Tested By Bob Smith

Crestliner has two versions of the Sportfish 2150, the I/O version and the one we tested, which was the outboard version. We had to fight off the lingering dealers because this boat was the most popular, partly because it had the ground breaking Mercury Verado outboard four-stroke engine strapped to it. Talk about quiet, the hydraulic pump was the loudest part of the boat at the dock. We also had the drive-by wire system that eliminated the need to twist the key to start every time you decide to move from one location to the next during the day. Thank goodness they have a protective circuit to prevent trying to start the engine when it is already running.

Bow and Trolling Motor

Our test boat already had a Minn Kota trolling motor attached to the wide extruded gunnel system up front. They also had a GPS antenna attached on top of the starboard side. The Sportfish 2150 gives you a covered box up front to store the foot pedal when you are not using it as well as a switch to tilt the main motor up when trolling. The bow is a conversion bow where the two seats can be folded down, a post put in the floor and you turn the bow into a casting deck for fishing along with a casting chair. With the bow set up for fishing, you have a 21-gallon aerated livewell over on the port side. A tall European style wraparound windshield keeps the cool air from hitting you in the face on a chilly fall afternoon of boating. The walkthrough windshield is also wide for easy access up front.

At the Console

The elevated helm and companion stations give you lots of stash room below. The companion glove box is divided into two compartments and has drains to let any water out. The dash is laid out with instruments in logical order, and ours had the Mercury Smartcraft monitor front and center of the dash. Although our model did not have a tilt wheel, I am told the versions being shipped will.

Cockpit Features

In the cockpit you can have four Concept DX chairs can be set up, or two can go to the stern fishing deck, or one can be set up front when fishing. You have lockable storage over on the port side in the cockpit for fishing rods and other long items, and storage is open over on the starboard side.

The back bench seat is also a conversion area, or it can be flipped over into a large fishing deck. In fish mode, you have another large aerated livewell in the back deck. Our version also has brought back the Space Saver Transom, which shields engine noise away and prevents wash over when backing down or stopping quickly. It also gives you a small swim platform and flip over ladder.

Specs

Crestliner’s Sportfish 2150 outboard model is 21’ 11” in length with a full 102” beam. She carries the maximum beam width all the way to the transom. Her maximum hull depth is 30.5” with a cockpit depth of 27” and she weighs in at 2,050 lbs. and can handle up to 250-hp engines mounted on the stern. The transom height is 25” and fuel capacity is a whopping 77 gallons.

Performance

The Sportfish 2150 handled nicely and completed turns without much loss of speed or cavitation. We tested her on an inland lake and found her top speed to be almost 53 mph with a fuel burn of about 28 gph. She cruised most economically at 3000 rpm running 14.3 mph with a fuel burn of 5.5 gph. Our test boat was up on plane in just 3.6 seconds and doing 30 mph in just 6.2 seconds. I also found her sound levels to be low from idle at 53 dBa to a top end of 84 dBa at full throttle.

• Top speed for the Crestliner Sportfish 2150 is 52.9 mph (85.1 kph), burning 28.0 gallons per hour (gph) or 105.98 liters per hour (lph).


• Best cruise for the Crestliner Sportfish 2150 is 25.3 mph (40.7 kph), and the boat gets 3.64 miles per gallon (mpg) or 1.55 kilometers per liter (kpl), giving the boat a cruising range of 252 miles (405.55 kilometers).


• Tested power is 1 x 250-hp Mercury Verado four-stroke.