Boat test for the 2008 Ocean 58 Super Sport with boat pictures, boat specifications, and boat test results. Includes pricing, videos, engine test reviews, and ratings for the 2008 Ocean 58 Super Sport.

That galley recieved a face-lift as well. It's now big enough to accommodate two cooks (not so easy on the 57), a modification that according to J4 was made without annexing space from the sitting area. Across from her galley, the 58 can seat six people at the dinette—two more than the 57. To accomplish this without adding beam, the design team attached a slide track under the table, allowing the entire top to come out from the wall four inches, so even the most full-bellied sport fishermen can dine in comfort.

Moving quietly down the six thickly carpeted steps, I found new layouts in both the VIP suite and crew cabin. The VIP now has a more traditional aft-facing centerline queen berth rather than an inward-facing, port-side queen berth. To accomplish this the team moved the en suite head from the forepeak to the port side. As for the crew stateroom, it no longer has twin berths running athwartships but rather side-by-side berths aligned fore and aft, which allows not only for a more conventional and pleasurable sleeping alignment during off-watch hours underway, but also for an extra four to five inches on each mattress.

They looked inviting, but there was no time to rest. A fresh breeze had been piling up the water outside North Palm Beach for three days, and WX droned reports of nasty weather all afternoon. The wind was blustery in the calm waters of Lake Worth, enough so that it increased our sound-level readings as we gathering the performance data. Afterwards we headed out past the breakwater. There the three-to-fives posed little resistance to the 58's 67,469-pound displacement, as she ran through them at nearly 20 mph without a slam. We stayed dry up on the bridge deck, although I was twice able to overpower the bow flare and speckle the isinglass with salt by running up the larger waves at indirect angles (two to three compass points from head-on). With the wheel nearly hard over, she heeled predictably into the turns—perhaps a bit more than normal due to the tuna tower—but never dug in. She seemed like a fine rough-weather boat, but with nasty weather approaching quickly from the south, I handed the wheel back to Hawn, and we made our way toward the inlet.

I wasn't surprised that she handled the seas so well given her proven hull. As for all those modifications, they seemed to have accomplished what J4 and his team set out to achieve: maintaining the seakeeping and performance of the 57 while making day-to-day operations of this new tournament vessel—fishing, cooking, and sleeping—easier and more comfortable. And she's tournament-ready. Not only had she just returned from four days offshore the night before my test, but she was heading back out to rejoin the circuit the next morning. And even with the stacking seas outside, I had no doubt she'd make it to the tourney on time.

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SPOTLIGHT ON: Strakes

Back when Dave Martin designed the Ocean 57, he planned out an entirely new bottom for her that incorporated four parallel lifting strakes, and he removed the two inner strakes and realigned the two outer ones so that they were farther apart at the bow and closer together at the stern. According to Martin, this adjustment funnels cleaner water toward the propellers. He also says that the removal of the strakes lessens pounding, since the two remaining strakes stay submerged and the wider layout at the bow won't cup the water on impact. After years of real-life usage, J4 and the design team gladly kept this hull for the Ocean 58 Super Sport.—G.R.

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