Parker 2820 XLD Sport Cabin, the 28-Foot Pilothouse Workhorse

The Parker boat for sale that working captains look for first

If you are hunting for a Parker boat for sale in the 28-foot class, the 2820 XLD Sport Cabin is the one most buyers mean. Parker itself described it as a common choice for commercial fishing and charters because of its rugged build and easy-to-work deck, and through its final years it was the largest sport cabin in Parker's lineup.

Parker builds in Beaufort, North Carolina, a town with more than two centuries of wooden boatbuilding behind it. The company traces its roots to the late 1960s and its first production boat, Linwood Parker's 25-foot Sou'wester workboat, to the early 1970s. In 2019 the family sold to Correct Craft, which renamed the company Parker Offshore and kept the sport cabin line in Beaufort.

The 2820 XLD appears in Parker's 2007 lineup. By 2011 Parker also offered a 2830 Extended Cabin and a larger 3420 XLD Sport Cabin, but by 2024 the 2820 XLD was the biggest sport cabin left. It stayed in production, with very similar published specifications, until the 2026 renaming of the line as the Explorer series.

A 28-foot hull with a 135-inch cockpit

Parker lists the 2820 XLD at 28 feet with a 9-foot 6-inch beam, 18-inch hull draft, 21 degrees of transom deadrise, 6,400 pounds dry and a 600 hp maximum. Overall length with pulpit and engines is 35 feet 9 inches, which matters when you price a slip. The fuel tank holds 232 gallons, and the boat is rated for 12 people.

The real selling point is the cockpit: about 135 inches long, 88 inches wide and 25 inches deep, self-bailing, with rod storage and toe rails under the gunwales. That is more than two feet longer than the 2520 XLD's cockpit on a beam that is the same. A full transom carries a twin-engine bracket with swim platform and dive ladder, an insulated fishbox, a livewell and a transom door. Late boats added two aft in-floor fish boxes with macerators and a 35-gallon livewell as standard.

What Yamaha measured with twin F300s

Yamaha tested a 2820 XLD on February 17, 2018 with F300 outboards in a twin installation (the bulletin's file code is TF300, and the fuel figures only make sense for two engines). With 58 gallons of fuel, three people and test gear aboard, the boat weighed 8,672 pounds. It planed in about 5 seconds, reached 30 mph in 10.7 seconds and topped out at 57.1 mph at 6,000 rpm.

The economical cruise sits around 3,000 to 3,500 rpm: 25.4 mph at 12.9 gallons per hour (1.97 mpg) and 31.6 mph at 16.4 gph (1.93 mpg). Push to 4,500 rpm and 41.9 mph and economy drops to 1.29 mpg. Using 90 percent of the 232-gallon tank at 31.6 mph gives a range of roughly 400 statute miles, very respectable for a boat this heavy.

Note that the bulletin lists the beam as 9 feet 9 inches, slightly more than Parker's published 9 feet 6 inches, so check the actual width if a tight slip or trailer matters.

Standing headroom, twin berths and a real head

The pilothouse is about 59 inches long and 82 inches wide with 76 to 77 inches of headroom. Standard equipment on late boats included tinted windshields that open on both sides, sliding screened side windows, windshield wipers, LED overhead lighting, ladder-back chairs with footrests, and companion seats with storage port, starboard and aft.

The forward cabin has twin berths roughly 76 by 64 inches with 44 inches of headroom, portlights, a ventilation hatch and a lockable door. An electric flushing head with holding tank and macerator is standard. Options have included a galley cabinet in the pilothouse with sink, 12-volt refrigerator and stove, an open-back pilothouse with drop curtains, a second station in a tower with electronic controls, a bow thruster and Seaspension seats.

Seakeeper Ride and the 287 Explorer

By 2025 Parker made a Seakeeper Ride 525 system standard on the 2820 XLD, along with a windlass with 300 feet of rode, a Garmin GPSMap 943xs with transducer and VHF, Wet Sounds audio and underwater lights. For 2026 and 2027 the boat is sold as the 287 Explorer, with the same 232-gallon tank but a published 27-foot 9-inch length, 9-foot 5-inch beam, 6,900-pound dry weight, 19-degree deadrise and a 700 hp rating.

Seakeeper's January 2026 sea trial of a 287 Explorer with twin Yamaha 300s, off Monmouth, New Jersey in one- to two-foot beam seas, recorded 41 percent roll reduction and 52 percent pitch reduction at 33 mph. For anglers who spend hours drifting or trolling in a beam sea, that is a real comfort upgrade over older 2820s.

Running costs and buying used

Plan on roughly $10,000 to $22,000 a year for insurance, a slip or lift, twin-outboard service, bottom paint and fuel. The 9-foot 6-inch beam means oversize permits for towing, so most 2820s live in the water or on lifts.

Because Parker offered the model for nearly two decades, used prices range from about $65,000 for 2007 boats with tired engines to more than $230,000 for 2023 to 2025 boats. Many have worked as charter or commercial boats, which is not a problem if maintenance records exist. Check engine hours carefully, look for cockpit sole and bracket repairs, and confirm whether a tower or second station has been added and how it is mounted.

Who the 2820 XLD suits best

The 2820 XLD makes the most sense for anglers who fish year-round in cold or wet climates, from the Mid-Atlantic and New England to the Pacific Northwest, and for small charter operators who need an enclosed, dry helm and a big cockpit. It is less ideal for buyers who want a sleek cruiser or a fast sandbar boat; its strengths are utility, seakeeping and space.