Boat test for the 2008 Davis 70 with boat pictures, boat specifications, and boat test results. Includes pricing, videos, engine test reviews, and ratings for the 2008 Davis 70.

Under a low-hanging, leaden sky and dodging sheets of rain, we'd just finished our performance testing of the Davis 70 in the protected ICW off St. Lucie, Florida. Now we were headed out into the ocean for the real test. A cold front had bullied its way through a few hours before, but the wind was still up. As the big sportfisherman turned out of the calm channel and took up an easterly heading for the inlet, the EZ2CY enclosure (three sides only, the side facing the cockpit being StrataGlass so it could be rolled up) began to rattle ominously. EZ2CY is rigid; it's not supposed to rattle.

Soon the rain began to pelt us in earnest, and the 70's bow began to rise and fall rhythmically in response to swells that were rolling through the narrow cut. Visibility out of the rain-mottled plastic was now sketchy at best, but I could still make out whitecaps outside the breakwater. As we entered the cut, I could see that they weren't whitecaps after all; the wind was blowing the tops off the waves.

And then we were in the soup, a jumble of fours and sixes that came at us from all angles. The 70 edged forward at dead idle, but the waves were rushing at us with sufficient velocity to make it feel like we were at cruising speed. The boat shouldered into the swells with a reassuring solidity—never a squeak or groan—nd her trademark Buddy Davis Carolina flare deflected the spume to either side so that the only wetness we had to contend with was from the sky. Not only was I not uncomfortable, I was enjoying the heck out of it.

Soon we were past the breaker line and out into open ocean where things calmed down to "only" fours and the occasional five. As we turned north, putting the seas on our forward starboard quarter, the C32s gradually edged up until I happened to look down at the CAT displays: 1600 rpm, which the GPS said worked out to nearly 20 knots. Twenty knots and the ride was smooth enough that I could write in my notebook.

But that's a Buddy Davis hull for you—Buddy Davis with help from naval architect Donald Blount. Besides the big flare there's a warped bottom that terminates in a generous 16 degrees of deadrise to smooth out the ride and propeller pockets (optional) to moderate draft. Take a sophisticated hull form like that and stretch it to where it can span waves, and there's not much that'll keep you in port.

The 70 I was on was Hull No. 2. Buddy himself had built Hull No. 1, and then sold her, the molds, and his company to Ira Trocki, who already owned Egg Harbor Yachts and a bunch of other boating-related companies too lengthy to list here. This boat, which debuted at last fall's Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, represents both the group's largest build to date and its entry into the world of custom sportfishermen.

And the 70 is custom. Davis will do just about anything you want—and yes, that includes moving bulkheads—which explains how our boat, with a base price of $3.5 million, ended up listing at more than $5.1 million. Granite countertops, steam bath in the master, electrically opening and closing saloon door and flying bridge hatch, stunning teak interior, big plasma TVs in every stateroom and the saloon, hardtop with electric sunroof, air-conditioned engine room, bridge, and cockpit—yup, the goodies do add up.

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