Regulator 25 for Sale, Review and the Comeback Story

Regulator 25 for sale, and why there are two production runs

When you look for a Regulator 25 for sale, you are choosing between two eras of the same boat. Regulator introduced the 25 for model year 2014 as the replacement for the original Regulator 26, the boat that founded the company in 1990. Saltwater Sportsman reported that Regulator had stopped building the 26 the year before after a 24-year run and more than 1,500 hulls, and that the 28 had taken center stage in late 2010, leaving a gap the 25 was designed to fill.

The 25 then left the lineup. Boating's 2025 buyer's guide described it as triumphantly returning after a three-year hiatus, and Regulator's website now headlines it with the words the Regulator 25 is back. Used boats therefore come mostly from about 2014 to 2021, with a fresh supply of new-generation boats starting in 2025.

From the chines down, a 26 with more beam

Owen Maxwell, Regulator's cofounder, explained the design to Power and Motoryacht in 2014: they kept the bottom of the 26 that gave it its legendary smooth, dry ride, more or less from the chines down, then gave the boat more beam and more shape because the 26 was a fairly straight-sided boat. The 25 also dropped the step up to the bow, so the deck is level from transom to foredeck.

Lou Codega's hull carries 24 degrees of deadrise at the transom, and the Armstrong bracket matches that deadrise and adds flotation for the engines. The beam is 8 ft 10 in, only a few inches wider than many rivals but used well, with wide walkways around a console that Regulator deliberately tightened to free cockpit space. Hull length is 25 ft 2 in; with bracket and engines the boat stretches to 30 feet.

F200 to F250, what changed on the water

The launch boats ran twin Yamaha F200 four-cylinder four-strokes. Sport Fishing's Randy Vance measured 50.6 mph at 5,900 rpm, 9.6 seconds to 30 mph and a best economy of 2.01 mpg at 31.2 mph and 4,000 rpm, for a maximum range of 289 miles. Power and Motoryacht saw 46 knots on a one-way run in Long Island Sound. Saltwater Sportsman's Gary Caputi ran 35 knots into a nasty 2- to 4-foot chop on Barnegat Bay and stayed dry with no enclosure.

Current boats carry twin F250s. Yamaha's performance bulletin for the 25 with twin F250s, at 10,620 pounds test weight with 80 gallons of fuel, shows 55.9 mph at 6,000 rpm and 49.5 gph, a best cruise of 31.8 mph at 3,500 rpm on 18.1 gph (1.75 mpg), and 0 to 30 mph in 7.9 seconds. Boating quoted the same 55.9 mph top speed and 1.75 mpg cruise for the 2025 boat.

Weight climbed as well. Testers in 2014 quoted about 6,200 pounds with twin F200s; Regulator's current spec sheet lists 8,330 pounds dry with twin 250s. Heavier engines and a longer standard equipment list account for some of that, and the extra mass is consistent with Regulator's view that weight helps the ride.

• 2014, twin F200: 50.6 mph top, 2.01 mpg at 31.2 mph, 289-mile range
• 2025, twin F250: 55.9 mph top, 1.75 mpg at 31.8 mph
• 0 to 30 mph: 9.6 seconds (F200) versus 7.9 seconds (F250)

Storage numbers that matter to anglers

Regulator's spec sheet for the current boat lists a 230-quart center forward storage box, two 178-quart forward seat boxes, a 408-quart in-deck rod storage and fish box, a 56-quart console cooler seat and a 46-gallon transom livewell, up from the 23-gallon well on early boats. The stand-up console head has 74 inches of headroom and an optional head with a 9-gallon holding tank, and fresh water is 20 gallons.

The 2025 return brought back the starboard transom tuna door, a flip-down transom bench, a new Signature Series leaning post and tackle center with eight Plano trays and a seatback rocket launcher, a standard Garmin 16-inch display and Yamaha's Next Gen digital controls. Options include a second 16-inch screen, 18-foot outriggers, Yamaha EX autopilot and a trolling-motor-ready package.

Running a 25 for a season

With cruise burns of 18 gph and economy near 1.75 to 2 mpg, a 25 is affordable to run offshore. Plan on roughly $9,000 to $18,000 a year for insurance, a lift or rack slip, twin-engine Yamaha service, bottom paint if kept in the water and incidentals, plus fuel. At 8,330 pounds dry it is no casual trailer boat; most owners keep it on a lift or in a rack.

Bridge height is 110 inches and draft is 22 inches with engines up, 34.5 inches down, figures worth checking against your home waters.

First run or new run

The first-run boats from 2014 to about 2021 offer the same hull for roughly half the price of a new one. We would expect 2014 to 2016 boats with F200s around $80,000 to $118,000, and 2018 to 2021 boats around $108,000 to $168,000 in 2026, depending on hours and equipment. New-generation 2025 boats should list around $215,000 to $250,000 used, against $263,295 new.

If you want the bigger livewell, newer electronics and F250 performance, buy new or nearly new. If ride and build quality are what you are after, a well-kept first-run 25 delivers them for much less.