Bells and Whistles: You won't find a deck boat with more creature comforts than Magic Powerboat's plush 30-footer.

If you like to rough it, if you're one of those folks who, say, enjoys wrestling with a stubborn bimini top in a stiff wind, then you'll probably hate the 30 Deckboat from Magic. If doing things the old-fashion way, such as wrenching your wrists to adjust bolt-on windscreens or hoisting coolers overboard to drain them, turns you on, then the twin-engine catamaran will turn you off. If you prefer one cramped cabin the size of a dorm-room fridge over twin cabins that adults can actually use, then the 30-footer isn't your boat.

But if you love the comfort that clever engineering and careful design can bring, then you'll want to take a long and probably loving look at the 30 Deckboat. To raise or lower the bimini top, you press a button. Same goes for the windscreens ahead of the co-pilot and driver, and same goes for the bottom cushions of the twin bolsters.

In short, performance-boating comfort is about as push-button as it gets in the 30 Deckboat.

Performance

The deck boat earned excellent scores from both of our test teams in all handling drills. For a boat of its considerable size and height, it was surprisingly nimble. No doubt, full hydraulic steering from IMCO Marine helped. The cat, which had a couple of steps in each sponson and a center pod, ripped through slalom turns with a nice inside-lean attitude and didn't slide or catch in full-circle turns at cruising and middle speeds.

Substantial as it was, the 30 Deckboat provided a smooth ride through the mishmash of chop on the Colorado River. It also tracked perfectly at all speeds. Winds on our test day were light, but we're reasonably sure that the high-sided, 8,300-pound cat could hold its course even in gusty conditions.

Power for the boat was a pair of 612-cubic-inch electronically fuel-injected Flat Top engines, each making 750 horsepower. They were hooked to 1.5:1 ratio Bravo One XR drives upgraded with IMCO lower units. Mercury Maximus 15 5/8" x 32" five-blade propellers provided a healthy bite on the water.

The 30 Deckboat topped out at 95.4 mph with its engines running 5,500 rpm. We found that speed to be more than adequate given the mass involved and the power chosen to move it.

After coming on plane in 5.9 seconds, the boat kept accelerating steadily and reached 76 mph in 20 seconds. Lively in the midrange, the cat ran from 30 to 50 mph in 4.6 seconds, 40 to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds and 40 to 70 mph in 8.2 seconds.

Workmanship

Considerable freeboard gave the 30 Deckboat a stately and luxurious appearance, yet its sweeping lines made it look sporty. It's the same stylistic balance that has made upscale sport-utility vehicles so successful, and Magic struck it well.

Materials used in the construction of the hull and deck included vinylester resin, 2-ounce fiberglass, 2408 and 4800 fiberglass, high-density foam and balsa coring. Tooling and in-gelcoat graphics were precise, as was the installation of the plastic rubrail with a stainless-steel insert assigned to protect them.

In the hardware department, the 30 Deckboat lacked for nothing. In addition to the bimini structure, which folded into its own locker forward of the engine compartment, there was an assortment of billet grab handles, Accon Pop-Up cleats and navigation lights.

Rigging under the power engine hatch, which opened on double-acting billet hinges and two screw jacks, was strong. The engines were mounted on L-angles through-bolted to the stringers. Wiring, hoses and cables were well supported and the batteries were installed in billet boxes.

Interior

You can spend serious time - at least we did - just watching the bimini top operate. Press a switch at the helm, and the structure rises from the gunwales, and then from its own trunk ahead of the engine compartment. Instant shade. Press the switch again and the top disappears from sight. Instant sun.

So deep was the cockpit of the 30 Deckboat that there were three steps down into it from the transom walk-through between the engines. The gunwale tops were at rib-cage level for our 6-foot-tall inspector, which would put them around eye level or better for children.

The center walk-through forced the builder to split the rear bench in the carpeted cockpit into two sections, each of which could seat two people and included a draining cooler underneath its hinged bottom cushion. Gunwale padding was exceptional, another feature that, like the deep cockpit, will help make parents with kids on board feel comfortable.

As noted, bolsters with power dropout bottoms and power windscreens were supplied for the co-pilot and driver. Pleasant diversions at the co-pilot's station to port included a Sony CD stereo system, an angled footrest and a locking glove box with a heavy anodized lid. There also were two in-sole lockers - one in the cockpit and another in one of the walk-through steps.

All of the Livorsi Marine gauges, which had red anodized rims, were around the tilt steering wheel at the helm. Throttles and shifters were from Eddie Marine. Also at the helm was a Garmin GPS unit and mechanical indicators for the drive trim.

As if the relatively spacious cabin - with a facing lounge and a 7-inch flat-screen monitor for the DVD system - ahead of the helm wasn't enough, there was another identical space in the co-pilot's console. Forward of the consoles were contoured lounges with hinged bottom cushions that revealed even more stowage space.

Like a number of cat-based deck boats, Magic's model incorporated slatted polyboard into the foremost section of the nose. That way, passengers could use the built-in shower to spray off their sandy feet, and the sandy water would run through the openings in the polyboard and off the boat.

Overall

There are faster and quicker twin-engine deck boats than Magic's 30-footer, but we've yet to see one that's better equipped. From its push-button bimini to its generous cabins, this one is built for buyers who don't mind being pampered.

Click to enlarge.