfish 2660 qualifies as one tough, solid, seaworthy and handsome boat for an affordable price. If that sounds like a sales pitch, so be it.

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