T
he US Wellcraft boat range has undergone a
significant makeover in the past few years,
following the purchase of the brand by French
company Beneteau Group. While the boats are
still made in Michigan, USA, the manufacturing is now
overseen by the parent company.
At one time there were several dozen models in
the range encompassing a variety of configurations.
However, following the acquisition of Wellcraft and
sister brands Scarab, Four Winns and Glastron, the
Beneteau group has trimmed the range significantly
and introduced new models. In today’s Wellcraft
range there is only a single 9m cabin cruiser, with the
remaining models all centre consoles, designed either
for flats/bay fishing or offshore sport and game fishing.
The mainstay of the Wellcraft range are the Fisherman
centre-console models. The boats are available in six
sizes – from the readily trailerable 182 Fisherman
through to the wide-beam flagship, the impressive
302 Fisherman. The latter is the subject of this review.bluewatermag.com.au 63