The 26-foot Conquest bridges the gap between Boston Whaler’s 23-foot and 28-foot Conquest mid-cabin designs. Her deep-V hull will provide easy penetration in a chop and a fine entry in building seas, and her hard chines should help keep the boat high and dry. Boston Whaler continues to build boats with unsinkable foam-core construction.
The 26 has a fully enclosed head, a double mid-cabin berth, a galley and a convertible dinette/berth forward. Head and galley sinks have pressurized water, and the head compartment includes a shower and porta-potti with dockside pumpout. As you would expect from a boat built to go fishing, the interior is designed with low-maintenance, marine-grade vinyl upholstery, head liner and removable carpet.
Exterior features include a stainless-steel pulpit, an anchor platform and an anchor locker. There are plenty of cleats around the deck. An aluminum-frame windshield provides protection and has port and starboard windshield wipers. The helm is user-friendly and includes waterproof switches with circuit breaker protection, a stainless-steel steering wheel with tilt hydraulic steering, and twin throttle controls. The standard engine package is a pair of 200 hp Mercury Optimax outboards with stainless-steel propellers.
In the deep cockpit, the portside lounge seat offers forward and aft backrests and sufficient legroom. Four gunwale-mounted rodholders and a transom door add to the Conquest’s fishability.
Boston Whaler, (800) Whaler-9; www.whaler.com.
