Whether you’re looking for a fishing boat or you just want something to take offshore and enjoy the salty air, we’ve compiled a collection of the best offshore boats under 25 feet for you to explore.
One of the many benefits of getting a shorter boat is the ability to keep it on a smaller trailer and also fit it in a more compact storage area at your house or your local marina. While it isn’t necessarily true for all offshore boats, many smaller models also come with smaller price tags.
That being said, the offshore boats we have included in this list aren’t short on features at all. In fact, many have gotten creative in including multi-functional spaces that can convert from lounges to fishing platforms as needed.
Without further adieu, let’s look at the 15 boats that we’ve chosen for this collection. Then we’ll provide some tips for buying a boat before we dive into the details of those offshore boat models.
Photo by richard pross via Shutterstock
Best Offshore Boats Under 25 Feet
- Aquasport 2500 Center Console
- Boston Whaler 250 Dauntless
- Scout Boats 240 XSF
- Cobia Boats 240 Center Console
- Contender Boats 24S
- Scout Boats 231 XS
- Crevalle Boats 240 HCO Hybrid
- EdgeWater 245 Center Console
- Everglades 235 Center Console
- Scout Boats 215 XSF
- Grady-White Fisherman 236 Center Console
- Pathfinder 2500 Hybrid
- Northcoast 210 Center Console
- Pursuit 238C
- Regulator 24XO
Offshore Boat Buying Guide
Photo by Gregory Alan Eagle via Shutterstock
Before you go out to your local boat dealership and start browsing, it helps to sit down and make a plan that helps you hone in on the features you must have and avoid popping for a boat that’s out of your price range.
Here are some of the most important factors to consider when you’re buying an offshore boat:
Boat Types
Most of the boats that fit the 25-and-under category are going to be center consoles. This means that the helm is located in the center of the boat and there’s room to walk around the helm on both sides.
That being said, there are plenty of dual consoles, cabin cruisers, catamarans, and bay models out there as well. So start by identifying which boat type is going to serve your boating needs best so you can narrow down your initial choices and go from there.
Fuel Capacity
Fuel capacity is really important because it plays a large role in how long your offshore adventures can last. On average, boats get anywhere from one to four miles per gallon of fuel when running at an approximate speed of 20 knots.
Of course, you won’t be running at that speed the entire time you’re out, but this metric gives you a place to start when calculating boat fuel economy.
At the most basic level, however, a boat with a higher fuel capacity will lead to longer trips, regardless of how aggressively you drive and how long you cruise at high speeds.
Electronics
If you are looking for a boat that can really help you step up your offshore fishing adventures, electronics can be really important. Things like fish finders, GPS units, and other boat electronics can turn even the inexperienced angler into a fish-catching menace.
That being said, even the best electronics are useful on a boat driven and operated by someone who doesn’t know how to make the most of those electronics. So if you’re not really planning on using them, don’t overpay for an offshore boat with a bunch of fancy electronic bells and whistles.
Livewell Tanks
The number of livewell tanks and the capacity of those tanks are also important to consider when you’re searching for an offshore boat. If fishing is just a recreational pursuit for you, then a single livewell tank will probably be enough.
However, if you are a serious angler and that’s the main reason why you are buying an offshore boat, you probably want a boat with multiple livewell tanks so that you can keep fish fresh until you get back to the marina.
Gyro Stabilization
Lastly, gyro stabilization is a feature that helps to stabilize the boat in rough conditions. Because most offshore boats are used in rolling waves, finding a model with gyro stabilization is an absolute must.
When you’re drifting or anchored to focus on fishing, this feature makes your boat a lot more stable. If you ever bring anyone on your boat that doesn’t do particularly well on the ocean, this feature can keep them from losing their cookies.
The good news is that improvements in this technology have allowed luxury boat manufacturers to add stabilization into smaller and smaller boats.
So while most of the boats we’ve included are probably already equipped with gyro stabilization, it’s a feature worth noting and double-checking during your buying process.
Reviews of the Best Offshore Boats Under 25 Feet
1. Aquasport 2500 Center Console
PC Aquasport
Available Boat Specifications
- Length: 24’10”
- Beam: 8’10”
- Deadrise: 23 degrees
- Draft: 21 inches
- Approximate Dry Weight: 5,474 pounds
- Fuel Capacity: 168 gallons
- Maximum Horsepower: 500 horsepower
The Aquasport 2500 Center Console offshore boat boasts plenty of useful features such as a self-draining cockpit, a diamond pattern skid-resistant deck that improves grip and safety, and a fiberglass hardtop with attached spreader lights and fishing rod holders.
