Official 2018 Los Angeles Boat Show Report!

[RiverDave]

Well guys this is gonna be a long one so bare with me. We went through just about everything we found interesting at the show. I also did the Performance section in a lot more detail like I used to do years ago. If for nothing else do you guys can see the rigging and how things are built etc.

This years Boat Show report is brought to you by Nordic Boats! On a side note they also won “Best Booth” this year for the show with DCB taking a close second..

Just the sheer number of boats and the variety of boats that Nordic brought to the show is what pushed it over the top.


The first boat we will look at is the Hallett 290, which is one of my favorite boats in the Hallett/Nordic line up.

I love the way this boat looks.. everything from the overall lines to the giant steps on the side (this one has a good bottom on it)

The only thing I’m not a fan of is the ginormous bolt on swim steps that Hallett was using. It should be noted that the two Halletts in the Booth were built by the old Hallett so some of this will likely be changed and improved upon by the new regime.

It’s the little things like if you are going to bolt that giant swimstep on the boat then spend the time and fill in the recessed factory ladder holder. The old Hallett would actually install a ladder in there (as seen in this pic) that would do nothing except flop out and lay on the swimstep..

Personally I’d like to see Thane ditch these swim steps and tool something right into the boat so it doesn’t look like an after thought.

This is the V2D bottom on the 290. It’s a double step bottom and then at the transom it has a channel with two reverse chines.. If you study it in person it’s one of the few step bottoms that you can understand how it works and why it would work well in turns.

This boat was built by the original Hallett. The helm is very nice and looks good. Things that will likely change under Nordic is less clutter on the dash (customer preference) and a little nicer steering wheel.

The cabin is very similar to a 270. I think Hallett went kinda backwards in this department over the years. The previous versions this cabinet had drawers and a better storage deal up top.

I’m only pointing this out because I know the guys at Nordic are going to be reading this and it’s an opportunity to do something better in this area.

The other side just had a straight bench seat. On my older 270 there is a built in cooler there.. I love the built in cooler and would suggest bringing that back as well.

The open bows in Halletts are bad ass. They are huge and extremely functional.

I like the fact that the mid cabin had doors on both the front and the back which would reduce wind a lot. As well as it gives you a somewhat secure place to lock things up if you were at a marina.

I’m pretty sure the batteries were turned off in this boat which is why I didn’t get any shots of the engine bay etc..


FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE HALLETT 290 PLEASE VISIT THE RDP BOAT TEST PAGE LOCATED HERE THERE ARE A TON OF PICS, AND THE MOST ACCURATE REVIEW OF THE BOAT YOU WILL FIND IN THE INDUSTRY! *Note, prices may have changed from the time of the test

RD

 

[Dkahnjob]

Nice boat, I wish it was available in twin engine.

 

[RiverDave]

Nice boat, I wish it was available in twin engine.

Did they tell you it isn’t?? I know that Randy wants to build a 270 with twin small blocks.. I can’t imagine why a 290 wouldn’t work with twins?

 

[crzy2bealive]

I love this boat!

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

[Dkahnjob]

Did they tell you it isn’t?? I know that Randy wants to build a 270 with twin small blocks.. I can’t imagine why a 290 wouldn’t work with twins?

I asked Jerry Barron years ago if it was available and he told me single only, I am sure it could be built either way, just a matter of moving stringers around.

 

[Runs2rch]

Did they tell you it isn’t?? I know that Randy wants to build a 270 with twin small blocks.. I can’t imagine why a 290 wouldn’t work with twins?

Boat was designed for a single. Michael Peter's put out an article on the bottom as it was built for another country for military use. He went into depth about the reverse strakes etc. The hatch on that boat should have still opened with the batteries off. They were most likely dead. If you compare the engine compartment size of a straight bottom 27 to a 29 you can see how a pair of ls or sbc's would probably not fit.

 

[DrunkenSailor]

This was one of my favorite boats at the show. The cabin and the bow were perfectly sized. Great boat that could do many things. Curious to see how Nordic is going to improve it.

 

[RiverDave]

Sorry for the delay guys, that boat show kicked my ass! Slept in today.

At lunch at juicys right now and the internet sucks, but I’ll see if I can get some pics to upload.

 

[wsuwrhr]

Sorry for the delay guys, that boat show kicked my ass! Slept in today.

At lunch at juicys right now and the internet sucks, but I’ll see if I can get some pics to upload.

.....Today.

Noted.

 

[Racey]

Did they tell you it isn’t?? I know that Randy wants to build a 270 with twin small blocks.. I can’t imagine why a 290 wouldn’t work with twins?

possibly because of the transom and the integrated upper swim platform might not leave enough flat room for gimbals and exhaust? Just throwing it out there as an idea. The 270's have a flat transom, no swimstep.

 

[RiverDave]

possibly because of the transom and the integrated upper swim platform might not leave enough flat room for gimbals and exhaust? Just throwing it out there as an idea. The 270's have a flat transom, no swimstep.

That wouldn’t stop Nordic.. No different then when someone asked for a twin OB deckboat, or 28SS or 24SX. Nordic said no problem and then either did the first ones by hand out of the mold and after that retooled and made inserts etc for production. It’s nice when the GM is a tooler.


