Boston Whaler 305 Conquest, the Used Walkaround Worth Hunting For

Finding a Boston Whaler Conquest for sale at the 32-foot size

Plenty of buyers type boston whaler conquest for sale into a search bar and get a wall of 285s and 405s. The Boston Whaler 305 Conquest is the model many of them should be looking for instead: a 32-foot walkaround with a proper cabin, a 300-gallon tank and twin outboards, priced today like a much smaller boat because it left the catalog more than a decade ago.

The Conquest family began in 1997 with a 23-foot walkaround that Boating magazine called common looking until it found some waves. Whaler then stretched its Unibond construction step by step. In 2007, Whaler program manager Lenn Scholz described the progression to Soundings: the company had taken Unibond up to 28 feet, then to 32 feet, and then to the 34-foot class with the 345 Conquest. The 305 sits on that 32-foot rung, the biggest Conquest of its moment before the 345 arrived for 2008.

The European listings we reviewed date the boats from 2005 to 2008, and Whaler replaced the model with the 315 Conquest, which debuted at the Miami show in February 2012. Exact first and last model years are not published in any source we could verify, so treat the production window as approximate.

The numbers from Whaler's own spec sheet

Whaler's published specification, preserved in an archived Apollo Duck boat-archive page, lists a length overall of 32 feet 1 inch, a beam of 10 feet 7 inches and a hull draft of 20 inches. Dry weight without engines is 8,500 pounds. The transom carries 20 degrees of deadrise, which is moderate by modern offshore standards and helps the boat plane quickly and sit steadily at rest.

The boat is rated for 400 to 600 hp with a maximum engine weight of 1,400 pounds, so twin 200 to 300 hp outboards are the envelope. Every 305 in the listings we checked carried twin 250 hp Mercurys. Fuel capacity is 300 gallons, the persons capacity is 14 and the maximum weight capacity is 4,300 pounds. Bridge clearance with the top is 9 feet 1 inch, and cockpit depth is 28 inches.

• LOA 32 ft 1 in, beam 10 ft 7 in, draft 20 in (hull only)
• Dry weight 8,500 lb without engines; 20-degree transom deadrise
• Power 400 to 600 hp; listings show twin 250 hp Mercury outboards
• Fuel 300 gal; persons capacity 14; bridge clearance 9 ft 1 in with top

Fifty-eight square feet of cockpit

Whaler's own marketing copy for the boat claimed 58 square feet of cockpit, a figure that still compares well with newer cabin boats. That space is the main reason to choose a 305 over the smaller 28-foot Conquests: two or three anglers can work a drift or a trolling spread without tripping over each other, and the 28-inch cockpit depth keeps knees braced against the coaming.

The helm deck is raised for visibility fore and aft, with a portside settee for watching the lines and a fully adjustable helm seat whose cushion flips up to make a bolster for standing. A recessed bow walkaround gives a more secure path to the anchor locker than a flush side deck, which matters when you are re-anchoring on a rolling wreck.

The weekend cabin below

Below decks the 305 is laid out for a couple, with room for kids. The standard equipment list includes a dinette table that doubles as the forward berth filler on a gas-assist base, cabin lighting and a carbon monoxide detector. Whaler finished the interior in woodgrain cabinetry with granite-colored countertops, which reads as dated today but holds up well.

Listings describe the boats as one cabin with four berths, with some sellers counting a second sleeping area, and every boat we saw had a single enclosed head. Common factory or dealer additions on the European boats include a generator, bow thruster, hot water heater, shore power and a pressure water system. If air conditioning matters to you, confirm it is fitted rather than assuming.

How it runs, and what we could not verify

Whaler described the hull as combining quick planing with a smooth, dry ride, which is consistent with a 20-degree deadrise and the mass of foam-filled Unibond construction. We could not locate an instrumented magazine test or a factory performance sheet for the 305, so we are not quoting speed or fuel-burn figures here.

What we can say is that twin 250s on a boat of this weight are a comfortable match rather than a hot-rod setup, and that the 300-gallon tank is generous for the class. Ask any seller for a sea-trial log: wide-open rpm should land in the engine maker's recommended range, and the boat should plane cleanly without excessive trim tab. If it does not, look at props and engine condition before blaming the hull.

Repower economics on a 20-year-old Whaler

The hull is the easy part. Unibond construction does not rot, there are no wood stringers to fail, and Whaler boats of this era generally survey well. The engines are another matter. Original first-generation Verados from the mid-2000s are now 18 to 21 years old, and many owners have either rebuilt them or repowered.

That is why the used market splits so sharply. A boat on original engines with unknown history should be priced as a repower candidate, with the cost of two new 250s plus rigging deducted from the asking price. A boat already repowered with modern Mercurys and documented installation is often the better buy even at a higher price, because the expensive work is done and the remaining hull life is long.

305 or 315: which Conquest to chase

The 315 Conquest that replaced it in 2012 is slightly shorter at 31 feet 3 inches but a touch wider at 10 feet 8 inches, launched with twin 300 Verados and added a full glass windshield with optional side glass. It is the more modern boat and costs more. The 305 is the value play: similar hull size, the bigger quoted cockpit, and prices that let you budget for a repower and still spend less than a clean 315.