Sea Fox 256 Commander

A South Carolina company in the heart of serious-fishing territory, Sea Fox builds a range of 20-something sportsfishers with value beyond that which normally exists in a fully imported American centre console. The moderate- to deep-vee hulls have impressive moulded liners incorporating dedicated fishing features but also convertible seating and comforts to lure the family aboard. As such, these are new ‘bowriders’ of the bluewater. The 256 Commander tested here epitomises that thinking…

OVERVIEW?
- South Carolina heritage with value for money in the mix
America is the home of the centre-console sportsfisher. There are almost as many brands and badges as there are hamburger and hotdog joints. Most yards deliver on their performance promises, yet very few add value in the mix. Sea Fox from South Carolina, the home of the namesake flared-bow boat, mentions both “affordable” and “value driven” in its spiel. Thankfully, aggressive pricing exists with the Sea Fox offered here.

There are walkarounds like that in our previous 256 test, side consoles, bay boats and dual consoles. But it's the centre console range that best represents Sea Fox as an American sportsfisher brand. From the entry-level 199 that punches well above it weight to the 286 flagship we reviewed previously, the Sea Fox centre consoles cover most bluewater bents and budgets.

The subject of this review, the 256 Commander has been a best-selling Sea Fox in the last five years. It’s a nicely proportioned boat, loaded as we tested it, with a really hot hardtop included in the Aussie spec’. In the water, we found oodles of poke as a twin-rig, but there’s also very good value as a base boat with a single outboard.

Weighing about 3200kg on road, you can tow the Commander 256 on an alloy trailer with hydraulic brakes and a permit, as indeed we did to the ramp. It’s at a big boat, with a 7.85m length overall, yet also manageable when launching, driving and faced with maintenance in the backyard.

A cool American centre console that strikes a pose and commands attention, Sea Fox also enjoys great backing from the Australian importers/retailers. JSW Marine cuts out the middleman, offers keen pricing and prides itself on customer support in what is an impressive marine dealership with plenty of Sea Fox on show.

PRICE AND EQUIPMENT

The Australian spec’ also includes a Lewmar electric anchor winch, anchor roller, split bow lights and stainless steel prop. A dual-axle Magic Tilt alloy trailer with hydraulic brakes will add $8360. So the drive-away price for the base boat/motor/trailer or BMT is $130,629. That represents exceptional value compared with what these same dollars buy elsewhere: a 685 plate-alloy rig, a local fibreglass cuddy cabin, or imported European cabin cruiser around the same length cost as much. Do your new-boat research on our sites using price parameters and see for yourself.

As tested and loaded, ‘our’ 256 Commander had a retail tag of $169,100 on trailer with options and upgrades as per the Sydney customer’s specifications. These included maximum power of twin F200F Yamaha 200hp outboards, which are terrific inline four-cylinder 2.785-litre DOHC engines with variable camshaft timing. At 227kg apiece, they are the lightest four-strokes in their class and sophisticated outboards.

Other upgrades included a Blue Marlin-coloured hull stripe with eye-catching hologram, upgraded custom captain’s chair with rear grab handle, electric toilet with overboard discharge, extra bow backrest cushions and bow filler-board cushion, plus a LED lighting package with blue mood lights, underwater lights and live-well lights. We can only imagine how this boat looks all lit-up at night!

The owner had an upgraded stainless-steel anchor, custom ski pole, antifouling, custom front and side clears, as well as a cover for the dash, console and captain’s seats. His boat was to live in the water and on a mooring. Electronics included a Lowrance HDS 12 Touch fishfinder/chartplotter with built-in structure scan, 4G radar and VHF radio.

Add some tackle and you’re set to do virtually everything from night voyaging and bluewater fishing to towing the tykes on tubes and staging big family days.

LAYOUT AND ACCOMMODATION
- Great deck design with extra seating and comforts
You could easily take a base Sea Fox and trick it up to tournament-fishing level if that is what floats your boat. But you can tell by the abovementioned options and the way the owner had tweaked our test boat that the market for Sea Fox is broader than that. This boat was set-up as a social ski rig in addition to its role as a social boat and floating SUV. To this end, seating had been maximised, there was a custom removable ski pole, and the step-down change room had the electric toilet. Adding great comforts to a centre-console fishboat is a trend.

Our 256 Commander test boat sported an upgraded windlass for chain and rope, a stainless steel anchor, pop-up cleats and a decent locker. The decks are kept sleek and snag-free, with integrated grab rails tracing the forward casting platform. There are lined and insulated storage lockers under the moulded seat/casting-deck bases and, with overboard drains, you can use them for fish storage. The lined in-floor bin will hold the drinks and lunch for the forward crew.

