Captain's Report

Mission Statement

Sailfish designed the 325 DC to be a big, versatile bluewater boat that has the amenities to please a family and still live up to her strong sportfishing heritage. For the former, she has full bow seating, separate cabin and head compartments and a retractable ski tow. For the latter, all the cockpit seats fold away to provide more than 670 sq. ft. of space for angling, and there’s a standard livewell as well as insulated fishboxes.

Distinguishing Features

• Fully family-friendly from bow to stern

• High freeboard/deep cockpit

• Port-side cabin with seat and optional microwave

• Starboard side, front-entrance head compartment

• Longitudinal stepped hull with varying deadrise angles

• Kevlar and carbon fiber used in hull and deck

• Three standard foldaway seats in cockpit

• Captain and companion seating at the helm

• Full digital instrumentation

• Push-button pump room access

Features Inspection

Stern Passage.

The easiest way to board the 325 DC from a floating dock is via the small swim step aft to starboard. Then passengers pass through the gated walkway into the cockpit. From the water, boarding is by a four-step swim ladder beneath a hatch in the passageway.

In each corner on the stern are two of the six 8” (20 cm) stainless steel pull-up cleats, which is a safety feature when boarding from a fixed dock and stepping on the gunwale, in addition to not snagging lines when fishing. There is a standard pull-out shower in the transom.

The Cockpit.

The seats in the 325 DC’s cockpit make a family-friendly and guest-friendly cockpit for entertaining when at rest and riding when underway. This is a valuable feature and we feel no boat in class should be without it. When in fishing mode, the seats fold into the gunwales to create a large open fishing area.

As we saw throughout the boat, the sole is finished in Sailfish’s Dot Matrix Non-Skid finish that the manufacturer says is easier on bare feet and easier to clean.

Push-Button Access.

There’s a large insulated fishbox aft in the cockpit and the entire bench seat assembly across the stern opens with the push of a button to provide access to pumps and other mechanical systems below. This is a noteworthy feature because few boats in class have it, and some require a struggle to get at the pumps and bilge. Aft in the transom gunwale are rod holders and a retractable stainless steel ski tow.

The Wet Bar.

On the aft side of the helm seats to starboard is the 325 DC’s wet bar. It comes standard with a sink and wastebasket and owners can opt to add an electric grill and a refrigerator. For those owners planning on splitting their time between fishing and family outings, this option is a good one to consider.

Storage is provided in three stainless-steel drawers and the only seat that doesn’t fold away is a small jump-style cushion that doubles as a step for passengers boarding from a dock.

Companion Seat.

This is a double-wide, well-padded seat that should make any companion feel comfortable. It has an unusually high back for plenty of support. Directly behind it is a countertop, a cabinet with storage or a refrigerator and an aft-facing jump seat.

The Helm.

For the driver and a companion, the 325 DC’s driver’s seat has two individual cushions with fold-up bolsters, and an angled footrest forward and a locking armrest on the port side. Part of Sailfish’s Intelligent Ergonomics design, the vertical dash panel has space for a 12” (30 cm) chartplotter in the center and to starboard is a digital engine screen from Yamaha or Mercury.

To port are all the toggle-style accessory switches. Just below to the immediate left of the steering wheel is the Fusion stereo and a small storage compartment. Digital throttle and shift controls are in a gunwale cutout to starboard.

The Hardtop.

The 325 DC’s standard hardtop provides more than shelter from the sun or a passing shower. The powder-coated frame has rod holders, docking and spreader lights, PFD storage, and two speakers for the stereo.

The Cabin

On many boats, when a passenger opens the port console, he or she would find the on board head. On the 325 DC, opening the port console reveals a cabin area that has a small sitting space. There’s a sink with storage in the base and owners can opt to add a microwave oven. This cabin is a remarkable addition to a 32’ (9.75 m) boat of any type.

Bow Passage.

Moving forward into the 325 DC’s bow is easy with the walkthrough section of the windshield. A hatch closes off the bottom half of the passageway, which should appeal to boaters in northern climates when temperatures start to drop. For storage, there’s a locker in the port console and a larger compartment for skis and boards beneath a hatch in the deck.

