Boat test for the 2007 Rampage 41 Express with boat pictures, boat specifications, and boat test results. Includes pricing, videos, engine test reviews, and ratings for the 2007 Rampage 41 Express.

From the driver's seat of my rental car, Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, glimmered like the Emerald City as I neared the drawbridge that connects the barrier island with the mainland. With its well-manicured, cedar-shingle homes and gorgeous beach, the island is indeed a jewel, but as I reached the bridge’s apex, I realized the radiance was the sun's reflection off tuna towers and outriggers belonging to a battalion of battlewagons at a nearby marina. Among that legion sat the Rampage 41 Express, her hull Awlgripped in a handsome ice-blue hue.

Built at KCS International's 344,000-square-foot facility in Navassa several miles up the Cape Fear River from here (Rampage is a division of KCS, which also owns Cruisers Yachts), the 41 is the builder’s largest express to date. For some time owners of Rampages from 30 to 38 feet had been asking for a larger express, says brand manager Pete Gillon, and were happy to offer suggestions for cockpit and bridge-deck layouts as well as what features on their Rampages that they'd like to keep and which they'd deep-six. Combining all of that with input from Rampage's dealers, the designers and engineers set to work.

I'd say the owners got their wishes. For instance, the 100-square-foot cockpit is wholly dedicated to pelagic pursuits and includes a number of sweet standards such as two 85-gallon in-sole fishboxes, a combination aft-facing seat-Frigid-Rigid ice box to port, eight flush-mounted rod holders, and a 63-gallon transom livewell/killbox. In the way of optional equipment, our boat offered a starboard bait-prep station with five drawers for tackle and a sink ($4,333), a feature that so many buyers will choose to have onboard, it probably should be standard. She also sported optional Lee double-spreader out- and center ‘riggers, tuna tubes flanking the transom livewell, outlets for electric reels, inwale padding, TGM Marine teaser reels, a Release Marine leaning post with four rod holders, and a tuna tower with an 18-rod rocket launcher.

But those owners and dealers didn't just request fishing gear; comfort was a concern, too. Fortunately, the bridge deck answers those concerns. The helm headroom is an NBA-friendly 7'0", and the area can be cooled by optional 16,000-Btu Cruisair air conditioning. Other comforts include an optional pair of handsome Pompanette teak ladderback companion chairs and a Release Marine helm seat that’s as adjustable as anything found in a luxury car. A trip below decks via the centerline companionway offers anglers a six-seat, L-shape settee and standard 26-inch Sole LCD TV and Panasonic DVD/CD home-theater system that includes six speakers and a subwoofer under the settee.

But my mind wasn't on comfort; it was on performance. So we left the dock and headed out to the calm Atlantic through the Masonboro Inlet, where the 41's athleticism took center stage. Once we’d cleared the northern jetty and reached open water, Capt. Chad Kivett firewalled the optional ZF SmartCommand throttles, and the 41 hit her average top speed of 41.3 mph in just under 30 seconds. After recording all my performance data, I switched spots with Kivett and put the hammer down on the optional 715-mhp Caterpillars. After the C12s spooled up, the 41 executed a 180-degree turn at WOT in less than two boat lengths, her solid-fiberglass hull absorbing the chop from her own wake (the largest waves we could find on test day) with composure. My only gripe was the bridge-deck sound levels: I recorded 89 dB-A at 2000 rpm and 33.3 mph. (Sixty-five db-A is the level of normal conversation.)

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