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[Motoxxxloak]

I’m jumping the gun here and should probably wait for this to be finished but, anyone know what the 28SS with twins goes for? I’ve looked at easily 50-60 boats the last year and this is the only one that the lady said she liked, said she really liked, has not stopped talking about and told me to make it happen.

I was there to buy a set of gauges and other things from CP (Rick was super helpful) and left with potentially a whole new game plan.


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[RiverDave]

Up next is the Hallett 400! It’s important to know that these giant Halletts are built to order and cabin configurations can vary widely Boat to boat.

This was also an “inherited” build from the buyout and the boat is still not 100% complete so I’ll go over some of that to the best of my knowledge.

Now before I even get into all of this I would like to address some of the “snarky” comments made by people on social media and he’ll I even saw one on here the other day.

The comment read something to the effect of “Doing nothing with Hallett and this boat was done and just needed an interior.. what’s taking so long?”

Seems a legit comment on the surface.. but that’s assuming the boat was good. I’d like you to take note of the keel of the boat. This was a V2D bottom so it should have the reverse chines and that specific look like the 290. You can see none of it is there.

So for those snarky types.. This boat was inherited and it ran 85mph and was a handful at that.

Nordic has been diligently working on the bottom of the boat. Last video I saw was the boat running a 110mph And I’m pretty sure you could do it with one hand on the wheel and the other holding a cocktail. I hope the snarky types ease up a bit and give Nordic a chance because they really are trying to do right by the brand. That will become more evident over the next month or so as we shed some light on various things of what they are working on etc.


Back to the boat. The transom is gorgeous.. The powder coated tabs was a nice touch you normally don’t see.

I don’t think anyone else got in this boat at the boatshow but let me tell you.. It’s a long ways down if you go off the side of this bow. Lol I’d definitely extend the handrails out and over it, I don’t care if it looks weird or not. What you are seeing in the pic is the leap of faith it takes to board.. socks not recommended.

So here we are entering the bow. The bow is definitely “Hallett.” Meaning that it is huge and comfy.

I hate to pick apart things because I love the functionality of the giant ski locker.. but that giant white piece of plastic looked really out of place to me. I don’t know if they should cover that with some of that teak looking sea deck or what, but if it was my boat I’d for sure do something with it.

Not sure what else you could say.. It’s bad ass. I don’t know if they put accent lights in there or not, but I would.. I would keep it classy as well using white lights for ambience.

This is the part where I said cabins vary widely boat to boat. Hallett (and the new Hallett/Nordic) will build you whatever you want in here. If you are wondering what is inside this monster there is a giant flat screen with two amplifiers recessed into the wall.

And on the other side there is the same giant flat screen with two amps recessed into the wall. Not sure I understand the logic in that.. but I’m guessing maybe two kids gaming systems running at once? There’s two large bench seats underneath on either side.

Personally I would have done cabinets, coolers, maybe even a fridge or kitchenette on one side.. who knows though I’m getting older now so those things are more appealing to me.

This boat isn’t a 100% complete yet but there is a counter top on one side with some cabinets

There is a door across from that where there is a small head. I’m not sure why Hallett left this wiring exposed when everything else was hidden. Breakers to the right.

Before we exit into the passenger area I opened up the cabinets and as you can see there is plenty of storage.

 

[RiverDave]

Exiting the birth into the cabin area there is plenty of head room so you don’t have to worry about whacking your head. The cabin is also typical Hallett where it is spacious and comfortable. Compare this to some other sport boats and it’s a limousine.

The dash is pretty bad ass actually. It stays true to the classic Hallett styling. I do think Nordic could modernize it and put there flair on it but it’s a ton of work for something that is already fine.

Just to the back of the throttles is the headset controls. So all the passengers can talk to each other at speed. I don’t believe this boat has “car to car” or “boat to boat.”

Pretty good sized screen on the passenger dash!

Yes!!

No!! Lol. Long story short the boat isn’t completed, and I am sure John and Travis at Nordic will raise it to their standards. If your looking in the bolder st a set of 1100’s, it better be legit across the board to which it currently is not. Snarky types take note.

The upside is all the bones are there and as they finish up the boat, it will be bad ass. I am looking forward to watching it come together and will post updates and the finished product as it comes together.

 

[DWC]

What power is in that beast? 110 in a 40'r gets a lot of friends from Havasu to Topock in a hurry. You'd just have to hold your breath that one of a few available spots were open. The cabin isn't how I would have set it up but it's still a bad ass set-up. I'd just need step stools on the inside and a small ladder out.

 

[funkcity]

Exiting the birth into the cabin area there is plenty of head room so you don’t have to worry about whacking your head. The cabin is also typical Hallett where it is spacious and comfortable. Compare this to some other sport boats and it’s a limousine.

View attachment 614712
The dash is pretty bad ass actually. It stays true to the classic Hallett styling. I do think Nordic could modernize it and put there flair on it but it’s a ton of work for something that is already fine.
View attachment 614713 View attachment 614719

Yes!!
View attachment 614716

No!! Lol. Long story short the boat isn’t completed, and I am sure John and Travis at Nordic will raise it to their standards. If your looking in the bolder st a set of 1100’s, it better be legit across the board to which it currently is not. Snarky types take note.

View attachment 614717 View attachment 614718

The upside is all the bones are there and as they finish up the boat, it will be bad ass. I am looking forward to watching it come together and will post updates and the finished product as it comes together.

