LAKE OF THE OZARKS, Mo. -- Pleasure boating and speed boating are popular around the globe; as evidence, the Shootout brings racers from more than just the United States to test the limits of speed on the Lake of the Ozarks.
But one crucial element of boating has always seemed surprisingly, well, British: most steering consoles are on the right-hand side.
The reasons for this date back to a time when boats were steered with oars, not rudders. However, with no disrespect to our allies across the pond or our maritime ancestors, boat manufacturers and dealers – at the behest of customers – are beginning to change this lopsided tradition.
Center console boats are an increasingly common sight at the Lake of the Ozarks, and Randy Kent, owner of the center console dealer LOTO Marine, says there is a good reason for that. Actually, he says there are quite a few good reasons.
“They’re like the ultimate open-bow,” he began. “Because you’re located in the center of the boat, you have a full-360 view, and you have a walkway all around the entire boat.”
Kent attributes a couple of increased safety elements to the popularity of center consoles. “You don’t ever feel like you’re going to fall out of the boat, even when you hit rough waters. You’re centrally located when you’re driving,” he said.
“When you come up to a dock people can walk right up to the point of the boat and grab the dock line... no one’s climbing over the bow.”
There is also the increased space that results from the design. Kent claims his boats can fit between 22 and 24 people and still leave room to walk around.
The performance from center consoles is solid too, a fact that Kent says is drawing boaters with the need for speed.
“They’re cheap to insure,” he explained. “Performance boats are getting so expensive, a lot of the guys from a performance side are coming to these because you still have a boat that’s very sexy looking.”
And though boats are notorious gas-guzzlers, Nor-Tech center consoles – the boats sold by LOTO Marine – get comparatively good fuel economy. “They’ll run 75 miles an hour and get two miles to the gallon,” Kent boasted. He predicts boat races like the Shootout will eventually have a racing class specifically for center consoles.
All of these reasons contribute to the biggest problem LOTO Marine is currently experiencing with center console boats: they can’t keep up with the demand.
“Our entire production for 2013 was sold out in February,” he said. “We’re taking deposits on 2014s right now [in May].”
LOTO Marine offers complete boat customization – “Whatever you can think of, we can do,” Kent claims – but the company also keeps some of the most popular colors and styles in stock. Those often are sold before they even arrive.
Recently, the dealer custom-built a center console and did not even bother taking a deposit from the customer who ordered it. “I said, ‘You know what, if it gets here and you want it, it’s yours. If it gets here and you don’t want it, I don’t care, because I got people waiting in line,’” Kent said.
A common perception of center consoles is that they are primarily fishing boats. Kent says Nor-Techs are different.
“Donzis and Fountains were strictly built from day one as a fishing boat, and people have to buy them... and basically reengineer [them] for a pleasure boat. You don’t have to do that with ours... The Nor-Tech was designed right out of the gate as a pleasure boat.”
Nor-Tech offers fishing amenities as one of the many options on their boats, he explained, but because of the company’s back-to-the-drawing-board approach with center consoles, pleasure boaters need not feel like they belong on a fishing excursion.
With such a lineup of features and benefits, center consoles are well-positioned to grow as a popular choice among boaters everywhere, especially the Lake of the Ozarks. Here, many miles of shoreline make gas mileage matter, more occupant capacity adds to the celebratory atmosphere, and events like the Shootout are a magnet for boats with proven performance.
“It’s the ultimate Ozark boat,” Kent concluded. “It’s just perfect.”
