Boat Test: 2024 Tahoe T21

Overview

Tahoe Boat’s new T21 is an ­aggressively fun, waterborne machine. Its wide-open interior’s minimalist design is sleek, begging you to grip the wheel and take it for a rip. It offers heady 57 mph top speed, hot-rod acceleration (3 seconds to plane, and zero to 30 mph in a quick 4.5 seconds). Its ­design brings comfort, exciting style and performance at a great value.

Engine

The fast-planing hull and Mercury 200 XS carve tight turns without complaint. It holds plane at a low 16 mph, which appeals to watersports enthusiasts, along with the ski pylon and ski locker, both standard features. This rig is capable of towing multiple riders, even with a boatload of ­spectators aboard.

Interior and Accessories

Tahoe aimed for a high-­utility rig and nailed it. In front, the twin facing lounge seats can handle two riders each. There’s plenty of storage room for gear, and insulated bow compartments will drain overboard if ice is added. An anchor locker with chain stowage brackets under the step up to the bow is easy to access. Cup holders and grab rails are situated within handy reach.

The cockpit is deep and wide, featuring contoured and bolstered pedestal buckets for the pilot and navigator. A cubby with a Kicker stereo head unit resides in the copilot console, with a good-size glove box under a lockable latching cover next to it. Abaft, there’s three-across seating, and the center seatback folds down to reveal a step up to the aft sun pad. Just aft of the sun pad is a textured swim and watersports platform with a folding, four-step, telescoping stainless-steel boarding ladder.

The Tahoe is built to last. With all-composite construction, there’s no wood to rot. ­Upholstery is thick, quality vinyl with excellent stitch work. The components and accessories are well-installed, with aluminum and stainless-steel backers and fasteners. The rub rail is installed straight and true with no dips, an uncharacteristic trait at this price point.

The T21 cuts through wind chop and wakes cleanly and without complaint, accelerates to speed like a Saturn rocket, and dances on the pad at nearly 60 mph like a high-performance bass boat. Capable of seating 11 fun-seekers, this bowrider is sure to be a party favorite at any sandbar gathering. And it’s priced low.

How We Tested

• Engine: Mercury 200 Pro XS FourStroke
• Drive/Prop: Outboard/Mercury Enertia 14.2″ x 18″ 3-blade stainless steel
• Gear Ratio: 1.85:1 Fuel Load: 35 gal. Crew Weight: 250 lb.

High Points

• No traditional gauges for this dash; the console is 100 percent digital, with an 8-inch touchscreen multicolor display giving control and information on all boat and engine functions.
• The 100 percent composite construction means a long life and excellent resale value.
• There is a high utility quotient due to the wide-open interior and well-engineered seating arrangement.

Low Points

• Smoked, frameless, low-profile acrylic windscreens add a racy touch, but there’s no top rail to protect them from careless boarders. Aboard boats, what can be grabbed will be grabbed.
• Access to below-transom rigging is tight for troubleshooting or servicing pumps and hoses.
• We think the Mercury Pro XS is the ideal power for the T21, but it does eliminate a full beam-to-beam platform. 

Toughest Competitor

Chaparral’s 21 SSI OB boasts a walk-through windshield and sells for $57,095 with a Yamaha F200 outboard. 

Pricing and Specs

Speed, Efficiency, Operation