2022 Whittley CR2180 OB review

The Whittley CR2180 started its life as a 200hp sterndrive model, using Volvo Penta’s proven V6 drivetrain to build a comfortable and capable cruiser.

However, the trend is steering towards outboard engines, which tend to be lighter, easier to manage, and yield more cockpit space and fuel efficiency than a sterndrive. That’s why we have the Whittley CR2180 OB.

There is no difference in price when you choose between the sterndrive or outboard models, so the choice comes down to which style of boat suits you best.

At 6.32 metres in length overall including the bowsprit, the CR2180 is the second largest model in the cruiser range, jumping 0.4 metres in length and $20K in price over the entry-level Whittley CR2080.

Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s no such thing as a cheap boat. Prices for everything from the resin used to build boats to the metal used to build the trailers they sit on have leapt up dramatically over the last two years.

The Whittley CR2180 OB costs from $126,405 drive-away. Yes, that’s a fair bit of money for a trailer boat, but where Whittley delivers is in its value-add, handing over a boat that’s ready to head straight to the nearest boat ramp and hit the water.

Standard equipment for the Whittley CR2180 OB includes sports seats with footrests for the skipper and co-pilot; cabin windows; clear hatch, roof lining and bunk cushions in the cuddy; chemical toilet; pressurised freshwater sink fed by a 40-litre tank; Fusion audio system; VHF radio; bimini; icebox under the co-pilot’s seat; folding jump seats on the transom; LED navigation lights; stainless steel rails and fittings; carpet floors and liners in the side pockets and on the dash; transom handheld shower; anchor and rode; a single windscreen wiper; Bennett trim tabs that help balance the boat while underway; automatic bilge pump; battery charger; an inshore safety kit; and even an engine flushing kit.

The boats don’t come in basic white, either, but feature an eye-catching two-tone hull finish – our test rig has an eye-catching optional metallic gold stripe – and Whittley decals.

The base engine is a 135hp Mercury FourStroke outboard with a stainless steel propeller, and the entire package comes sitting on a dual-axle drive-on/off Mackay trailer with a spare wheel and ratchet straps.

Our test boat was stacked with a few extras including an inductive stove hidden away under the helm seat, and a Dometic fridge.

A feature of Whittley’s Cruiser range is a design that maximises space onboard, giving the boat the feel of a much larger vessel than its external dimensions suggest.

Key to this is a raised roof over the cabin that provides as much headroom as possible.

Aft, the CR2180’s sterndrive configuration is modified so that the outboard engine is fitted to a pod with moulded swim platforms on either side.

The Whittley CR2180 is built using hand-laid fibreglass, a moulded, encapsulated fibreglass stringer system that adds strength as well as limiting noise and vibration, and a foam core that reduces weight while keeping the hull rigid. 

Trace its roots, and the Whittley CR2180’s hull is based on the original Whittley Voyager, but with computer-aided tweaks and improvements along the way.

Up front is a decent bow rake that leads to a sharp 19-degree deadrise down at the transom, giving the boat some serious saltwater ability, while twin strakes and reversed chines help lift the boat onto the plane and once there, run and corner with confidence. 

Whittley promotes itself as a trailerable brand, so weight is important. On its dual-axle Mackay trailer and before adding fuel, people and fishing gear, the entire package weighs less than 2200kg, meaning it is right-sized for a mid-size family car to tow.

Of note, the Whittley CR2180 has only a 110-litre fuel tank, which is not much for this weight and length of boat.

Melbourne-based Whittley has been in the boatbuilding game for just shy of 70 years and has since established itself as Australia’s largest fibreglass trailer boat manufacturer.

It’s had a long time, then, to shape its products to ensure they’re fit for purpose, and that shows on the Whittley CR2180.

Step aboard and the first thing you notice is the sizeable freeboard that the high-sided design of the cockpit allows. It’s really a boat you step into rather than on.

The cockpit is wide with decent access to the moulded swim boards, with rubber non-slip surfaces on either side of the transom and a swing-down ladder on the starboard side. Under your feet is a plush-feel carpet that runs all the way forward.

