Boating Magazine December 2001

Bargain Hunter SteigerCraft 21: Over the rail and in the pail.
by Tom Schichter

       Some center consoles run the chop like butterflies in shifting winds. Not Steiger Craft's Montauk 21. This center console is for anglers who value the predictable handling of a heavy, conventionally built boat.

With only 14 degrees of transom deadrise, wave hopping was uncomfortable when we pushed the 150-hp Mercury Optimax outboard to full throttle and crossed wakes at 41 mph. But in our opinion wave hopping is meant for the waterbike crowd. If angling is your pleasure, the Montauk 21's sharp entry and beefy displacement provide a smooth ride through bay chop at 30 mph. The boat is also stable while drifting and planes quickly, with clear sightlines over the bow, and its shallow draft makes the flats accessible.

Construction? The Montauk 21 features a lightly crowned cockpit sole and a separate, full-length fiberglass liner. The former improves drainage on deck. The latter increases stowage, because the boat's hull-deck-liner arrangement provides toe room beneath all the gunwhales. Hatches are guttered to keep water out, pull-up cleats and recessed hatch handles reduce line snags, and a low-profile, powder coated, stainless-steel bowrail enhances safety without hindering fishability. Hull and deck are through bolted, superior to screws when joining a boat.

The console offers internal stowage and houses the batteries and switches in its base. There's installation space for a fishfinder, GPS, VHF radio and whatever other electronics you choose to add.

Aft, a recirculating livewell and a lift-out bait box grace the transom. Bilge access is through a sole hatch aft of the standard twin pedestal helm seats. A pair of 20-gallon fish boxes is set in the sole outboard of each seat. Forward, a 60-gallon fishbox/ stowage locker can hold several cow stripers or PFDs and gear duffels with ease. Twin vertical rodholders brace the console, and a three-rod poly rack rides under the gunwale. The nonslip surface is not as aggressive as we'd like aboard such a fishy boat.

A cool touch is the automatic, flush-mounted stern light that rises for 360 degree visibility at the push of a button.

At $29,000 with a 150-hp Mercury Optimax outboard, the Montauk 21 is virtually complete. We'd add the Birdsall T-top with room for extra electronics ($3,500) and swap out the pedestal chairs for the rocket launcher/ leaning post ($2000) installed on our test boat. Shopping around? Compare the Parker's Marine 21 SE ($39,000 powered as our test boat).

Last Word. Affordable, no-bones-about-it fishboat for inshore anglers.

For more information, contact Steiger Craft, Dept. B, 99 Bellport Ave. Bellport, NY 11713, 613/286-2136, www.steigercraft.com