So as you guys saw in the first video, Dean Acton and I took out the Nordic 24 SX over Thanksgiving weekend. This is the video and my impressions of the boat after driving it for a little over 10 minutes. To clarify that, this wasn't a boat test where I was mashing the throttle to measure acceleration #'s or anything like that, just a casual ride up the river and back to check out the boat. I drove it no different then I would drive a friends boat with them in it, which is to say "Nice and Easy."


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Two days before we took this ride, I was out with my family in our 21 Schiada. We were cruising down river doing a leisurely 35-40 mph, and I heard something coming up behind me. It sounded pretty healthy so I looked back and at first glance I couldn't figure out what the hell it was. As it drew closer, I saw the greens and the blacks and it occurred to me that it was the 24 Nordic I had just written an article about. (click text to read previous article)

The boat passed us on our right side cruising about 65-70, and I couldn't take my eyes off of it. The boat had a perfect set, just sitting on the tail, mist weeping out between the Hull and the water in between the tiny waves of wind chop. Dean and his wife both had huge smiles on their faces, sun glaring off the gel as it was starting to set in the background. It was borderline surreal, and this was the first time I have ever actually "Seen" this boat. Don't get me wrong I've looked at them before at the boatshows, I have even taken pictures of this one for the previous article, I just never "saw" it before. I was sitting there thinking damn I wish I had that little scene on film, when I heard Stacy say "That's a really pretty boat." I said "That's that new Nordic I just wrote the article on."

Two days later there was a knock on the door and Dean asked if I wanted to take the little Nordic "For a Quick Rip." We headed up River for a few minutes and changed seats, and that's where the story of this little boat "Winning Me Over" begins.

I'm just going to put some time markers in the thread here of things going on in the video and you can watch it for yourself.

0:17 - Comes on Plane easily / Less Bow rise then any boat then any boat I've ever driven. (If you care about bow rise.. I don't)
0:20 - 1:00 - Kind of figuring out what it likes for Trim at a slow cruising speed
1:00 - 1:45 - Cruising 60'ish mph
1:45 - 2:14 - Cruising 65'ish mph
2:19 - Sweeping Turn Left
2:30 - Crossed a large and spread out set of wakes by a Pontoon boat. Boat handled this EXTREMELY well (especially for how slow we were going)
2:37 - Sweeping Right hand Turn
3:14 - Sweeping Left hand turn a little over 70 MPH
3:58 - Big Bend Sharp Right turn. Boat leans outside. This is driver error and has nothing to do with the boat. To this point I had never aggressively turned it, and I had is trimmed all kinds of wrong.
4:10 - 4:16 - Retrimming the boat to try and find a better spot for lower speed turning (You can see it in the PIP window if you are looking for it)
4:20 - U Turn at Buckskins - Note the boat leans inside now that we have adjusted trim more appropriately
4:52 - Big Bend Sharp Left Turn. Boat is flat with a slight lean in, trim still isn't correct, but better then it was before.
5:17 - Sweeping Turn Right
5:44 - Slowed down a hair because Dean and I were talking while I was driving
6:05 - Sped up a little to prepare for Fox's fly by.. (Ricky and Paul were there drinking on the dock)
6:09 - Sweeping left hand turn
6:25 - Foxes Flyby around 85 mph - (Slightly Over trimmed)
6:30 - Sweeing Right and Turn
6:47 - 7:40 - Experimenting with Trim to see if it liked it better somewhere else.
9:05 - Run up to a little over 90 mph (Note this wasn't a WOT acceleration pass, just pushing it forward a little by little as I felt comfortable with the boat)
9:25 - 95'ish mph.



So to sum it up, in my 12 total minutes of driving the 24 SX, it's extremely forgiving to drive (which usually isn't the case with small cats). It works with you through the learning curve, and gives you feedback of what it likes and what it doesn't without giving you the "heebie jeebies" when you make a mistake or are getting familiar with it. The wind was actually 15-20 NNW that day, and the river once we got past foxes had a perfect windchop to it, but it also had these weird kind of side rollers that you usually don't see in Parker. The boat handled the side rollers very predictably, and I fell in love with how it rode across some of the larger rollers kicked off by pontoons, and wake boats. The boat feels extremely safe as you are sitting down in it, instead of kind of on top of it like a lot of cats in this size range. The wraparound windshield was perfect for my height, where I was looking over it, but it blocked the wind enough that Dean and I could talk fairly easily even at 60 mph. The boat feels EXTREMELY SAFE, so if you want a cat, but your chick isn't too hot on the idea this would be the one you would want to take her out on. You sit deep enough in it that it gives you that "Big Boat" feeling, and that wrap around windshield will take away some of that speed sensation so she won't know you are running as fast as you are. The thing I was most impressed with was the Ilmor 570! The midrange punch that little motor delivered in this boat was incredible. There was no hesitation, and it really does push you in the seat, even when you are just easing the throttle forward. Overall I wasn't a huge fan of the 24 SX before this weekend. I figured if you were at Nordic to buy a Cat, then why not just step up and buy the 28 SS. I have to say I was so impressed with this boat, with this power package, that for Parker and occasional lake use, I think I'd rather have one of these then a 28 SS. I was that impressed with how much fun this little hot rod was to drive.

If you didn't know the SX actually stands for "Sport Cross." They have already built the boat with several power options in an I/O configuration, they just finished an outboard model, and they are currently building a Jet version with a 550 HP Cadillac motor.

For more information call Nordic Boats and ask for Thane - 928-855-0332
www.nordicboatsusa.com

To read the discussions on the boat and this article please click the link below to visit the thread in the forums.

24 Nordic Thread