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WELL ROUNDED
POLAR’S 220 BAY DOES A GREAT MANY THINGS WELL
BY KARL ANDERSON
Of all the boat segments and categories in the boat business today, the bay boat category continues to be one of the most innovative and fish focused genres in the industry. The Polar 220 is an excellent example of what a bay boat can and should be. With a 8-foot, 6-inch beam, the 220 Bay is a wide, stable platform with a running surface designed for speed, performance and overall fishing comfort. The 220 blends the best of a high performance bass boat, a flats boat and a fishy center console to offer a very versatile and well built rig.
One of the best things about the 220 is that there is a place built-in for everything. Rod storage, tackle, live bait, integral cooler, insulated fish boxes, electronics, heaps of storage and great seating.
Starting in the bow there’s a large forward casting deck recessed several inches below a wide walk around gunwale that has pull-up cleats, main engine tilt switch and a molded-in flat to fit a trolling motor to port. On the casting deck, the anchor locker drains overboard and is large enough to work out of and store a decent amount of rode while securing an anchor in the molded-in receiver so it won’t be loose and constantly banging around. A huge insulated storage fish box sits under the spacious casting deck as well as an optional stainless steel seat base for a fishing chair. A built-in ventilated trolling motor battery box offers a nice step up to the casting deck.
Along each side in the casting deck are molded-in lockable rod storage lockers large enough to actually get rods in and out when fishing, yet store them securely when running to the fishing grounds. There are also three vertical rod holders installed on a molded-in flat on each side of the console. Forward of the console is a large in-deck storage compartment capable of holding all the water toys as well as whatever tackle boxes your fishing buddies bring along. The console has a livewell under the fully cushioned front seat along with a great walk-around toe kick with indirect lighting.
The business side of the console features an offset helm and binnacle with an easily accessed rocker switch panel cluster, a large dash for gauges and electronics, drink holders, batteries and storage below. Aft of the console is a fully upholstered leaning post with removable 72-quart cooler underneath.
The aft casting deck is also loaded with built-in features that make sense. There is a 38-gallon livewell on the centerline at the forward edge and just aft of that is a lockable tackle storage bin meant to fit eight removable 3700 series clear tackle organizer trays, which gives you great access, yet secretly stores fishing gear. Along the outboard sides of the deck are a pair of flip up jump seats that make great guest seats when clipping along to the fishing grounds. When not in use, the jump seats fold down into the deck keeping the deck open and uncluttered. Aft of the jump seats in each outboard corner are large lockable storage bins with hinged, gasketed hatches. Our test boat had two optional stainless steel seat bases on the aft deck as well. Both the forward and aft casting decks have strategically positioned built-in drink holders.
A large casting deck (top) provides excellent storage, while seating (bottom left) and tackle storage (bottom right) are also plentiful.
The 220 Bay holds 87 gallons of fuel and comes standard with a Yamaha F-150 four-stroke as base power. Our test boat had an F250 four-stroke Yamaha that offered a crisp 57.6 mph at wide open throttle. At an easy cruise of 4500 rpm, the Polar hit 44 mph while burning 11.4 gph, providing 3.8 mpg. The boat comes rigged with a manual jack plate as standard equipment. The 220 drifted quietly and offered plenty of stability while walking around the boat and casting. It gets on plane quickly, tracks well, and feels solid and tight.
Polar’s 220 Bay will certainly make a great all-around boat for those who need one boat for a variety of purposes. That’s just what Polar had in mind when they built her, and the 220 Bay delivers on all fronts. Polar; (800) 839-4182; www.godfreymarine. com/index_polar.cfm.