Everglades Boats, producer of some of the most unusual small fishing boats on the market, continues that trend with its 240 CC. This 24-footer comes with a wealth of standard features that company founders Bob and Stephen Dougherty pioneered, from a sliding front windshield, to deluxe T-tops with powder-coated frames and fiberglass hardtops that match the color of the boat, all the way down to the very construction of the hull.
These items make the Everglades line stand out from the rest of the fleet in both appearance and overall quality, and when you take a close look at one, you realize you’re looking at something truly different.
Performance Our test boat came with twin 150-hp Honda four-stroke outboards, the top-of-the-line power choice for this hull. But you can also order the boat with a single Honda BF225. The twin BF150s get the boat on plane quickly, and it cruises at 33.9 mph and 4,500 rpm. At that cruise speed, you’re burning a mere 13.6 gallons per hour total, yielding an excellent economy of 2.49 mpg. Not bad at all for a 24-footer. Wide open, the 240 reached 46.5 mph at 6,100 rpm.
Like all the Everglades boats I’ve driven, the 240 feels incredibly solid while underway. It tracks very well at any speed and turns in a controlled manner, even at high speeds. You don’t need to trim the engines much to find the boat’s sweet spot, but the boat responds instantly to both engine trim and the standard tabs. Our test day provided no big waves to put the boat’s dryness to the test, but judging from the way the water broke beneath the chines, it should give a very dry ride.
Fishing The 240 comes with a lengthy list of standard fishing features, including a 50-gallon fish box beneath the cockpit sole just forward of the transom bulkhead. The box has a finished lid that rises on gas rams. The bulkhead itself contains a transom gate to starboard, with a bait box to port, and a large storage area beneath the bait box for holding loose gear. A sturdy fold-down seat appears from the center of the transom when needed for passenger seating but folds up flush and out of the way when you’re fishing.
Forward, a large leaning post/rocket launcher contains the boat’s 36-gallon livewell, a sink, a knife-and-pliers rack, and tackle storage along the port and starboard sides. A magnet holds the livewell lid open while you’re dipping bait – quite a nice touch – and hatches along the aft end of the module allow access to the pumps and plumbing for the well for easy servicing.
Rod storage comes in the form of StarBoard racks beneath the gunwales, with four more rod holders mounted in the transom bulkhead and another five along the aft edge of the fiberglass hardtop. Overall, the 240 comes with storage capacity for 22 rods. Another fish box in front of the console beneath the deck holds an impressive 129 gallons. Both in-deck fish boxes drain through dedicated macerator pumps.
Design and Construction
|| |—| | SPECIFICATIONS| | * * LOA 24 ft. 7 in. BEAM 9 ft. 3 in. HULL DRAFT 1 ft. 7 in. DEADRISE 21 deg. WEIGHT 4,000 lb. FUEL 163 gal. MAX HP (2) 150-hp OB MSRP $112,975 w/T150-hp four-stroke OB*** * *Everglades Boats Edgewater, Florida 386-409-2202 www.evergladesboats.com * *HONDA BF150 Four-stroke** TYPE Inline four-cylinder DISPL. 144 cid MAX RPM 6,000 HP/LB RATIO .31 FUEL SYSTEM Programmed fuel injection GEAR RATIO 2.14:1 WEIGHT 485 lb. ALT. OUTPUT 40 amps MSRP $14,003*** * *Notable Standard Equipment** • Freshwater washdown • T-top with hardtop and window • Command leaning-post work station • Trim tabs • Hydraulic tilt steering • Marine head with holding tank*** * *Impressions **This new Everglades ranks as a solid, beautiful and well-designed fishing boat. | Everglades builds its boats using a patented procedure called rapid molded core assembly process. RAMCAP sandwiches foam between the inner and outer hulls beneath the deck. Bonding the two parts together creates an unsinkable and incredibly strong finished product. You don’t hear any creaks or groans when running an Everglades, because the process yields what is essentially a solid foam and fiberglass hull.
The boat’s rugged T-top comes standard, with a unique sliding front windshield that you can lower or raise for extra ventilation or protection from the elements. The 240 also sported a new power version of the previously manual windshield, with a switch at the helm to raise and lower the panel. The fiberglass top comes with built-in white and red LED lights overhead, forward and rear-facing spreader lights and speakers for the optional stereo.
The console hides a spacious head compartment with a porcelain marine head and features plenty of room for mounting electronics. At the helm, a large footrest combines with Everglades’ Combo Leaning Post/Command Seats (which provide flip up/down bolster-style seating) to let you drive comfortably whether you’re standing or sitting.
Forward, the 240’s passenger seating doubles as expansive dry storage, and on the bow an anchor roller holds the anchor ready while the rode coils neatly in an offset locker to starboard. The boat comes with pop-up cleats and coaming bolsters aft of the console, where the fishing action takes place. A deluxe Engel cooler does double duty as passenger seating in front of the console.
With Everglades’ new 240 CC, you get all the Doughertys’ latest innovations. If you’ve never seen an Everglades boat up close, put it on your to-do list. They truly do bring something unusual and different to what sometimes seems like a cookie-cutter world of products.