The boat is made with fully composite construction and a hand-laid fiberglass lamination. Some of its best standard features include an integrated swim platform, underwater blue LED lighting, a tempered glass windshield, power assist steering, and a Clarion stereo with four speakers.
You’ll also have the option of adding a few excellent features if you choose to do so. Some optional equipment on this boat includes Simrad or Dual Simrad electronics with active imaging, a nine-gallon pressurized freshwater shower, and a portable toilet.
2. Boston Whaler 250 Dauntless
PC Boston Whaler
Available Boat Specifications
- Length: 24’9”
- Beam: 8’6”
- Deadrise: 18 degrees
- Draft: 15 inches
- Approximate Dry Weight: 3,390 pounds
- Fuel Capacity: 90 gallons
- Maximum Horsepower: 400 horsepower
The 250 Dauntless is a high-quality bay boat with a center console design and all the amenities you need for offshore cruising, watersports, fishing, and more. It has a ton of great features, including a forward double lounge seat with lockable storage underneath and enough space for fishing rods up to seven feet in length.
It is also equipped with a convenient head compartment that allows you to do your business out on the water and enjoy an enlarged door for easier access in and out.
Some of the other best features of the Dauntless include fold-up stern deck seating, a 35-gallon stern livewell, multiple leaning post options, forward port and starboard seats with folding backrests, an intuitive helm console, and much more.
3. Scout Boats 240 XSF
PC Scout Boats
Available Boat Specifications
- Length: 23’8”
- Beam: 8’6”
- Deadrise: 20 degrees
- Draft: 19.5 inches
- Approximate Dry Weight: 3,655 pounds
- Fuel Capacity: 100 gallons
- Maximum Horsepower: 300 horsepower
The 240 XSF from Scout Boats is one of the most innovative and fuel-efficient boats in its class and it offers a center console design with plenty of forward seating for taking guests out on the open water.
For your low-light excursions, this offshore boat is equipped with underside lighting on the hardtop and rope lighting throughout.
Some of the other best features that the 240 XSF offers include fold-down stern seating, a 15-gallon aerated baitwell in the transom, a powder-coated leaning post with an insulated cooler, and a 61-gallon fish/storage box under the forward lounge seat.
4. Cobia Boats 240 Center Console
PC Cobia Boats
Available Boat Specifications
- Length: 23’7”
- Beam: 8’10”
- Deadrise: 21.5 degrees
- Draft: 17 inches
- Approximate Dry Weight: 4,515 pounds
- Fuel Capacity: 125 gallons
- Maximum Horsepower: 300 horsepower
The creators of the Cobia 240 Center Console offshore fishing boat combined tournament fishing capability with enough comfort to bring your whole family out on the water.
This boat also offers an extremely fuel-efficient hull, an open deck layout for fishing or lounging, and plenty of style to turn heads in the marina.
Some of the standard features you’ll get with the Cobia 240 include a 28-gallon livewell, two 33-gallon fish boxes recessed in the floor, an aft tackle station, forward seats with backrests, and double-bolstered helm seats for ultimate comfort while you’re driving.
5. Contender Boats 24S
PC Contender Boats
Available Boat Specifications
- Length: 24’6”
- Beam: 8’6”
- Deadrise: 22.5 degrees
- Draft: 18 inches
- Approximate Dry Weight: 5,250 pounds
- Fuel Capacity: 130 gallons
- Maximum Horsepower: 300 horsepower
The Contender 24S is rigged up for all your fishing and comfort boating needs. It is also a reasonably fuel-efficient offshore boat that is capable of getting up to 2.5 miles per gallon at 30 miles per hour with its single Yamaha F300 engine.
The Contender comes with a 26-gallon livewell above the deck, forward bench seating, two 59-gallon storage compartments under the seats, a removable seating insert to add additional seating, a 94-gallon fish box at the bow and two more 30-gallon fish boxes at the stern, a console seat with insulated storage, and much more.
