Boston Whaler introduced the Vantage line in 2013 and has been releasing new and updated Vantage models ever since. Its latest addition to the series, the 330, was revealed at the 2024 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show as the line’s new flagship. Fabrizio DeLuca from parent company Brunswick’s Tech Center in Everglades, Florida, was aboard to show me around.
DeLuca, the lead designer for the 330, said the boat is a refresh of the Vantage 320, which was introduced in 2015. “We wanted to implement the new styling from the [two most recent] Vantages, and to add more features that were requested by the customers and the dealers.”
One of the most obvious changes on the 330 Vantage is the full windshield option, which is simply massive. “It’s one of the first things we added as a way to extend the boating season for the customers in the more northern territories,” DeLuca said. “This is probably the biggest [windshield] we have ever done.”
The 330 can also be supplied with a lower half-glass windshield, but the full windshield is composed of two fixed pieces on either side of a center panel that swings open to provide access to the dual console’s bow. Above the center door is a vent that opens at the push of a button to provide fresh air when the door is closed. My initial reaction was that the enormous hunk of tempered door glass would be too hard to swing upward and outward, but DeLuca assured me it was easy. “There is a damper,” he said, “so you don’t feel the weight of the door. It’s super light.” DeLuca explained that if you accidentally let go of the door, the gas damper will prevent it from flying outward or slamming shut. I tried it for myself and was impressed to see how easy it was to operate throughout its range with very little effort.
On the bow are two forward-facing lounges with folding armrests. An optional table can be mounted inside the wraparound seating for dining and an optional filler pad turns it all into a sunpad. There are multiple speakers, cupholders, USB chargers and stowage, including a fish locker below the floor and a cooler beneath one of the seats. The bow has an anchor locker with windlass and a boarding ladder. There’s also a freshwater sprayer and two rod holders to hold the poles for the optional bow sunshade.
The design team made a big change down below. Customers wanted more space in the head, which on the 320 was on the starboard side with a cabin to port. On the 330 they swapped the locations so that the head is now larger and to port. “What we found out is that 98 percent of the time people used the cabin for storage,” DeLuca said. “And everybody was saying that the head was too small. Now the head is way bigger and way more usable.”
Abaft the head is a bench seat with arm rests and bolsters that can be raised at the push of a button to give the two people next to the captain the same seating or standing arrangement as the skipper.
The helm is smartly designed with optional twin 16-inch Simrad displays, optional joystick control, digital switching, plus pushbutton controls with everything in easy-to-reach locations.
Two other significant changes on the 330 are an enlarged hardtop and a seating arrangement that includes a convertible dinette to port and an aft-facing lounge to starboard. To accommodate all the seats under the hardtop, the galley, which was on the starboard side on the 320, has been moved to the 330’s transom. “Every seat is now underneath the hardtop in the shade, so the focus is on the center of the boat.” DeLuca said, adding that a retractable canvas cover for the cockpit is optional. “It goes all the way to the summer kitchen,” DeLuca said. “It’s a lot of shade.”
The 330’s cockpit has enough room and features for fishing action. Rod holders are built into the gunwales, a standard live well is built into the transom box, two fishboxes are in the cockpit floor, and a starboard dive door makes landing a larger fish easier.
The transom can have an optional summer kitchen, but if cooking is not the priority, the other choice is a pullout bench seat with bait-prep station that can take the place of the electric grill and fridge.
Large boarding platforms flank the twin 300-hp Mercury outboards or the optional dual 400-hp engines. The port boarding platform is accessed from the cockpit via an acrylic door where there is a swim ladder and a hot- and cold-water sprayer. Besides the cockpit’s two in-floor fishboxes, a large hatch provides access to the mechanicals, where there’s room for an optional Seakeeper gyrostabilizer.
Besides the all-new hull design for a better and drier ride, another noteworthy change from the 320 Vantage is the power supply. Instead of a generator, all the electrical needs—including fridges, hot-water heater, gyro and air conditioning—are powered by either AGMs or lithium-ion battery packs.
According to Boston Whaler, the twin Mercury V8 300s give the 330 a top speed of about 43 knots. With the twin 400-hp V10s, top speed is almost 49 knots.
With a base price of $446,831, the 330 is now the largest and most technically advanced dual console within the Boston Whaler lineup.
The bottom line: The boat has everything from loads of seats, a full windshield and more shade, to a bigger head and a battery pack to supply electricity quietly and without odor. Oh, and don’t forget the “unsinkable” Whaler hull. What’s not to like?
Specifications
LOA: 34’3”
Beam: 10’4”
Draft: 2’1”
Weight (dry): 11,302 lbs.
Fuel: 285 gals.
Water: 30 gals.
Power: (2) 300- or 400-hp Mercury outboards
February 2025
