Buyer's Guide · Sailfish 242 CC vs. Key West 244 CC
Sailfish 242 or Key West 244for the Chesapeake?
Two capable ~24-foot center consoles, built around different priorities. The Sailfish 242 CC's deeper-V hull and bigger fuel load favor rough open-Bay water and range; the Key West 244 CC's efficient stepped hull, twin livewells, and family layout favor protected-water days and versatility. Here's how to pick — honest specs and trade-offs, both ways.
Authorized Dealer
The real decision
Same size,
different priorities.
The Sailfish 242 CC and Key West 244 CC are within inches of the same length, and both are genuinely good Chesapeake fishing boats. They're built around different goals — so the right answer depends on how and where you run, not on one being a better boat than the other.
Sailfish builds the 242 on a Variable Deadrise Stepped (VDS) deep-V — a 22-to-24-degree hull oriented toward cutting rough water and running offshore — and rigs it with 146 gallons of fuel for range.
Key West builds the 244 on a second-generation stepped hull tuned for an efficient, dry ride, and equips it with twin 18-gallon livewells and family-friendly seating. Both fish the Bay well; they just start from different priorities.
Where the Sailfish leads
Rough water
and range.
If your days regularly take you across the open lower Bay or out toward the Bridge-Tunnel, the 242's deeper-V hull and bigger fuel load are the honest advantage.
Deeper-V for open-Bay chop
The 242 CC rides Sailfish's Variable Deadrise Stepped deep-V with a 22–24° deadrise, built to cut the short, steep chop the lower Bay kicks up when the afternoon wind opposes the tide. The Key West 244 is a capable hull too — the Sailfish just leans a few degrees deeper, and that margin shows up on a rough open-water run.
More range to the mouth of the Bay
146 gallons of fuel versus 130 on the Key West. The extra 16 gallons buy fishing time and a wider safety margin when you run from the rivers out to the Bay Bridge-Tunnel, the wrecks, or the cobia grounds and back.
Oriented offshore
Sailfish builds the 242 to run beyond the inlet when you want to — the deep-V and range are the same traits that make it comfortable working the open lower Chesapeake. If your fishing pulls you toward big water, that's the case for it.
Where the Key West leads
Efficiency
and comfort.
For protected-water fishing, efficient cruising, and family days — which is what most Chesapeake outings actually are — the 244's stepped hull, livewells, and layout are the real advantage, and they're worth saying plainly.
Efficient, dry stepped hull
Key West describes the 244 CC as a second-generation stepped hull with an extreme angle of entry, designed for an efficient, dry ride. On the protected and moderate water where most Chesapeake days are actually spent, that efficiency and dryness are a real, everyday advantage.
Twin 18-gallon livewells
The 244 CC carries twin 18-gallon livewells — serious bait capacity for live-lining spot and menhaden for stripers and cobia. As a fishing platform in its own right, it's well equipped, not a compromise.
Built for family days too
Bow seating, a console changing room, and a comfortable layout make the 244 CC easy to bring the family on. If the boat has to do casual days and cruising as well as fishing, the Key West is built with that in mind.
By the numbers
Side by side,
by the spec.
The figures each builder publishes on its own model page. The two boats are within inches on length; the Sailfish runs a deeper-V hull and carries more fuel, while the Key West's stepped hull is built for efficiency. Key West doesn't list a deadrise figure for the 244, so we don't print one for it.
| Spec | Sailfish 242 | Key West 244 |
|---|---|---|
| Length overall | 24'0" | 24'4" |
| Hull | Deep-V · 22–24° | Stepped hull |
| Fuel capacity | 146 gal | 130 gal |
Sailfish 242 CC figures from the manufacturer, sailfishboats.com; Key West 244 CC figures from keywestboats.com (model pages, 2026). Length is overall length per each builder. The Sailfish rides the Variable Deadrise Stepped (VDS) deep-V, a 22–24° multiangle deadrise; Key West lists the 244 as a second-generation stepped hull and does not publish a deadrise figure on its model page.
How to choose
Pick for how
you fish the Bay.
The deciding question is where you spend your time. If a typical day takes you across the open lower Bay in a building southerly, or you want the extra range to reach the Bridge-Tunnel and the wrecks, the Sailfish 242's deeper-V hull and 146 gallons of fuel pull ahead. If you fish mostly the rivers, flats, and protected water, value an efficient dry ride, and want twin livewells and room for the family, the Key West 244 is the better fit. Both are sound boats — you're choosing rough-water capability and range against efficiency and family versatility, not capability against the lack of it.
Coastal Marine is the only authorized Sailfish dealer in southeastern Virginia, on Shore Drive at the mouth of the Bay. It's the place in Hampton Roads to stand on a Sailfish, look at the hull and layout in person, and weigh it honestly against the other 24-foot center consoles you're considering.
Common questions
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