Robalo 246 Cayman SD, the Sky Deck Bay Boat Reviewed

246 Cayman Robalo SD, what the Sky Deck adds

The 246 Cayman Robalo calls SD is the Sky Deck version of its 24-foot 6-inch bay boat, and the letters matter. Instead of the usual bay boat arrangement where the upper-station driver stands on top of the console and pokes through the T-top, the SD has a proper elevated deck with a two-person bench seat, a second helm, safety rails with gates and built-in ladders on both sides of the hardtop supports.

The point is visibility. From up there, an angler can read the bottom on a grass flat, spot tailing redfish, see a school of tarpon rolling or pick a path through unmarked shallows. Boating, Salt Water Sportsman and BoatTest all tested the boat for the 2020 model year, and Robalo still lists it, flagged as new, in the 2026 lineup alongside a larger 266 Cayman SD.

Buyers search the boat every way possible, as the Robalo Cayman 246, the 246 Robalo Cayman or the 246 Cayman SD. They all point to the same hull; just make sure a listing really has the Sky Deck, because Robalo also builds a standard 246 Cayman without it.

Upper station geometry, 6 feet 7 inches above the deck

BoatTest measured the console top at 3 feet 6 inches and the upper-station deck at 6 feet 7 inches above the main deck. The supports use a truss design that avoids angled legs in the helm sightline. Up top there is room for a 7-inch display, digital throttle and shift, a steering wheel with knob, start and stop switches, a station selector and a horn, plus cup holders and four rocket launchers behind the seat.

Robalo reinforced the deck for outriggers, which tells you the SD is meant to troll as well as sight fish. Boating noted that the 9-foot beam adds confidence when driving from the upper station, and the dash has room for a Yamaha display and a second chart plotter.

The Sky Deck raises bridge clearance to 10 feet 11 inches on the current boat (Boating measured 11 feet 1 inch in 2020). Check garage doors, storage racks and any fixed bridges on your home waters before you buy.

A 9-foot beam and 16 degrees of deadrise

Two numbers explain the ride. The 9-foot beam is wide for a 24-foot bay boat, which makes it a steady casting platform and keeps the boat calm when two people are moving around up top. The 16-degree transom deadrise is steeper than the 12 to 14 degrees Boating says is typical in bay boats, so the SD cuts chop better than most.

Testers agreed. Boating described a tall, dry ride with firm tracking and no drumming in a windy Intracoastal Waterway near Daytona, and Salt Water Sportsman reported no oil-canning or vibration over a constant one-foot chop and frequent large wakes. Draft is 12 inches with the engine up, and BoatTest lists 28 inches with it down.

Test numbers from three different outboards

The 246 Cayman SD has been tested with three engines. Salt Water Sportsman's Yamaha F300 boat reached 48.4 mph and ran efficiently at 21.4 mph at 3,000 rpm; at 3,500 rpm the magazine quoted 3.3 mpg at 21 mph and a 270-mile range on 90 percent of the tank. Boating ran a 300 hp Yamaha 4.2-liter V6 on a 15.5 by 17 stainless prop.

BoatTest's boat had an Evinrude E-TEC G2 300 on a 20 by 15 1/8 four-blade prop, tested without the tower at an estimated 4,480 pounds. It hit 46.5 mph at 5,500 rpm, planed in 4.6 seconds, reached 30 mph in 7.2 seconds and found its best cruise at 28.3 mph on 7.8 gph, or 3.6 mpg. The full table is below. Remember that a boat with the Sky Deck carries more weight up high than BoatTest's boat did.

Fishing layout, 80 gallons of bait and a dozen rocket launchers

Dual livewells in the forward edge of the aft casting deck hold 80 gallons with removable clear dividers to keep bait species apart, and their lids seal so water does not slosh onto the seats. Robalo's specifications also list a 20-gallon forward well. Rod storage is excellent: 12 rocket launchers across the hardtop, upper-station seatback and leaning post, under-gunwale racks on both sides and four holders on each covering board.

Two insulated compartments in the C-shaped step seating work as fish boxes or dry storage, the port one with a rod hanger. A 114-quart cooler slides out from under the leaning post to double as a rigging surface. The wide foredeck takes a bow-mount trolling motor, with an optional pre-wired plug in the anchor locker, and the swim platforms accept dual Power-Poles.

Family seating and the console compartment

This is still a Cayman, so the family gets real seats. The bow has two lounges with removable backrests, cup holders and a stowable picnic table, there is a seat on the console front, a double leaning post and a double jump seat that folds out of the aft casting deck. The entire console front opens to a compartment with room for a marine toilet, tackle storage and access to the electronics and NMEA 2000 backbone. A tempered-glass windshield protects the helm.

Boating's criticisms were minor: the narrow hardtop gives less shade but obstructs casting less, and the lower helm has limited space for electronics beyond a single chart plotter.

Evinrude boats and other engine questions on used SDs

BoatTest's 2019 test boat ran an Evinrude E-TEC G2 300, while Boating listed Mercury or Yamaha as the available power, so a few early 246 Cayman SDs may carry an Evinrude. BRP ended Evinrude outboard production in May 2020, so price any Evinrude-powered boat with parts availability and a future repower in mind.

Maximum power has been listed at both 300 hp (BoatTest, 2019) and 350 hp (Boating, Salt Water Sportsman and Robalo today). Current packages are the Yamaha F300, the 4.3-liter V6 Yamaha F350 and the Mercury Verado V10 350.

Covers, canvas and resale

Boat covers and canvas for the SD are not interchangeable with the standard 246 Cayman because of the Sky Deck structure, so buy patterns made for the SD and specify the model year. On the used market, the Sky Deck is a strong selling point in Florida, the Gulf Coast and the Carolinas, where sight fishing is common, and boats with clean Yamaha or Mercury four-strokes hold value best. Annual costs run about $4,500 to $10,000 for insurance, single-outboard service, trailer, storage and canvas care.