Fortier 26 for Sale, a Buyer's Guide to New England's Classic Bass Boat

A Fortier 26 for sale carries 70 years of striper boat history

Every Fortier 26 for sale has a pedigree that predates fiberglass. In 1957 the Boston design firm Eldredge-McInnis drew a 26-foot bass boat for Fred Brownell's yard in Mattapoisett, Massachusetts, built of double-planked mahogany on oak frames with a full keel, a big cockpit, dual controls and an aft tiller. Soundings calls the Brownell 26 the standard for New England bass boats for two decades. A modified version, the Sakonnet 26, was built in Fall River, and those lines survive today as the Fortier 26.

The fiberglass boat began as a family project. Roger Fortier, a Somerset home builder and New Bedford Yacht Club member, and his teenage son Rod bought Eldredge-McInnis plans for a 26-foot wooden powerboat in the mid 1970s, built a plug and mold with help from friends, and launched hull number one in 1976. Fortier Boats incorporated in 1977, sold 11 boats in its first year and was sold out by the 1978 Boston show. That first boat was still running in 2017, being repowered a few houses from its original owner.

Designed by a fish, the hull and why it works

Nautical Quarterly described the boat in 1980 as designed by a fish, and the phrase has stuck. The hard-chine hull has a fine entry and deep forefoot to slice the short, steep seas of Buzzards Bay and Long Island Sound, a full molded keel and skeg that protect the shaft and rudder, molded-in spray rails for a dry ride, and enough weight to reduce pitching and pounding. Rod Fortier puts it simply: the Eldredge-McInnis boats are stable, like a duck in the water, which is what fishermen wanted.

That protected running gear is not a marketing line. A Fortier owner told Soundings he ran hard aground after missing a marker, went over the side to check, found no damage and kept fishing for the rest of the day. On an outboard or exposed-shaft boat, the same grounding would have ended the trip.

• LOA 26 ft 9 in, beam 10 ft, draft 30 in
• Displacement about 6,500 lb
• Fuel 100 gal in two 50-gallon tanks
• Freeboard about 4 ft 3 in forward and 2 ft 8 in aft
• Standard Volvo Penta D4 230 hp diesel

A 35-footer's cockpit and a small cabin

The cockpit takes up about two thirds of the boat. Soundings measured it at about 16 by 9 feet, roughly 140 square feet, with the engine box as the only obstruction, and one owner said it was the same size as some 35-footers he had fished on. The cockpit sole is molded and removable for engine access, and large scuppers make it self-bailing. Fortier offers fish boxes, rod holders, a saltwater washdown, a hardtop and the distinctive aft tiller with its own engine controls.

In 2014 Fortier debuted the 26 Open Bass Boat on the same hull, with 131 square feet of open fishing space, a live bait well, two fish boxes, six rod holders, rod storage below and a private marine head. The standard cabin has a V-berth with cushions, a marine head with a holding tank, a sink with pressure water, an icebox and a two-burner stove, with four opening ports. It is a day and weekend boat, not a cruiser, but owners do sleep aboard; one Soundings family spent summer weekends on theirs at Fire Island.

How Fortier builds them in Somerset

Fortier lays up the hull and deck by hand with a Core-Cell foam core throughout, including the trunk cabin, under a vinylester skin coat, with stringers running from bulkhead to transom. The company claims the stiffest hull in its class. Teak trims the windshield, rub rails and interior, which gives the boat its yachty look and also its main maintenance chore.

The yard on the Taunton River sits on the former Crowninshield Shipbuilding site and builds only three or four boats a year across its 26, 30, 33 and 40 or 42-foot models. Many of its craftsmen have been there for decades, and Fortier also runs a storage and service shop across the street. Roger Fortier died in 2011, and Rod Fortier runs the business.

Engines, repowers and real-world speed

Current boats come with a Volvo Penta D4 230 hp diesel, a ZF hydraulic transmission, freshwater cooling and electronic controls, and Fortier quotes cruising speeds of up to 20 knots. In 2005 the standard engine was a 200 hp Volvo diesel. Early boats are a mix: Soundings saw 1980s listings with a Perkins diesel and a 340 hp Chrysler gas engine, and one owner replaced a 145 hp Isuzu diesel with a 240 hp Yanmar that he said was 300 pounds lighter and added 10 knots of top speed. He reported a comfortable cruise of 19 to 20 knots at 2,800 to 3,000 rpm and about two miles per gallon.

Repowering is normal on boats this old, and a well-documented modern diesel adds real value. Check that the engine bed, shaft alignment and exhaust were done properly, because the engine sits under the cockpit box in a fairly tight space.

The used market and what a 26 is worth

Soundings estimated around 350 Fortier 26s had been built by 2005, and the company has built more than 500 boats in total across its models. They are concentrated in New England and on Long Island, where Soundings described them as a cult boat; one Freeport tuna club had five in its fleet at once. Good boats rarely sit long.

In 2005, 1981 and 1982 boats were listed around $49,000 to $60,000 and a mint 1992 at $93,500. Values have risen with time and inflation, but the same pattern holds: older boats with gas engines or tired diesels are the bargains, and newer diesel boats with hardtops, thrusters and good teak command much more. Fortier itself brokers pre-owned Fortiers, which is a useful source of well-documented boats. We estimate annual costs of $9,000 to $20,000 for a slip or mooring, winter storage, diesel service, varnish and insurance.