Triple Threat
TRIPLE YAMAHA F350S MAKE THE VENTURE 39 BETTER THAN EVER BY KARL ANDERSON
It's pretty incredible to think back and remember when a 25-foot center console seemed huge, and it’s not THAT long ago. Today, it takes being over 33 feet to be considered a big center console.With their 39 footer, Venture has produced a refined and performance-driven rig that impresses in every facet. I recently ran the 39 out of Palm Beach with factory guru Roger McCaslin and got to really feel the power of Yamaha’s new F350 four-stroke outboard, threefold because this big rig was set up with triple engines, and she can turn and burn for sure.
With a fresh east-northeast breeze at 15 knots, the seas were three to four feet, close together and steep with an occasional larger swell for good measure.We headed out the inlet and reached across from wave top to the next wave top with McCaslin feathering the throttles to set her down on one crest then punch her to fly to the next.We always landed softly and took little spray.
I have a hard time riding and holding on with other people driving and having so much horsepower in their hands—actually I don’t like it at all. Few have even the slightest notion of how to really drive a boat, let alone a thoroughbred like the 39. I usually can’t wait to slow her down and see how she drifts after an overzealous sales guy tries to show me how fast the boat is.
I don’t care. I can’t fish at 60 mph or do much else for that matter, so let me drive it the way the average guy will run to the fishing grounds and then let’s see how she drifts, trolls and maneuvers. I’ve already had one back surgery, I can’t do another. McCaslin drove the boat as it was intended to be driven; he didn’t set it up and let the autopilot take over. He drove the boat, constantly adjusting speed, trim and using the wheel while anticipating what was coming at us, and it comes at you fast with 1,050 horsepower strapped to the transom. He’ll be one of the guys I call to teach if I ever open that boat driving school.
Even in the dusty seas we cruised along at 4000 rpm doing a bit over 40 mph while burning 36 gph, making one mile to the gallon. At 5000 rpm the boat bolts along at 51 mph and change, burning 60 gph. Coming in the inlet we stretched her legs and let her run out at wide-open throttle reaching 64 mph at 6100 rpm. The most impressive thing about these engines was the torque.We’d be loping along at 4000 rpm and punch it, and if you weren’t holding on, you’d be in the cockpit real quick. The top-end torque will get your attention, even pushing a big boat like the 39—even over 5000 rpm, she still had pep.
When running at reduced speeds, the 39 trolls nicely, with very little dirty water at a slow sailfish trolling speed. You can troll the dredges deep and right up under the boat and see them with no problem. Even at lure speed, she’s mostly quiet, making just enough wake to run a decent pattern of medium sized lures back as far as the sixth or seventh wave. She doesn’t make a big wake face to plant the lures on, so you’ll have to adjust and manipulate them accordingly up-sea or downsea. Obviously, there is a lot of boat here, especially in front of the console, then you turn around and see a whole lot more, and the boat has tons of storage space. For instance, the anchor locker forward is wide and deep enough to hold a respectable anchor and enough rode to hold you over deep-water wrecks.
Under the forward casting deck are three huge storage areas, one on each side which run fore and aft and the third runs athwartships at the aft end of the casting deck. Aft of the casting deck in front of the console on the main deck is an access hatch to the forward bilge area.You could lose a small child in there—it’s deep and goes forward and outboard with easy access to the stringer compartments.
The huge console has six feet of walk-in headroom, a forward seat cooler, a large electronics dash, and a center-mounted helm and custom hardtop. The whole area makes a nice command center from which to run the boat. Behind the helm is a custom 50” leaning post with seven rod holders, drink holders and tackle storage underneath. Behind that there’s a 650- quart in-deck storage locker—its deep, it’s long and it’s wide. You can carry a lot of stuff in there or rig it with an ice machine if you’d like to supply ice to the island when it’s full.
A big hatch provides access to a lazarette that gives any service guy plenty of room to get at the pumps and other items that are housed there without being a contortionist. The rigging is super neat and looks easy to service because it is, and it’s accessible. Along the transom is a walk-thru door to the swim platform, a 55-gallon above-deck recirculating livewell and a rigging sink with salt and freshwater shower outlets.
The Venture 39 is a production boat with custom features and the finest hardware you can find. Everything is beefy and robust enough to handle the forces that a big boat with lots of horsepower like this one is subjected to. These guys are paying attention to the details and building a quality oriented, performance driven big center console.With nearly sixty of these 39 footers on the water, they are surely doing something right.