Hallett
It was sad to not see any of the Barron family there Saturday afternoon.
Time moves on.
I thought the 40 was to also get the V2D Michael Peter's hull bottom.
As it was, this trailer did not fit the boat. There was at least an exposed inch from the bottom of the boat
to the trailer at the stern. You might recall that it was Thane who stretched a 40 to 44' for the Imco diesel boat.
Nordic now has quite an extensive product line to support.
I hope RD is right here as the designs are timeless.

 

[RiverDave]

Hallett
It was sad to not see any of the Barron family there Saturday afternoon.
Time moves on.
I thought the 40 was to also get the V2D Michael Peter's hull bottom.
As it was, this trailer did not fit the boat. There was at least an exposed inch from the bottom of the boat
to the trailer at the stern. You might recall that it was Thane who stretched a 40 to 44' for the Imco diesel boat.
Nordic now has quite an extensive product line to support.
I hope RD is right here as the designs are timeless.

It had the V2D bottom when it arrived at Nordic.. apparently the scaled up version didn’t work as well as it did on the 290. They have been modifying the bottom, widening strakes and everything else to settle the boat down and make it perform.

 

[RiverDave]

I’m jumping the gun here and should probably wait for this to be finished but, anyone know what the 28SS with twins goes for? I’ve looked at easily 50-60 boats the last year and this is the only one that the lady said she liked, said she really liked, has not stopped talking about and told me to make it happen.

I was there to buy a set of gauges and other things from CP (Rick was super helpful) and left with potentially a whole new game plan.


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210k fully loaded. Call Thane and make sure ya tell him ole RD sent ya. . He will buy me lunch if I send him a customer.

 

[spectras only]

possibly because of the transom and the integrated upper swim platform might not leave enough flat room for gimbals and exhaust? Just throwing it out there as an idea. The 270's have a flat transom, no swimstep.

I know it's apples to oranges comparing my boat to a Hallett, but my boat fits two small blocks with 8' beam. Also have integrated swimstep. There's about 4-5 inches between engines. Had to make my own exh tips though, to conform the inner shape of swimstep .

 

[RiverDave]

So we have covered the Halletts in the Booth now it’s time to cover the Nordics that we’re in the booth as well!

Because of the overwhelming popularity of the 24SX I figured we will start there. So while I was at the show I pulled Thane aside for a moment and we talked about the boat for a second!

I was taking pics of this boat at the very end of the first day and I was beat.. Since there was no stairs in it I didn’t climb in and shoot pics behind the dash etc. Rest assured the rigging is a 10/10, it’s a Nordic.

Here you can see the extended cockpit that Thane was referring too in the video!

For more information on the 24SX (in particular with an I/O you can click some of the reviews that we have done in the past, complete with videos and photos.

Intro Article on the 24XS with the first Ilmor 570

HERE

VIDEO AND FIRST IMPRESSIONS HERE! (Crazy Fun boat to drive!)

HERE

 

[sirbob]

God love ya Dave but we want to see the new stuff! LOL

I know you will do right by the folks at Nordic / Hallett but at least weave them into a thread that shows us some new meat from the show. Not that these used / remakes are not nice boats, but I can't believe they were the highlight of the show?

Were they?

I'd love to see the newest stuff that has not been seen before and hear your thoughts about those boats.

Show us the new shiny stuff ;-)

please...


EDIT - WHILE I WAS TYPING YOU ADDED SOME NICE NORDIC's ! Thx!

 

[RiverDave]

God love ya Dave but we want to see the new stuff! LOL

I know you will do right by the folks at Nordic / Hallett but at least weave them into a thread that shows us some new meat from the show. Not that these used / remakes are not nice boats, but I can't believe they were the highlight of the show?

Were they?

I'd love to see the newest stuff that has not been seen before and hear your thoughts about those boats.

Show us the new shiny stuff ;-)

please...


EDIT - WHILE I WAS TYPING YOU ADDED SOME NICE NORDIC's ! Thx!

We are going Booth by Booth through the Performance hall.. If I skip around it will be hard to find a boat later because each brand won’t be together. Plus I don’t want to forget one And I have them in order on my phone. When we are done with Nordic we are on to the next manufacturer.

Not sure if you have seen it but I have also included links to boat tests and reviews that we have done on some of the boats. Those are incredibly informative if you want to know more.

 

[spectras only]

Thane should explore the possibility of an extension of Nordic to Kelowna/Penticton. It is the perfect area to boats like the 24 OB.

Just checked, there's a dealer for Nordic here. Capstains'village Marina. http://captainsvillage.com/inventory/section/nordic/

 

[sirbob]

Well it sounds like you have a plan... ill be patient and wait to see all the booths!

I like the links and the info that is in them, good stuff.

We are going Booth by Booth through the Performance hall.. If I skip around it will be hard to find a boat later because each brand won’t be together. Plus I don’t want to forget one And I have them in order on my phone. When we are done with Nordic we are on to the next manufacturer.

Not sure if you have seen it but I have also included links to boat tests and reviews that we have done on some of the boats. Those are incredibly informative if you want to know more.

 

[Q4mtxUS]

Per

It had the V2D bottom when it arrived at Nordic.. apparently the scaled up version didn’t work as well as it did on the 290. They have been modifying the bottom, widening strakes and everything else to settle the boat down and make it perform.

