Regulator 34SS Review and Used Buying Guide

The Regulator 34SS, a starboard-seater that led the fleet

The Regulator 34SS arrived in the fall of 2008 as the biggest boat Regulator Marine had ever built. Its own web page at the time called it the all-new flagship of the fleet, and the lineup it topped still ran from the 23 FS to the 32 FS. For seven years it was the largest boat to come out of the Edenton, North Carolina, plant, until the 41 arrived in 2015.

What made it different from every other Regulator was the console. Instead of a true center console with walkaround access on both sides, the 34SS carried a wraparound bow seat that curved back along the starboard side and joined the console, so the only path to the bow was down the port side. That layout bought a much bigger forward lounge and a larger console interior, at the cost of 360-degree fishing room up front.

Today the 34SS is a used-only boat, and a rare one: Power & Motoryacht reported in 2012 that Regulator had built 54 of them. Any example is now 11 to 18 years old, so engines, wiring and canvas matter as much as the famous ride.

What SS meant and why the console sits off center

Regulator never made much of the letters, and the press used two expansions. Power & Motoryacht's 2009 test called it the 34 SS (Side Seating), while the same magazine's 2012 test of the true center-console 34 described it as the 34 Starboard Seater, "basically a center console that offers bow access only on the port side, since the bow seat wraps around on the starboard side." Either way, the idea is the same.

That 2012 article also explains the family tree. When customers asked for a conventional center console in the same size, Regulator built the 34 CC from the same hull mold. Customer service manager Al Partin said the company kept building the starboard seater because there was still demand for it.

Archived Regulator pages show both boats side by side through 2015 with identical published dimensions: 33 feet 10 inches hull length, 38 feet 6 inches with bracket and engines, a 10-foot 11-inch beam and 24 degrees of deadrise. So a used-boat shopper choosing between a 34SS and an early 34 CC is really choosing a deck layout, not a different hull.

Codega's 24-degree bottom and a liner bonded into the joint

Lou Codega has designed Regulator's running surfaces since the first 26, and the 34SS follows the formula: a deep-V with 24 degrees of transom deadrise, a sharp, warped entry and chines carried well forward to knock down spray. Bill Pike of Power & Motoryacht drove the prototype across the confluence of the James River and lower Chesapeake Bay in late December, in confused three-foot seas, and wrote that the boat sliced through them even at an average top speed of 58.1 mph.

Construction is where the 34SS earned its reputation. Regulator builds its hulls by hand with a foam-filled fiberglass grillage that stiffens the hull fore and aft and side to side. Pike singled out the hull-to-deck joint: a shoebox design fastened with bolts and Bostik 920 adhesive, but with the inner liner extended up the hull side and captured in the same joint. He called the measure unique as far as he knew, and credited it with a solid, unibody feel and fairly low sound levels.

The Armstrong bracket is the other half of the design. It hangs the outboards behind a full-height transom, so the whole hull is usable deck, and Power & Motoryacht noted that it lifts clear of the water at speed and adds no drag.

Twin V8 F350s and a 33 mph one-engine trial

Power for the 34SS was a single package at launch: two Yamaha F350 V8 four-strokes, the big 5.3-liter outboards that Pike described as hulking 800-pound engines. On 15 by 21 Yamaha three-blade stainless props, Power & Motoryacht averaged 58.1 mph flat out, roughly 50.5 knots, in rough December conditions with a full spray enclosure rigged.

The more telling number came on the way home. Pike ran the boat on one engine at a time, without trim tabs, and both times the 34SS topped out just under 33 mph, a remarkable get-home margin that he credited to Codega's placement of the center of gravity.

Regulator never published a full fuel curve for the twin-F350 boat that we could find, so we do not quote cruise burn. For 2015 the builder added a triple Yamaha 300 option, along with Yamaha Helm Master joystick control. Note that the F350 on a 2009 to 2014 34SS is not the same engine as Yamaha's current F350, which is a 4.3-liter V6; parts and service support for the older V8 is a question every buyer should put to a Yamaha dealer before making an offer.

