2020 Legend Vibe D23 FW

Boat Reviews

Boat Review by: Richard Crowder

Last year, Legend, in its own words, went “back to our fiberglass roots” with the introduction of two outboard powered deck boats, the Vibe D19 and D20. Building on that success, Legend is adding the outboard powered Vibe D21 FW and D23 FW deck boats for 2020. The “FW” in the model description of course stands for Full Windshield.

With every Legend boat, be it one of twenty models in five series of aluminum family fishing boats, or one of the twenty-six models of pontoon boats in three series, or one of their four models of deck boats, you know what you are getting as each model in each series. Legend boasts a comprehensive list of standard equipment and relatively very few options from which to choose.

The specifications are essentially identical for both new models, with a couple of important exceptions. Aside from the D23 FW being nine inches LOA longer than its smaller sibling D21 FW, the larger D23 FW provides 36-inches of interior depth versus 30-inches for the smaller boat. This and the increased length translates to more weight for the D23 FW, with the corresponding increase of standard base horsepower from 115 to 150 and the maximum rated horsepower increasing to 250 – all 4-Stroke and all from Mercury.

Rated seating capacity for both boats is more than normally required at twelve persons. The layout of both in the bow area ahead of the windshield is identical, with wraparound U-shaped bench seating with full cushioned coaming backrests. The padded forward faces of the two consoles encourage stretch-out lounging

Storage is found beneath all bow seat cushions. A large foredeck swim platform is fitted with a concealed anchor locker and stainless steel telescoping boarding ladder. A low profile stainless steel bow rail completely surrounds the seating area except for the centered step-up walk-thru to the bow platform.

Centered in the cockpit floor beneath the center opening section of the five-piece curved-corner protective windshield is a large storage compartment suitable for all of your watersports accessories. The passenger console includes a molded-in sink with fresh water pump faucet on its top surface with storage within the console accessed from a door located in the center walk-through passageway.

The modern looking driver’s console and dash features a custom tilting steering wheel with standard hydraulic assist fronting chrome bezeled instrumentation including speedometer, tachometer, voltmeter, and fuel gauges. Centered in-dash is a Humminbird Helix 5 GPS plotter fish/depth finder. On the lower left of the dash is the control unit for the Kicker KMC 10 Bluetooth compatible AM/FM All-In-One Media Center stereo complete with four speakers and auxiliary port.

Both the captain and the passenger are coddled with form-fitting “Deluxe” swivel bucket seats with flip-up forward bolsters. The balance of seating in the cockpit is provided by an L-shaped lounge from behind the passenger seat along the port side and across the stern. Beneath the stern portion of this seat is a portable cooler. Both stern and bow aerated livewells are included to not only satisfy potential fishermen but also as an ideal way to keep onboard beverages chilled.

Aft of the stern seat is where the extra nine inches of length is utilized in the D23 FW over the D21 FW. The transom lounge, as well as the swim platform itself, are both larger and the lounge is convertible to an aft-facing seat as well. Huge storage is found within the lounge. A recessed folding and telescoping stainless steel boarding ladder is included on the starboard side of the swim platform.

Notable additional standard equipment on the D23 FW includes a pop-up change room stored within the starboard bow seat just ahead of the windshield, a retractable ski pylon, custom non-skid cushioned Marine Mat flooring in the cockpit and both bow and stern platforms, 12-volt pre-wiring for a bow mounted trolling motor, and a Legend Glide-On trailer.

The few available options include a removable bow table, bimini top, boat covers, and a pumpout toilet within the pop-up change room. The addition of the D21 FW and this D23 FW full windshield deck boat models to the existing D19 and D20 side console lineup from Legend provide more choice for potential buyers, especially in the Canadian boating climate given the improved weather protection provided by the full windshield, thus extending the boating season at both ends.

2020 Legend Vibe D23 Photo Gallery

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