Perhaps the V2D (not modified) on the 40 footer works best with a staggered configuration?
I wondered how the Peters bottom design was going to flow water to the huge drives with the unique “strakes” er “reverse chines” er “catamaran” (for lack of a better analogy), while Hallett posted pics of it in the “from the mold section. The drives just looked odd with the new design hull.

If you look at the 290 w/twin Verados, these closely spaced outboards are within the spread of the unique “reverse chined” (again, lack of better term) peters designed hull and seems to work great so maybe this is why Twin side x side I/O’s won’t work with the 290 V2D whereas two “whackers” work well. The oddity is though, if a guy were to opt for triple 600r verados (just a matter of time guys), this configuration may not work with the current 40 V2D and two Verado XXXr (where X equals HP) might appear “not enough” power for a huge boat.

Could you mount two LS engines in staggered configuration in a 290 without losing too much cockpit space and without modifying the V2D hull?

Rob

 

[RiverDave]

So the 28SS is always the Belle of the Ball wherever it goes, and the Decks always overshadow the Vee’s, and I think it’s bullshit..

For a normal typical family (like mine) we want something that is usable and affordable, I give you the 25’ Walk through open bow Rage!

This boat is the suburban of boats.. You can run them in rough water (moderate speeds) they flat haul ass with mild power, you can put 12+ people in them plus gear (there is as much storage in this boat as there is in 28 decks) and not be cramped..

We can all talk about how bad ass the cats are, but you’d be hard pressed to tell me one thing about this boat that isn’t perfect for family boating.

At 89,900 loaded you get a 70+ mph boat that won’t let ya down in any conditions, and like all Nordics it is rigged to the tens! Complete woodfree construction (as with all Nordics) makes it a lifetime boat if you take care of it. (THINK RESALE!). MBAA! (Make Boating Affordable Again!)

First thing you are going to see is there is a ton of room in the passenger compartment. Billet seat basis, fiberglass inner liner, fiberglass seat backs (wait.. aren’t those reserved to the crazy expensive boats?). And most importantly along with all the storage under the seats look in front of the helms, right there is large storage areas with closing doors!

As the French say “legit!”

Massive open bow (6 people easy), and again look in the gunnels.. Wait.. are those fiberglass inserts with speakers, recessed lighting and cup holders? Are they also gelled to match the rest of the boat? Isn’t that only reserved for those crazy expensive boats?

(I’m telling you guys.. look closely at this boat, it has everything and it does everything).

That’s two sets of cup holders per side in the open bow.. Because ya never know when you might have to take party mobile. (8 total in open bow)

And there it is.. Finished engine hatch (no splatter paint), and the rigging is every bit as nice as any boat in their line up

To make things even more convenient they have added fender holders and storage for ropes and other things. (Also note the large pockets on the sides, I used these quite a bit)

I didn’t get a pic of the engine hatch closed, but it’s massive and invariably turns out to be the hang out when you are sitting at the sandbar.

I think it goes without saying Inreally like these boats. I really enjoyed my 22, but wish that it had the 25 Rage (or 21 Blaze) bottom on it.. I have heard hey changed he bottoms on the 22’s since Thane arrived but can’t confirm it. The Rage has always been an exceptionally fast and docile bottom with many of them running 80’s and 90+. (We will be featuring a 90 mph rage on rdp pretty soon actually)

 

[RiverDave]

Per


Perhaps the V2D (not modified) on the 40 footer works best with a staggered configuration?
I wondered how the Peters bottom design was going to flow water to the huge drives with the unique “strakes” er “reverse chines” er “catamaran” (for lack of a better analogy), while Hallett posted pics of it in the “from the mold section. The drives just looked odd with the new design hull.

If you look at the 290 w/twin Verados, these closely spaced outboards are within the spread of the unique “reverse chined” (again, lack of better term) peters designed hull and seems to work great so maybe this is why Twin side x side I/O’s won’t work with the 290 V2D whereas two “whackers” work well. The oddity is though, if a guy were to opt for triple 600r verados (just a matter of time guys), this configuration may not work with the current 40 V2D and two Verado XXXr (where X equals HP) might appear “not enough” power for a huge boat.

Could you mount two LS engines in staggered configuration in a 290 without losing too much cockpit space and without modifying the V2D hull?

Rob

Long story short I wouldn’t want to be the guinea pig that dropped th coin to find out it didn’t work... lol. Me personally I’d go to Nordic and tell thane this is what I’d like but I would defer to your expertise as a boat builder and designer to insure it is going to work. In short taking the liability off of me the customer.

 

[MooreMoney]

Does it come in all white and with a 565? This might be the next family boat with a kid on the way.

So the 28SS is always the Belle of the Ball wherever it goes, and the Decks always overshadow the Vee’s, and I think it’s bullshit..

For a normal typical family (like mine) we want something that is usable and affordable, I give you the 25’ Walk through open bow Rage!

This boat is the suburban of boats.. You can run them in rough water (moderate speeds) they flat haul ass with mild power, you can put 12+ people in them plus gear (there is as much storage in this boat as there is in 28 decks) and not be cramped..

We can all talk about how bad ass the cats are, but you’d be hard pressed to tell me one thing about this boat that isn’t perfect for family boating.