The outboard engine pod extends into the cockpit, creating two small alcoves to either side that have removable jump seats set in them and stainless steel cupholders set inboard that can also make a good home for sinkers while fishing.

On the leading edge of the engine pod is a decent-sized swing-up table. Giving weight to it as the boat’s social hub is an extra pair of swing-up jump seats built onto the large and lined side pockets, which turn the cockpit into a relaxing space for four people.

This setup means you can’t see the bilge, so make sure the boat's automatic pump is working just in case the self-draining cockpit floor stops working. It’s easy enough to do, say, leaving the boat out under a gum tree for even just a couple of days.

Each side of the boat is padded, right forward to the cuddy.

While wide, the cockpit is not very deep, but mounting the helm seats high on sculpted pedestals helps to create a sense of more space. To one side is a portable 12-volt Dometic fridge added to this boat as an option.

Under the skipper’s seat is a deep sink fed by a pressure-feed 40-litre water tank. To access it, you lift and swing the backrest out of the way and then raise the seat base back 180 degrees, which becomes a benchtop.

You can do the same to the first mate’s seat, although instead of the default storage space our test boat is fitted with an optional induction cooktop.

Forward of the helm console is the Whittley CR2180’s cuddy cabin, accessed via a large void built in front of the first mate’s seat and extending to the helm console. A half-sized console in front of the first mate’s seat houses an icebox and more storage space.

One thing Whittley seems to do consistently well is building cuddy cabins that don’t feel like an afterthought.

The one on the CR2180 is deep with good headroom, the roof, walls and cushioned side pockets are all lined, and a chemical toilet is tucked in a corner of the starboard bunk. A curtain provides privacy, and infills create a large sleeping space for a couple and maybe a kid thrown in.

On the forepeak behind the anchor well is an optional 22-inch TV with built-in speakers on either side of the cabin. Windows on either side let in natural light, while a huge but narrow tinted hatch provides natural airflow and access to the anchor well.

You can also access the anchor well via the side decks, but it’s quite a narrow sidedeck so you’ll be relying on the stainless steel grab and bow rails each time you go forward.

This is one place where the Whittley has not really moved forward. Multifunction devices, particularly the ones that make navigating unfamiliar waterways much easier, are getting larger, but the Whittley CR2180’s helm console isn’t growing with them. 

That means the 6.0-inch Garmin EchoMAP fitted to our boat is about as big as you can get in a world where chartplotters' makers seem to think 7.0 inches is the smallest anyone will bother with. Adding more height to the dash and pushing the analogue gauges more outboard would improve things greatly, particularly if the owner wants to upgrade to something with more cruising-friendly detail and functionality.

The comfy, well-bolstered helm seat is deep but still gives a commanding view out of and around the boat. In front of you is a sports steering wheel that sits at a good height, while the shift and throttle control falls nicely to hand. Switches are arranged on a custom panel with LED back-lit buttons.

The dash also houses a VHF marine radio and a Fusion audio system.

There’s decent side pocket storage around the helm, although there’s no easily accessible flat space to leave a mobile phone that will slide around on the smart-looking carpeted instrument binnacle.

The Roman-style nose of the Whittley CR2180 is fine to see over, although thick pillars on either side of the single-piece windscreen do interrupt sightlines while seated – you’re better to stand while docking just so you’re not constantly looking around them.

Over on the first mate’s side, it initially feels a bit odd sitting in front of a large void. But once again there is a good amount of small item stash space down low, and nothing up top.

The jump seat has a stainless steel handrail running around the top of the cuddy cabin – handy because there’s not much else to brace yourself with.

The Whittley CR2180 is more about the cruising lifestyle than fishing, so it’s a bit harsh to judge it on these merits. However, you’d be mad to not pack a rod in the hope of hooking up a good feed of fish.

There’s no underfloor kill tank, so you’ll need to pack a fish bag that’s easy to move out of the way when not needed. There are also only two rod holders, so you’d have to add a rocket launcher to the bimini if you want more.

Because the cockpit is wide and not very deep, there’s really only space for a couple of people to drop a line on either side, and maybe a third if someone wants to cast over the outboard engine.

Another limiting factor is the bimini, which provides a lot of shade over the cockpit. It overhangs enough that you’ll be sideways casting to get the bait out, but the moment it starts raining and you zip those clears in to enclose the space you'll be thankful.

