For a gallery of the 2400 Sport Deck in action click here.
The narrow canals that connect a chain of our test lakes are not the ideal places to meet other boats head-on, not when we’re testing a deck boat anyway. At idle speed, the wide-beam hulls like to wander at the stern, especially under the power of an inboard/outboard, sometimes making passage between cypress stumps and oncoming boats precarious. The 2400 SD, however, never shook its fanny. It tracked and maneuvered better than most deck boats we’ve tested, and for good reason.
Taking a page from its big-water sister brand, Sailfish, SouthWind’s hulls are built for rough saltwater use. Instead of the benchmark 16-degree deadrise found under the majority of deck boats, the 2400 has a 20-degree deadrise and a sharper keel than most competitors have.
It also has a full step to reduce water friction. With a 250 hp Yamaha and 21-pitch prop, our test boat was able to cross 55 mph. That’s humming. The only deck boat to match these numbers in any recent test was a Kayot V220 with a 250 hp Verado, and it rides on a much flatter bottom.
Incorporating a batwing-shaped swim platform on the 2400 allows the motor to be mounted well beyond the cockpit. The splashwell keeps the tapered platform from being much use, but here’s the tradeoff: The motor position does not impede cockpit space and is so far aft that the 2400 is one of the only outboard-powered sport boats with an adjustable, rear-facing island lounge. Under the lounge is a storage compartment as wide and deep as a stern-drive motor housing.
Further advantage is taken of the centerline depth with two in-floor storage compartments. We found one to be shallower and realized it’s glassed on top of the 70-gallon fuel tank. It’s a generous fuel capacity for this boat category and size because the 2400 SD is meant to go where other deck boats wouldn’t dare.
Comparable model: Hurricane Sundeck 2400
