Trade-A-Boat — February 2018

“It’s a great base to establish

a gameboat to the customer’s

desires,and Adam has turned it

intosomething extraordinary with

the addition of a ute-load of Simrad

electronics”

better performance than our test boat

withthesamesizethree-blade Rebel.

Fromrest,hehadaboutaboat length

start, from there, however, it was

neckandnecktoanexactmaximum

speedof43.4ktsbutwithmarginally

worsefueleconomyinthehigher rev

rangefromthefour-blader.(For more

information see the outboard test on

the following pages).

At the mouth of the Hawkesbury,

adecent1.5mswellhittingthe bar

wasenoughtoappreciatethehull’s

soft ride as we made a steady 20kts

progress into the sea. With the boat

trimmeddown,thebowsentmost of

the spray well away, and although the

wipers cleared the mist covering the

glassscreen,Ithinkwasherswould be

an excellent addition.

Intheopensea,theC2300shone as

it threw its weight around with glee. It

hasabig,strongandweightyfeel but

handles precisely with no cavitation

into full-blooded turns. The E-TEC is

agreatmatchandhasamplepower

totackleswellsandkeepupwith the

hull’s ability in the ocean. Sightlines

are excellent, and the helm position is

comfortable and well-braced against

the moulded footrest.

The co-pilot has a sturdy grabrail,

but I’m critical of the lack of

handholds for anyone standing in the

central position behind the seats. To

my mind, an overhead bar should be a

standard safety feature.

THE WRAP

The C2300 shows it’s hard to beat

good design and proven building

techniques. There’s no reason not

to expect the boat, just like many

of the 55,000 previous Bertram and

Caribbean examples before it, to last

generations of owners.

A base model from the factory will

set you back $70,700 and from there

the sky’s the limit. It will take a single

or twin engines up to 300hp and will

work well down to a 225hp setup. As

tested with the options list ticked on

everything but the kitchen sink, that

price will grow to around $150,000.

Caribbean 2300

facts & figures

PRICE AS TESTED

$158,000

OPTIONS FITTED

300hp Evinrude E-TEC G2, Simrad

electronics, trailer, Reelax game poles,

Lenco tabs, plumbed tank, upgraded

switches, Easytow trailer, JL Audio, Hella

lighting, L&R boat latch, and more

PRICED FROM

$70,700 (hull)

GENERAL

MATERIAL GRP

TYPE Planing monohull

LENGTH 7.05m

BEAM 2.5m

WEIGHT 1550kg (hull)

CAPACITIES

PEOPLE 7

FUEL 425lt

WATER 80lt

ENGINE

MAKE/MODEL Evinrude E-TEC G2 300

TYPE Two-stroke direct fuel injected V6

RATED HP 300

DISPLACEMENT 3441cc

WEIGHT 258kg (25in shaft)

GEAR RATIO 1.85:1

PROPELLER 15in x 18in three-blade

Rebel

SUPPLIED BY

SYLVANIA MARINA

25 Harrow Steet,

Sylvania, NSW, 2224

PHONE (02) 9522 7430

WEB caribbeanboats.com.au

EMAIL [email protected]

Caribbean 2300

126 trade aboat.com.au