SeaHunter 33 Tournament and the Sea Hunter Boats Story

Sea Hunter boats versus Sea Hunt: clearing up the name

Search for sea hunter boats and you will get two very different companies. Sea Hunt is the high-volume South Carolina builder of Gamefish and Ultra center consoles. SeaHunter, written as one word, is a much smaller South Florida builder of tournament-grade center consoles from 25 to 46 feet, founded in 2002 and based in a 124,000-square-foot factory in Princeton, Florida, a mile off US 1 on the way to the Keys. Their boats, buyers and price points barely overlap.

SeaHunter's founder, Ralph Montalvo, previously owned what the company describes as the largest privately held FAA aircraft repair company in the United States, and the aerospace background shows up in the construction story. The company also runs its own service department with Mercury and Yamaha technicians and a marina at Manatee Bay in Key Largo, which matters when you are buying a boat this specialized.

The 33 Tournament sits in the middle of the range, between the 31 and the 35 and 39 Tournaments,, and SeaHunter markets it as one of the rare boats this size offered with triple outboards.

A padded V with a stepped transom, not a stepped hull

SeaHunter is careful to say its boats are not stepped hulls. The bottom is a full deep-V with a running pad along the keel and a stepped transom, with an entry of about 60 degrees, about 24.5 degrees of deadrise at the transom and oversized chines to knock down spray and add stability. The company claims this is 10 to 15 percent faster than a conventional V or an abbreviated, stepped design, and says the bottom is shaped to keep transducers working at speed.

Salt Water Sportsman's test of the SeaHunter 37 described the same formula as a true deep-V with a smooth, dry, predictable ride, while noting some bow lift on acceleration. On the 33 the same geometry is packed into an 11-foot 4-inch beam, which is generous for the length and helps the boat carry three engines without squatting.

SeaHunter calls its construction VALT, short for Vacuum Assisted Lamination Technology: vinylester resin, carbon fiber and Corecell foam core, with vacuum-bagged carbon-blend hatches and foam injected into hull voids for secondary bonding, sound damping and upright flotation. Hardware is 316 stainless, fuel tanks are quarter-inch aluminum with an epoxy barrier, and the hull carries a limited lifetime structural warranty.

Yamaha's twin XF425 numbers

Yamaha tested a 33 Tournament with twin XF425 XTO Offshore V8s in March 2020, turning 16 3/8 by 21-inch XTO props, with two people and 120 gallons of fuel for an as-tested weight of 13,198 pounds. It planed in 5.64 seconds, went from 0 to 20 mph in 6.96 seconds, and reached 62.2 mph at 6,000 rpm on 74.4 gph.

Cruise economy peaked between 3,500 and 4,000 rpm, where the boat ran 29.5 mph on 23.7 gph and 37.8 mph on 29.7 gph, both about 1.25 mpg. At 5,000 rpm it held 49.7 mph on 47.3 gph, still above 1 mpg. With 396 gallons aboard, a 37 mph cruise gives a theoretical reach of roughly 450 statute miles while holding a 10 percent reserve.

Two cautions. First, the twin 425s total 850 hp, well under the current 1,500 hp rating, so triple-engine boats will be faster and thirstier. Second, the as-tested weight was light on fuel; a tournament load with full tanks, ice and bait adds thousands of pounds, which SeaHunter acknowledges by listing a fish-ready weight of 16,500 pounds.

Tournament deck plan, bow to transom

Working aft from the windlass locker, the 33 has two insulated fish boxes forward, a forward livewell, forward dry storage, and a console with a cabin space below. Behind the helm sit a padded rod storage box, a leaning post with forward storage, a custom tackle station and an insulated cooler under the seat, followed by an aft insulated fish box, bilge access and a transom with twin 45-gallon livewells and a center transom door.

Three livewells with pumps are standard, and the company's split livewell layout lets four anglers dip baits at once instead of two. Standard equipment also includes fresh and saltwater washdowns, trim tabs, electronic power steering, a hardtop, a retractable boarding ladder, a center fuel tank with port or starboard fill, one battery per engine plus a house battery, and a charger.

• Livewells: two 45-gallon transom wells plus a forward well, three standard
• Fuel 396 gallons; fresh water 31 gallons
• Popular options: upper station, Seakeeper, bow thruster, Optimus 360 joystick, side door, carbon outriggers
• Hull draft 24 inches; fish-ready weight 16,500 pounds

Twins or triples on a 33-footer

SeaHunter offers both, from Mercury and Yamaha in two horsepower ratings each, and calls the triple option rare for the size. Our view: twin 400 to 425 hp outboards are the sweet spot for most owners. They already deliver more than 60 mph, keep the transom clear for fighting fish around the engines, and cost far less to buy and service. Triples make sense for tournament crews who run 80 miles to the bite and want a third engine for redundancy and a higher cruise.

Ownership, service and the used market

SeaHunters are built to order and sold largely through the factory and its own marina, so used boats are fewer than for big-volume brands and many trade within South Florida. That has two consequences: the factory service department likely knows the boat's history, and private listings can be inconsistent about equipment. Ask SeaHunter for the hull's build sheet and service records.

Running costs on a twin-XTO 33 are substantial. At about 30 gph at a 38 mph cruise, a 100-mile tournament day burns 80 to 100 gallons once you add trolling and running between spots. Annual costs, including engine service, bottom paint or dry storage, insurance and fuel, typically fall between $30,000 and $60,000 before depreciation, more with triples.