Take a Seat Regulator’s

new fishing machine
allows you to carry a crowd

By Marilyn Mower

Sometimes you just get lucky. I was fortunate enough to wrap up the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show in Regulator’s flagship, the 34SS (for starboard seating). As has become the builder’s custom, President Joan Maxwell debuts a new model to the media on the opening day of the show in the high and dry confines of the Fort Lauderdale Convention Center. While I like the Convention Center displays because I can spend as long as I want inspecting the boats without fear of sunburn, you can’t tell much about balance and ride when a boat’s up on blocks.
This year, Regulator took pains to make sure that media had ample chance to experience their new baby by offering sea trials at practically any hour. Knowing that I had scheduled my ride after the show ended put a little spring back in my step on some long days. As I said, sometimes you just get lucky. That Tuesday, the person dispatched to be my captain was none other than Regulator’s co-founder and Joan’s husband, Owen Maxwell. The weather for the show had been near perfect, so, of course, it turned a bit snotty for our test. You can like any boat on a good day, a bad day takes a good boat.
Our ride was aboard hull number one, which had a bow thruster, a $10,000 option. At my raised eyebrow, Owen said that three of the 34s so far were fitted with thrusters.
“I used to think that a bow thruster was a fancy way to keep from embarrassing yourself, but on a boat this size, it saves your bacon in the wind,” said Owen. As we crept down the ICW through no-wake zones Owen showed off a trick he’d perfected while bottom fishing. “When I have a fish on and it tries to go under the boat, I hit the thruster and the boat spins out of the way, giving the angler a better chance.”

Specifications
LOA: 33’ 10”
Beam: 10’ 11”
Draft: 2’ 1” (engines raised)
Weight: 13,755 lbs. (loaded)
Power: 2 x Yamaha
outboards @ 350 hp
Fuel/Water: 380/35 U.S. gals.
Top/Cruising Speed:
51/19 knots
MSRP: $266,545 (as tested)

Contact:
Regulator Marine
Edenton, NC
252-482-3837
regulatormarine.com

The 34 features an all-new Lou Codega-designed deep-V hull that shares features with the 30 Express, notably the Armstrong bracket carrying the twin V-8 outboards, rounded cockpit corners and the crowned transom. The aft engine mounting further distances what slight noise wafts from the power plant and gives the boat the footprint of a 38-footer, allowing the redistribution of seating and amenities. The boat has proportionately more flare and freeboard forward, but the deck remains on a single level.
The boat’s center console reflects great design. It extends to the starboard hull to continue the backrest for the forward seating and create a bit more surface area for the helmsman adjacent to the console display, in addition to Yamaha’s   Command Link instrumentation. You just can’t call what’s inside the console the head compartment any more. The head is still there, but it’s been gussied up with a fancy sink, an Isotherm drawer refrigerator, a microwave, and even a berth under the foredeck.
Continuing on the ICW, we passed show venues where all sorts of tugs struggled to remove floating docks and temporary pilings to free the hundreds of boats still in their show berths. In this washing machine environment, the 12,000-pound heft of the new Regulator was apparent and satisfying. The boat is exceptionally stiff, thanks to its internal “grillage” system, which provides stiffness while accommodating substantial tankage. Weight, in combination with a fine bow and 24º deadrise, is Regulator’s formula for taming the Outer Banks.
But how would this boat perform on twins? How about a top end of 58.8 mph, a time-to-plane of 5.7 seconds and the fact that it hit 22.5 mph on one engine heading into the wind? The fish, I think, are out of luck.

Tags: Regulator new fishing machine