It’s easy to argue that 23-footers are an ideal size for boating in the Chesapeake. They’re large enough to load up the family and friends and head out into the open Bay on reasonable weather days, yet small enough to easily trailer, store, and maintain. It’s also easy to argue that the center console design is ideal, since it lets you enjoy activities from fishing to cruising to pulling around the kids on water toys. And it’s just as easy to argue that among the countless 23-foot center consoles out there, the Sportsman Heritage 231 is ideal for Chesapeake Bay boating in all the ways we’ve noted above—and then some.
You want to spend the afternoon live-lining for rockfish or trolling for blues and Spanish mackerel? The Heritage 231 comes complete with two 10-gallon livewells (aquarium-style with viewing ports on the front), a raw water washdown, four gunwale rodholders, and nine rocket launchers between the leaning post and hard top plus two kingfish rocket launchers. Yank the bow seat cushions and drop the center dinette table and you have an elevated forward casting deck. And note that the 12-inch Garmin GPSMAP 1243xsv comes standard, as does a GT12M CHIRP through-hull transducer. You’ll be ready to find—and catch—fish from day one.
You want to spend a family day playing on the water? Stock features that guarantee loads of fun include a telescopic ski tow bar, an Apollo RA670 stereo system with eight speakers, gobs of cushy seating fore and aft wrapped in Sileather marine fabric, and integrated coolers forward of the console and aft of the transom so that you can grab a frosty beverage whether you’re in the boat or in the water.
You want a level of comfort that goes beyond the norm in a center console? The Heritage 231 delivers on this count big-time. Sure, there’s a head in the console and a freshwater system with a transom shower. Yes, you can opt for goodies like a slide-out track for the Yeti under the leaning post, gull wing canvass, Helm Master EX joystick control, or a windlass on the bow. But the real comfort-booster on this boat sits just below the waterline: it comes stock with the Seakeeper Ride vessel attitude control system. This includes sensors, trim-tab-like paddles on the transom, and a computer brain. The sensors take up to 1000 measurements per second, and the computer brain tells those paddles how and when to make up to 100 adjustments per second. The fast-action actuators can move at an astonishing 300 mm per second, going up and down to counter every rock, roll, heave, and pitch. When the boat’s up on plane and the system goes active, pitch and roll are reduced up to a shocking 70 percent. All of a sudden a two-foot sea feels more or less like a one-foot chop, and a one-foot chop feels more or less like mere ripples.
A side benefit of a smoother ride is that you can go faster without bouncing around too much, and with a 300-hp outboard on the transom, that means zipping around the Bay at speeds up to the upper 40s. Or opt for a 250 and enjoy a top-end in the mid-40s. Either way, the 231 Heritage has plenty of pep.
Is a 23-footer ideal for your own personal needs? Is a center console the best pick for you? Those are questions that we can’t answer. But we can say one thing for sure: if fishing, cruising, and water sports all sound like fun and you want a boat that’s big enough for the Bay yet small enough to handle with ease, then the Sportsman Heritage 231 should be making a very large blip on your boat-shopping radar screen.
By Lenny Rudow
Sportsman Heritage 231 Specifications:
LOA: 23’4”
Beam: 8’6”
Draft (min.): 1’4”
Displacement (approx.): 3600 lbs.
Fuel Capacity: 106 gal.
Water Capacity: 15 gal.
Max HP: 300
Local Dealer: Riverside Marine in Essex, MD – (410) 686-1500