The 34 CC was born from the start for go-fast bluewater fishing. Like its predecessors, the new 34 CC is true to its basic Regulator DNA. It is built Outer Banks tough, with Regulator’s exclusive Fiberglass Grillage System at its core. This enables it to stand up to the most punishing offshore conditions while delivering a smooth, solid “Regulator ride” that thousands of anglers have come to expect since this respected North Carolina boatbuilder first hit the market back in the late 80s.
If you were at the recent NY Boat Show, Regulator had the infamous “Queen Bee” on display there, the 26CC that had tossed both of its owners overboard in some rough Nantucket surf and made a three-year rider-less solo trip across the big pond via the prevailing Gulfstream currents, to be found by the Spanish Coast Guard, who returned her back to the USA. Incredibly, she was a bit dinged up but floating, and the twin Yamaha engines were still attached to the super solid composite transom – now that’s tough!
Every Regulator, from the original 23 CC and up to the new 34 CC, features a Lou Codega design that sports a no-nonsense 24-degree aft deadrise deep vee hull. This running bottom will tame some nasty chop and will let you run long distances to and from the fishing grounds in relative comfort. I have run every single Regulator hull in the fleet for my charter clients over the years and can honestly tell you that few competitive boats ride like a Regulator; it’s not just marketing hype.
Features on the new 34 CC designed to please the discriminating angler include an above-deck livewell, transom fishbox, walk-through tuna door and optional refrigerated transom fishbox. The supersized console dash has room for twin 14-inch multifunction displays for all of your marine electronics needs. Other popular standards include an all-fiberglass, stand-up head and dedicated berth for sleeping or storage. The 34 CC’s frameless glass windshield and oversized fiberglass t-top provides great protection from the elements. A quad-battery electrical system and Yamaha Command Link Plus instrumentation round out a truly impressive equipment list for the new 34 CC.
I first met the 34 CC down at the recent Ft. Lauderdale Boat Show while hurricane Sandy was doing its dirty business before it came to New York. Regulator president Joan Maxwell was as proud as can be of her new baby at the press intro. She’s a beauty and one very large 34-footer. When you factor in the standard bracket and the twin Yamaha V-8 outboards hanging off the back, she measures almost 38-½ feet in length! According to Joan, “It’s a true 34-foot sportfisher with an exceptionally large cockpit, the largest in its class and loaded with all the fishing features a dedicated angler would want. The Armstrong bracket allowed our designers to take back the transom, so the size of the boat rivals 39-foot competitors. Since the motor mounts are pushed back, you maximize precious deck space; plus with the bracket mounted power, the 34 CC gets the same performance with twin engines that our competitors use triples to achieve. The combination of its proven hull, enhanced cockpit space and beam, plus overall design characteristics all work together to give the Regulator 34 CC a real edge in this niche.”
The 34 CC, like her sister ship, the 34 SS that I sea trialed a few years back, will produce a top speed approaching 60 mph with her big Yamaha V-8s screaming at wide open throttle. Dialing it back to more sedate cruising speeds to take advantage of the realistic range of her onboard 380-gallon fuel supply, the 34 CC will hit 30.7 mph while loafing along at 3,500 RPM while drinking 22.5 gph, for a net of 1.36 mpg. When the fish are biting hot and heavy and you need to travel fast, dialing it up to 4-grand will produce a net speed over ground of 36.8 mph at 28.2 gph, which still generates a respectable bottom line of 1.31 mpg. When you really need to hear the wind blowing through the outrigger halyards and the yellowfin are calling your name at the edge, advancing the fly-by-wire electric throttles will get you there at 42.3 mph consuming 35.6 gph, which is still decent economy at 1.19 mpg. In the unlikely event that you have to drop it back to more “tortoise”-like speeds to deal with some elevated sea conditions, the tremendous torque of those 16 four-stroke cylinders will keep the big girl up on plane somewhere between 2,500 and 3,000 rpms, depending on your load, where your speed will range between 15 and 22 mph at roughly 1.2 mpg. That’s a nice, wide range of usable speeds that will pay off during those long 220 nautical-mile round trips to the faraway canyons.
