MAXUM final P.84-88

Funnus
Maximus
With room for 12 and a 20-degree V-hull that slices
through waves, Maxum’s 24-foot deckie
knows how to party
W
atching the development of the deck boat has been interesting. I like to think of pontoon boats as the original
sport decks, especially when someone decided they
could bolt on large outboards and make ’em go fast.
Mixing speed with versatility soon gave rise to a new breed
that included a wide, flat top deck — but on a conventional
monohull. Known as deck boats, they’ve been built on all
kinds of hull designs. We have seen flatbottom, jonboat-style
hulls, tri-hull designs and, most recently, conventional V-bottoms with wide, flaring bows — all efforts to maximize space
while improving speed, comfort and utility.
A fine example of the new breed of deckies is Maxum’s 2400
Sport Deck, a 24x81/2-footer that features a relatively sharp, 20
degrees of transom deadrise. As is common to all deck boats,
it carries its wide beam well forward and, together with Maxum’s deep-V design, it offers good riding
qualities, speed and space. Using a styling trend that’s increasingly common, the 2400 has a more angular bow than
some competitive models. In fact, at first glance it may simply
appear to be a bowrider with a wider bow than conventional
open-bow runabouts.
This design cuts into space available for the bow swim platform, which on the 2400 really isn’t much more than a foredeck
passageway with a hatch that lifts to reveal a telescoping
boarding ladder. This ladder allows for forward access from the
water if anchored, or from the beach when pulled up on the
sand. Our boat was fitted with an optional, pull-out shower,
which is handy for rinsing off sand so that it’s not tracked into
the boat.
CRUISE OPTION
Moving aft, there is a step down with an insulated ice chest
under the step. Port and starboard lounge seating offers
stowage under the seat cushions. Four grab handles provide security when riding in the bow playpen, and there
are four cupholders and provisions for an optional forward
cocktail table for socializing when at rest. An optional filler
cushion turns this area into a forward sundeck, and Maxum
has bundled the table, bow shower and sunpad cushion into
a “Cruise Pack” option.
The 2400 Sport Deck’s wraparound, walk-through windshield spans a pair of large consoles. The port unit has a
swing-out door that provides access to a head compartment
By Jim Barron
Photos by Stuart Bourdon
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Funnus Maximus
room, with easy access to all
parts of the boat. A sizable locker under the lounge seat swallows up skis and ’boards with
room to spare. Additional
storage, also fit for water toys,
is available under the cockpit
sole.
An easily removable cushion
and a lift-up transom door on the
starboard side provide access to
the aft swim platforms. Unlike
the optional shower in the bow,
the transom shower is standard,
and will be a welcome touch for
both bathers and quick spot cleanups on board.
The rear swim platform is
■ Maxum’s 2400 Sport Deck has
what’s sometimes referred to as a
vented chine, although it’s not
designed as — nor intended to be
— a stepped hull. Top speed with
the optional 300 hp MerCruiser was
45.8 mph at 5000 rpm.
with a small sink. The head has
a molded gelcoat finish and
a porthole for ventilation. The
driver’s console has a smaller
hatch that opens into a large
dry-storage area with dedicated
mounting areas for the removable cocktail table and a carryon ice chest. This compartment
also houses the JBL CD stereo.
A standard feature worth noting
is the folding door that blocks off
the wind under the windshield
when the walkthrough is closed.
As for the “look” of the helm,
styling is always subjective.
That said, I don’t particularly
care for the style. The Faria instruments are fine. It’s the trim
around the instruments. The silver metallic look of the panel reminds me of a space-age stereo
boom box. It doesn’t go with the
more conservative nature of the
balance of the boat. Earlier Sport
Deck models had more traditionally styled instrument panels
and, in this writer’s opinion, they
were better looking.
SWIVEL HIPS
A comfortable captain’s chair is
mounted aft of each console.
Both bucket seats are on swivel
bases and have flip-up bolsters
that allow the operator and first
mate to stand comfortably while
the boat is under way.
Under-gunwale storage is
provided adjacent to the captain’s chairs, with cupholders
and a small locking stowage
area on the starboard side. Abaft
the helm seat is an entertainment center with a wetbar. A
hinged lid over the sink provides a cutting board, and enclosed storage shelves below
handle loose food items that
don’t need refrigeration.
actually two steps that provide
additional lounging space for
foot dangling and conversation
when not under way. A telescoping stern boarding ladder is
mounted on the starboard side
of the lower swimstep. Maxum
calls this a “Plus 2” transom for
the additional 2 feet it adds to
the hull.
EXCELLENT ACCESS
Although base power is a 5.0L
MerCruiser/Alpha 1 that develops 220 hp, a MerCruiser 5.7L
Magnum MPI powered our
test boat. Pumping out 300 hors-
module clusters, giving the helm a
streamlined appearance. Note the
minishade directly above the gauges.
We pulled our 6000-pound test rig to
and from the lake on a matching,
tandem-axle Trail-Rite trailer.
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We had a chance to tow this boat, something that doesn’t happen
very often anymore as most of the boats we test are already in the
water. The Maxum was carried on a color-matched, bright yellow
Trail-Rite (800/443-2304; trailrite.com) tandem trailer with chrome
wheels. We hauled it behind our full-size Nissan Titan pickup. The
2400 Sport Deck’s approximately 6000 pounds of towed weight
didn’t crowd the Nissan’s maximum rating, and, in fact, the truck
handled the load without breaking a sweat. The Trail-Rite trailer was
easy to tow, tracked well and the surge brakes provided positive
stopping power. This made for a handsome outfit both in the water
and on the road.
