2025 Allied Boats P23 HT Mustang

Boat Reviews

Boat Review by: Rick Layzell

Allied Boats. The brand name sounds tough and rugged. I was excited.

Mustang. The model name akin to a colt had me thinking the wind would run through our hair as we blasted across the water. Sounds silly, but I was even more excited.

To be clear, Allied builds welded aluminum heavy gauge boats. My excitement amped up the moment we arrived dockside to discover this beauty. Her uncompromising exterior makes a bold statement: she is ready and willing to take you wherever you need to be regardless of wind, waves, or weather. And with a trustworthy Yamaha 200 strapped to her transom, she will get you there as quickly as you want to go. Sounds like a great fit for big water anglers, construction crews needing reliable transportation to job sites, or an island cottager looking to get from the marina to their paradise.

Welded aluminum boats tend to suffer the unwarranted stereotype of having weak curb appeal. Some people state that the boats can look tough and rugged, but they lack style. Allied is an exception. They have done a very admirable job of crushing that stereotype with exterior paint schemes and styling cues that even the fiberglass guys should recognize. Our test boat was dressed in a deep blue hull side exterior paint that gleamed in the sunshine. My eyes quickly took note of the blue on the topside of the pilot house (Note: the ‘P’ in the model code is for Pilot House). This boat most definitely has curb appeal.

Next, I caught the sun gleaming off the diamond plate bow guard, which is installed from the steep bow entry down to the water line. My eyes moved next to the lockable pilot house— appreciating the rugged and functional welded aluminum tall windshield and the incredible amount of natural light streaming inside from all the windows. She might be a heavy gauge welded aluminum but, make no mistake, this Mustang is sexy!

Allied offers the Mustang series from 19 to 27’ with sensible options to meet the most discerning needs. I boarded our 23’ test model from the starboard transom door, paying attention to the seemingly endless application of non-skid on the gunnels. It felt impossible to not notice the number of welded inclusions – the windshield, bow and transom eyes, cleats and grab handles and my advance research had taught me that the reverse chines and performance lifting strakes were also welded.

The roomy stern area features open spaciousness and functionality for a water access cottager, hard core angler, or work crew heading to a job site. The stern vinyl flooring screams easy maintenance, and I especially appreciated the optional washdown pump and noted scuppers on both sides to manage drainage.

The lockable pilot house door opens easily and holds open in a user-friendly latching system to the port side. There’s a welcoming feel to the interior of the pilot house with great headroom (I stand 6’ 1” and never had an issue) and comfortable seating. Our test boat was optioned up with a pair of suspension seats for the captain and co-captain and I absolutely loved these during on-water testing. Seating was comfortable and functional while offering generous sized storage solutions. I appreciated the inclusion of carpeting on the inner walls. Carpet is also applied overhead, adding a feeling of warmth to the cabin. The helm features a stainless wheel with plenty of clearance for graphs or charts of your choice. I loved the use of dashboard touch buttons as opposed to traditional toggle switches for features like cabin lights, bilge pumps, and so on. In a moment of ‘old school’ style that made me smile, Allied Boats includes a printed binder with the owner’s manual, as well as maintenance and service logs that are unique to every boat they build. Nice touch.

We took a 10 minute ride to calm waters for our testing grounds where we were met with a little bit of cottage country boat traffic and limited chop on a very hot (28 C / 88 F) test day.

It was here that the Mustang exceeded my expectations. Knowing she weighs in at 3,750 lbs (1,701 kg) and that we had a half tank (capacity is 100 US Gallons / 378 L) of fuel on board, plus a 530 lb Yamaha 200 resting on her full beam swim platform, I anticipated low 30’s for top speed. Seemed reasonable.

My first pass in open water showed me closer to 35 and I sensed she wanted to stretch her Mustang legs a little more – so I kept going to a point that the camera boat was starting to wonder if I was coming back! I must confess that there are some days when I absolutely love this work! On that second pass she delivered 37 mph at 5,600 RPM. My reasonable expectations were gratefully shattered – nice work Allied Boats!

With me running solo, the Mustang offered up capable cruise results anywhere from 20 mph up to 27 mph. Paying close attention and using trim on the engine made a true difference with this one as during cruising speed testing I was using near ¼ trim while in top speed trials I was 2/3 or more.

Starting from a full stop I timed multiple hole shots finding an average of 4.6 seconds which is right on point for a hull and engine combination such as this.

A standout moment during testing was how well the Mustang hull and interior abates water noise. I had expected a fair amount of water slap at various speeds but the boat proved me wrong repeatedly. There is an almost eerie quiet to this ride that was totally unexpected and hugely appreciated.

Here’s Rick’s Picks for the Allied Boats 23 Mustang;

Shockwave seats – incredible comfort.

Yamaha 200 – delivered exceptional response and performance.

Lockable Pilot House – the pilot house itself is awesome and the fact I can safely and securely stow my gear in there, loved that.

She rides very tall and delivers and uncompromisingly dry ride. We were testing in the Muskoka’s region of central Ontario but her heritage is the pacific coast and I could see the Mustang satisfying the most demanding big water customers needs on Georgian Bay, the Great Lakes, and more.

This is a moment to not allow stereotype to work its way into your thoughts. Allied Boats are building incredible watercraft and the Mustang P23 Hard Top is an exceptional example of their work.

2025 Allied Boats P23 HT Mustang Photo Gallery

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