With the bow infill and optional clip-in backrests — which locate in flush-mounted spigots (see pics)  — you can seat a couple crew in either forward- or aft-facing positions in the bow. There are two more seats ahead of the centre console, flip-up aft quarter seats, and the twin high-backed helm seats on this boat.

Together this amounts to dedicated seating for eight, or two typical families. With the standard helm leaning post with the optional flip-down aft lounge you can carry 10 people aboard, which is this boat’s crew capacity. See what we mean about turning a centre console into a social boat?

The 256’s deep freeboard, padded coamings, supportive gunwales, diamond-pattern non-skid and deck layout provide bow-to-stern boating space and fishability with plenty of inherent safety. The forward casting platform will appeal to lure and fly casters and pitch baiters. On the drift, the amidships room and spacious cockpit come into their own. The cockpit space exceeds what you find on some centre consoles that push their helm stations well aft. Because of that, the 256 will make an excellent at-anchor, drifting and trolling boat.

There are four flush-mount rod holders in the gunwales. The outboard two rod holders on the rocket launcher are angled and if you troll from them you’ll get an even greater spread. There is also a four-rack transom launcher, giving your storage for 11 rods, plus three more with the under-gunwale gaff/rod racks each side of the cockpit. Rod storage galore.

Sea Fox includes some trick tackle storage, too, with hatch in the console containing a removable lure wrap bag and three lure tubes. The door down into the console has a fish-measuring stick and integrated garbage bin holder. In floor, meanwhile, are two insulated fish boxes with macerators that are albeit a little on the small side for our mackerel, mahi mahi and tuna. Just throw a couple of insulated fish bags aboard for the big stuff.

The lock-up console ‘cabin’ offers secure rod storage when you are back on dock, abundant dry storage any time you are aboard, standing headroom when you are inside, a sink linked to a 40-litre freshwater supply and the electric toilet. With a couple of airbeds you could camp on deck and fish away for weekends, adding yet another string to Sea Fox 256’s bow.

There was a small fixed cockpit table attached to the helm seat framework for serving lunch and a portable icebox mounted on deck under the seat for picnics. At the transom, the fold-down quarter seats have non-skid moulded backrests, Folded flat, these act as a casting spot and step-through ‘marlin’ doors. But toe kicks would be welcome on the moulded cockpit floor liner along the transom.

There are hatches to batteries and the main isolator nearby, but the centrepiece is the massive mid-transom aerated live well with 150-litre capacity. It’s big enough to double as a bath. With an aftermarket drop-in cutting board in the rear rocket launcher, you will have every fishing base covered. A saltwater deck wash and swim ladder are included. And as this is a big stable platform, the outboard deck is safe enough to stand and gaff or net a big fish and gain rod clearance while fighting a stubborn tuna around the outboards.

Meanwhile, the twin helm seats are supportive, the stainless-steel wheel with crank knob adds to the intent, and there is plenty of mounting space around the 12in Lowrance touchscreen. The boat had a Simrad autopilot, Yamaha engine-monitoring screen, stereo remote, Bennet trim tabs and windlass buttons, throttle binnacle and big bank of rocker switches.

The big polished aluminium rails and hardtop frame offer plenty of handholds for crew, there are lockers above and below the dash to stash your personals, and that Climate Control System comprising two freshwater misters in the hardtop. This will be an absolute godsend on a hot summer’s day with a face full of sunscreen and salt spray. Not that this is a wet boat, mind you.

HULL AND ENGINEERING
- Limited lifetime warranty
Australian and New Zealand distributor JSW Powersports is in its fourth year importing Sea Fox, having delivered dozens of boats across the country, and carries an impressive stock that you can peruse in the Gold Coast yard.

The local crew’s performance-boating background augurs well for the outboard set-ups, although Sea Fox mostly come factory pre-rigged for Yamaha these days. You can mount Mercury outboards and Evinrude’s E-TEC G2 is bound to be an option next year. 

The Sea Fox hull construction is wood-free, using a composite hull and deck. The mouldings looked quite fair and, while the finish in some compartments isn’t quite to the standards of some bigger ticketed US boats, there is real value here to consider.

Plastic screw-off hatches in the splash well grant access to the bilge and steering gear and, while we’re not exactly fans of these hatches, for the most part they are clear of the water. Everything else appears to be seriously saltwater proof and the deck fittings are through-bolted and heavy-duty.

