Riding high on a 320 Center Console
by Sailfish Boats 1 Dec 2022 19:52 UTC
Ben Besosa - 320CC © Sailfish Boats
320 Center Console owner Ben Besosa has owned many vessels. Sailfish offers the best ride of all of them. He explains why.
Ben Besosa was ready to place a deposit on another center console (which shall remain nameless) last Fall. He was stopped in his tracks, however. "Do you have a good dentist?" a buddy asked. "Those boats are known to bang," he added. "Oh God," Ben replied, "You know I love to take my daughters way offshore to go fishing."
Ben had a 22-foot Wellcraft at the time. "I'd take my daughters out about 40, 50 miles. People called me the 'crazy captain' because I'd take little kids that far offshore. But we were safe. A lot of extra safety precautions were taken, but it was clearly time to move up."
Ben wanted to get a bigger boat with the ability to get more comfortably offshore. "In the buying process my friend steered me away from the brands I thought were appropriate and turned me on to Sailfish. I got interested and started calling around to demo one." What really motivated Ben, though, was catching tuna in his own boat. He'd spent a lot of time catching mahi and marlin with his family but wanted to haul in a big prize of a tuna.
During Mahi season, Ben and his family only got to take their Wellcraft out two or three times because of the rough seas and having to wait until conditions were calm. But a Sailfish Center Console offered a different experience, and Ben decided to make a move to the 320.
"That Sailfish is absolutely a phenomenal-riding boat. The high freeboards on it and of course the flare at the bow really give me confidence. I've been through eight, nine-footers in it and the boat outperforms every other center console I have been in. When it's rough out, I feel the variable-degree stepped hull in action. Once I learned how to position the tabs and engine - it is like night and day. I love it." His second time out in his new 320 was when he finally caught his first tuna. "This time next year my daughter will be 12. My goal by then is to get her on her first tuna in the 320!"
Ben fishes in the Baltimore Canyon, a continental shelf edge beyond the coastal plain where the Delaware River empties into the sea. He takes his boat to Spencer and Wilmington, offshore, and everywhere in between.
The hull isn't the only thing Ben likes to gush about. "Let's forget about the ride for a second. The fuel economy on this boat is fantastic. My MPH and gas usage are half that of the guys I boat with. At 30 miles an hour in decent seas, I can go out to Baltimore and back twice."
Ben opted for Garmin Autopilots to be installed at his dealership, Galahad Marine. "I do a lot of fishing at nighttime, which is another special moment for my daughter and me." Using the Autopilot feature with his twin Yamaha 300 HPs, he can stay in place and cast his lines. "You only do it when the tide's not running fast in full capacity. It's two hours before and two hours after high tide really when that feature works well."
Each experience Ben recounts on his 320CC, from fishing an offshore canyon to relaxing on the sandbar, is a good one. "If you want to look at the most versatile boat, I can't think of a better one because that 320 is perfect for an offshore environment because of the hull design, its bow flare and high free board. That boat brings the whole family full circle. It meets all my needs to get offshore with my girls and I'm not worried about how rough it gets. I mean, it's absolutely perfect."