Boat test for the 2005 Ocean 73 Super Sport including boat specifications, photo galleries, boat videos, boat layout diagrams, boat test numbers, boat test results, and boat speed graphs. Also includes pricing, engine test reviews, ratings, standard features, and gear for the 2005 Ocean 73 Super Sport.

In contrast, the Weber boat was configured, as Weber himself says, to be "a boat that would satisfy both our cruising needs as well as our hardcore fishing interests." To that end, besides the open bridge, his boat has a full tower, recessed teaser reels in the custom hardtop, and a fighting chair with an offset base so anglers can reach the cockpit corners so as not to lose a big fish. He also ordered the optional Eskimo shaved-ice maker, underwater lights, an auxiliary 400-gallon fuel tank, and a teak cockpit and coamings.

Where these two boats are again alike is in their luxurious living accommodations. The four-stateroom, four-head layout features a forepeak VIP, guest quarters with bunks aft and to starboard, a double-berth stateroom opposite and to port, and a full-beam amidships master. Both boats' distinctive decors reflect each owner's tastes, and both come with comfortable crew quarters aft of the master that can accommodate a captain and mate in ample berths plus provide decent stowage and a head and shower compartment. This space also has direct access to the engine room, enabling the crew to get outside without disturbing the owners or guests.

While I can personally attest to the ride and performance of the enclosed-bridge boat, the performance numbers posted here are ones I took from Weber's 73, as the Veem prop people were still tweaking the running gear of the Ramons' boat during my visit. When I caught up to Weber in Miami after the show, the weather was as perfect as could be, just a puff of wind and flat-calm seas. We took the boat out on Biscayne Bay, and after spooling up the diesels to an average WOT speed of 41.6 mph (36.2 knots), settled her into an impressive 35-mph (30.4-knot) cruise speed at 2000 rpm. She tracked straight and true during my speed runs, and with her Hynautic hydraulic steering, answered the helm with razor-sharp efficiency as we performed hard-over maneuvers, figure eights, and 360s.

The Ramon boat is a fisher/cruiser.

Each of these 73s is impressive in her own way and typifies Ocean's ability to once again successfully balance a cruising boat with a horizon-chasing battlewagon. Whether you opt for the open- or enclosed-bridge version, the Ocean 73 Super Sport can take you to faraway cruising grounds in search of solitude or distant canyons in search of world-class game fish.

Ocean Yachts
(609) 965-4616

PAGES:

1

2