• Standard power: 2 x Yamaha F350 V8 four-strokes, Command Link digital controls
• Optional from 2015: 3 x Yamaha F300, Helm Master joystick
• Power & Motoryacht 2009 test: 58.1 mph average top speed on twin F350s

Inside the console, a VacuFlush, a crawl-in double and a fridge in the way

The payoff of the offset console is volume inside it. Pike measured 6 feet 4 inches of headroom in the cuddy, which held a small sink with a shower faucet, a Corian counter, a standard VacuFlush toilet with a 6-gallon holding tank (later spec sheets list 13 gallons) and a double-wide crawl space forward with foam cushions for sleeping. Regulator's own copy called it second-home accommodation, with a compact galley, a berth and a head.

The test boat also carried an optional Marvair 5,000 Btu air conditioner, an Indel refrigerator flush-mounted in the starboard bulkhead and a microwave. Pike's complaint is worth remembering on a survey: the air conditioner and battery charger could only be reached by removing the refrigerator. On a used boat, find out whether a previous owner relocated equipment, and check how well the air conditioning has been maintained in a space that is hard to service.

Topside, the starboard wraparound bow seating turns the foredeck into a lounge for four or five, with dry storage underneath, while the cockpit stays clear for fishing.

Fishing hardware on the 34SS by the numbers

Regulator built the 34SS for Outer Banks anglers first. The 2009 standard list included a Garelick helm seat module with a footrest, sink, baitwell, cutting board and tackle drawer, a folding rear seat, two insulated and illuminated forward fishboxes and an 85-gallon transom fishbox. Lee Sidewinder outriggers and a T-top with an electronics box and molded spreader lights were options.

Regulator's 2015 spec sheet gives the later capacities: a 124-quart transom fishbox, a 25-gallon transom livewell, two insulated in-deck boxes of roughly 6 and 7 feet that work as fishboxes or rod lockers, and 368 quarts of center forward storage. A transom door to starboard makes it easier to bring a big fish or a swimmer aboard.

How the 34SS changed between 2009 and 2015

The 34SS stayed recognizably the same boat for its whole run, but the details moved. Fuel capacity is the obvious one: Power & Motoryacht's 2008 preview listed 400 gallons, the 2009 test and the 2012 Regulator site listed 380 gallons, and the 2015 site listed 350 gallons. Confirm the tank size on the specific boat, because it changes your range by close to 10 percent.

For 2015 Regulator listed triple white Yamaha 300s, a deluxe Raymarine offshore package, a new Armstrong bracket with Flexiteek and a diving ladder, extra rod holders, a macerated in-floor fishbox and Helm Master. A late boat with those items beats a 2009 hull with original electronics.

Buying a used 34SS today, engines first and hull second

Regulator hulls have a strong reputation for longevity, and the 34SS's bonded liner and grillage age well. The real money is at the transom. A pair of original V8 F350s with high hours can turn a fairly priced boat into an expensive repower, and a repower to modern Yamaha V6 F350s or XTOs typically costs well into six figures with rigging. Many sellers price boats as if the engines have no age; do not let them.

Running costs for a twin-outboard 34 are moderate by offshore standards. Budget roughly $14,000 to $30,000 a year for insurance, a slip or rack, bottom paint, engine service, canvas and electronics upkeep, plus fuel. A boat kept on a lift or on dry storage avoids bottom paint and keeps the bracket and transom cleaner.

34SS versus the 34 CC, the new 35 and other used rivals

Inside the Regulator family, the 34 CC shares the hull and adds walkaround fishing room, while the 34SS trades that for a bigger lounge and console. Regulator's current answer in this size is the 35, a far more expensive and more technical boat with triple engines, a lithium house-power system and a gyro option.

Outside the family, a used Contender 35 ST is faster and lighter, a Yellowfin 34 more of a tournament machine and a Grady-White Canyon 336 more of a family cruiser. The 34SS sits between them.