It's 6:30 a.m. on a Saturday. You're backing the 325 Conquest away from the dock while your partner preps the rods. By 7:15, you're 18 miles offshore, engines throttled back, watching the sunrise paint the Gulf Stream orange. The cabin below holds enough gear for three days, but you'll be back by dinner. Tomorrow, same boat, different mission: family day at the sandbar, four adults, two kids, a cooler the size of a small refrigerator, and enough inflatables to start a water park. The 325 does both without breaking a sweat. That's the point.
Who It's For
This boat makes sense for the owner who refuses to choose between fishing and cruising. You want to run to Bimini for the weekend without chartering. You want to fish the canyons without hiring a captain. You're comfortable writing the check for a 32-footer but not interested in the full-time crew that comes with a 40-foot express.
The 325 Conquest is built for the operator who values capability over flash. If you're shopping this class, you've likely owned center consoles, maybe a smaller cruiser. You know what works. You know what doesn't. You're done with boats that do one thing well and everything else poorly.
Design & Layout: Function Dictates Form
The dual-console layout gives you weather protection without turning the boat into a floating RV. The hardtop is standard. Full side glass is optional and worth every dollar if you run in the shoulder seasons. The helm deck stays dry in a following sea, which matters more than most brochures admit.
Below deck, the cabin sleeps four adults in actual comfort. The mid-berth is a true double, not a glorified shelf. The V-berth converts from dinette to sleeping quarters in under two minutes. There's a VacuFlush head, a hanging locker tall enough for foul-weather gear, and enough natural light to avoid the cave effect. This isn't a stateroom. It's a place to sleep between fishing sessions or wait out weather without losing your mind.
The cockpit is where the 325 earns its keep. The portside lounge converts into multiple configurations depending on whether you're entertaining or rigging baits. In-deck fishboxes, an insulated livewell, and a prep center with cutting board and sink are all standard. The starboard dive door makes landing large fish a one-person job instead of a three-person disaster. The optional summer kitchen adds a pull-out grill, refrigerator, and solid-surface countertop. It's the difference between eating cold sandwiches and actually cooking offshore.
Performance: Speed Is Freedom, Range Is Strategy
With twin Mercury 300 V8s, cruise sits at 31.3 mph at 4,000 RPM — the sweet spot for covering water without working the engines. Step up to the twin 400 Verados and the 325 has been recorded at 55.8 mph. Both are engine-package results rather than factory claims, and they'll move with load, props and sea state. That top end isn't bragging-rights speed. It's get-home-before-the-weather-turns speed.
The boat carries 300 gallons of fuel, is rated from 600 to 850 horsepower, and weighs 10,500 pounds dry — light for the length, which is why the smaller package still performs well. The hull is a keel-up redesign of Whaler's unsinkable platform: better planing characteristics, improved stability, and a ride that doesn't beat you senseless in a three-foot chop. The 26-inch draft means you can tuck into skinny water when conditions deteriorate. Joystick piloting is optional and transforms docking from a spectator sport into a non-event.
Performance isn't just about speed. It's about having options when conditions change. The 325 gives you the fuel to make offshore decisions based on fishing reports, not fuel gauges.
Ownership Conversation
This is an owner-operator boat. You don't need crew. You don't need a captain's license. You do need to be comfortable handling a 32-footer in close quarters and reading weather. The systems are straightforward. Mercury's VesselView integration means diagnostics happen on the same screen as your chartplotter. When something breaks, parts are available, and most dealers can handle repairs without shipping the boat to a specialty yard.
Spec it the way you'll actually use it — the gyro, the generator and the air conditioning earn their keep on a boat that overnights, and a sea trial with the family aboard tells you more than any options sheet.
Where to Start
The 325 Conquest is the right boat if you've outgrown center consoles but aren't ready to commit to a full express cruiser. It fishes hard, cruises comfortably, and doesn't require a professional crew to operate. The hull redesign delivers a better ride than the previous generation, and the cabin layout works for actual overnighting, not just emergency shelter.
Explore full specifications at YachtSpecsDirect.com
Browse available Boston Whaler inventory at mintedyachts.com/boston-whaler