Concept Combines Super-Fast Speed With Super Control in a Slick Package

When I tested Concept's 27 PR, I didn't expect we would break 50 knots in 15 seconds, but we did. I didn't expect I'd be able to crank out a 180-degree hairpin turn in a 100-foot-wide channel with just one finger on the wheel, but I did. And I didn't expect to chop through three-foot boat wakes at highway speeds without much more thumping than you feel when striking a road bump in a Cadillac, but . . . well, you know.

SLICK LOOKS

The 27 PR is one of those boats that looks like it's doing 60 mph while it's tied to the dock, and that's not just due to the powder-coated railings and custom graphics (Concept has more than 100 different hull-side designs to choose from). The fireball-hot looks are also a function of the svelte design, which features a scant 7-foot, 10-inch beam and a slim-fast displacement of 3,200 pounds. That skinny profile has several performance benefits, too. Less beam equals less drag through the water, and results in a boosted top end. It also means less area to impact when re-entering the water after hitting a wave, reducing the severity of that impact. The downsides? Less room on deck, of course, and you'll also note that the boat is a bit more tender than some competitors with the same 24-degree, deep-V transom deadrise but more beam.

But back to the Concept's looks, which are too stunning to move on from so quickly; check out that purple composite steering wheel. Slick, isn't it? As is the forward-sweeping arch, the color-coordinated outboard bracket, and the multicolored dash. The gauges have eye-catching, color-anodized aluminum bezels, and the switch panel is a custom job, too, matching the hull-side graphics. Even the cup holders have bling, with colored anodized aluminum inserts. If all this isn't enough to make the entire marina green with envy, you can opt for factory-installed goodies like underwater lighting, a dual amp/sub-woofer JL stereo system, and dual electric bolsters. Net result? No matter how much or how little you go down the customization road, this boat is a real head-turner, one that delivers on the implied promise to feed your need for speed.

Here's another expectation the Concept is going to break: Unlike some marine missiles, it attains high speeds without burning gobs of fuel. With a single 250-horsepower Verado on the transom, our test rig cruised a hair over 40 mph while burning a hair under 14 gph, to attain 2.5 miles per gallon at 4500 rpm. This is pretty darn good for a go-fast, but the real surprise comes when you ease off the throttle and cruise at 3500 rpm, this rig's most efficient sweet spot. Running here, we made 30.7 mph while burning 7.5 gph. That's 4.1 miles to the gallon, a level of efficiency few boats more than 20 feet LOA can claim. Even at wide-open throttle, while zipping along at 59 mph, the Concept gets better than two miles to the gallon. Note that this boat has a hefty 110-gallon fuel capacity, so at an easy cruise, it has a range exceeding 400 miles, and even running hard, it breaks 200 miles. You were hoping to break 60 mph? Okay, simply pile more horses onto the transom – it's rated to take another 100. The efficiency is bound to drop, but you'll go fast enough to earn a speeding ticket on I-95.

An interesting performance quirk arises when coming onto plane, which you can also see by looking at the performance numbers here. At 2000 rpm, you're in pre-planing mode, doing just 9 mph. Bumping up to 2500, however, takes the boat out of the hole, and your speed jumps to more than double. This is both good and bad. On the one hand, any outboard boat that planes at less than 3000 rpm clearly has an efficient hull. On the other hand, such a huge speed jump means it could be tough to maintain a slow plane somewhere in the middle of that speed range when conditions gets rough. On our test boat, however, this wasn't an issue, thanks to a pair of hefty 12" x 12" Bennett trim tabs, which allowed me to mitigate the plane/pre-plane jump and maintain plane down into the middle teens. I recommend getting the tabs.

