Not surprisingly, in the highly competitive field of center consoles, the brand with the lowest price also has the highest sales. But what is even more surprising is the fact that the second highest selling brand has one of the highest price points! What does this mean? Without putting too fine a point on it, it simply means there are large numbers of buyers who buy on price alone, and a large number who buy quality and brand reputation to the exclusion of most anything else. In the middle are most of the center console boat builders who try for a balance of price, quality, features, warranties, and customer service. If we charted the brands on a four-quadrant grid, in our opinion, the Hydra-Sports 2000 CC would be next to two or three other brands at the high-quality end of the low-priced cluster.

The Hydra-Sports 2000 CC is one of the best center consoles built at a low price-point.

This boat is built for fishing fanatics who are cost conscious yet want the features usually only found in larger or more expensive boats. For example, the Hydra-Sports 2000 CC has a 20 gallon live baitwell with a light, a built-in tackle box with three drawers, two insulated fish boxes, and a 120-gallon fuel tank.

At 3100 lbs. the boat can be easily pushed with a 150-hp outboard and you have your choice of four brands up to 250-hp, 2-stroke or 4-stroke.

Seakeeping is Job #1

The 2000 CC has a relatively high freeboard all around, but has a cut down outboard notch in the transom that keeps the engine low which means several important things. First it can operate with a short shaft engine, and second, it keeps the center of gravity low which is important in a rolly sea. The outboard cutout in the transom is cut down to about 1/3rd of the gunwale height which means most of a boarding sea will easily and quickly drain out. This dewatering aspect of the 2000 CC is an important feature which has nothing to do with cost, but rather a lot to do with the design savvy that went into the boat, something that many low-priced boats simply don’t have because they don’t have the staff infrastructure to afford it.

 

The cut out in the transom that permits quickly dewatering if a large sea comes aboard. Note the large cockpit which can easily handle several anglers at once.

 

The boat has a 10-year hull and 3-year component warranty. Three years on all components backed by the builder is a rarity and is one of the important features of this boat that you won’t find on other low-priced center consoles – the ones in the lower, left-hand corner of the grid where the lowest prices and lowest quality brands reside.

The console has plenty of room for electronics and note the footrest. Hey, move the compass to port, guys!

Important Standard Features

Standard features include a forward, removable 50-quart console cooler seat with removable backrest, self-contained head and full digital instrumentation at the helm. Optional equipment includes custom DLX leaning post with cooler, 25-gallon leaning post livewell, and a fiberglass tournament grade T-top.

If you are looking for a low-priced 20-foot center console, then you owe it to yourself to check out the Hydra-Sports 2000 CC and see for yourself where you would place the boat in your quality/price grid.