The question that separates a good 32-footer from a great one is not how fast it goes. It is how far it goes before you have to think about fuel. On that measure the Pursuit D 306 Denali is the strongest boat in its own family: 346 miles of range at a 28.5 mph cruise, on Pursuit's own published test sheet. That is longer legs than the 38-foot flagship above it.
The D 306 follows the D 295, one of the best-liked dual consoles Pursuit ever built, and it inherits the job description: a boat that fishes seriously, cruises comfortably, and keeps the weather off everybody rather than just the person driving. At 31 feet 11 inches with a 9-foot 11-inch beam, 21 degrees of transom deadrise and 10,563 pounds of average dry weight, it is a substantial boat that still fits a standard slip.
Who It's For
This is the boat for the owner-operator whose home water has a run in it — an inlet to clear, a stretch of open coast, a crossing that has always felt marginal in a smaller hull. Two hundred and twenty-four gallons of fuel is a lot for a 32-footer, and it is not there for show.
It also suits the mixed-use family that has outgrown a 27-footer. The layout is built around what Pursuit calls sport utility: fish, cruise, dive and entertain, with foldaway seating that clears the cockpit and convertible arrangements forward. Owners describe using it for exactly that spread, and they consistently single out the docking behavior with the optional joystick fitted.
Draft is 2 feet 2 inches with the motors up and 2 feet 8 inches down. Fresh water is 36 gallons. Clearance with the hardtop is 8 feet 6 inches.
The Range Case
Pursuit publishes a full performance bulletin for every hull — every 500 rpm, with mph, gallons per hour, miles per gallon and calculated range. The D 306's was recorded on 11/6/2023 with three people aboard, 234.5 gallons of fuel, full water and all optional equipment fitted: 12,887 pounds of test weight, which is a fully loaded boat rather than a light one.
The twin Yamaha F300s produce:
- Wide open, 5,800 rpm: 52.3 mph at 53.0 gph — 0.99 mpg, 208 miles
- Best cruise, 3,500 rpm: 28.5 mph at 17.4 gph — 1.64 mpg, 346 miles
- Fast cruise, 4,000 rpm: 34.6 mph at 24.0 gph — 1.44 mpg, 304 miles
- 4,500 rpm: 39.9 mph at 31.2 gph — 1.28 mpg, 270 miles
Range figures are Pursuit's own, calculated on 90 percent of test-condition fuel capacity.
Read the first two lines together and the boat's character is obvious. At 3,500 rpm it covers 346 miles. At wide-open throttle it covers 208. The last 24 mph costs you 138 miles of range, and 36 gallons an hour. This is a hull that rewards being run at a cruise, and at that cruise it will do things a 32-footer normally cannot — a Bahamas crossing, a long coastal delivery, a full day of running between spots without a fuel stop shaping the plan.
Zero to 30 mph takes 9.5 seconds on the same sheet.
Layout and Build
The hardtop is standard and it is molded fiberglass with an integrated visor, with dedicated radar, antenna and outrigger locations and powder-coated aft structural supports carrying four rod holders. The windshield system uses fiberglass side frames, tempered glass and a stainless steel center door with a vent, and there are port and starboard wipers with washer control — a detail that tells you Pursuit expects this boat to be run in weather.
Forward, the bow seating converts between lounging and social use. The wide-open cockpit is built for reconfiguration rather than for one job. Storage is item-specific rather than generic, which is the kind of thing that only shows up after a season of ownership.
Underneath is Pursuit's standard structure: a hand-laminated hull in vinyl ester resin with engineered fabrics, a five-ply resin-infused composite transom with a patented reinforcement grid, a foam-filled infused fiberglass structural grid, bronze thru-hulls below the waterline and 316L stainless everywhere it matters. The Pursuit Protection Plan covers hull and deck structure and blistering for five years.
Fishing Package
The D 306 fishes harder than its silhouette suggests. Standard: a lighted 26-gallon recirculating insulated livewell with a clear acrylic lid and a Corian cutting board; insulated fish boxes port and starboard with independent diaphragm pumps and overboard discharge; four stainless rod holders in the gunwales, four in the transom and four more on the aft hardtop supports.
The option list is where it gets serious — six hardtop rod holders, two bow rod holders, and Gemlux stainless bases with 18-foot collapsible carbon fiber outriggers and double rigging kits. A boat set up that way can troll a full spread and still have the windshield and hardtop keeping the crew dry.
What It Isn't
Three limits worth knowing before you commit.
There is no berth. At nearly 32 feet and 10,563 pounds dry, the accommodation is an enclosed head compartment with an electric marine head, a 9-gallon holding tank, a Corian countertop and a vanity mirror — well finished, and that is all of it. This is a big day boat. If you want to sleep aboard at this length, the answer is the D 365 above it or Pursuit's Offshore cabin boats.
Read the option sheet carefully. The Yamaha joystick with Set Point and autopilot — the feature owners praise most often — is an option, not standard equipment; the twin F300s come with digital electric steering and Helm Master EX controls without it. The bow thruster, the ride-control system and the 12-volt refrigerator are all options too, and the thruster and the fridge both require the shore power package.
And at 9 feet 11 inches of beam this is a permit tow, not something you hitch up on a whim. Plan on a slip and a yard.
The Cross-Shops
Grady-White Freedom 307, Boston Whaler 320 Vantage, Robalo R317, Cobia 320 DC and Sailfish 325 DC are the natural comparisons. The D 306's case rests on three things: the fuel capacity and the range it produces, the standard hardtop and windshield system, and the fact that Pursuit will hand you the test sheet before you buy rather than after.
The Bottom Line
The D 306 is the long-distance Denali. It gives up a berth and it asks you to pay for the joystick, but 224 gallons of fuel and a 1.64 mpg cruise buy you 346 miles — more than any other boat in the line, including the flagship. If your boating has a run in it, that is the number that ends the argument.