Model Introduction
A rugged offshore fishing machine, the Hydra-Sports 2900 Vector Center Console is well equipped to fish the tournaments when the going gets rough. A deep-vee bottom, rugged all-fiberglass construction, high freeboard, generous range, dependable twin-outboard power and a long list of standard fishing equipment make this boat a strong contender among serious anglers.

Construction The Hydra-Sports 2900 Vector Center Console is built in three pieces—the hull; a one-piece stringer grid that’s laid up in a female mold and bonded to the hull with Plexus adhesive and pumped full of foam; and a one-piece deck/cockpit liner that’s bonded to the hull and the stringer grid, tying everything together. A 3-oz. skin coat wet out in vinylester resin and applied against the gelcoat prevents bottom blistering. Decks are cored with structural foam for stiffness and light weight. The transom is a poured composite that’s rot proof and very strong, so it can handle the weight and thrust of up to twin 300-hp outboards.

Hull Design
The 2900 has a deep-vee hull with a sharp, deep entry tapering to 23° of deadrise at the transom. The hull has a padded keel, which adds lift, and maybe improves control in a hard turn. Chine flats make the boat more stable at rest and add dynamic lift at speed.

Walkthrough
Cockpit and Topside
Aft is a transom seat that’s easy to use—just yank on a strap, and out it comes. Yank again, the other way, and the seat goes back down. This is much handier than a seat that has to be wrestled in order to make it work.

This boat is designed to be easy to own, including mechanical accessibility. A hatch aft leads to the bilge and the mechanicals, including the two VRO tanks, water pumps and the bilge pump. The deep gutters drain directly overboard, keeping the bilge area below—and all those expensive components—nice and dry. The 2900 features a shiny, tooled fiberglass surface in the bilge, and the one-piece hull support grid gives the boat a look of quality.

The Hydra-Sports 2900 Vector Center Console is clearly built for people who take their fishing seriously. There were 2 livewells aft on the test boat, including an optional 55-gal. unit aft of the helm seat and a second one aft on centerline forward of the motor well. The boat also has rod racks built in under the gunwales and rod holders in the washboards. A big insulated fish box is below the cockpit deck on centerline and it drains overboard via a macerator pump. Potato bin storage lockers and tackle drawers under the gunwales add to the boat’s generous storage space.

The builder has evidently spent a lot of time thinking about passenger safety. The nonskid grips well underfoot and is still easy to keep clean, unlike some nonskid patterns. The 27-in. coaming height is ample for a boat like this and higher than some others—most anglers seem to think that this deck height and the rail height off the waterline are about perfect for working a fish. The washboard inserts create a deep toe kick under the gunwales and there’s even a toe rail just above deck level, a rarely seen feature. Along with the toe kick, grippy nonskid and coaming height, the toe rail makes this a very safe boat from which to work a fish or grab a dock line.

The cockpit deck slopes aft and drains rapidly through a pair of large deck stainless steel grates (they’re recessed to collect the last drop of standing water) and through a pair of 2-in. drain lines on each side back aft—this is about double the drainage capacity seen on many similar models, which makes the boat more seaworthy as well as easier to hose off.

While topside safety is about as good as it gets, there are a couple of small design points inside the console to note. While there’s plenty of room to move around the head once inside, and headroom is a yacht-like 75 in., it’s a little tight getting down in there due to a 17-in. wide door opening. The battery switches are also difficult to reach from the cockpit—Hydra-Sports uses a premium battery switch system and it would be good to see them show it off a little more by displaying it more prominently. The sink in the head compartment has a pull-out spigot, a nice touch for a quick shower.

In the bow, it is immediately apparent how big a boat this is, and how deep the deck feels. There’s a padded bolster around the gunwale, which both cushions hip and leg impact as well as providing a classy look. There’s an in-deck storage locker just forward of the optional, very-well-insulated coffin box—the in-deck locker has a receiver for a 5-gal. bucket molded into the floor. The 5-gal. bucket, in turn, is commonly used to hold a casting net, a good example of the builder’s attention to detail and understanding of its market. Another example is the gunwale railing that provides a handhold everywhere forward and yet another is the T-top supports, which Hydra-Sports brings inboard as far as possible to maximize the amount of passage room outboard of the console. An anchor pulpit and anchor line locker in the bow and a windlass, which the test boat had, is an option. Pop-up cleats help keep the area clear for casting forward.

