WEBVTT
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(laser beam)
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The following opinions are solely those
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of BoatTEST.com and it's test captain.
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Hi, Captain Steve from BoatTEST.com
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and today I'm gonna do a sea trial and features inspection
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of the all new R317 from Robalo.
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Now the design team at Robalo tell me that they made this
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to be a spacious cruising boat for a lot of friends
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and family, a capable fishing platform,
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and include a nod towards overnighting.
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So, let's go over the general layout first
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and we'll see how she handles crowds.
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This large dual console has
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particularly comfortable seating forward,
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31 inch wide helm and companion seats,
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two L-shaped cockpit seats,
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a four foot 10 inch wide transom cockpit seat
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backed with an aft facing one to use while at anchor.
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We start with a spacious bow that can seat plenty of people.
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We can either sit lounging to port
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or seated with our feet on the deck to starboard.
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The seats include flip down arms rests.
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And just look at the quality of this table.
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Four stainless steel drink holders, a Corian insert,
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and it's self draining.
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A cooler is located fully forward
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and the hatch is held in position with tension hinges.
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Four foot three inch freeboard at the bow translates
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in to deep interiors measured here at the bow at 34 inches.
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20 inches from the top of the seats alone.
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These bolsters that wrap around the bow? Widest we've seen,
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starting at 11 inches and increasing to 13 inches
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fully forward.
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The cockpit space is probably where
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the bulk of our gathering will take place.
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With 25 square feet of open deck space,
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there are no worries about crowds being onboard.
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As for seating, we measured 21 inches
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between the forward seats.
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Those dual L-shaped seats are ahead of a comfortable
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three across bench seat to both the inside of the cockpit
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and across the swim platform.
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The cockpit table is a welcome addition.
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Under the port side seat is a 36 quart igloo cooler,
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and this ties in to the storage
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that is seemingly everywhere in the cockpit.
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There is drawer storage under the aft seats,
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more under the three forward seats,
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and in the sole storage compartment,
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there is storage within storage.
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40 inches of freeboard at the stern makes for
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29 inch cockpit depth to keep everyone secure.
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The engines are mounted to brackets,
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which eliminates the need for an engine well,
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which gives us more room in the swim platform.
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The wrap around platform extends 3 feet 4 inches
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out from the transom on each side,
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providing space to launch water sports
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or on which to work light tackle fish.
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To starboard is a four step reboarding ladder.
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To port, in the bulkhead, is a freshwater shower wand.
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To the port side we have a hull side door
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that serves multiple functions as a dive door,
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a boarding gate, opens easily.
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Notice that it goes in to a recessed position
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so that it doesn't take up cockpit space.
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And the uppercap: there's a grab handle
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and it closes against a piece of King Starboard
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so that when we have it laid down
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it doesn't pinch our fingers.
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But the most unusual aspect of the Robalo R317 dual console
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is what the builder calls it's Vista View seating.
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This multiuse seating complex actually has
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five distinct functions and is electrically actuated.
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In addition to the forward and aft facing bench seats,
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it can also be a forward or aft facing chaise lounge,
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or a completely flat sun pad
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measuring seven feet by four feet ten inches.
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The seat back can be raised at any position desired,
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and lock in place.
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At the port console, we've got a pronounced comfort level
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with an armrest both high and low.
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The seat is wide and it includes a single flip-up bolster,
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and notice that there's a cutout,
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so we can also swing our legs around and face the crowd.
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As for her overnighting capabilities, take a look in here.
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There's interior space that measures
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six feet six inches in length,
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35 inches wide at the aft end,
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and 14 inches at the forward end.
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So, for a couple looking for a place to crash for the night,
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it's workable.
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More likely, this space;
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however, will be used for added storage
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because it can hold tons of gear.
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And that being the case,
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teak flooring can replace the mattress.
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Look at these supports.
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2 and a quarter inches here, three inches here,
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and look at the varying geometry of the aft supports.
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Fully forward, we've got electronics boxes
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to both port and starboard.
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I like the lift and lock latches and the tension hinges.
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For dimensions we measured nine feet ten inches by 9 feet,
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with an extendable SureShade awning
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going another 6 feet 4 inches.
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We've got a Clarion stereo with a head unit at the helm
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and in the cockpit plus it's connected to the upgraded
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Wet Sound system that includes 6 speakers, a subwoofer,
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and overhead, the Wet Sound's soundbar.
