Sea Fox 288 Commander

The stand-out feature of the stern of the 288 Commander is the magnificent live bait/fish well. It is superbly designed with oval shaped sides to limit damage to the baits and pressurized to help prevent the water (and the baits) in the tank from sloshing about when the boat is underway between fishing spots.

This superb live well has a capacity of 228 litres and is fed by a 1100gph pump to ensure excellent water flow.

With its rectangular shape, the live well may not be wide enough to keep small tuna baits alive, but it will certainly accommodate dozens of big yellowtail and slimy-mackerel-size baits.

Alongside the live bait tank are transom corner quarter seats with flip-up back rests and padded vinyl cushions.

Between them, below the live well is an additional retractable padded bench seat, thus enabling three or four people to sit across the stern of the boat. The bench seat is also ideally positioned abaft the rigging station so you can sit and rig baits/lures in comfort.

There is storage space beneath the rear quarter seats and when folded down you can step on the fibreglass back-rests to walk through to the rear boarding platforms and ladder.

A hatch in the floor beneath the bench seat provides access to the bilge for servicing.

As noted earlier, the cockpit floor is self-bailing with drains in the transom corners.

There is ample freeboard to the cockpit sides with around 730mm between the cockpit sole and coaming top. This height drops to just 430mm in the transom corners, above the step-on quarter seats.

Other features include wide side coamings for easy rod holder installation (eight are standard), dual, big mackerel sized underfloor kill tanks, pop-up stern cleats, under-gunnel horizontal rod rack storage, and a lift-out dive door.