August 21, 2026
Pursuit D 246 Denali: The One You Can Still Tow at Legal Width
The smallest Denali is 25'8" on an 8'6" trailerable beam with 21 degrees of deadrise, and Pursuit's published test sheet has the single Yama…
Read the articlePursuit D246
Expert Review, Technical Specifications & Market Analysis
The Essentials
| Feature | Specifications |
|---|---|
| Overall Length | 25' 8" |
| Beam | 8' 6" |
| Draft | 1' 9" (motor up) / 2' 11" (motor down) |
| Displacement | 6,138 lbs (with a single Yamaha F350 engine) |
| Engines | Single Yamaha Digital F350 V6 Offshore |
| Fuel Capacity | 118 US gallons |
| Water Capacity | 18 US gallons |
| Cabins / Heads | No overnight accommodations; port console head compartment with portable head (5-gallon) and 316L stainless pump-out fitting, molded sink with pullout freshwater shower, vanity mirror and two-piece fiberglass door |
| Max Speed | 49.6 mph @ 6,000 RPM (single Yamaha F350) |
| Cruise Speed | 34.1 mph @ 4,500 RPM (single Yamaha F350) |
Source: Spec & Photos courtesy of Pursuit. Specs verified by Tony Smith, USCG 100 Ton Master, on August 20, 2026.
Part of the Pursuit Denali series — see how owners step up through the lineup.
Quick Verdict
- Pursuit's published bulletin puts the D 246 at 49.6 mph wide open on one Yamaha F350, with best cruise at 34.1 mph burning 14.8 gallons an hour for 2.31 mpg and 241 miles of range
- At 8'6" of beam it is the only Denali you can tow at legal width in most states — every other boat in the line is a permit tow
- Day boat, not an overnighter: the port console holds a 5-gallon portable head, a sink and a pull-out shower, and the fiberglass hardtop is an option rather than standard
Our Take
The D 246 is the one Denali you can still put behind the truck on a Sunday without paperwork. Eight feet six inches is the legal towing width across most of the country, and Pursuit built the smallest boat in the line right at it — every other Denali is wider. Twenty-five feet eight, 21 degrees of deadrise, the molded fiberglass windshield frame with a walk-through door in the middle of it, and one Yamaha F350 on the back. That last part is underrated. One engine means one service, one prop, one lower unit, one winterization, and on a boat this size that is a genuine quality-of-life decision rather than a corner cut.
What sells me is that Pursuit publishes its homework, and on this hull the homework is good. The sheet was run on 8/13/2024 with three people aboard, full water and all the options fitted — 7,759 pounds of real boat. Wide open it does 49.6 mph burning 31.4 gallons an hour. The number that matters is 4,500 rpm: 34.1 mph, 14.8 gph, 2.31 miles to the gallon, 241 miles of range on 90 percent of a 118-gallon tank. A 34 mph cruise on under 15 gallons an hour is a cheap way to run a 25-footer, and it means a long day down the coast is arithmetic rather than optimism.
Here is the honest limit, and there are three. Zero to thirty takes 12.9 seconds — the slowest figure on any Denali bulletin, and the price of hanging one 350 on 6,138 pounds instead of two smaller motors. There is no berth: the port console holds a portable head, a sink and a pull-out shower, and that is the entire accommodation. And the hardtop, the thing that makes a Denali a Denali rather than a bowrider, is an option on this hull instead of standard — tick it, and tick the curtains with it. If you want the twins and the hardtop included, step up to the D 266. If you want to sleep aboard, you want the D 365 or a different kind of boat entirely.
Official Pursuit Premiere: Inside the Pursuit D246
Video courtesy of Pursuit.
Pursuit D246 Photo Gallery
Photos courtesy of Pursuit.
Pursuit D246 Articles & Guides
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Frequently Asked Questions
Pursuit D 246 or S 248 — which should I buy?
Buy the D 246 if the boat has to carry family, and the S 248 if it has to fish. They are the same 25 feet 8 inches on the same 8-foot-6 beam, both powered by a single Yamaha F350, and 88 pounds apart dry.
The difference is the deck. The D 246 is a dual console with a fiberglass-framed windshield you walk through and seating either side of a centre walkway, which protects everyone aboard rather than only the driver. The S 248 is a centre console with the deck open all the way around it, which is the layout that fishes best.
Performance barely separates them — 49.6 mph against 50.2, and 2.31 mpg at best cruise against 2.41. This is a layout decision, not a numbers one.
What cruise speed and range does Pursuit publish for the D 246?
34.1 mph at 4,500 RPM, burning 14.8 gallons an hour for 2.31 miles per gallon and 241 miles of range. That is the best-cruise row on Pursuit's own test sheet, and the range figure is calculated on 90 percent of the test-condition fuel rather than a brimmed 118-gallon tank — Pursuit notes that EPA-required fuel-system components, temperature and how the boat is loaded reduce usable capacity by roughly a tenth.
Ease back to 4,000 RPM and you get 26.0 mph at 12.4 gallons an hour for 220 miles. 2.31 mpg is strong for a boat of this size, and the reason is simply that there is one engine on the transom instead of two.
Does the Pursuit D 246 have a cabin?
No. The D 246 is a day boat — there is no berth, no galley and no cabin. What it does have is a head compartment in the port console with a portable 5-gallon head, a 316L stainless pump-out fitting, a molded sink with a pull-out freshwater shower, a vanity mirror and a two-piece fiberglass door.
That is a genuinely useful thing to have at 25 feet 8 inches, and it is what makes a full day out workable with children aboard. Fresh water is 18 gallons. If you want to sleep aboard a Denali, the D 326 adds convertible berthing in its port console and the D 365 has proper forward and aft berths with a full shower.
How fast is the Pursuit D 246?
49.6 mph at 6,000 RPM on the single Yamaha F350, which is Pursuit's own tested figure rather than an estimate. The test sheet was run on 8/13/2024 with three people aboard, 116 gallons of fuel and a full water tank — 7,759 pounds all in — turning a 15-1/4" x 18" SWS II propeller.
Nought to thirty takes 12.9 seconds. The F350 is the only engine offered on this hull and it fills the 350-horsepower ceiling exactly, so there is no faster or slower package to weigh up: every published figure for the D 246 belongs to that one engine. Dry weight is 6,138 pounds.