A steady but heightening drizzle fell from the sky as I pulled my rental car up to the docks in Dania Beach, Florida, and prepared to take the Intrepid 375 Nomad for a spin just offshore in the Atlantic. I walked into the sales office, and an Intrepid representative suggested that we wait out the weather until the afternoon, when it was likely to clear up. But there was no time for that—I had a flight to catch—and one of the most fun, and occasionally challenging, parts of operating a center-console is dealing with the elements to determine whether it’s a solidly designed open boat.
The 375 Nomad was conceived as an amalgam of features from Intrepid’s other center-consoles of similar size. From the 375 Walkaround, the Nomad borrowed compartments in her forward lounge that can be rigged as insulated coolers or livewells. Also in the forward lounge is a high-low actuating table like the one aboard the 407 Panacea; it can be flush to the sole, raised until it’s even with the U-shape bow seating to form a sun pad, or pushed even higher to become a table. DNA from Intrepid’s 407 Cuddy shows up in the Nomad’s cockpit, where the sole can elevate 4 inches.
The 375 Nomad also has features for which Intrepid itself is known. There’s an inward-opening dive door to port in the cockpit—custom Intrepid dive tanks were stowed to starboard aboard this particular boat—and a sink and cutting board are just abaft the console, situated above a Frigid Rigid cooler tucked into its own compartment. At the helm, there are twin seats for the captain and mate; the seats slide forward and backward electrically for better comfort, control and sight lines. Custom, integrated Lumitec Razor lights line the forward section of the hardtop, which, along with the wraparound windshield, does a good job of keeping everyone dry—even in our case, despite the spattering showers from above.
In open water, the boat accelerated with a pleasing burst, and it topped out at 55.6 knots while cruising at 39 knots and with the motors burning 36 gallons per hour. She was propelled by triple 400 hp Mercury 400R Verados, and the single-step design—another Intrepid trait—helped us float along the tops of the 2- to 3-foot whitecaps with very little bounce.
Despite the less-than-ideal conditions, I found the 375 Nomad to be a carefully thought-out and constructed, customizable center-console with impressive performance and a smooth ride that instills confidence. Look for this model to be on display at the fall boat shows in Florida and beyond.
Take the next step: intrepidpowerboats.com