At 89,900 loaded you get a 70+ mph boat that won’t let ya down in any conditions, and like all Nordics it is rigged to the tens! Complete woodfree construction (as with all Nordics) makes it a lifetime boat if you take care of it. (THINK RESALE!). MBAA! (Make Boating Affordable Again!)

View attachment 614749


First thing you are going to see is there is a ton of room in the passenger compartment. Billet seat basis, fiberglass inner liner, fiberglass seat backs (wait.. aren’t those reserved to the crazy expensive boats?). And most importantly along with all the storage under the seats look in front of the helms, right there is large storage areas with closing doors!

View attachment 614750


View attachment 614751

As the French say “legit!” View attachment 614752 View attachment 614754

Massive open bow (6 people easy), and again look in the gunnels.. Wait.. are those fiberglass inserts with speakers, recessed lighting and cup holders? Are they also gelled to match the rest of the boat? Isn’t that only reserved for those crazy expensive boats?

(I’m telling you guys.. look closely at this boat, it has everything and it does everything).

View attachment 614755

That’s two sets of cup holders per side in the open bow.. Because ya never know when you might have to take party mobile. (8 total in open bow)

View attachment 614756

And there it is.. Finished engine hatch (no splatter paint), and the rigging is every bit as nice as any boat in their line up
View attachment 614759

To make things even more convenient they have added fender holders and storage for ropes and other things. (Also note the large pockets on the sides, I used these quite a bit)
View attachment 614760 View attachment 614761

I didn’t get a pic of the engine hatch closed, but it’s massive and invariably turns out to be the hang out when you are sitting at the sandbar.

I think it goes without saying Inreally like these boats. I really enjoyed my 22, but wish that it had the 25 Rage (or 21 Blaze) bottom on it.. I have heard hey changed he bottoms on the 22’s since Thane arrived but can’t confirm it. The Rage has always been an exceptionally fast and docile bottom with many of them running 80’s and 90+. (We will be featuring a 90 mph rage on rdp pretty soon actually)

 

[RiverDave]

Does it come in all white and with a 565? This might be the next family boat with a kid on the way.

They will build it however you want and It will rip with a 565! You will also be able to pull your kid on tubes and training skis unlike the Cats and Tunnel hull decks.

 

[RiverDave]

The 28SS is the sexiest boat in the Booth if you ask me. It has an extremely aggressive style and the sponsons look more like a Skater or east coast race boat than any other West Coast boat made today. The thing literally looks like it’s running a 100 sitting still.

The boat seats four across the back with a “semi” poker run style interior.

The seats are wide enough that they are extremely comfortable and not suffocating like some of the more aggressive buckets in the back of high Performance cats. (That’s a plus for normal recreational boating).

If Nordic wanted to do something kind of trick in the future they could cut down the hump a bit in the leg supports and run some low profile grab handles from the top and to the backs of the seats. Personally I’d run the same Stainless elliptical bow rail that they use on their vees. (Just a suggestion guys!). As you can see if you look at the picture there are vinyl handles under the seats that they are using currently.

As you can tell looking st the seats, Nordic goes all in on their interiors. The seats are three dimensional and are not the typical flat panel seats you find in most boats. You can see how they offer side support on the seat backs without being suffocating which is nice.

Something else to take note of is the seats are pushed in towards the center of the boat leaving space between the funnel and the seat. The area in front of the seats drops down and there is actually little lounge seats down there. If you had kids or something maybe they would ride down there, I personally wouldn’t. What it does do though is give you a large easy to reach storage area where you can throw lifelines or other gear that you don’t want blowing around in the boat.

As for under the deck, there's stuff up there (I think built in coolers?), but the odds of me going under there to get something to drink out of them is virtually zero. Again if you had some kids (bilge rats) you could send them up there for stuff, but grown adults aren't going to "easily" access that area. For myself (having spent some time in one of these with Bullhead Bully) we just bring soft coolers and throw them behind the front seats.

To keep with that kind of east coast racing theme I was talking about earlier the center dash pod is bad ass.

As you can see in the pic everything is easily accessible and visible for the driver. That doesn’t sound important but when you are running 118 and your bumping that jackplate switch to get you into the mid 120’s, you don’t really want to be “reaching for it.” The vessel view screen is easy to read at a glance, and obviously they tied in a grab handle for the passenger and a step plate on top to make it easier to get out and over the window.

Some more detailed shots of what’s in the drivers side foot well area.

This boat is also equipped with headsets by PCI radios.

Breaker panel

In the storage hatch the rigging for the boat is again typical Nordic! I don’t understand why they didn’t put the two batteries towards the backseat instead of towards the transom. I will have to ask John about that. I would think you would all of those as far forward as possible to help it roll over on plane. Either way you won’t find anything out of place or not perfect in here.

If you look closely you can see that they filled in the notch at the transom on all the outboard models. Nordic has been working directly with Mercury Racing to get the most Performance and longevity out of their 400R’s!

When you mount up the cleavers and are going to go run 125-126 mph it isn’t exactly the best “family” boat.. lol. But if your kids were a little older you will be the coolest dad on the lake. Pretty unlikely you are going to get passed by too many people as well.. and if they do pass you it isn’t going to be for long because you can run 100+ for as long as you want.

