Renegade News
Rebel Yell!! April 01, 2009
With a trio of 300-hop Mercury Racing Optimax 300XS outboards, the 35' Renegade Center Console is a bonafide hot rod.
You read all kinds of techno-talk into a triple outboard, twin-stepped, center-console boat, but one glaring trait leaps to the forefront: its power-to-weight ratio. This 35' Renegade Center Console weighs 8,500 pounds and sports 900 ponies on the transom. That translates into an impressive 9.4 pounds per horsepower. Each engine weighs 505 pounds, while a 300-hp 350ci stern-drive package weighs 946 pounds. If you wanted to get closer to the horsepower output of the triple outboards with twin stern-drives, a pair of 496ci engines at 435 hp would weigh 1,200 pounds each with a drive. For the pair, you'd be 900 pounds heavier than the triples on our test boat.
The favorable power-to-weight numbers and the twin-stepped hull design with a notched transom for the center motor translated into impressive performance on the water. The 35' Center Consol hit a top speed of 73.6 mph at about 6000 rpm. On a side-note, the trim indicators for the engines were installed opposite of what we're used to on a performance boat: press the top of the buttons and the bow is trimmed down.
Once we had the 35' Center Console's trim nuances mastered, we had some fun. As one of our tester said, "The boat lunges on place, it takes a set and takes off." Leave the outboards trimmed to a positive position and put the boat through any turn you want. It responds perfectly, keeping the bow up and holding its line thought the arc.
When we took the boat out into rougher water, we were impressed by its ride in wind-whipped chop on Miami's Biscayne Bay. Head into some big boat wakes with the trim tabs below level and the drives at neutral and you'll flatten the water.
From the driver's bolster, the first thing we noticed was that the 35' Center Console lacked trim indicators for the tabs. Additionally, there was no emergency shutoff lanyard. There was a Ritchie compass and Livorsi Monster Series gauges were arranged in three rows to starboard of the Garmin GPS Map 4212 chart plotter. The dash panel is custom-painted to match the boat's graphics and the pattern does a great job of reducing glare. Eddie Marine billet engine controls are close in reach.
Twin dropout bolsters on powder-coated aluminum frames provide outstanding comfort during long offshore runs to the fishing grounds. Overhead, the T-top is outfitted with a bimini top and two large lights.
Taking a closer look at the graphics, Renegade goes a step beyond other center-console builders with the 35' Center Console. The gray, black and red on a while background could easily be found on any offshore performance boat and gives the boat a custom look. Behind the multiple hues, the boat is laid up with vinylester resin and multidirectional fiberglass. The hull bottom, stringers and transom are all cored with high-density polyurethane foam. Renegade uses no wood in its boats and the majority of the cockpit is made up of a single molded fiberglass liner.
Our inspectors felt that the gel-coat application could have used a little work for Renegade to compete with the best custom manufacturers. On a positive note, the manufacturer went the extra mile installing all stainless-steel cleats and other deck hardware in custom, color-matched bezels.
Checking out the 35' Center Console's passenger amenities in the bow reveals that the forward-most section is comprised of a small cabin with facing lounges that offer seated headroom. In the cockpit sole, there are large lockers that would be ideal for the day's catch or for skis and boards. There are two more lockers abaft the bolsters that would be identified by most people as fish boxes. As for passengers, they can't travel on the jump seat on the front side of the center console or on the four-person aft bench. When you've got a boat with this kind of power in a lightweight package, everyone needs a secure seat.