Remember when hundreds of builders offered hundreds of different cabin boats? Just a few decades ago before center console boats commandeered the market it was easy to find boats that offered weekending abilities, a cockpit to fish from, and cruising in comfort. These days such boats are few and far between, but one recent entry in the genre that family anglers and casual fishermen who are also cruisers will want to know about is the Bayliner T23 Explorer.
The T23 Explorer certainly won’t be the top pick for die-hard fish-killers—more of the boat is dedicated to cabin than cockpit—but if cruisability and having a warm, dry place for the kids to hang out while you cast are critical factors, it more than fits the bill. The entire helmdeck is fully enclosed with a sliding glass door aft bulkhead, a full hard top, and windows all around. There’s a full-sized dinette for four to port of the helm station (drop the table down to convert it into a berth) and a compact galley to starboard behind the helm.
The forward lower cabin consists of a large V-berth that extends aft on the portside, but when you poke your head down here to check it out be prepared for a big surprise: to starboard there’s a fully enclosed head compartment. Can you think of another boat of this size that offers an enclosed private head, rather than the usual Porta-Pottie under the cushions? We didn’t think so.
Up on the bow you can get a cushion package to turn it into a sunpad, but anglers will probably prefer to utilize the space for casting. Good thing it’s easy to move forward, thanks to bowrails that come all the way to the back of the cabin and grab rails running up the sides of the hard top. Note that the rails rise at the bow, giving you a spot to lean as you fling those lures.
The cockpit is again tilted towards cruising as opposed to hard core angling, with L-shaped seating along the transom and port side, and a pair of flush-mount rodholders in the gunwales. For those days when the bite isn’t happening, the transom seat folds out to turn into a cockpit sunpad. Some other features the family will enjoy include a four-speaker Fusion stereo system, extended swim platforms, a freshwater cockpit shower, and a Bimini to shade the cockpit.
The T23 Explorer can be had with 150 to 225 horsepower. Go middle of the road with a 200 and you can look for cruising speeds in the upper 20s at 4500 rpm with top-end pushing close to 40 mph. Jump up to max power and you’ll cruise at around 30 while topping out at over 40. Also note that with 53 gallons of fuel in the belly you’ll have a range of around 150 miles at cruise, so you can embark on some serious fishing adventures way up or way down the Bay. Added bonus: at about 4000 pounds this boat isn’t a difficult tow, so you can haul it down the Eastern Shore and visit countless hotspots—or even haul to a campground and go “boondocking,” when you camp aboard your boat.
You say having a comfy cabin with berths and a private head is just as important as acquiring some mobile casting territory? We get it. If the kids aren’t happy nobody’s happy, and having the ability to check out far-off fishing grounds is awesome. That’s why even in a marketplace dominated by center consoles there’s still a place for cabin boats—and if the T23 Explorer offers what you’re looking for, that place might just be in your driveway.
Bayliner T23 Explorer Specifications
- LOA – 24’2”
- Beam – 8’4”
- Displacement – 4075 lbs.
- Draft (min.) – 1’7”
- Transom Deadrise – 16 degrees
- Fuel Capacity – 53 gal.
- Max. Power – 225 hp
For more information visit the Bayliner Boats website, or FishTalk supporter Riverside Marine, Essex, MD, (410) 686-1500.