Yellowfin 39 Offshore: 2024 Boat Buyers Guide

The 39 Offshore is a fishing machine that performs in a fast, dry and efficient manner.
Yellowfin 39 Offshore out on the ocean
The 39 Offshore can be configured with triple or quad outboards. Courtesy Yellowfin

Yellowfin entered the premium center-console category in 1998 and remains among the most recognized and coveted brands in that segment. The make consistently draws customer praise for performance handling, fishability, comfort, speed and fuel efficiency.

Yellowfin Yachts bears the undeniable imprint of its founder and president, Wylie Nagler, who became known for his pledge of personal responsibility for the standout quality of every boat his company ships. Florida-built Yellowfin is now part of Warbird Marine Holdings.

Yellowfin creates offshore models that display classic Carolina Outer Banks-style influences in wide, flared, high bows. Their distinctive sheerline combines classic flair and modern functionality—a singular and immediately ­recognizable look that pays off in beauty, dry ride and superior seakeeping abilities. They pop onto plane on stepped hulls, and are noted for their strong, lightweight construction. 

The company says that its stepped-surface hulls reflect the study of laminar flow on planing surfaces to create an efficient running surface that enables its boats to plane faster, trim better and deliver more-efficient performance in almost any conditions.

Yellowfin offers semi-custom platforms upon which customers can create the boat of their dreams, drawing from a deep list of options. These include power from several brands, top style and amenities, and even the type and placement of rod holders one’s fishing style calls for. 

Today the line stretches from a 24 CE Bay Boat to a 54 Offshore center-console, each a high-performance fishing platform custom-built of the highest-grade materials and products, and skillfully assembled.

Yellowfin 39 Offshore

Yellowfin describes its 39 ­Offshore as an offshore-­fishing beast that can “run with the big dogs,” running smooth and dry in conditions that send many other boats back to the dock, and easily outperforming much larger boats on the rip. 

The key is its brawny, wide-beamed design, but its stepped hull helps it perform in a fast, dry and efficient manner too.

The 39 Offshore can be configured with triple or quad outboards, up to 1,800 hp total. It offers wide-open space, massive storage and a wide variety of customization options. Abundant power, matched to a generous 564-gallon fuel capacity, puts far-off fishing within range.

Standard on the 39 Offshore is a hardtop with rear legs (optional until this year; a canvas top was previously standard) and spreader lights. Other top and tower options are available, as is forward seating, a coffin box, hydraulic steering, a leaning post and an insulated fish box with a gulper pump.

Fourteen Gemlux ­titanium rod holders are distributed about the boat, as are titanium cleats and through-hulls that minimize the possibility of corrosion. There’s a plumbed livewell in the transom, with a second in the leaning post. A saltwater washdown speeds cleanup after the catch. Hydraulic steering is guided by a Gemlux Belloca stainless-steel steering wheel. Livorsi trim tabs made adjustments easy.

Several console options are available, as are additional livewells and a livewell pump box, and upgrades to the head within the console.

Editor’s Tip

Center-consoles seem to be getting bigger, and for good reason. Offshore anglers have embraced the versatility of the open layouts. As a bonus, these are often faster than the sport-fishers and downeasters they replace, greatly shortening runs to distant fishing grounds. -Joe Albanese, Executive Editor Salt Water Sportsman

Performance Data

  • Test Power: Quad Mercury 400 hp V-10
  • Test Props: 27 Rev X
  • Test Load: 3 people, 150 gallons of fuel
  • Test Speed: 75 mph top speed, 48 mph cruise
  • Max Range: 550 mi.

Specifications

LOA:39’8″
Beam:11’6″
Fuel Capacity:564 gal.
Dry Weight With Power:13,000 lb.
Max HP:1,800
Powered By:Yamaha

Yellowfin Yachts – Sarasota, Florida; yellowfin.com