One of the most rewarding things about owning a trailerable fishing
boat with a cabin is actually hooking it up to the car and going somewhere. If you pull out a map
of the United States and take a look, you'll notice there's lots of blue on it ... this is water.
You can go there. Just do it, as the commercial says. But to take advantage of all the great watery
destinations our country has to offer, you need a boat that won't make you feel like you're camping
in a leaky tent. You want a boat like Century's 2600 WA, the equivalent of a reservation at a
first-class waterfront hotel.
Century has been upgrading its entire line of boats over the past couple of years, and the
latest do-over is the 2600 WA. A lot of walkarounds give anglers a basic fishing package, but
Century knows its owners are hardcore, so what you get with the 2600 WA is an overnight fishing
machine, not a fished-up camper without wheels. Live bait fishermen will appreciate the 42-gallon
livewell at the stern that features a recirculating pump, not just a bubbler like some. Although
slightly asymmetrically placed in the stern, it is close enough to the centerline that the 2600
won't list.
Heading out of Sarasota's harbor on Florida's west coast, the 2600 is greeted with a sloppy
one- to two-foot chop in the windswept bay. Fortunately, the redesigned hull features a 20-degree
deadrise at the stern and a sharper entry amidships, so slicing though this chop is light duty. The
Walk-around is easy to drive and isn't nose-heavy like some boats with cabins. Just a blip of the
trim tabs is enough to correct for roaming passengers and changed headings. Dropping down to
trolling speeds reveals a stable ride ' even beam to the seas. Backing down is a controlled event,
and you can get a pretty good head of steam going without burying the engines. Passengers riding
shotgun behind the crew and sitting on the transom could use some grab rails, though.
Ready for some action, the throttles on the 200-hp Yamaha HPDIs are firewalled, which
results in brisk acceleration. The Yamaha/ Century combination hooks up well, and 30 mph is reached
in less than six seconds with the pleasing twin-Yamaha sound that fishermen have learned to love.
The 2600 hits a top speed of 50.4 mph and is easy to control at that speed. Dropping down to a
brisk cruise speed of 40 mph at 4200 rpm, the fuel management gauge shows fuel consumption to be 19
gallons per hour, which means with a full 200 gallons of fuel, the Walkaround can theoretically
sustain that speed for about 10 hours and travel 400 miles between fill-ups ... in theory. You
should, however, always plan to leave a third of a tank in reserve as a safety measure.
Next to the livewell is a bait prep area with a cutting board and a sink that has both
fresh- and raw-water washdowns with long enough hoses to handle cockpit cleanup duties. The oil
fills, which are located next to the sink and sit thigh-high, will be easier to fill than the usual
transom fills that you have to stoop to access. Beneath the bait prep area is a built-in four-tray
tackle box that is conveniently placed for quick re-rigging. There's loads of rod storage, for
instance, in the under-gunwale horizontal racks that enclose the rods behind doors to help give the
cockpit a clean look. Additionally, there are four T-top rocket launchers with the optional hard
top and four rod holders on top of the gunwale.
The helm is far enough forward to create a large, uncluttered fishing cockpit. A pair of
giant 140-quart insulated fishboxes with macerators is located in the cockpit sole and are long
enough to handle long species such as wahoo or kingfish. The starboard-side transom door makes it
easy to slide unruly fish destined for the dinner table through the door and right into the
fishbox.
Going to the bow to drop the anchor is easy because of the molded-in step-ups to the wide
walkway. Unlike most boats of this type, the 2600's walkaround space is purposely left shallow to
increase cabin room, but the ultra-tall, one-piece stainless-steel bowrail makes going forward a
safe proposition. Because it's so tall, it has to be sturdy, and Century through-bolts it and
anchors it with aluminum backing plates. Like big boats, there's a bow hawse pipe and a pop-up bow
cleat for tidy anchoring.
While at anchor, the crew heads below to check out the cabin. A flip-up entry door cover
means guests don't have to hunch over to enter as they walk down the three wooden steps.
Immediately to the left is the well-optioned galley that features a Kenyon alcohol/electric stove,
refrigerator and freshwater sink. By making the walkaround almost flush with the deck, the expanded
cabin room is readily noticeable. The set of five cushions for the V-berth fits a little loose, but
there is room for a six-footer to stretch out, providing their bunkmate gives up a little room.
Standup headroom is excellent for guests up to 6-feet-2-inches, and the roomy head compartment with
head and freshwater shower can accommodate a person nearly as tall.
Priced at $86,507 when equipped with a pair of 200-hp Yamaha HPDI engines, the 2600
Walkaround is a lot of boat for the money. Premium components such as CCP Armorcote gel coat and
the V-Tech hull, with stress-resistant reinforced multi-directional fiberglass and transverse
bracing, allow Century to offer a 10-year hull warranty. So back up, hook up and explore the blue
places on the map ' you'll have a standing reservation at a great waterfront resort.'