Pursuit has rebuilt their most popular sports fisher from the ground up. How will the new 345OS square up to its predecessor? Simon Everett went to find out.

As the saying goes, you can’t judge a book by its cover, and I have come to the conclusion that exactly the same can be said about sports fishing boats. In fact, were some young varmint to spend a night removing the giveaway branding on the side of the craft to wear round their neck, you’ll find yourself hard pressed to tell one manufacturer’s sports fisher from another (in most cases). That is until of course you step aboard, explore under the deck and get her out on the water, which is when the boat’s manufacturing origins and unique personality becomes apparent. Why the long intro? Because I’m rather excited about what I have on test here today - the Pursuit 345OS. It’s quite simply in the upper echelons of sports fishers. You could pick any boat from the Pursuit range and pretty much guaranteed to be bowled over by such characteristics like the staggeringly high build quality and the number of brilliantly thought out, excellently executed little features about the boat. Yes, this new 345OS has an awful lot to live up to.

What you’re paying for

Pursuit build their boats properly. There are no examples of cost saving, corner cutting or penny squeezing that I have seen. The moulds are finished to perfection, their use of vinyl ester resins rather than polyester reinforces their dedication to quality and the carpentry on the interiors, machined by laser guided routers no less, is a solid wood mix of teak and maple. The wiring looms are built in house, using proper marine grade cabling and utilising soldered joints to ensure the security of the plugs. This type of dedication to making the boat is common across the range, not just the bigger boats, but naturally adds cost to the initial price.

Natural selection

The 345 OS is the replacement boat for her much vaunted predecessor, the 335 OS. This was the most popular model of the Pursuit range and so it is with no small degree of risk that Pursuit has decided to change a winning formula, rather than simply add to it. And change is they key word here, as the 345 isn’t just an extended 335, she is an all new boat, completely redesigned from the keel up.

Slightly longer and a little beamier than her predecessor, the 345 has been designed around the Yamaha V8 F350 engine, of which it sports two on the transom for optimum performance. There is some speculation about the possibility of fitting the new V6 300s instead, but the 345OS is a heavy boat and needs the additional torque of the 5.3 litre motors to get her on the plane quickly and effortlessly.

For the full test of the Pursuit 345OS, buy the November issue of Sports Boat and RIB, available from 3^rd November. To buy the current issue, click here.