In these respects, the Whittley CR2180 is more of a fish-and-chips boat than a fishing boat.

Sydney’s Rozelle Bay turned on the weather for our test. The blue skies, light winds and the expanse of the harbour as our backdrop couldn’t have been better.

Whittley’s boats are now fitted with Mercury outboard engines, which has allowed the boat-maker to now provide cradle-to-grave care to its customers, although in this instance it is from the moment the customer buys the boat to when they sell it. The Mercury engines also allow Whittley to service its customers’ boats along their boat-owning journey.

Whittley’s Cruiser line of boats isn’t meant to be full of fast, sporty rides. Instead, they’re about leisurely cruising, almost your floating caravan, so equipping them with big, expensive, performance-honed engines isn’t a priority.

Anyone who likes going fast will probably be a bit disappointed with the Whittley’s outright performance with the entry-level 135hp Mercury FourStroke, especially when loaded up with a weekend of people, food, drink and fuel and a large cruising motor yacht overtakes you.

But for meandering around, it’s fine, just not fast. The dilemma is if you step up to the 150hp outboard engine, which is the same 3.0-litre four-cylinder block as the 135hp, but is faster and more fuel-heavy. Once again, that 110-litre fuel tank will be a limiting factor in how fast, and far, you go.

Holeshot performance is good, although with a heavy boat and the weight of the fuel tank so far aft the nose will tend to point up until the boat settles on the plane. A set of trim tabs helps here.

On the move, the Whittley CR2180 feels sure-footed and well-planted, the deeper vee holding a decent line as the speeds rise. 

We’ve talked performance down a bit, but the reality is that the hull underneath the Whittley is exceptional at hanging onto sharp turns. Rather than slide through a fast, sharp turn of the wheel, the reversed chines bite the water and flick the boat around to its new course.

The boat also performed extremely well through Sydney Harbour’s infamous washing-machine chop, the result of the constant ferry traffic plying the waters. In fact, the Whittley CR2180 was able to skip across at a fair turn of speed, with a comfortable and dry ride for everyone on board.

In that respect, it’s an ideal boat for the harbour, Melbourne’s Port Phillip Bay, or even Moreton Bay, where the shallower waters tend to produce that short, sharp swell that can make things pretty uncomfortable pretty quickly.

Performance

We did not get fuel burn rates for the 135hp Mercury, but it should be around 20-25 litres an hour at a cruising speed of 4000rpm.

Driving the Whittley on the Mackay trailer at the end of the day was simple and trouble-free.

The Whittley CR2180 is a boat made for creating family memories over sun-soaked weekends. It’s a point of entry to a whole new way of enjoying the water that beats a day trip to the beach hands-down.

It’s not quick, but it is comfortable and has a level of equipment and finish that means new owners won’t need to have to trouble themselves with visiting boat shops and marinas to find that missing bit of equipment that you should have had at the start.

It’s also wrapped up in a package that’s easy enough for a mid-size family car to tow around to far-flung waters, so an all-new adventure is just around the corner.

Priced from: $126,405 including sports helm seats with footrests; cabin windows; clear hatch, roof lining and bunk cushions in the cuddy; chemical toilet; pressurised freshwater sink; Fusion audio system; VHF radio; bimini and clears to enclose the cockpit; icebox under the second mate’s seat; folding side jump seats; transom seats; fold-up transom table; LED navigation lights; stainless steel rails and fittings; carpet floors and liners in the side pockets and on the dash; transom handheld shower; anchor and rode; a single windscreen wiper; Bennett trim tabs; automatic bilge pump; battery charger; inshore safety kit; engine flushing kit; 135hp Mercury FourStroke outboard engine; Mackay galvanised dual-axle trailer

Price as tested: $TBA including Vegas Gold upper hull; Limited interior; Waeco 12V fridge; three 12V outlets; 22-inch TV with digital antenna; Vacationer package including Garmin EchoMAP 6 chartplotter/fishfinder; dual-battery system; 12V induction cooktop; front hatch and rear clears and flyscreen

Supplied by: Whittley Marine Group