2020 Intrepid 407 Nomad

Overview

Intrepid boats often serve as luxurious tenders to mega-yachts. But just as Bentley, Porsche and Jaguar now produce SUVs, so has Intrepid with its 407. This new boat has all the luxury, comfort, fit and finish that demanding owners could want, but also boasts some truly creative features.

Intrepid offers the 407 Nomad in two configurations: the SE or the FE version that I ran. Both acronyms refer to how you enter the head. Front entry (FE) slides the entire front of the center console sideways to port at the push of a button. Side entry (SE) constitutes just that. Just forward of the console sits a double sun pad with ram-driven seatbacks. This large island provides copious insulated storage within. Plus, the gunwales sport hatches with storage large enough for fenders, rods, dock lines or dive gear. Intrepid also offers an optional dive-tank storage rack. For après-dive, or après-anything, there’s bow seating with a table that lowers flush with the deck—also at the touch of a button. Plus, you’ll find tons of storage space underdeck, some in drainable fish boxes, and more in the gloss-finished bilge.

Interior and Accessories

The helm boasts an adjustable platform to improve visibility for the vertically challenged. Additional enclosed rod storage amidships augments the dozen rocket launchers on the aft side of the helm seating. All the gunwale-mounted drink holders cleverly double as rod holders to meet either socializing or angling needs.

Clever foldaway steps just forward of the portside dive door allow you to gracefully board and disembark over the high gunwales if you don’t happen to be at a floating dock and using the dive door for access. These are especially great for nonboating guests.

In deference to the yacht-tender function, the 407’s transom has a wide foldout passenger seat. Once stowed, the cockpit accommodates serious fishing. Twin live baitwells in the aft corners have windows and nightlights. Numerous insulated fish boxes underdeck can be plumbed for freezer plates. Despite the large lounging area forward of the center console, the 407 still provides more than enough cockpit space for multiple anglers to fish simultaneously. Gunwales with pads met just below waist-high for a secure feeling.

Our test day in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, came on the last day of a week’s worth of 30- to 35-knot easterly winds. We hit the inlet at the height of an outgoing supermoon tide, butting heads with the wind. I determined that the 407 Nomad handles drifting in big beam seas comfortably, even without the optional Seakeeper gyrostabilizer, and it ran downsea in total control. Steering proved smooth as silk and very responsive. Your friends and family will be most comfortable aboard, should the weather turn sour.

Despite its 21,000-pound displacement, the Intrepid 407 rockets away from a dead stop, planing in a mere 3 seconds, and touching 30 mph in just 7 seconds, though I’m not sure how different joystick control would be in close-quarters maneuvering. If you plan to fish the Nomad, you’ll definitely want to opt for the bow thruster that speeds up spinning on fish by an order of magnitude. It also ensures confident docking in difficult situations. The 407 utilizes a stepped or ventilated hull (those notches you see at the waterline). From a performance perspective, the hull injects air along the running surface underway, thereby decreasing frictional resistance for better speed and fuel economy.

Engine

Note that the boat I actually tested featured triple Mercury Racing 450 outboards. The boat shown is fitted with triple Yamaha 425 XTO outboards. According to Yamaha, the 407 Nomad hits 66 mph at wide-open throttle, burning 108 gph for 0.61 mpg. That’s 1 mph slower but more efficient than the Mercury-powered boat, as the performance chart shows. At 3,500 rpm, the Yamaha-powered boat posted 0.81 mpg at 33 mph burning 35.5 gph, while the Mercury Racing-powered boat posted an even 1 mpg and 34.7 mpg burning 34.9 gph.

Intrepid builds boats one at a time, and owners customize each one to their needs and tastes. Each hull consists of PVC coring and nonwoven uni- and multidirectional fiberglass cloth infused with vinylester resin via vacuum bagging for the best possible strength-to-weight ratio. Also, all sales are factory-direct, which allows Intrepid to remain competitive with other boat dealers despite the premium nature of the marque.

Few directly comparable boats exist, but I’d suggest looking at Scout’s 380 LXF ($758,442 base price). At 38 feet, 6 inches long and carrying a 12-foot-1-inch beam, it also can charge hard yet deliver refined entertainability. It offers carbon-fiber-infused construction, a double-stepped hull and more major standards, such as a Seakeeper gyrostabilizer.

Intrepid’s options list could reasonably ask: What do you want? From custom paint jobs to stabilizers, your choice of outboard brand and more, the company will accommodate. So, if you expect things just so, want to impress family and friends, and want to go fast and smooth in a large and innovative outboard-powered boat, make an appointment to go over and see the new Intrepid 407 Nomad.

How We Tested

• Engines: Triple Mercury Racing 450R
• Drive/Prop: Outboard/14.6″ x 21″ 4-blade stainless steel
• Gear Ratio: 1.60:1 Fuel Load: 350 gal. Water on Board: 10 gal. Crew Weight: 400 lb.

High Points

• Choose any brand of outboard power.
• Responsive to throttle, delivers a supremely comfortable ride, and steers like “buttah.”
• Terrific fit and finish.

Low Points

• Foldaway boarding steps are only on the port side. With the height of the gunwales, it could really use several more elsewhere.
• Would like to see the helm elevator riser drop flush with the sole, like the forward table does.

Pricing and Specs

Speed, Efficiency, Operation

Intrepid Powerboats – Dania Beach, Florida; 954-922-7544; intrepidpowerboats.com