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And there are two color courtesy lights.
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We have an optional grill on a pedestal,
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and I like this scenario so much better
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than a built in grill because once that gets rusted out,
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it's kind of a permanent fixture in the boat.
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Plus, we're not gonna get smoke underneath the hardtop
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by having it here.
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In the bow, behind the forward facing seat,
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is a door that opens to the head.
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Inside there's four feet of overhead space.
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Three feet of it is sitting headroom.
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An opening port light provides light and ventilation.
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The stainless steel sink has a pullout sprayer.
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The counter is Corian.
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The electric flush porcelain toilet is standard.
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Flooring is teak.
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Now let's take a look at the fishing features.
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In the port corner we have a 25 gallon livewell,
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adjustable pressure on the aeration, interior lighting,
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clear lid that's gasketed all the way around.
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The drink holders are integrated with rod holders.
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We have additional three rod holders going up the port side,
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repeated to the opposite side.
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There's rod storage under the gunnels
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and locked up inside the cabin.
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Again, height freeboard translates in to
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29 inches of cockpit space.
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Bolsters start at 21 and come up to 28 inches.
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Toe rails below add even more safety.
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That dive door can also haul in a huge catch,
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and we can stash it in the 4 foot 8 inch aft fish box.
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It's insulated and self draining.
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Spreader lights are at the back of the hardtop
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so we can fish well in to the dark evening.
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And the overhead is pre-rigged for outriggers.
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The helm console, beautifully laid out, starts with
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a compass center mounted on top of a soft touch dash.
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An acrylic panel houses push button switches that are
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lighted when activated.
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The center panel can house either a single 12 inch,
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or in this case, a 16 inch display.
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Just below, we've got a stereo remote, the ignitions,
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the wheel is mounted to a tilt base. To the right hand side,
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Lenco trim tabs with LED indicators to the sides.
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The Yamaha engine display, cellphone holder,
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the Optimus joystick, and just alongside,
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connectivity for USB, MP3, and an accessory plug,
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and the digital engine shifts are just behind.
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And we actually have a trifecta of armrests to the side.
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The helm seat is certainly wide enough at 31 inches
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and includes the same features we saw out of the port seat.
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We got a windshield wiper, a sizable windshield,
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and it's stainless steel framed.
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The nav lights are separated on either side of
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the hatch with a lift and lock latch that opens
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to conceal the Lewmar Windlass.
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There's a safety catch to hold the chain in place.
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The anchor runs through the stem
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and it's a polished stainless steel anchor.
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A cleat is just alongside for securing the road
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and taking the load off of the Windlass.
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There's a wrench for manually operating the Windlass.
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Fresh water wash down is at the aft bulkhead,
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and the control switches are just alongside.
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6 inch pull up cleats are cast
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with the Robalo logo at the top.
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Battery switches are right at the boarding location
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at the swim platform on the starboard side bulwarks.
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A mechanical room at the aft end of the cockpit had
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the house and engine start batteries,
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steering pumps and bilge pumps,
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plus the dual 130 gallon fuel tanks.
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Now let's take a look at the test numbers
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and see how she handles.
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The Robalo R317 has a length of 31 feet,
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a beam of 10 feet six inches, and a draft of 21 inches.
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With an empty weight on 9,050 pounds, 60% fuel,
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and three people on board,
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we had an estimated test weight of 10,422 pounds.
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With a pair of Yamaha 300 horsepower four strokes
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turning 19T 15 and a quarter props spooled up to 5960 RPM,
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the top speed was found to be 55.4 miles per hour.
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Best cruise came in to 3500 RPM,
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where she went 30.6 miles per hour,
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burned 16.9 gallons of fuel per hour,
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getting 1.8 miles per gallon
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for a range of 422 statute miles.
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All while still holding back a 10% reserve
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of the boats 260 gallon total fuel capacity.
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Her time to plane was recorded at 4.2 seconds.
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Accelerating to 20 miles per hour in 5.9 seconds
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and to 30 miles per hour in 8.4 seconds.
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Overall, we found the new Robalo R317 dual console
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to be a lot of boat for both family cruising, water sports,
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entertaining, and fishing.
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She's full of design innovations
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and well equipped to standard.
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And that's our look at the Robalo R317 dual console.
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For BoatTEST.com, I'm Captain Steve.
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We'll see you on the water.
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(laser beam)