■ The Maxum logo lends a
custom touch to the optional
factory tower. The transom
walkthrough has a lift-up
gate that securely “closes
off” the area when under
way, yet provides easy
passage once stopped.
In the cockpit, a lounge seat
on the port side wraps across
the top of the engine bay. A removable cocktail table is standard, and even with the table in
place, the interior arrangement
provides satisfactory walkaround
■ Faria instrumentation is inset in
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Down the Road
■ The 2400 Sport Deck offers plenty of lounging room in the bow,
and the boat’s sweeping forward lines will appeal to those who
prefer this style to more traditional, “squared-off” designs. The
downside is that it squeezes space on the forward swimstep.
es, it was mated to a twin-prop
Bravo 3 sterndrive. A portion of
the stern seating and the step to
the transom cutout lift to reveal
the inner workings of the engine
bay. Compared to most boats,
access is excellent. You’ll be
able to service the engine and
perform minor repairs with
minimum hassle. Raising the
hatch also provides access to
storage on either side of the engine, and sideboards are included to keep stored items from
sliding into the engine or falling
into the bilge.
In addition, the bay’s bilge
area is molded as a part of the
innerliner, making for a smooth
and easy-to-clean surface.
In terms of construction, the
boat is fully handlaid. After gelcoating, a coat of vinylester resin
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is applied as a barrier to
osmosis (moisture passing
through conventional
resins causes blisters to
form under the gelcoat).
Maxum uses 24-ounce
woven roving in the hull
bottom, and the material is
overlapped at the keel for
extra strength. Biaxial knit
fiberglass is used in the
hull sides to prevent print
through, which is the tendency of underlying fabrics to show through the gelcoat.
The stringers consist of cored
fiberglass and encapsulated
wood. The wood is impregnated
with preservatives to resist decay and fatigue. The stringer
system is bonded to the hull.
Next, the innerliner is bonded to
the stringer system at the bottom and to the hull sides, forming one solid structure. Limber
holes are provided in all the
bracing to prevent water from
collecting in the hull.
Maxum develops its hulls
and decks using state-of-the-art
computer aided design (CAD)
equipment, and the plugs used
to make molds are built on a
computer-controlled five-axis
router. This ensures that, so long
as the finished molds are properly maintained, the resulting
parts will fit together well.
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SPECIFICATIONS
Funnus Maximus
Maxum succeeds in spades on
all counts. Our test boat, with its
shiny white hull and yellow
trim, had a mirror-like finish
that was free of ripples and distortions. The deck joint was
smooth and all interior components, such as doors, hatches
and compartments, fit without
binding or gaps. Overall, we
found the detail finish to be well
above average.
HIT IT, DUDE!
Performance was first rate,
also. With a top speed of nearly
46 mph and a 0-to-30 mph time
of 5.6 seconds, the Mag 350
small block packs quite a wallop. It wasn’t long ago that a
hull of this size and weight
would require a big block V-8
to achieve this level of performance. And a good part of the
credit belongs to the Bravo 3
drive. Twin-prop drives maintain a tenacious grip in hard
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■ The engine
bay offers
stowage to the
side and plenty
of room to work
on the powerplant. Well done.
turns, and the 2400 SD cornered
without any tendency to trip or
slide.
The extra blade area in the
water also provides excellent
acceleration, better handling in
reverse and slow-speed directional stability that minimizes
any tendency for the hull to
wander from side to side. Combined, all of these traits make the
Maxum a pleasure to operate.
The boat’s riding qualities are
equally commendable. Deck
boats tend to carry heavy loads
of people, gear and accessories.
In an effort to keep prices down
but still achieve satisfactory top
speed with a smaller engine,
many builders have flattened out
their hull designs. Deck boats
with less deadrise may plane
more easily, but the trade-off is
often a harsher ride — especially
in choppy conditions. By comparison, our rig’s 20-degree
V-bottom is not the easiest hull
to plane, but it cuts the rough
stuff down to size.
Clearly, the 2400 Sport Deck
has the hull design, speed, power
and high level of comfort people
look for in a deck boat. When
you throw in this rig’s seating for
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MAXUM 2400 SPORT DECK
Base Price
(w/o trailer) $41,206
Price as Tested
(w/ tandem trailer) $57,548
Length 24’ 2”
Beam 8’ 6”
Weight 4292 lbs.
Fuel Capacity 76 gals.
Maximum Horsepower 320
Engine as Tested MerCruiser 350
Mag MPI/Bravo 3
Horsepower 300
Propeller 153/4x22” (front),
141/4x22” (rear)
Maxum Marine, Dept. TBM, 800 S. Gay St.,
Knoxville, TN 37929; 800/346-6596; maxum
boats.com
TEST RESULTS
Engine
Speed
Fuel
Range1
(rpm)
(mph) (gph) (mpg) (miles)
1000
5.6
1.6 3.5
236
1500
7.9
2.9 2.7
182
2000
11.5
5.3 2.2
148
2500
19.3
7.7 2.5
168
3000
26.0
9.1 2.9
195
35002
32.4
11.0 2.9
195
4000
38.7
15.5 2.5
168
4500
43.6
20.3 2.1
141
5000 (WOT) 45.8
22.4 2.0
135
1
Based on 90% fuel capacity
2
Optimum cruising speed
12, it’s easy to see why Funnus
Maximus is in the cards for everyone who climbs aboard.