Narrator: The following opinions are solely
those of boatTEST.com and it's test captain.
-: Hi, Captain Steve from boatTEST.com
and today I'm on an all new boat from Chaparral,
the 297 SSX.
I'm gonna do a full features walk-through and sea trial,
but first the design team at Chaparral told me that they
made this to be an open concept day cruiser
for people with a lot of friends and family,
so let's take a look and see how they've done.
Well, the cockpit of course is gonna be
where we get our first introduction
into the usability of the 297 SSX,
and seating wraps nearly all the way around,
including the two forward seats,
that can swing around to join the crowd.
Naturally, the pedestal table adds functionality
and notice we got two stainless steel drink holders
integrated into the table,
and it's the stern seating
where we have the lion's share of the functionality.
At the touch of a button,
it lays down into a sun pad,
six feet four inches by three feet eight inches,
and it also easily converts to a chaise lounge,
in two separate positions.
Narrator: And this can be forward facing, too.
-: Of course we've got a distinct comfort level
in the cockpit area.
Wraparound bolsters add to that.
The seats, multiple densities of foam,
plus we have differing materials,
along with double French stitching,
stainless steel drink holders, grab handle,
and aft facing speakers are tucked into the bulwarks.
To the starboard side there's a 35-quart carry-on cooler,
onto the port side seating plenty of storage,
and includes a water toy inflator.
I also like to see that the seats are hinged.
Now the comfort level continues,
as we move forward to these seats,
not so much double-wide,
but seat and a half width at 26 inches.
Includes a single, flip-up bolster,
extra padding on the back, with differing materials
and diamond stitching, custom embroidery,
and notice the adjustments are on the side,
easy to spot rather than having
to hunt around underneath the seats.
On the left hand side, we've got a comfortable arm rest,
with a stainless steel grab handle,
stainless steel drink holder and just ahead,
is a glove-box that is separated,
this time from the door where we usually see it.
Now we've got a beautifully molded door
with a small space up on top for putting stuff,
but look at the fabric going around the sides,
integrated with this nice trim piece.
Inside we've got a double latch,
leading to a beautiful head with an electric toilet.
A pump out head is optional.
We've got Corian counter with a stainless steel sink
with a pull-out sprayer,
and an opening port light for ventilation.
And notice that we have shelving in the back for storage.
And in true Chaparral fashion,
there is storage within storage.
Overhead, look at this tower, not only
does it provide us an elevated tow-point
six feet, nine inches off the deck
but it's got an integrated Bimini top
and the whole tower is collapsible.
At the swim platform,
in addition to the adjustable seat,
we have a single seat, over to the port hand side.
Combined they're 65 inches across.
Now the swim platform comes out
32 inches from the transom,
we've got a grab rail on the back
with an integrated tow point,
so this is the second one,
in addition to the elevated tow point
we have on top of the tower.
Over to the starboard side, tension hinges
on the hatch, conceal a four step re-boarding ladder
with a integrated grab handle.
Steve: I like this stainless steel accent
piece that has an integrated cleat
that keeps it high up out of the trip zone.
However, we do have another cleat
on the deck level, this is a pull-up cleat
so it still eliminates the tripping hazard.
Just ahead, the Polk audio stereo
remote also has an integrated trim switch.
-: Now the 297 received a makeover
giving it completely new DNA,
separate from the rest of the Chaparral line-up.
And a lot of that went into the panel
right here at the helm,
it starts with a soft touch dash,
on top of the panel which has, two seven inch screens.
Now, these are integrated with the engine
so they can both give you, gauges, moving map
and sonar, and we can swap back and forth
from one the the other and also notice
how they're slightly bevelled to give us a
better field of view, to the sides.
Steve: Chrome mounts, for push button switches
that are all lighted when activated.
Small cubby for your cell-phone
right next to, an accessory port
and then the ignition, over on the
right hand side, Lenco trim tabs
and over the side,
we've got our Polk audio system.
Just underneath, MP3 and USB audio connectivity.
Right next to the drink holder,
where the phone is probably going to go.