6. Scout Boats 231 XS
PC Scout Boats
Available Boat Specifications
- Length: 23’1”
- Beam: 8’6”
- Deadrise: 14 degrees
- Draft: 12 inches
- Approximate Dry Weight: 2,100 pounds
- Fuel Capacity: 60 gallons
- Maximum Horsepower: 350 horsepower
The Scout 231 XS is slightly more compact and lightweight than the 240, but it still offers plenty of great features for offshore boating. In combination with its light hull, the boat’s 300-horsepower engine is capable of accelerating to speeds in the 60s when you really need to get back to the marina in a hurry.
This Scout boat is loaded with an intuitive helm for superior control, a huge open forward deck for obstacle-free fishing, a powder-coated hardtop with LED lighting, an 11-gallon baitwell, and optional stern power poles.
7. Crevalle Boats 240 HCO Hybrid
PC Crevalle Boats
Available Boat Specifications
- Length: 23’6”
- Beam: 8’6”
- Deadrise: 16 degrees
- Draft: 12 to 14 inches
- Approximate Dry Weight: 3,800 pounds
- Fuel Capacity: 80 gallons
- Maximum Horsepower: 250 to 300 horsepower
The Crevalle 24 HCO is one of the most family-friendly offshore boats for fishing that you’ll find in the under-25 category. It includes a built-in 72-quart cooler and another removable 65-quart cooler for bait or personal food storage.
It is also equipped with a porta-potty in the console, a removable ski pylon for your watersports needs, and an optional forward seating package.
Some of the other standard equipment on this Crevalle boat includes two 28-gallon livewells, lockable storage for up to 10 fishing rods, in-deck storage for your cast net, and an additional baitwell.
8. EdgeWater 245 Center Console
PC EdgeWater Boats
Available Boat Specifications
- Length: 24’6”
- Beam: 8’6”
- Draft: 21 inches
- Approximate Dry Weight: 4,200 pounds
- Fuel Capacity: 140 gallons
- Maximum Horsepower: 400 horsepower
EdgeWater Boats is all about quality and supreme comfort and the 245 Center Console offshore boat is no exception to their high standard. It offers a deep V-shaped hull with all-composite construction and a beam that makes it easy to fit on most boat trailers.
On deck, you’ll find four stainless steel mounted fishing rod holders, a powder-coated fiberglass hardtop with LED spreader lights, a portable head with a pump-out, a freshwater shower with a 19-gallon reservoir, heavy-duty marine-grade upholstery, under-gunwale rod racks, and a whole lot more.
9. Everglades 235 Center Console
PC Everglades Boats
Available Boat Specifications
- Length: 25’
- Beam: 8’6”
- Deadrise: 19 degrees
- Draft: 15 inches
- Approximate Dry Weight: 5,600 pounds
- Fuel Capacity: 105 gallons
- Maximum Horsepower: 300 horsepower
This center console design from Everglades boats just barely fits in the under-25 category, but that extra length means more space for comfort or fitting an extra buddy or two on your next offshore fishing trip.
Some of the best standard features on the 235CC include a sliding windshield, a 180-degree swivel mezzanine helm seat, a large head and storage area below deck, retractable full transom seating, a 17-gallon circulating livewell on the starboard side, and integrated rod and cup holder combos placed strategically throughout the deck.
10. Scout Boats 215 XSF
PC Scout Boats
Available Boat Specifications
- Length: 21’6”
- Beam: 8’6”
- Deadrise: 20 degrees
- Draft: 15.75 inches
- Approximate Dry Weight: 2,776 pounds
- Fuel Capacity: 82 gallons
- Maximum Horsepower: 150 horsepower
The final Scout boat on our list is the most compact and lightweight model of them all, but it still offers plenty of fuel capacity and a revolutionary fuel-saving hull design that allows you to go farther and faster without paying for it when you head back to the pump at your local marina.
The 215 XSF is equipped with a forward sun lounge that converts to a coffin box as needed. It also offers a powder-coated hardtop with aft spreader lighting, a removable bow table made of teak hardwood, a folding stern transom seat, and an aerated baitwell with high-speed pickup.
11. Grady-White Fisherman 236 Center Console
PC Grady-White Boats
Available Boat Specifications
- Length: 23’7”
- Beam: 8’6”
- Deadrise: 20 degrees
- Draft: 18.5 inches
- Approximate Dry Weight: 3,900 pounds
- Fuel Capacity: 115 gallons
- Maximum Horsepower: 300 horsepower
This Grady-White fishing boat is one of the most compact offshore boats you’ll find that still includes a fully-enclosed head. In fact, they even created an oversized head on this boat to make doing your business more comfortable when the boat is rocking back and forth.
