Earlier today, the Speedboat magazine test team put the all-new 290 Sport deckboat—the very first boat from Barron Boats, the Azusa, Calif.-based company recently founded by industry veteran Jerry Barron, formerly of Hallett Boats—through the paces on Arizona’s Lake Havasu.

The first model from Barron Boats—the 290 Sport deckboat—is complete and the company’s 30-foot center console is on deck. Photos courtesy Jerry Barron/Barron Boats

Barron, who was excited to get the boat finished in time to be part of the magazine’s fall tests this week, said the 29-footer, which is powered by a single Mercury Racing 540 engine, came out even better than expected.

“The boat took a little longer to finish than anticipated, but it’s a new build so it takes time—plus I wanted it to be something I was proud to put my name on,” Barron said last week when I called him after seeing an Instagram post that the 29-footer was officially ready to hit the water. “Of course I’m my own worst enemy because we kept making small changes here and there to improve things or add to the creature comforts. The upholstery came out great and the whole fit and finish is incredible. Just wait until you see it.”

Barron added that the first 290 Sport is for sale, but won’t be available just yet as he needs it for demo rides and a couple of events. He said the next boat is sold and in the mold, and that the third one is accounted for as well. He expects to have several more on order once he gets a chance to demo the boat.

Check out the slideshow above for a few more images of the 29-foot deckboat.

“In terms of performance, I’ve never been in a single-engine deck boat that rides as nice as this one,” Barron explained on Thursday. “Every 28- or 29-foot single-engine cat I’ve been in has a porpoise somewhere that you either have to drive through or correct with a little trim. Not this boat. We had zero porpoise at any speed. And I can’t say enough—neither could the Speedboat test team—about how well the boat turns. From Ray Lee and Bob Teague on down, those guys were extremely positive about the boat. I’ve got a good feeling about this new boat and this new company. It’s funny to say it’s a new company, but it is and this is a whole new bottom design. The next boat should really set us apart—I can’t to build the center console.”

Barron said the next model up is a versatile 30-foot center console that is going to have a few twists that he and his team have been dreaming up for some time.

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