Along with the narrow beam and light weight, credit for the efficiency goes to the four-stroke Verado powerplant. Even though conventional thinking holds that four-strokes don't belong on hotrods because they're slow to come up to speed, this 158.5-cid in-line-six cylinder delivers a near-instant hole-shot thanks to its supercharger. This literally shoves air into the combustion chamber, providing more oxygen than a naturally aspirated engine can suck in by itself. While this normally produces a loud howling, Mercury uses a tuned resonator to eliminate that, so the Verado sounds just as quiet as other modern four-strokes. What about the mid-range acceleration – to punch the throttle and go from cruising speed to wide-open immediately, to beat the other guy through the channel? No problem. Slam down the throttle and go from 4500 rpm to the pins, and you'll experience a neck-snapping speed boost, which again can be credited to the supercharger.

Another bonus is Mercury's electronic throttle and power steering, standard equipment on all Verado rigs. That's what gives you the fingertip-light steering, and the ability to shift with confidence that you won't grind gears or accidentally push through the detent. There is a downside, though: The Verado tips the scales at 635 pounds, while some four-stroke competitors come in 55 pounds lighter and some two-stroke competitors are more than 100 pounds lighter.

GENETIC ENGINEERING

Boats that are made to go lickety-split have to be built tough. The Concept has a layup consisting of vinylester resins with multiple layers of bi- and tri-axial fiberglass, surrounding Divinycell foam coring. The hull stays in the mold for three to five days, unlike those of some lesser boats, which are popped out in short order – and the gelcoat warps and ripples as a result. The hull-to-deck joint isn't just screwed and glued, it's through-bolted and sealed. The stringers and transom are all composite, hardware is stainless steel, and compartments have locking latches. Those latches are mounted in RTM hatches, by the way, fully finished on both sides and offering maximum strength for their weight. Plus, there isn't an ounce of wood in the boat, so you'll never have to worry about rot.

Design work is all CAD-CAM, which results in symmetry and excellent tolerances. You can see the results by spraying a hose across the deck, then opening up a stowage compartment. They remain watertight, thanks to a well-fitting hatch, deep gutters, and gasketing. One more test you should perform: Poke your head behind the dash, and see if you can trace down the wiring. Yup, it's easy, because Concept incorporated color-coded, tinned-copper wiring that's ramrod-straight.

Although the Concept scores an A for construction, there is room for improvement. The windshield is just as narrow and sleek as the rest of the boat, which looks great but means you'll be subjected to windblast. And with the speeds this boat travels at, that windblast is significant. I'd also like to see a second cleat on the bow. The centered pop-up will do the trick for anchoring, but you'll have to weave the lines over one another when tying up in a slip.

Some dedicated go-fast speedsters aren't good for much other than going fast, but the 27 PR is additionally designed to be used as a runabout or for casual angling. Anglers will note that the boat can be ordered with a T-top instead of the arch (or neither, if you prefer), and it comes standard with two rod holders in the gunwales, under-gunwale rod racks, and a built-in fishbox/cooler. If you like to burn drags just as much as you enjoy burning fuel, you'll also opt for one of the factory-installed Garmin fishfinders, a raw-water washdown, a macerator pump for the fishbox, and the transom livewell. Concept even offers LED-illuminated rod holders.

Family-oriented boaters will appreciate the transom settee plus the forward bow cockpit seating. Add the bow cockpit table, if you plan to picnic. Day-boaters may also want the optional freshwater system installed, which includes a 10-gallon tank and a freshwater washdown. Regardless of the intended use, most boaters will also be happy to find a portable MSD residing in the console. Walking around the boat, I quickly noticed the generous pass-through space on either side of the console, a surprise given the boat's narrow beam. The tradeoff comes when you enter that console head, which isn't all that roomy. Of course, you have to expect some tradeoffs with a boat that's a speedster, a sportfisherman and a dayboat. But considering how well the Concept ties all of these uses together, you can expect one more thing: to have your expectations shattered.

Lenny Rudow was senior technical editor for Boating magazine for more than 10 years, and is currently the electronics editor for Marlin and GoBoating magazines.

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