By Capt. Tom Pitasi
Cape Codder boats of Lynn, Massachusetts, builds totally custom center consoles, among many other things. Commercial fishermen own and operate the company, and in addition to center consoles, they build passenger launches, commercial workboats, whatever you want. They say that no two Cape Codder builds come out the same. They can lengthen, widen, and/or modify their hulls to meet your specific needs and their capabilities are not restricted to what can be assembled from molds.
Cape Codder center consoles boats get built by hand to withstand commercial use. They produce unique, ruggedly built boats that stand out and they make a point of saying that custom does not always mean fancy and expensive. It can also mean as bare and basic as possible to keep the end cost down. Whether you want a fully outfitted, highly finished vessel, or a completely basic, commercial finished workboat boat, they can handle the job.
I recently completed the build of a Cape Codder 24 center console for use in my charter business, “Coastal Fishing Charters.” I was looking for something in the 24-foot range that was tough enough to handle the three bodies of water I spend the most time in: Nantucket Sound, Cape Cod Bay and the Atlantic. It needed to be easy to trailer, launch and retrieve single-handed. The Cape Codder filled all these requirements. It reminds me of much larger boats and I’m learning that this boat is a tank, yet it’s very soft riding at the same time, a rare commodity in most hulls.
Inside the Carmela De there is a surprising amount of room for a 24-foot boat. From console to bow there is a full eight feet with room to fish two anglers very comfortably. Behind the leaning post is a unique cutout that doubles as cooler storage or a place to fight fish from. The Cape Codder 24 has a custom-built bracket that acts as an extension of the hull, which also provides positive flotation to help support the massive Honda BF 350 that pushes the boat to 50 mph without breaking a sweat. The CC24 carries 100 gallons of fuel and cruises at 30 mph with a fuel burn of just 2.8 mpg and at 40 mph, fuel burn is still a respectable 2.0 mpg.
The center console has all the room needed for today’s electronics. Below you will find almost six feet of clearance with storage extending back under the leaning post. My CC 24 was kept basic with clean lines and nothing to grab a fly line in the heat of battle. Anglers like the ability to truly walk around the boat without having to squeeze by the console or leaning post. Seating is either at the helm, forward of the console on a large, padded cooler, or in the bow, again on a padded cooler. This allows me to move things around for best access depending on what we’re doing that day.
All in, the Cape Codder 24 met most all my wants and needs. The one drawback is that because they build mostly commercial style boats, you won’t get the real detailed fit-and-finish that comes with all the common brands we see on the water daily. What you do get is a rock-solid boat at a rock-bottom price.
Contacts:
Capt. Tom Pitasi; Coastal Fishing Charters
Cape Codder Boats; capecodderboats.com