The Bow

In the bow, the 325 DC has seats with angled backrests on the front of the consoles and coaming pads that run the length of the inwales. Grabrails are below deck level to keep fishing lines from snagging and in the bow, the power windlass is in a dedicated compartment. There’s storage under the outboard bottom cushions and the bow has an integrated 25-quart (24-L) cooler. The channels around the cooler opening need to have a drain installed to prevent water from filling them.

The Head.

In the forward side of the helm console is a hatch that opens up to the private, step-in head. It’s equipped with a sink that has a pull-up shower, a flush toilet and a removable Sea Grass mat. A hinged hatch on the aft bulkhead provides access to the dash panel.

Again this is an unusual design, as we don’t see many starboard-side heads, much less ones that open to the front. This detail makes it much easier to enter. Having the water closet separate from the main living compartment has obvious advantages.

Power and Performance

The 325 DC is available with twin engines from Mercury or Yamaha up to a combined total of 700-hp. We tested the boat with a pair of 300-hp Mercury Verado 4-stroke supercharged outboards turning Mercury Revolution 4 14 5/8” x 19” (37.15 cm x 48.3 cm) four-blade stainless steel propellers through 1.85:1 reductions.

Our test boat had an estimated test weight of 12,823 lbs. (5,816 kg) and test day brought 2’ seas and 15 knot winds that gusted to 20. We hit a top speed of 53.1 mph at 5500 rpm. Best cruise was at 3500 rpm where the boat ran 27.8 mph and burned 17.1 gph, giving the boat a range of 434 miles with 10% of the boat’s 297-gallon (1,124 L) tank in reserve. In acceleration tests, we planed and hit 20 mph in 4.5 seconds and reached 30 mph in 7 seconds.

Designed for Big Water

Sailfish designs the 325 DC and the 320CC on the same bottom. In what the manufacturer calls the Variable Degree Stepped (VDS) hull, the 325 DC has a 24-degree deadrise between the keel and the first strake. It lowers the deadrise in the outboard areas of the bottom in two more longitudinal steps. The intent is to give the boat the ability to slice through waves with the sharper V at the keel and still provide lateral stability with less deadrise at the chines. We found that the boat handled the wind-blow chop well and in maneuverability tests, she displayed an agility that belied her size. She carved smooth sweeping arcs in wide turns and when we crisscrossed the wakes of our photo boat.

Fishing Features

While the 325 DC makes a comfortable boat for family and friends offshore, Sailfish is famous for its no-holds-barred fishing machines. And the 325 DC follows that heritage as well. She comes standard with a baitwell with LED lights, built in rigging tubes, a large fishbox in the aft deck, two more self-draining fishboxes in the bow to meet fishermen, and six rod holders in the gunwales. There are four more in the hardtop. Perhaps most important of all is the standard hardtop which provides anglers with important UV protection. And it is there that optional misters can be added.

Construction.

The 325 DC is built with hand-laid composite materials, including Kevlar in the bottom and carbon-fiber reinforcement in critical areas on deck. Kevlar is used in the chines and in the corners of the transom. This is done to keep the boat stiff and rigid, so that the bottom and sides do not distort or flex when being pounded at high speed offshore. The transom is 100% composite and the stringers are foam filled.

Tabs.

The boat comes with high-performance, dual-ram trim tables with indicators and auto retract.

Price

• $227,429 with twin 300-hp Yamaha F300UCA 4-stroke outboards

• $222,994 with twin 300-hp Mercury 300XXL Verado 4-stroke outboards

• $232,571 with twin 350-hp Mercury 350XXL Verado 4-stroke outboards

Warranty.

10-year Warranty.

Options to Consider

• Bow shower

• Cockpit and bow covers

• Removable bow table

• Hardtop enclosure

• Sureshade MTF

• Three-bank battery charger with LED readout

• Garmin GPSMap 1040xs or 761xsv with Airmar B75m or B60 transducer

• Garmin radar and power cable 30’ (installed)

• Galley package with shorepower, electric grill, inverter, battery charger, and microwave oven

Observations

The Sailfish 325 DC provides a good mix of family boat and fishing machine in one package. Potential owners should like how comprehensive the standard-equipment list is. A manufacturer is almost always going to show a boat like this with the hardtop, windlass and cockpit wet bar at a boat show, so it makes sense that the boat comes included with them for the base price and the Sailfish 325 DC does.

We think this boat is noteworthy for a number of reasons, a major one being the fact that she is loaded with equipment that we often don’t see as standard.

Standard and Optional Features