This particular boat belongs to Eric Lopez (resident All State Insurance guy). He is also an RDP member that goes by Mr Mayhem. @MrMayhem He had a 28SS before this with a 700 and some upgrades.. After going out with Bullhead Bully he was sold on the Twin 400 Program.

If you'd like to know what it's like to ride in one of these I have a ton of video of it online. Most of the "@ The River" Episodes we did were filmed in the Bullhead Bully.

Here's a quick 3 min video though of what it's like to cruise 100+ all day long. This boat has run mid 120's.

Fully Loaded Boat with Twin 400's is 210,000.00. I'm going to assume that comes with normal props, and not the CNC Cleavers from Merc.

RD

 

[RiverDave]

Alright guys next up is the 43’ Enforcer. That would be the big crazy bad ass boat on the tilt trailer if you are wondering.

There were two Tilt boats in the show, this 43’ Enforcer and DCB’s M44. In both casss the trailers themselves cost more than the average boat on rdp. Lol. Being they are tilted I’m not going to be able to crawl up and through them and tell ya what’s what.

In the case of the 43’ Enforcer though Nordic had he foresight to call me when it was hitting the water so I had Tom come down and do a photo shoot of the boat and we did onboard footage etc.

Here’s the video of the ride

I'm going to do you one better. Here is the complete write up of the boat with all of the rigging pictures, and professional photography... Which when you are dealing with a boat of this caliber the word photography could almost be substituted for Pornography.. Boat is unbelievably bad ass.

CLICK HERE

Congrats to Mike Smith on a bad ass build!

RD

 

[WhatExit?]

Thanks RD! Once again your write-ups, coverage, notes and highlights are top notch and always a pleasure to read. Well done Dave.

 

[n2otoofast4u]

210k fully loaded. Call Thane and make sure ya tell him ole RD sent ya. . He will buy me lunch if I send him a customer.

Multi color gel, carbon layup, upgraded stereo? At 210k that's a much different number than they gave me.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[RiverDave]

Multi color gel, carbon layup, upgraded stereo? At 210k that's a much different number than they gave me.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

I might have overstepped on the definition of fully loaded. Generally that means upgraded gauges Bimini, SS prop shit like that.

I’m not sure carbon layup and stereo upgrades fall into that. I can say I don’t think Nordic would charge for multi color gel though unless it was something crazy bizarre.

 

[Andy01]

I agree with the statement about the 25 Nordic being a great family boat and value. For under $90,000 brand new, you pick your colors, interior, trailer, stereo options I think it is a great deal. The Johnson Family 22 (Rd's dads boat) was a bad mofo in Parker, 15 people? No problem lol, was a great boat for the purpose it served, I would think one of these 25's would be just as fun for many years. I write insurance for a few of the 25's and it is very inexpensive.
Nice showing Nordic!
Dave how about a traditional deck/bottom 40 Hallett new layup with 860's for a Havasu family boat. Beach door..........

 

[Andy01]

BTW Mr. Mayhem's boat turned out really nice!

 

[n2otoofast4u]

I might have overstepped on the definition of fully loaded. Generally that means upgraded gauges Bimini, SS prop shit like that.

I’m not sure carbon layup and stereo upgrades fall into that. I can say I don’t think Nordic would charge for multi color gel though unless it was something crazy bizarre.

Got it. That said, that pricing is right in line with what they gave me.

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[RiverDave]

I agree with the statement about the 25 Nordic being a great family boat and value. For under $90,000 brand new, you pick your colors, interior, trailer, stereo options I think it is a great deal. The Johnson Family 22 (Rd's dads boat) was a bad mofo in Parker, 15 people? No problem lol, was a great boat for the purpose it served, I would think one of these 25's would be just as fun for many years. I write insurance for a few of the 25's and it is very inexpensive.
Nice showing Nordic!
Dave how about a traditional deck/bottom 40 Hallett new layup with 860's for a Havasu family boat. Beach door..........

40 is too big for Parker.. 30/335 is as big as I’d go and you will definitely get some shitty looks

 

[DaytonaBabe]

Totally digging that Nordic 24... thanks for the pics and video, Dave.

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[RiverDave]

Alright guys we are gonna wrap this up with the Decks. I am combining the 26&29 Decks from Nordic because they are so similar that I don’t think anybody from 20’ (and the larger or smaller size sitting next to it) could visually pinpoint the differences. (Even Thane.. yes they look that similar!).

When you think about it, it’s pretty cool that they were able to maintain the exact same lines while shrinking a boat three feet. This was done by surgically removing some length out of the helms and the front seats if memory serves.

Thane is always bugging me to do an article called “The tale of the tape.” What he means by that is the Boats are huge. You could literally put a Howard or a conquest etc inside of one.

I’ve never measured it all but I suspect he’s right because they are substantial, especially when you are in one. As evident by the first pic in the line up you aren’t going to find a wider walkway in a single engine deck. The first time you carry a 70-80lb cooler off a dock onto the front of a deckboat, full of people, to the back you will understand why wider is better.

What is amazing about that is even with the wide isle (through the helms etc) they didn’t Short the passengers on seat cushion length. Remember that as we go forward in our boat Show report! Also pay attention to the depth of the seats. The Nordic truly is a deeper and bigger boat then the others. (Not sure it’s totally fair to compare the 29 to most the others when the 26 would be closer to apples to apples)

Please note the wrinkled carpet is a carpet sitting on top of the factory snap in carpet for the boatshow. You’d think you wouldn’t have to disclaim that, but with social media now there are idiots among us.

