Chaparral 23 Surf Boats For Sale

The Chaparral 23 Surf is the brand's surf-capable version of the familiar 23 SSI bowrider, built to bridge family runabout duty and wake surfing in one stern-drive-style hull. It carries a length overall of 23 feet, a beam of 8 feet 6 inches, a draft of 30 inches, and an empty weight of 3,900 pounds, with a person capacity rated at 13. The running surface is reshaped specifically for surf, and a forward-facing drive places the props under the boat for safer water sports behind the transom. Anyone shopping Chaparral surf boats for sale who wants a deep cockpit, walkthrough access, and a swim-friendly back end without committing to a dedicated inboard tow boat is the intended buyer.

Performance figures come from the 6.2-liter MerCruiser 300-horsepower engine driving the Bravo 4S forward-facing out drive. Top speed reached 44.7 mph at 5,150 rpm, and best cruise came at 3,000 rpm and 22.2 mph, where a 7-gallon-per-hour burn returned 3.1 miles per gallon and a range of 128 statute miles while holding a 10 percent reserve of the 45-gallon fuel capacity. The boat planes in 3.4 seconds, stays on plane down to 12.2 mph, hits 20 mph in about six seconds, and reaches 30 mph in 9.4. With the props facing forward, steering is highly responsive and trim sensitive; about two or three clicks of trim moves the spray back to the stern quarter for the optimal attitude. The 20-degree deadrise produces some hull slap when crossing wakes at speed, so chop is best taken at cruise. A closed-cooled Volvo Penta forward drive, including a 240-horsepower six-cylinder, is also available.

The surf system pairs Malibu's Surf Gate — vertically mounted trim tabs on the aft port and starboard sides — with an internal Fat Sac ballast bag holding 425 pounds. Everything is run from a 7-inch Medallion Viper 2 color touchscreen (a Simrad unit with sonar and GPS is offered on some builds) that controls surf side selection, ballast fill on a timer, GPS cruise control, engine diagnostics, a moving-map display, cameras, and audio. Surf sides can be switched on the fly in roughly three seconds with no weight shift and little list, producing a clean wave suited to riders up to intermediate level. Cruise speeds around 10.7 to 11 mph work well, and raising trim steepens the wave from a mellow learner's face to an adult curl.

Deck and helm details are extensive. The EFX2 electrically folding arch operates even in the down position for clearing low bridges and folds into the windshield frame for garage or boathouse storage; optional Diamondback swiveling anodized board racks set the tow point 81 inches off the deck. The helm uses a leather-wrapped wheel on a tote base, tritone stainless switches, two analog gauges for speed and tach, a flip-up bolster seat that swivels and slides, and a JL audio package with four speakers and a 10-inch subwoofer under the console. Upholstery is 37-ounce Naugahyde with a 10-mil UV top coat over tri-density foam, and the deck uses snap-in C-deck matting over non-skid fiberglass.

The back end is the model's strength: a full-beam 23-inch swim platform (with an optional 25-inch extended version) built into the hull for dock-level boarding, a hinged seat cushion for a clean walkthrough, a half-facing rumble seat, and chaise lounges that fold out on either side. A 70-quart insulated cooler drains overboard, the bow offers a 21-inch walkthrough with deep storage doors and an insulated forward ice chest, and a cockpit table mounts in either the bow or aft cockpit. One trade-off to weigh on used Chaparral surf boats for sale is that the ballast system and large aft lounge reduce storage and seating relative to a same-length standard bowrider. Buyers comparing Chaparral boats for sale near them should also factor slip length, since the surf layout favors a larger hull for equivalent cockpit room.