With Mercury jet power, this sporty 16-footer provides hours of excitement.

Enjoying the thrills of a high performance boat can be a real adrenaline rush. But such boats can be very expensive. The new Tango from Sugar Sand Boats offers an affordable alternative.

This sixteen-and-a-half-foot boat has several seating locations. Two rear buckets are moulded in as part of the top deck and are angled towards the centerline. The driver and first-mate buckets are also positioned behind individual acrylic sports canopies. Then there is the bow area. There are no actual seats in this section, but there's a full pad where one or two passengers can recline in whatever position they find most comfortable. Beneath this pad is an enormous storage locker.

The 66-inch long Tango cockpit is intentionally short on amenities since this Sugar Sand has one purpose ¨C exciting performance. The term hole shot is most appropriate, because once you hit the throttle you are gone. For real excitement, try spinning the steering wheel. As with most jet boats, the Tango splashes into a spin, changing direction in an instant. Want to stop in a hurry? Just drop the jet gate to reverse the water flow. Even straight-line performance is memorable. Since the hull is designed to permit spinning and sliding, you won¡¯t feel as much longitudinal stability when running as you would in a traditional hull design.

The power behind the Tango is a 175 hp Mercury jet drive. During our speed tests, the Tango was underway at 1,000 rpm, moving at an easy to manage 3 mph. The most fuel-efficient cruise speed registered at just under 30 mph. We did note the speedometer contributed to the excitement by reading considerably higher than the actual boat speed. At wide-open throttle, the Tango speedometer optimistically announced 68 mph, while our GPS read a more realistic 54.3 mph. But on a boat of this length, it was still exciting.

Mastering a Tango is not difficult, but like any jet boat, it¡¯s a good idea to follow a cautious learning curve, becoming comfortable with each of the different handling characteristics, before attempting new moves. When you are confident at the helm, you have transportation that can provide more thrills than a roller coaster. With its compact size, the Tango can be loaded on the optional trailer and easily be transported to where the action is. Sugar Sand has been producing boats for more than 10 years and build their boats using a hand-laid fiberglass cloth manufacturing process.

Sometimes the journey can be more exciting than the destination. Such is the case with the Tango. It¡¯s exhilarating and fun to drive.

Specifications
LOA: 16'6"/5.05m
Beam: 6'9"/2.10m
Dry Weight: 1,455 lbs./659.9 kg
Deadrise: 21 degrees
Draft: 12"/.30m
Fuel Capacity: 30 gal./113 L
Maximum Horsepower: Mercury Jet 240 hp V6 EFI
Power as Tested: Mercury Jet Drive 175 hp V6
Base Price: na

For More Information Contact Sugar Sand
Fargo, North Dakota (800) 373-9000 www.sugarsand.com (Page Top)