Here are your front two sponson coolers. Both of these are Monster coolers and if it was me I’d actually shallow them up a bit.

The only reason why is because my friends that own these boats will full tilt load these things and then wonder why their boat goes ten miles an hour slower than it should.

It honestly never occurs to them that they just put 160 plus pounds of ice and beer in the very tips of the sponsons, of a boat with knife edge sponsons that are designed for rough water. (I can answer questions on that later if needed). They always just respond with “Well that’s where your supposed to put it!”, the whole matter of convenience and just because you could doesn’t mean you should program is lost on them.

To keep in theme with the size matters program you most likely aren’t going to find more storage under the front seats than a Nordic either. Most everyone else puts a bulkhead under the seat or in some cases will put flat floor inserts in there. Nordic finished it out with carpet and leaves it open and it is nothing short of cavernous. (Manufacturers tip! Consider putting some small LED lights in here so you can see what your looking for.. if nothing else we could turn them on to show the size of the storage when we take pics at next years boatshow so it doesn’t just look like a black hole.)

Take note of the double hinges at the tops of the photos. Also take note of the L shaped bracket.

Almost every manufacturer uses Velcro and you literally have to tear the seat off the base and then do something with the cushion while you are digging around in there. With the Nordic it is slide it towards the middle and lift up which is a little more refined.

(Downside is when someone boards the boat over the side the seats will sometimes slide forward and open making for an awkward moment..).

There is the prototypical sink that is on most decks. To date I personally have never seen someone use one. I’d ditch it and have them do a flip up cooler here if it was me. (Upside of Nordic is they will do custom things like that!).

This is a shot of the cabinet under the sink. I have never seen one of those bladders before.. I’m guessing it’s removable so you can clean it? I hope it isn’t that you have to fill it up and then load it in the boat? I’d have to get with John about that.. (I’d bet it’s just removable for cleaning though)

The other cabinet where you can see they put the boat cover and Bimini cover in while it was at the show.

I don’t care who you are this dash is what the French call “Leejayy.” Or what we in America call legit!

Interesting side fact : Nordic is the only manufacturer to my knowledge that will rig a boat all gauges or with a vessel view and not charge you an up charge! They figure the labor in doing the wiring correctly on the gauges actually offsets the costs of the vessel view so it’s a wash.

Passenger helm witha kicker head unit.

I have hit on it ten times at least in this thread already.. rigging rigging rigging! Click the pics, zoom in my friends!

Where do you put the fenders and ropes and anchor? Well I’m glad you asked!

This is Nordic ladies and gentlemen, and more importantly it’s going to be the new Hallett.

I’m addressing those snarky types that are concerned with where hat brand is going. There isn’t a Hallett built on the planet rigged by the old factory that remotely compares to this.

Zoom in and bask in what is nothing short of bad ass rigging.. By rigging I don’t just mean the wiring either, I’m referring to rigging as a whole! Every time you peel a layer back on a Noddic you find something cool.

The other boats that were also in the Booth. Can you tell me which ones was the 26?

I’m pretty sure it was the last two pics if you are wondering.



For more information on the 26' Deckboat from Nordic including performance #'s please click HERE!

 

[HavaToon]

Yep the last 2 pics of the red boat is the 26. Easiest way to tell is the bow is more blunt/straight across. Where the 29 has a little more length and curve as well as a bump in the middle.

Great coverage!

 

[Cole Trickle]

I imagine that water bladder needs to be pulled and refilled....Or possible you leave it and just dump some purified water from a couple 1 gallon bottles before you head out. Good news is you aren't drinking or rinsing with lake water and could actually fill it up with good drinking water.

Pretty cool about the no charge vessel view.....Those are an expensive upgrade typically!!

 

[Gelcoater]

I imagine that water bladder needs to be pulled and refilled....Or possible you leave it and just dump some purified water from a couple 1 gallon bottles before you head out. Good news is you aren't drinking or rinsing with lake water and could actually fill it up with good drinking water.

Pretty cool about the no charge vessel view.....Those are an expensive upgrade typically!!

If the bladder is easily pulled (and I would hope it is) I'd probably refrigerate it overnight before heading out.
Of course, you could always get extra bladders. Margarita on tap

 

[Cole Trickle]

If the bladder is easily pulled (and I would hope it is) I'd probably refrigerate it overnight before heading out.
Of course, you could always get extra bladders. Margarita on tap

3 smaller bladders with a tap system running up to the sink/ice bucket.....of course one would be filled with caddilac margaritas...lol

 

[She's Mine]

Dave, I was checking out the 24 SX. That is nothing short of beautiful. I would almost say perfect except for one thing and maybe you can help me with it. When I was looking at it, I noticed the windshield angles back past the dash and there are no steps like in the 28'. So my question is, how do you get into the cockpit from the bow? This was the only thing that I saw that would stop me from making this or the 28' my next boat.

 

[RiverDave]

Dave, I was checking out the 24 SX. That is nothing short of beautiful. I would almost say perfect except for one thing and maybe you can help me with it. When I was looking at it, I noticed the windshield angles back past the dash and there are no steps like in the 28'. So my question is, how do you get into the cockpit from the bow? This was the only thing that I saw that would stop me from making this or the 28' my next boat.

