Have you ever had your outboard motor spin a propeller, wrap a line, or suck in so much seafloor muck or vegetation that your water pump intake clogs? If you’re a Southern boater who, like me, does lots of shallow-water time, these things happen—and they typically require a hop into the brine to remedy. That is, unless you’re running a Pursuit DC286. See, when Pursuit President Chris Gratz and the company’s engineers designed their latest dual console, they considered this sort of scenario and set transom extensions out far enough that you could perform a lower-unit fix while remaining aboard. It’s practical, real-world touches like this that help demonstrate how much thought Pursuit puts into its builds—and on the DC 286, this sort of thinking appears everywhere.
Pursuit is positioning the DC 286 in the middle of a six-model dual-console fleet that stretches between 24 and 36 feet. As a boating and fishing dad with a good-sized family, this boat checks more boxes than I could shake an Ugly Stik at. Starting at that transom, Pursuit hung a pair of 300-horsepower Yamaha V6s. Siphoned up to the 217-gallon fuel tank, you’ll net around 330 miles of range at 26 knots with a none-too-shabby 48-knot top end. Equipped with Yamaha’s reliable digital electric steering, the outboards’ control wiring occupies very little space. You’ll find a cool storage area for a stern ladder and ample room to fish or replace your prop—along with a retractable ski/wakeboard post.
The aft deck is accessed via a sturdy, portside stern door that will keep little kids on board. There’s either lots of seating back here—via a rear-facing single bench, a retractable wetbar jumpseat, and dual folding two-person benches at the stern and portside gunwale—or very little. Rather than adding motorized complexity, the benches retract via perfectly balanced hinges. With these “transformational” seats closed, there’s plenty of room to cast or store dive gear—and a sturdy, sealed door to starboard for water access or hauling in a fish. With that fish aboard, a huge, insulated stern fishbox awaits. When it’s time to re-bait, the livewell is right there too.
Beneath the stern-facing bench, the DC286 offers a nice, Dometic fridge/freezer and directly across, a wetbar whose Corian cover can be used for preparing snacks or cutting bait (preferably not at the same time). As you’d expect, cup and rod holders abound from gunwales to transom, with a six-rod rocket launcher in the hardtop and four more in the hardtop supports.
Speaking of that hardtop, it’s clear that serious thought went into its construction. It spans the boat’s 9-foot, 6-inch beam and is not actually connected to the windshield supports, allowing for plenty of airflow into the cockpit while the roofline—extended out over the windshield—should also keep out rain and spray. The windshields, thankfully, are also high enough that their top support bar doesn’t interfere with a captain’s line of sight—seated or standing. Sightlines are excellent all around and as you’d expect, handholds and grab rails are pretty much everywhere you’ll need them.
At the helm, two-person elevated portside seating puts passengers right at the level of the captain. The helm seats are supportive, arm-rested, and beautifully stitched with a molded-in, faux teak footrest or you can lean against the fold-up bolster. The wheel sits between a full line of fail-safe rocker switches. With screen switching, of course, these are redundant, but again, in practical terms, manual snaps for bilges, lights, and windlass are vital. Standard at the helm is a 12-inch Garmin screen—with a 16-inch optional and a smaller screen for the Yamahas. A Scanstrut magnetic charger is thoughtfully placed above the toggle switches in a perfect location to see your phone display while keeping your eyes on the water. Controls for the throttle and joystick could not be more ergonomically placed.
Below the helm in the side consoles and floors, Pursuit has engineered gobs of space. To port, you’ll find a full head with a proper, Corian-countertopped sink and plenty of headroom. To starboard, there’s a matching storage area that’s simply huge. The forward floors hold a pair of hydraulic, fold-up hatches—with a nifty 5-gallon bucket storage system. In the head door, you’ll find the super-convenient storage for the forward table. It can be deployed either at the cockpit or bow—where a filler cushion can create a proper sunpad when combined with the beautifully designed port and starboard forward lounges—both equipped with recessed lighting, chargers, and JL speakers. You could seat six up here, or have nap space for at least three. There’s also a bow ladder that makes getting ashore in this 2-foot-draft boat a cinch.
The forward lounge area can also be completely closed off via the windshields and a lower door, or completely opened. Were you out in the sort of unexpectedly dangerous, squally conditions the summertime Gulf and Atlantic are notorious for, and opened the helm and transom doors, the DC286 should drain water rapidly. But, I’d add, with its high freeboard, you’d need to be getting slammed pretty damn hard to put much water over her bow.
The DC286 is a serious blend of looks, luxury, speed, form, and function. If I were in the market for a dual console, I’d put it at the top of my 5-gallon bucket list.
Pursuit DC 286 Specifications:
LOA: 30’
Beam: 9’8”
Draft: 2’11”
Displ.(light): 9,430 lb.
Fuel: 217 gal.
Water: 26 gal.
Power: 2/300-hp Yamaha
This article originally appeared in the May 2026 issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine.
Info: pursuitboats.com
