Bahama 37 Review, the Long-Range Console From Bahama Boat Works

Who builds Bahama boats

Bahama boats come from Bahama Boat Works, a small custom builder of offshore center consoles that has moved from Palm Beach County to a facility in Fort Pierce, Florida. Its founder, veteran mariner and boatbuilder Scott Henley, has since passed away; the company says its roots run through the Venture name and the Jupiter, Florida boatbuilding scene, and that it continues to build to his standards. In 2016 the company listed Henley, Bob Sparks and Rob Thomson as owners with more than 65 years of combined marine experience.

The lineup today runs from the returning Bahama 31, the company's first model, through the 35 and 37 to the 41 and 41 GT. The 37 sits in the sweet spot: big enough for serious offshore range, small enough for a lift behind a Florida house.

Bahama's sales pitch is summed up in its slogan, absolutely nothing compares, and in a design philosophy built around stability, strength and seaworthiness rather than headline top speed.

Why Bahama skips the steps

Most fast center consoles of this size now ride on stepped hulls. Bahama deliberately does not. In Sport Fishing's test of the Bahama 41, the company explained its view that a solid running surface gives better maneuvering control than a stepped hull, a gentle, short roll and predictable transitions; the tester found the boat did not wander at any speed or sea direction and stayed on plane at low speeds.

Bahama's own literature adds that its hulls are designed as much for slow speeds, such as running an inlet in a big following sea, as for high speeds. Its 2015 description of the line says the 37 and 41 share an 11-foot beam, with the 34 six inches narrower, and that the 37 then carried up to triple 350-hp outboards.

We could not find a published deadrise figure or instrumented test for the 37 itself, so the specs above list only what the builder publishes. The 41's test data, 60.8 mph on triple Yamaha 350s and a 40 mph cruise at 44 gph, gives a sense of the family's performance but does not transfer directly.

Construction details that justify the price

Bahama has always sold on build quality. Sport Fishing described the 41 as one of the most labor-intensive builds its tester had seen: all vinylester resin, a vacuum-bagged solid-glass bottom and stringers, PVC-foam-cored hull sides and decks, and quarter-inch aluminum fuel tanks. The 37's current spec sheet keeps the quarter-inch zinc-chromated aluminum tanks.

Hatches use a double seal, a hard O-ring in the deck channel plus a softer gasket on the hatch, closed with compression latches. Visible fasteners are minimized, rod holders are screwless stainless with backing plates, and the company says every system is laid out for service access rather than ease of assembly. Owners who keep boats for a decade notice these details far more than a few extra mph.

Sport Fishing's 41 test also praised details that tend to carry across the line: clear acrylic covers over pumps and mechanical gear so you can see what is happening without exposing dry storage, fish box drains that exit above the waterline without macerators, and a drain plug reached from inside the boat, handy for a boat kept on a lift. Ask the factory which of these the 37 you are considering shares.

Twin V10s, triple V10s or twin V12s

Current power choices are all Mercury: twin or triple Verado 400 or 425 V10 outboards, or twin Verado 600 V12s, with a maximum rating of 1,275 hp. Mercury joystick and electric steering come standard, as do Zipwake trim tabs and a freshwater engine flush system.

For most owners the triple V10 package is the natural fit for a boat that weighs 17,000 pounds as Bahama lists it, carries 470 gallons of fuel and is meant to cross to the Bahamas. The twin V12 option trades some redundancy for simpler rigging and a cleaner transom. The 470-gallon tankage is unusually large for a 38-foot console and is the reason the boat appeals to canyon and long-range anglers.

Built for fishing, finished for families

Standard equipment reads like a tournament checklist: a helm module with triple bolster seats, armrests, footrests, five rod holders and custom tackle cabinets, an aft mezzanine cooler seat, two 1,600-gph tournament livewell pumps, two 2,000-gph bilge pumps with high-water alarm, fresh and raw-water hose reels and a starboard side door with ladder. The hardtop has six rod holders, LED spreader lights and a molded electronics box.

For families there are forward seats with backrests, console cooler seat cushions, a freshwater head in the console, a retractable transom ladder and an integrated Seakeeper-ready hatch. Options include a Seakeeper 3, a folding tower or mini observation tower, FLIR, multiple Garmin packages with radar and autopilot, a Salt Assassin rigging package and a Family Terrace package with a Magma grill.

Running costs and values

Bahama does not publish prices, and we found no recent priced listings, so treat the figures here as our estimates. A new, well-equipped Bahama 37 on triple V10s should land in the high six figures to around $1.2 million, in line with premium hand-built consoles of this size. Older boats from the mid-2010s on earlier outboards should trade far lower.

Annual running costs of roughly $30,000 to $70,000 cover fuel, outboard and gyro service, insurance, a lift or slip and electronics upkeep. Small production keeps used supply thin, which supports values but means buyers may wait for the right boat.

Because the builder is small, a sea trial with factory staff is the best way to judge the boat, and conversations with existing owners are unusually valuable. Ask specifically about the actual running weight of the engine package you want, since the published 17,000-pound figure is far above the dry weights quoted for many rival 38-footers.