Aquasport 28AS Boat Review

Now owned by Twin Vee, the first new Aquasport in three decades is launched.

When the crew from Twin Vee took over the empty White Bluff, Tennessee factory of Aquasport Boats back in June of 2023, they were amazed and melancholy. The factory, formerly run by Ebbtide, had closed after their owner, Canada’s Limestone Boats, took on too much financial water. “It looked like everybody just got up and walked away,” said Twin Vee’s Marketing Director Frank Smith. There were “boats in the hull molds like they were just in the middle of everything. It was just really eerie.”

In re-launching the defunct Aquasport, Twin Vee is seeking to expand its monohull market with a highly regarded make, and Aquasport has a storied, if convoluted past. Some of the first builders of center-console boats, Aquasport founders Fred Coburn and Lennox Sargent unveiled a 22-foot modified-V fishing machine way back in 1964. The line came to be revered by anglers and eventually was acquired by Genmar holdings, who continued to build Aquasports until shelving the line in 2005. A competitive and complementary manufacturer, Hydra-Sports, began building its Nashville-based line of high-end, and eventually Kevlar-infused fishing boats back in 1973. Also ultimately acquired by Genmar, in 2001, Hydra-Sports and its molds were built for a time in Tennessee alongside MasterCrafts. Of particular renown were Hydra-Sports’ high-sided, deep-V “Vector Hulls.” Peruse old threads about Vectors on The Hull Truth and you’ll see terms like “dry,” “stable,” “bullet proof,” and “best riding offshore boat ever.”

Eventually, the original Hydra-Sports molds ended up at Ebbtide in Tennessee, where they served as foundation for Aquasport’s rejuvenation of the Vector design. Then, in June of ‘23, those molds became the domain of Fort Pierce-based Twin Vee. Production was briefly restarted in White Bluff, “but we simply had a tough time managing it,” said Smith. “So, we closed the doors and brought all the production over here.”

Rather than simply re-launching these legacy hulls, Smith said Twin Vee opted to build an entirely new line that includes a trio of center consoles, a 22 (a very successful design originally developed for Freedom Boat Club) and a 24—both designed before Twin Vee’s purchase of Aquasport—and now their brand-new offshore flagship, the 28AS. With its 22 degrees of deadrise, high freeboard, wide flare, sharp chines and a shearline that gracefully angles from the bow to the stern, you’d be forgiven for mistaking the 28AS as a relaunch of the Vector hull. But, like me, you’d be wrong. “I can tell you with 100 percent certainty, I never even looked at those Vector hulls,” said 28AS Designer Greg McLogan. “But for the first time—after you and I were texting—I actually looked. I put those two hulls next to each other on my computer—and they are very similar.”

McLogan says he based the 28AS’s design on Twin Vee’s 22 and 24. “We made a couple of changes based on the boat running twin engines. It’s a wider (nine-foot, six-inch) beam, so it needs to carry a little bit more weight. We did make the chines a little bit wider, and we always put a three-degree downturn of the chine. I think that helps with handling characteristics, and it helps deflect the water back down immediately, rather than trying to climb up the hull.”

The 28AS was designed on a five-plane CNC machine with the strength to carry 205 gallons of gas and 600 horsepower into short-period Gulf-Stream chop for years on end. Unlike many center consoles being turned out today, the hull is not stepped. “Stepped hulls can be a bit more tender at rest and they’re a lot more temperamental in terms of weight and balance,” McLogan said. “There are so many different variables that come into play. We just felt like for what we’re trying to do and keep a boat pretty, it’s still somewhat of an entry-level boat.”

So, how’s she outfitted? Twin lounges with removable backrests anchor the bow. Recessed bow rails should give excellent handholds while staying out of the way for fighting fish. At the helm, protected by a power-vented windshield, sit a pair of comfy-looking ergonomic pedestal seats and a full array of digital switching—with redundant physical switches (nice to have 50 miles offshore)—attached to a 24-inch Raymarine MFD. Astern, we like the portside swim/tuna door and a transom with doors that open for easy stern platform access.

For electronics, Aquasport teamed up with Avikus, an outfit that develops optional autonomous navigational technology. According to Smith, the system is still being fine-tuned but will feature obstacle avoidance and auto docking via GPS, LIDAR sensors and cameras. Base-level autopilot, FLIR night vision and Surround View will be options as well, along with an array of Raymarine fishfinding options. The 28AS is physically outfitted for angling too, with a non-skid EVA deck, gunwale rod holders, 18 tube rod holders and a pair of Gemlux outriggers. At the transom resides a 45-gallon livewell along with fresh- and raw-water washdowns. Insulated floor storage includes a nifty molded holder for a five-gallon bucket. The console bears a molded 36-quart cooler and what Smith promises will be an actually comfortable macerated freshwater head.

McLogan says Twin Vee recognizes—and wants to honor—Aquasport’s legacy with its first completely new design in three decades. Time will tell how this new model is received but then again, who doesn’t love a good comeback story?

Aquasport 28AS Specifications:

LOA: 28’3”
Beam: 9’6”
Draft: 1’11”
Fuel: 205 gal.
Water: 13 gal.
Power: 2/200-hp Mercury

This article originally appeared in the November 2024 issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine.

View the original article to see embedded media.

Source: https://www.powerandmotoryacht.com/boats/aquasport-28as-boat-review