If you want a sneak peak at the new Boston Whaler 420 Outrage, head offshore from Edgewater, Florida, in early September, but make sure the seas are at least 3 to 5 feet. The builder will be durability-testing the center console — the largest Whaler ever built and the first with quad outboards.

“We’ll get at least 100 hours of testing done, and if it’s not 3- to 5-foot seas, we won’t even bother wasting the gas,” says Jeff Vaughn, vice president of sales, marketing and customer service worldwide. The boat, unsinkable with its foam-filled Unibond construction, will debut at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show this fall (Oct. 30 to Nov. 3).

The 420 Outrage is 5 feet longer than the 370 Outrage, the previous Whaler flagship. The company asked 370 Outrage owners what they would want in a larger center console. “They love the bow setup and design of their 370s, so they said, ‘Keep that,’ ” says Vaughn. “They wanted to have a maximum amount [of crew] in the helm area and under the hardtop. And they wanted it to look cutting-edge.”

Three helm seats and a separate leaning post directly aft provide room for six people. The owner chooses the elements — sink, live well, grill, tackle drawers, storage, etc. — that are built into the leaning post. A windshield that extends to the hardtop and side windows surround the helm station. The bow has U-shaped seating with pop-up forward-facing seat backs, a powered pedestal table and a lounge integrated with the forward end of the console. The cockpit has a cushioned bench seat at the stern that flips down.

The cabin has twin hull-side windows, a V-berth, a head with a shower, a settee that converts to a berth and a galley. Powered with quad 300-hp Mercury Verado 4-strokes, the 420 is the first Whaler that uses automatically adjusting trim tabs integrated in the hull, with larger planes for increased control, performance and efficiency, says chief naval architect Bobby Garza. The technology, called “dynamic running surface,” is featured on some Sea Ray models. (Sea Ray and Boston Whaler are sister companies owned by Brunswick Corp.)

SPECIFICATIONS

LOA: 42 feet, 6 inches

BEAM: 13 feet

HULL DISPLACEMENT: 20,000 pounds

(dry, no engines)

HULL TYPE: deep-vee

DRAFT: 41 inches (engines down)

POWER: quad 300-hp Mercury Verados

TRANSOM DEADRISE: 22 degrees

ESTIMATED SPEED: 52-54 mph top, 35 mph cruise

TANKAGE: 600 gallons fuel, 60 gallons water, 20 gallons waste

PRICE: unavailable

CONTACT: Boston Whaler, Edgewater, Florida

PHONE: (877) 294-5645.

WEBSITE: www.bostonwhaler.com

September 2014 issue