Steve: Then we've got a conveniently located
digital throttle, and shift right alongside.
The steering wheel is a custom
wrapped model, and notice the logo
in the center is free-floating
so no mater which way the wheel
is turned it always points up,
and the entire wheel is mounted to a tope base.
The helm seat, like the passenger's seat
not so much double width,
but seat and a half width.
And again we've got the controls
on both sides, for rotating and sliding forward aft.
The windshield closes off,
and we have an air dam just below,
and with the air dam in this position we have access to:
a storage drawer,
and an opening hatch leading inside the console.
With the windshield opened up and the air dam
closed off, now we can access
the roomy bow, look at the spaciousness
and the safety level here.
It starts with the usual bow rider configuration
of two lounge seats, but notice
how the seats curve down as it meets the bottom.
Plus, we have two flip-up arm rests
one to port and one to starboard.
The upscale features continue
with multiple densities of fabric, diamond stitching
again the flip-up arm rest,
the safety factor comes into play,
where we have 20 inches above the seat,
to the top of the bolster.
These bolsters wrap all the way around the bow,
and as we move forward we've got a removable cushion,
leading to a step up to the foredeck,
underneath that step we have an integrated cooler
that is self-draining.
A convenient grab rail is above the seats,
storage is below,
and naturally we can transfer the side-bound
pedestal table to the bow,
to increase the functionality of this area as well.
Steve: Chaparral also did a nice job
with placement of the courtesy lighting.
At the foredeck, two six inch pull-up
cleats to either side of a hatch.
That lifts on tension hinges to hold it in position,
underneath is a Lewmar windlass, with access to the side
to get to the road, the road leads
out to the anchor roller,
the anchor is mounted through the stem.
Steve: We have a safety chain, and there's a cleat
to secure the road to, a wrench is alongside
so we can manually operate the windlass
and two control switches are just alongside
fully forward, the nav light rotates into position.
Narrator: And finally, the engine compartment
is accessed from the switch at the helm
controlling the electrically actuated hatch.
Inside is the single 380 horse power
Mercrusier 8.2,
with plenty of room to the sides for servicing.
Engine start and house batteries are
easily accessible and secured properly.
The Chaparral 297 SSX has a length overall of 29 feet,
a beam of nine feet and a draft of 38 inches.
With an empty weight of 6200 pounds full fuel
and three people on board, we had an estimated test weight
of 7,405 pounds.
Now admittedly, that's on the heavy side
with three men aboard, and full 100 gallons of fuel.
The temperature was 86 degrees with winds
blowing from 10 to 15 miles per hour
creating a light chop on the water.
The top RPM we could get out of the 8.2 Mag
turning a bravo three out drive
with 24 pitch propsets was 48-50 RPM.
In those conditions and at that RPM,
we recorded a wide open-throttle
speed of 48.1 miles per hour.
However, when the Chaparral team subsequently
tested the boat, with two men aboard and half load of fuel
on a 70 degree day with light winds.
They recorded 50 miles per hour, and we think that under
those conditions those numbers are accurate.
We recorded a best cruise of 3000 RPM
and 25.5 miles per hour.
At that speed the 12 gallon
per hour of fuel burn, translated into
2.1 miles per gallon and a range of 191
statute miles, all while holding
back at 10% reserve of fuel in the bag.
As for her handling, with their extended
V-plane hull that carries the running surface
well past the transom, along with
the flat running pad at the bottom.
We reached planing speed at 4.1 seconds,
accelerated to 20 miles per hour at 6.9
and 30 in 10.1 seconds all with minimal bow rise.
While we had calm conditions during
the camera portion of our program.
Crossing back and forth across the wakes
showed a smooth transition, and a dry ride.
In turn test, she clings to the water like she's on rails
and we found her to be very responsive to the helm.
(upbeat rock music)
-: Well, not only do we have a great
handling boat, but an open layout
that can accommodate a lot of people for having
a great day in the water and that's my look
at the 297 SSX from Chaparral for boatTEST.com
I'm Captain Steve, we'll see you on the water.