FANCY FISH

Twenty-two years ago, when Alan Lang started work at Scout Boats, he made regular use of his center console, spending weekends off the coast of South Carolina hunting dolphin, tuna, grouper and snapper. He loved to fish in his 20-footer, which was a pretty typical design at the time: a center console with a reliable hull for offshore work, and a bare-bones interior with a leaning post, tackle stowage and rod holders. But were there creature comforts?

“I had a jump seat off the console, and that’s about it,” Lang says with a laugh. “It’s what I needed. I was young and trying to save money. I didn’t have a family yet, and my friends and I weren’t interested in taking the boat to nice restaurants. We just wanted to fish.”

Things are different today for Lang, his friends and other anglers whose lifestyles have changed over the years. They have bigger jobs, active kids and less free time. “We work hard, so when we have the chance to relax, we enjoy being around nice things,” he says.

That includes nice boats, particularly center consoles, which have evolved with