Helm wiring is easy to reach from in the console, the fuel tank is an alloy number with an in-line water separator, and there are twin bilge pumps with float switches and high-water alarm beneath the self-bailing floor. With antifouling, this boat was to be left in the water. You need to make an allowance of two to three knots with the following speeds.

ON THE WATER
- Plenty of trim range and driver input
Our twin 200hp Yammies were spinning 19in x 3.75in stainless-steel three-blade props, but still needed a little tweaking in respect of mounting heights. Still, the boat showed a clean pair of heels on the Broadwater and revealed its pedigree out through the Seaway, where the wind and chop were building.

Somewhere north and east we hooked into a turn and rode back home as dry as when we had begun. The following aren’t absolute figures, with some tweaking left to do, but they are indicative of the excellent performance from the twin 200hp Yammies.

Top speed at 5800-6000rpm was 50-51 knots, 4500-5000rpm fast cruise gave 38-44 knots for an average of 2.20 litres per nautical mile, while the sweet outboard revs of 4000rpm returned 33 knots, which is still smoking, and 1.74 litres per nautical mile at these fast but eco speeds.

Pulling the throttles back to 3500rpm gave 27-28 knots cruise for about 1.55 litres per nautical mile, which is great consumption. At 3000rpm low-speed cruise, we were still trucking at 22-23 knots for 1.45 litres per nautical mile (1.28 km/litre in Gen Y speak), which seems to be the same factory result with Yamaha’s twin 150hp outboards.

Although an open boat, the 25 Commander proved dry and comfortable at sensible cruise speeds. It’s not a super deep-vee but more a moderate all-rounder, with 20 degrees of deadrise at the transom. You will derive a very good ride with plenty of stability at rest and when trolling beam-on.

With the availability of full leg trims and big recessed trim tabs, there’s plenty of scope for buttoning down the bow to engage the sharp entry, trimming to keep the hull on an even keel, and running the boat free and easy for surfing back home. This is exactly what we did before a simple drive-on boat retrieval and tow back to the yard.

VERDICT
- The new day-boating order and bluewater pleasure boat
You can pack a crowd aboard the 256 Commander, which is why such boats appeal to today’s day boaters. The seating on this centre console is comparable to a maxi bowrider, there is plenty of drinks and lunch storage, plus the stand-up change room and WC with electric loo. Meantime, the layout is built upon a bluewater hull with performance that far exceeds that of a your typical fat bowrider.

If traversing busy windblown and wash-affected waterways, big bays and harbours is part of your boating agenda, if performance and ride comfort matter, big centre consoles like this Sea Fox 256 are in their element. And if the fishing bug bites, you are certainly in great company.

In short, the 256 Commander is a flexible fish-and-family boat built on a hull with bluewater pedigree. It’s a great value American centre console, as big as you need to go, with excellent local backing and a growing following Down Under.

LIKES
>> Head-turning good looks and serious seaworthiness for all-seas centre-console boating.
>> Five-star ‘fishability’ with loads of features including one of the biggest bait tanks in the business
>> Flexibility thanks to ‘cabin’ with toilet and abundant seating to cater for social-boating needs 
>> Great value and strong backing for a trick all-American centre console with such a big spec’

NOT SO MUCH
>> Toe kicks in the floor liner across the transom would be nice.
>> Not the biggest sub-floor fish boxes for Aussie-sized sportsfish.
>> Although commonplace, we’re not a big fan of plastic spin-off hatches in outboard splash wells.

RATINGS
Overall rating: 22/25 = 88%
Mechanical/equipment: 4.0/5.0
Packaging and practicality: 4.5/5.0
On the water Performance: 4.25/5.0
Value for money: 4.75/5.0
X-factor: 4.5/5.0

Specifications:
Price as tested: $169,100 on trailer with loads of options and big upgrades as per test boat and detailed above.
Priced from: $122,269 with a single 250hp or packaged as a boat/motor/trailer or BMT for $130,629 with plenty of kit as detailed above.
LOA: 7.85m
Centreline length: 7.60m
Beam: 2.80m
Hull dry weight: 1814kg
Rig weight max. (excluding trailer): 2225kg dry
Engine: Yamaha F200F x 2
Fuel: 467 litres
Water: 40 litres
Passenger capacity: 10
Total capacity: 1179kg
Hull deadrise: 20 degrees
Maximum horsepower: 400hp in 30in outboard length
Engines on test: Twin Yamaha F200F four-stroke outboards.

Supplied by:
JSW POWER SPORTS
Telephone (07) 5529 2616
www.jswpowersports.com.au