The answer is “very carefully”. . Or in reality.. ya don’t.

 

[RiverDave]

Alright guys today we are going to kick it off with RPM!

Joe purchased the company a year ago and initially had some trouble finding shops that could layup and rig boats in a timely fashion. As you just saw in the video he has got that resolved and hey are on the fast track to building boats!

Up first is "Gauge This!" Which as I'm sure you have surmised by now is Mike Livorsi's personal boat being built!

You can't help but love the big flat deck of the RPM! The sponsons have a "blunt edge" kind of look to them at the tops, but the keels have a very traditional east coast racing feel to them. This isn't surprising as this boat was actually designed by Doug Wright, and co designed by Steve Tripp (RIP). The only thing I have never cared for aesthetically on the RPM is the center sponson at the boat.. I think I would've tapered it so it was a little more visually appealing. I can't imagine that little change would have that big of an impact on how the boat runs, and I think it'd make it look better. (This could be done with an insert in the mold BTW). That's just my personal opinion, but it probably wouldn't bother most.

The thing that strikes out the most (to me anyways) is the thing that isn't there. You will notice that there is no center support for the windshield. I'd love to give you some big sales pitch as to not impeding vision, but honestly I think it was just done originally to preserve the lines of the boat and windshield.

Mike chose the twin 300's on his build, which honestly I think is a great choice. I know the 400's are the hot ticket right now, and that's anyone is talking about, but this boat is going to do well over a 100, and be considerably cheaper, when you factor in the extended warranties? Forget about it.. 300's and 350's are cost effective and will still go plenty fast on this rig.

Now this boat isn't quite finished yet. Point in fact they were thrashing on it just to get it to the show. It will end up having a vinyl pad that goes on this hatch, and that pad will have head rests that come up about as high as those two gunnels on either side. The rigging on the back is pretty much "standard". There's nothing wrong with it, but there isn't anything on the boat that stands out and makes you say "Holy Shit!" either..

Just a tip, Hardin Marine just released a coupler for the outboard hose. The coupler articulates so that you can cut about 18 inches off this hose length and not have it laying in the well. (BTW not a huge fan of those cables laying on that hose either.)

The inside of the boat isn't complete, but you can already see that Joe found some decent interior guys. He has been very adamant that he likes clean and simple (not overstated) interiors. That said he is a custom build shop so he can build you whatever you want. For what this boat is primarily going to be used for, I actually like the bench in the back instead of the poker run style seats.

You can see in this photo that the RPM does have the fiberglass inserts in the gunnel for the speaker and cup holders etc. Being that it's Mike's boat, I was kind of surprised not to see his lighted cup holders in there, but again I think Mike's style is more clean and not "blingy."

Obviously Livorsi's boat is going to have Livorsi gauges in it! I think this boat is going to run over a 100, so I'm not sure why they put a 100 mph speedo in it? I guess that's a matter of preference as well.. I Know some guys that like to see the gauges pegged when it's WOT, and others that like to leave a little room. The gauges themselves are Vantage view and are compatible with Smart Craft, NMEA, MEFI, and others.. There is a whole host of information you can pull up on those little digital screens.

One thing I really like about Vantage View is it's incredibly simple to operate. There is only three buttons to the entire program! In this particular case because he is running twins you can see it has a selector switch as well. The center linear gauge is pretty cool and what I'm most used to seeing in boats like this.

We are going to get into it later in the boat show report, but they just came up with analog "sweeping" gauges for both of those functions!

I don't care who you are, that throttle is bad ass. Individual trims on the side to balance with a single switch on the front to do both at the same time!

Again this particular boat isn't finished yet, but the bottom of the hatch I'm sure will be gelled white like the engine bay. The rigging again is good, it just isn't "WOW!"

I did always love how RPM's ran all their rigging under the floors so you can't see hardly any of it.

I'm not sure what their plans are for inside this hatch area yet.. I'm sure they will put some fender holders, and other storage amenities (or at least I'd hope they would).

I was curious as to how the well was going to look on the boat, but I actually like it quite a bit! Kind of doubles as a nice little integrated swim step. Sometimes necessity of function improves form as well!

For more information on the 26 RPM please check out our write up of Rick Brentner's unbelievable 26 with a Teague 985!

Full write up HERE

 

[RiverDave]

Wrapping up RPM

His was their latest hull and it is Carbon Kevlar / Vacuum bagged and I’d bet it doesn’t weigh more than 1200/1300 lbs total! This boat is going to get a set of 400’s on the back and if I had to put my money on it, is going to be the one to try and beat in the 400 wars.. especially if they leave the cabin empty and keep with the light weight theme.

On a side note since Archer marine is rigging the RPM’s that also give Joe access to the infamous 26 Larry Smith Scarab! If you want to talk about a fun hot rod that you can smash around in big water this is it! They flat haul ass too.. I’m going off memory here because it’s been years but I want to say they can run like 90mph with just over 600 hp?

 

[RiverDave]

3 smaller bladders with a tap system running up to the sink/ice bucket.....of course one would be filled with caddilac margaritas...lol

They actually make that ya know! Some of the larger CC’s have four five and six deals with a gun like a bar.

My buddy Matty was going to make me one for the pontoon..

 

[Icky]

I thought all the rigging was hidden on the orange rpm