Boat test for the 2006 Buddy Davis 34 Center Console with boat pictures, boat specifications, and boat test results. Includes pricing, videos, engine test reviews, and ratings for the 2006 Buddy Davis 34 Center Console.

For want of a better term, call it balance, the bane of many a fishboat outfitted with today’s comparatively weighty four-stroke outboards. Davis’ gripe with many of these vessels is the poor visibility they offer from the helm, a foible most often attributable to the transom-weighty, bow-high running attitudes they assume while on plane. Davis wanted something different—an altogether conventional center console with reasonable running attitudes, great cruise-speed visibility, and none of the compensatory design tricks (like radically elevated bridge decks, helm seats, or leaning posts) that are sometimes used to achieve it.

Roop came through. Although I discovered visibility over the 34’s bow was obscured momentarily while coming out of the hole with approximately one-quarter tab on, it was excellent once the boat achieved plane, thanks to running attitudes that peaked at 5 degrees and dropped to 2.5 degrees at wide-open throttle. In addition, the sweetly balanced, nose-up virulence with which the boat held these attitudes while plunging through wake-induced troughs was what enabled me to safely drive her the way Raycroft wanted.

“A most stable, safe, exciting experience,” Davis commented when we finally wound up our open-water adventure. Given the wild edginess that had characterized much of it, the observation seemed a tad understated to me, so I added for the sake of completeness, “Yup, almost makes a person feel a little light-headed.”

Which, of course, brings us back to my South Beach Diet breakfast and the horrors it precipitated in West Palm. “Just back her in...but stay in the middle,” Reece advised as I began pivoting the 34 at the mouth of our slip. Reece was obliquely referencing the fact that the mooring lines on the outboard pilings were tied together for some reason and slung under water, presumably at a level well below the skegs of our Verados, at least near or on the centerline of the slip. I didn’t really hear him, though—I was dreaming of Ritz crackers.

Our chase boat was a beaut as well. Like our test boat, Davis' B&D 28 Center Console was also designed by naval architect Darron Roop.

WHOMP! I wound our Verados’ props up so tightly with three-strand nylon we had to cut ’em loose with a pocket knife.

An ego bruiser? Oh yeah, but not enough to take the edge off my admiration for the B&D 34 Center Console. She’s a real sweetheart. Even for a guy who’s dealing rather unsuccessfully with the vicissitudes of the South Beach Diet.

B&D Boatworks
(252) 473-6446

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