One of the most recent introductions from Mississippi-based boat builder NauticStar is their 2602 Legacy Center Console.
MORE FROM THE START
Although NauticStar builds a series of offshore center consoles, the “Legacy” lineup includes a trio of hybrids with the 2602 occupying the flagship position. According to NauticStar’s Wesley Harmon, “We were trying to build a turnkey sport fishing boat that was equally adept at catching fish inshore and in the blue water, as she was with providing standard creature comforts for captain and crew and their family when it’s time to relax and unwind. Our Legacy series of center consoles does all this and more.”
This coastal Mississippi girl is loaded with quality standard features that produce brisk performance and multi-mission versatility for a variety of waterborne activities. The roomy cockpit on the 2602 Legacy features plush seating with flip-out backrests for the bow area’s twin split raised benches, insulated 25-gallon fish boxes down below with convenient overboard drains. The triple-wide bench seat aft conceals an 18-gallon beverage cooler and an oversized insulated 50-gallon fish box that will chill out your catch of the day.
A large step-down head under the console is fiberglass-lined with a sink, mirror and durable SeaDek flooring. The leaning post is equipped with a four-rod rocket launcher and is beautifully styled and ergonomically correct, with flip-up bolsters and comfortable thick cushions on the seat bottoms. It also includes a large 21-gallon baitwell, a switch panel and conveniently located freshwater washdown. There’s a second larger 30-gallon recirculating livewell set in the port transom corner and there’s easy access to the swim platform via a 8-1/2-foot beam and features a 20-degree aft deadrise angle running bottom that tapers to 45 degrees at the entry for wave-taming performance. The 139-gallon fuel capacity should provide bluewater range, and she’s rated to carry either twin F200s or a single F350 Yamaha four-stroke outboard. Her dry weight is 4,000 pounds, so you can trailer her wherever the fish are biting.
PERFECT POWER
Recent factory tests outfitted with a pair of Yamaha F200 in-line four cylinder, four-stroke outboards show that she will get a top speed of almost 57 mph at wide open throttle, spinning a pair of 13.75-inch diameter by 21-inch pitch Reliance 3-blade stainless steel counter-rotating props. Incredibly, these lightweight and powerful four-strokes will net over 3 mph at only 3000 rpm, where the 2602 Legacy will hit 26.8 mph on the GPS navigator while burning only 8.7 gph total at this engine speed, which translates to an impressive 3.08 mpg. You definitely won’t find too many loaded bluewater 25-footers duplicating these numbers. Bumping the throttles up to 3500 revs, she’ll hit an even 33 mph at 12.6 gph, for a net of 2.62 mpg. Turning it up to 4-grand, you will experience life in the faster lane, hitting 38.6 mph at 16.4 gph, for a bottom line of 2.35 mpg. Even at 4500 rom, this Legacy CC will super-cruise at 44.6 mph at 20.5 gph, getting you 2.18 mpg. These are very impressive fuel economy and performance numbers, and this seems to be a perfect match of hull and power. The remaining tach benchmarks include 49.8 mph at 5000 revs; 50.2 mph at 5500 rpm and 56.8 mph at 5900, which was the top of her rpm capability on this day with a crew of two onboard.
STANDARD FEATURES
Noted standard features include a full fiberglass lined interior head area with sink, mirror and SeaDek flooring; a port side window in the console for continuous ventilation; a custom stainless steel steering wheel with power spinner knob; dual raw water high pressure washdown pumps; a raw water transom shower; freshwater washdown system with 12-gallon tank; Teleflex SeaStar hydraulic steering with tilt helm; Lenco electric trim tabs with LED indicator switch; a large circuit breaker panel with stainless steel toggles and much more. Other fishing features include a pair of flush-mount stainless steel rodholders per side, a six-pack of horizontal racks under the coamings, an 800-gph aerator pump with timer, 500-gph aft recirculating pump and an LED lighted livewell. Construction of the NauticStar 2602 Legacy is top shelf, with wood-free construction, a vinyl-ester resin barrier coat to resist water intrusion into the laminate, a fiberglass stringer system and RTM fiberglass lids, backed by a limited lifetime hull warranty.