The 236 model is equipped with a 15.5-gallon livewell, a transom door that makes it easy to get from the deck to the swim platform, and the ability to carry up to 10 passengers.
Some of the optional features on this offshore boat include a removable ski pylon, an 18-foot outrigger kit, and upgrades to the boat’s livewell capacity and rod storage.
12. Pathfinder 2500 Hybrid
PC Pathfinder Boats
Available Boat Specifications
- Length: 24’9”
- Beam: 8’6”
- Deadrise: 16 degrees
- Draft: 13 inches
- Approximate Dry Weight: 3,500 pounds
- Fuel Capacity: 78 gallons
- Maximum Horsepower: 400 horsepower
The Pathfinder 2500 is labeled as a hybrid offshore boat because it offers offshore functionality at the stern with inshore sleekness at the bow. This boat is also unique in that it includes an additional second station that allows you to captain from the deck or from a more elevated vantage point.
Standard features on the Pathfinder include a raw water washdown system, a self-bailing cockpit, a cooler mounted under a cushion set in front of the console, a 35-gallon livewell, and much more. Some of this boat’s best options include dual eight or 10-foot power poles, outriggers for the second station, and underwater LED lighting.
13. Northcoast 210 Center Console
PC Northcoast Boats
Available Boat Specifications
- Length: 23’11”
- Beam: 8’6”
- Deadrise: 18 degrees
- Draft: 16 inches
- Approximate Dry Weight: 3,431 pounds
- Fuel Capacity: 82 gallons
- Maximum Horsepower: 175 horsepower
The Northcoast 210 goes just about anywhere you want to take it and it’s built with the hardcore offshore angler in mind. As it comes standard, the bow of this boat is exceptionally open for easy fishability, but you can opt for a forward seating package if you need the extra seating.
The Northcoast also comes with a hydraulic steering system, a Ritchie compass, a self-bailing cockpit with scupper holes, a full transom livewell, lockable console storage, and custom stainless steel rod holders. Options include upgraded engines for additional horsepower, additional rod holders, and more.
14. Pursuit 238C
PC Pursuit Boats
Available Boat Specifications
- Length: 24’4”
- Beam: 8’6”
- Deadrise: 21 degrees
- Draft: 20 inches
- Approximate Dry Weight: 4,580 pounds
- Fuel Capacity: 105 gallons
- Maximum Horsepower: 300 horsepower
The Pursuit 238C is perfect for you and your fishing companion if you like to keep plenty of room to operate onboard. The double-wide helm chair offers plenty of room for you both to stay protected behind the tempered glass console windshield while you’re underway, but they convert to dual leaning posts when you’re anchored and ready to fish.
Forward lounge seating is also available if you plan on taking friends out, and this boat also includes a 23-gallon recirculating livewell, a SaniPottie head with overhead lighting, a 45-gallon YETI Tundra insulated cooler mounted underneath the helm seat, and a raw water washdown with quick-connect fittings and a 25-foot hose.
15. Regulator 24XO
PC Regulator Marine
Available Boat Specifications
- Length: 24’4”
- Beam: 8’5”
- Deadrise: 17 degrees
- Draft: 16 inches
- Approximate Dry Weight: 5,250 pounds
- Fuel Capacity: 86 gallons
- Maximum Horsepower: 300 horsepower
The Regulator 24XO might be the final boat on our list, but we haven’t saved just any boat for our final selection. This offshore boat is a unique center console crossover that gives you the ability to safely navigate lakes, bays, and rivers while still possessing the kind of deep hull and safe design that you need to head offshore when you’re ready.
Some of the Regulator’s best standard features include Garmin electronics installed in the factory, a fiberglass T-top with an integrated wraparound windshield, a 102-quart stern livewell, a 51-quart cooler under the console seat, a 189-quart macerated fish box built into the deck, and a stand-up head compartment at the center of the boat.
Final Thoughts
Photo by Michael O’Keene via Shutterstock
Sunsets out on the water are easily one of our favorite parts of owning an offshore boat. Make sure you catch your fair share of them, as well as sunrises, once you finalize your choice for the best offshore boat under 25 feet.
We hope you’ve found this guide to offshore boats useful in your search and we wish you the best of luck choosing your next boat. Also, take the time to check out the best offshore fishing boats under 30 feet if you want to expand your search a little!