Helm
There’s a lot to like about the helm station on this boat. The dash area is huge, with plenty of room for a pair of side-by-side 12-in. GPS and radar displays and they’re up high in the prime helm area where they should be. The compass is up high where it’s easy to read without looking away from the water ahead. The windshield is made of glass, so it can be wiped clear by a windshield wiper. It’s also a full 6 ft. high, so it offers good protection from wind and rain when running at high speed. The T-top supports and assorted grab rails provide plenty to hang onto at high speed, as well. Racing style bolster seats provide excellent support and security at the helm, and make the boat look a lot like a race boat.

The wheel and engine controls are ergonomically positioned, like all the other Hydra-Sports boats run in sea trials. The overall helm design is ship-like and the quality makes the boat a lot more fun, and safer, to drive—especially at high speed when precision control is so important.

Engine and Propulsion
The Hydra-Sports 2900 Vector Center Console is rated for up to 600-hp and twin 2- or 4-stroke outboards, and 300 gallons of fuel can be carried in a pair of 150-gallon aluminum tanks below the cockpit.

Sea Trial
The Hydra-Sports 2900 Vector CC used for the trial had a pair of 250-hp. Evinrude ETEC 2-stroke outboards. These engines run quietly, accelerate strongly, produce relatively little fumes and deliver economy that’s comparable to the newest EFI 4-strokes.

With a clean bottom and light load of 3 passengers and just under a full tank of fuel, the boat managed a top speed of 43.5 knots, or 50 mph. At the most economical cruise speed, 4000 rpm, it clocked just over 28 knots on GPS, and that speed would deliver an offshore-capable range of 312 nautical miles. Very impressive—that’s not bad at all for a 29-foot outboard. Even running 10 knots faster at 5000 rpm, range only decreases to 278 nautical miles, and that’s using 90% of the boat’s reported 300-gal. fuel capacity. Sound levels with the BRP (Evinrude) engine in the high rpm range were pretty high—93 dBA is a lot of noise to be subjected to for more than a couple of hours at a time. But at least some of this was wind noise, and in fact it’s hard to tell how much of it’s actually comes from the engines in an open design like this one.

The BRP (Evinrude) mechanical engine controls worked like a charm, shifting smoothly and easily, with no clunking or grinding at all. The builder mounts the engine controls at just the right height, so that shifting is fairly comfortable. This is very welcome offshore, of course, but it’s also nice alongside the dock, such as when backing into the slip. The captain really has the feeling of being in control dockside with these engines and these controls, and one would have to go to digital fly-by-wire to do better.

The optional power assist steering will provide a level of agility that matches the boat’s ride and rock-solid feel.

Hydra-Sports 2900 Vector center console, twin 250 hp Evinrude ETECs, 7/8 fuel, 3 pax

Manufacturer’s Comments
The fish-seeking missile: Speed. Distance. Time. Great factors for calculating the value in owning a tournament-ready 2900CC. Up to 600HP propels the Kevlar reinforced hull. Twin fuel tanks give it the range to hit the Bahamas, the Outer Banks of North Carolina and far deeper than the competition. And because you can get there and back faster, time allows for hauling in the winner and making it back before weigh-in. Take a look at functionality. Everything is within easy reach, including easy pump accessibility, gunwale mounted rod holders, generous baitwells and dual fish boxes. If you're looking for a serious center-console with the fishability to match its performance, look no further than the 2900CC.

Conclusions
The Hydra-Sports 2900 Vector Center Console is a great-looking, very well built and superbly capable open-ocean boat, and is worth a close look. It has a great deal to offer: all the toys a serious offshore angler could possibly want are either standard or available as options. For those who want a center console and plan to take the kids along, this boat should he high on the list of candidates, considering the intrinsic safety of the cockpit.

Company Background
Hydra-Sports, which is part of boatbuilding giant Genmar’s Saltwater Fishing Group, is a highly regarded boatbuilder of strongly built, well-outfitted and superb-riding offshore and inshore fishing machines. Hydra-Sports, based in Sarasota, Florida, makes three lines of boats, all specializing in the saltwater fishing market—high-end Vector series center consoles and family-fishing cabin boats; a Lightning series of mid-priced center consoles, dual consoles and walkarounds; and a Baybolt series of center console bay boats. Taking advantage of Genmar’s purchasing clout, Hydra-Sports, as well as its sister companies Wellcraft, Scarab and Seaswirl, is positioned to deliver good value by passing along cost savings to its customers.—Eric Sorensen

For More Information, review Boat Ratings

Specifications
In production since: 2006