A Luxurious Runabout
Capt. Keith Burton
Test Captain
The days when boat builders could get by with just a few features and modest build quality are long gone. These days boat buying consumers are a tough lot to please and have high expectations. Those expectations are handily met in the 2006 Larson LXi 208. Here’s a high-quality, feature-rich boat with the style, performance and value that even the most discriminating boat buyer would find satisfying.
Reputation
The Larson name is not new to the boat building business. Since Paul Larson first started building boats in 1913, this company has learned a few things about building pleasure boats and has an enviable reputation in the industry. Larson sells boats across the country and overseas with expertise derived from listening to their customers.
The LXi 208 is a premium 20-foot-9-inch runabout packed with amenities, but priced well within the reach of most families looking for a boat that's a couple of steps above average.
Design
Sleekly designed, this is a fast boat with plenty of room onboard for a family and the friends. It is at home in almost any waters, from bays to lakes. The LXi 208 features an all-new high-style interior for 2006.
Seating
At the bow is a four-step ladder with its own cover that is nicely and discretely integrated at the bow’s leading edge. Such ladders have long been a feature of deckboats and it is nice to see it here on a runabout.
The bow seats are richly padded and covered with a high quality vinyl that is resistant to ultra-violet light. At both port and starboard the seats are lower toward the windshield, which places passengers lower into the boat, a nice safety feature for children. There is also a center cushion that can be installed in the footwell to turn the bow seating into a large sun pad.
Stainless steel fittings are used throughout, including premium pop-up cleats and hinges for the various compartments on the boat. Storage beneath the seats is plentiful.
Practical Helm Features
Amidships, Larson’s designers took an automotive approach to the helm design, which looks more like the dash of a fine car than a boat. Gauges are white on black with chrome bezels and are very easy to see, and quite attractive.
An excellent Clarion sound system with Sirius Satellite radio capabilities provides the tunes if you don’t want to play a CD or listen to FM. Our boat was equipped with an optional Captain’s Call dual exhaust system. A simple rocker switch engages the system, which would change the sound of the engine’s exhaust from quiet to a throaty rumble. The system also adds a bit more performance.
We particularly liked the well-padded, sleekly designed bucket seats for both the captain and passenger that swivel and have lift-up bolsters.
Abundant Seating
At the stern, a broad bench seat wraps around the back of the cabin area. There is room underneath for storage and an ice cooler. A large deck storage compartment has all the room you would need for skis and a wakeboard. Snap out 24-ounce marine carpeting makes cleaning up from a sandy day at the beach easy, along with the in-floor drains placed throughout the cabin.
A large sun pad at the stern opens on the starboard side to provide access to a large non-skid swim platform through a narrow passageway at the transom. The sun pad also opens further to provide access to the boat’s engine compartment. A nice touch is that the sun pad opening at the transom can do double duty as a headrest. The large swim platform is integrated with the hull and features a stainless steel three-step foldout ladder and a fresh water shower.
Performance and Handling
Our boat was equipped with a powerful MerCruiser MPI 5-liter V8 with 260 horsepower. We saw a top speed of 52 mph at 5000 rpm with two people onboard. But speed is not the only issue in a boat. The Larson LXi 208 handles smooth with impeccable ease. Steering is fairly light and the boat takes sharp turns with no drama or undue cavitations. Passengers will like the boat’s smooth ride and excellent performance over waves and wakes. Pounding is minimal for most wakes.
There is no question that this is a well-designed boat with excellent fit and finish. But the best is that it has the performance for most any activity on the water and at a price most families can afford.
