2020 Princecraft Kapture 187

Boat Reviews

Boat Review by: Rick Layzell

Some anglers prefer small lakes while other more hard-core anglers wake up ready to attack big waters and look forward to the opportunity of running down riggers, chasing big catches on big lakes. If you are after the latter – the big stuff – then this newly designed fishing dream machine from Princecraft is going to hit all your hot buttons.

First and foremost, the Kapture 187 is designed to be customized because every angler has their own specific list – we will get to that shortly. The hull is a rock solid, dry riding monster featuring a proven double reverse chine with twin plating from bow to midship and more twin plating on the chine. She turns on rails and performs flawlessly in a broad range of water conditions.

Our test boat was beautifully equipped and optioned out with an array of fish friendly features. New urethane paint schemes feature high gloss finish and aggressive styling lines. The Mercury Pro XS 150 sat beautifully on the transom with a 9.9 BF Pro Kicker right beside her. To say I was excited to get out on the water would be a severe understatement.

Her helm forward design certainly opens up cockpit space and I was thrilled to be greeted by a pair of optional captain’s chairs where I happily appreciated the luxurious comfort within seconds of settling in. The helm station features soft touch vinyl’s above the pair of optional Simrad Go7 and NSS EVO 3 screens. The passenger helm is adorned with a generously sized glove box, both helms have storage underneath and both helms are nested behind a tall windshield that is bound to extend your fishing season.

The Kapture cockpit features a ‘one level’ floor design so you can move with ease, marine grade vinyl dresses the flooring which features a self-draining system designed to move any cockpit water into the hull. There’s a lockable rod organizer for your 6 favourite 8’ rods. Behind the co-captain’s seat was a small bench seat with a storage compartment underneath. I was very pleased to see that this is designed to mount into the stringer system meaning it could safely and readily be adapted to either side of the cockpit based on your needs. Tucked cleverly beside each of the rear jump seats is a storage compartment for downrigger balls with additional rod or gear storage forward. I appreciated the rugged downrigger supports on either side of the gunnel that were tastefully painted to match her glossy grey exterior.

My favorite option had to be the rear fishing station. This beauty incorporates a monster aerated livewell, 3 rod holders with multiple tool caddies, storage tray, access to accessory battery, beverage holders and more.

I wasn’t disappointed when the crew gave me the green light to pull her away from the dock and begin testing the Kapture. With consistent 4.07 second hole shots I can readily say that the Kapture absolutely captured my heart! Running in calm waters with only light boat chop and 12 degree C temperatures we found great cruising and performance results. There were two of us on board along with a full tank of fuel, standard safety gear and a host of camera equipment.

I thoroughly enjoyed playing with the Kapture as we sought to find the cruising speed ‘sweet spots.’ For our moments we found 25.4 MPH & 30.4 MPH at 3,570 & 3,980 RPM to be best suited. Top speed was a very respectable 51.3 MPH at 5,970 RPM. All speed calculations were done using the on board Simrad equipment as well as a hand-held device for comparisons. As stated earlier the Kapture turned on rails to both port and starboard, the Mercury Pro XS 150 was flawless and delivers great power throughout the RPM range and the hull stays true in respectably tight cornering.

Princecraft’s Kapture 187 isn’t for the average angler. She is admittedly designed for downrigger anglers, she is destined for big waters and she can be perfectly customized to suit your very specific needs.

2020 Princecraft Kapture 187 Photo Gallery

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