GECAT E-23

Comfort and practicality all in one

Reviewed by Erwin Bursik (first published in the May/June 2026 issue of SKI-BOAT magazine)

STEPPING into the GECAT Marine factory in St Francis on South Africa’s south east coast was a nostalgic experience for me, as well as one loaded with great expectations of coming face to face with the much lauded GECAT E-23.

Many years ago I visited a good friend, Errol Plowes, at his boat building factory in the industrial area of the then blossoming hamlet of St Francis, while on a coastal run up the coast from Cape Town to Durban.

Errol and his father, Howard, were once doyens of the Umkomaas Ski-Boat Club and the many interclub competitions held from that facility. Howard and his boat, Lone Reef, were legends – they would vanish into the blue and come back to the scales with a good number of very special fish.

I had the honour of fishing with Howard on a few occasions, but to my great disappointment I could never pinpoint the locations of “his” reefs. There was no GPS in those days, and visual landmarks were a tad far south for me to target from my base at Durban Ski-Boat Club, so the “Lone Reef” stayed safe.

Errol and Howard later “migrated” further south, eventually ending up in the southern Cape coastal area. Errol gained custody of Lone Reef, and when I heard he’d started a boat factory, I popped in to visit him on my trip up to Durban.

When I got there, I was delighted to hear that Errol and a stalwart of the Durban Ski-Boat Club, George van Reenen, had got together to build the GECAT in St Francis. The G is for George and E is for Errol. George was the undisputed king of ’cuda fishing in the 1960s and ’70s until his relocation to Port Elizabeth. Seeing George’s Big Blues in the factory’s reception brought back some truly great memories.

Many years have passed since that day, and in March 2026 I was back in St Francis to put the GECAT E-23 through her paces.

This craft is hugely impressive, not only in size, but also when you take in the finesse of her finishings. She made me want to get onto the water immediately to see what the beast under the beauty performed like on the sea.

I didn’t have to wait long, and was  soon down at the sizeable marina in St Francis looking at the GECAT E-23 and her big sister the GECAT 42 lying side by side on moorings.

The high quality of the finishes and creature comforts that come with this craft were immediately obvious when I boarded the GECAT E-23 and got into position at the helm station to prepare to exit port for the high seas.

For once we were blessed with great sea conditions for a boat review in Cape waters. There wasn’t much sun, which meant the photographs were a bit dull, but the conditions were perfect for putting a craft this size through her paces, and I was able to fully assess her ride and performance over water as well as her long distance performance at 20 knots.

A large number of chokka boats were anchored in the surrounding area, which meant I had to travel a fair distance west (although to this Natalian it felt like we were going south) to a location where I could throw the GECAT E-23 about without complaints from the chokka fleet.

TESTING HER LIMITS

This “play time” is what I love: feeling the craft’s vibrant hull-over-water movement in response to the twin 115hp Yamahas as I work her throttles. There is no feeling as electric as when a craft, especially a new one, gets properly unleashed as the props bite and the hull lifts her forward section out of the water and onto the plane.

It was during these first few seconds that I fell in love with the GECAT E-23 that my friend Errol, sadly now watching from above, had partially built and passed on to the new owners just two months before his passing. It was lovely to hear that the GECAT E-23 has been named thus in honour of Errol who always wanted a 23ft craft but always sold the boats he produced before he could claim one as his own.

I was grateful to have this opportunity, and eager to maximise my time aboard the craft to fully appreciate the time, thought and expertise that had gone into her conception and birth.

In a moderate sea with cross section swells, she climbed out of very tight turns, addressing her own wake and doing all I expected of her. She was balanced into the turn and held her exit as her bow shouldered the cresting water and stabilised her forward movement with fluid yet exciting momentum.

One of the most telling ways of assessing any craft’s finesse and ability is to test their out-the-hole response and stability during a speedy take off. I undertook these trials in numerous variations, exposing her to many of the “funnies” the sea can throw up when you’re playing in rough water, especially in surf work.

The GECAT E-23 performed beautifully.

Each time her bow lowered, preparing to take on the next demand expected of her, she was ready to take on a facing wave or swell, with sufficient guts to either turn on her axis or directly confront a nasty peaking up in front of her.

Throughout these “cowboy” trials, I used various permutations of trim settings as well as power/thrust applications which I found exhilarating. I had complete faith in the twin 115hp Yamahas, both in smooth power applications as well as out-the-hole thrust, which is the most important application in outboard motor performance on ski-boats that surf launch.

ASSESSING HER COMFORT

Finally, with the surf launching trials over, once our adrenalin had subsided I could relax and set the GECAT’s course for a long run.

One of my personal desires when ski-boating is to be able to enjoy long, comfortable rides in moderate wind and sea conditions. For this test, I set a course expecting to cover say a 12- to 25 nautical mile ride to one’s favourite hotspot, like I do when I run up to Mabibi after launching at Sodwana Bay.

I want to get there before the other boats, but I also want to do so in comfort, while being able to chat to those aboard. Off Sodwana I’ll set a course, engage autopilot and then adjust trim – both lateral as well as forward movement – to take into account the wind and sea conditions and, most importantly, craft trim to ensure a ride of say 17- to 20 knots and motor revs touching the 4 000 rpm mark. After the ideal settings have been achieved, one can relax, sit back and enjoy the ride.

I did just that with the GECAT E-23, testing her in every conceivable direction – all while talking boating with Markus van Aswegen, one of GECAT’s directors, who had to put up with me during the boat review.

I enjoyed that run immensely. Not only could I feel the GECAT’s ride under every conceivable sea condition, but I could also glean information on all this craft’s idiosyncrasies. Overall, she performed exceptionally well, and I believe she would be very comfortable to skipper and crew when trolling long distances to and from the fishing grounds, whether off Sodwana Bay, Cape Town or somewhere else.

One caveat to the above: I did not experience heavy sea- and wind conditions, so I cannot comment on how she will perform in those circumstances. However, I am personally convinced she will handle those as well as most craft in her category.

APPRAISING HER FINISHES

The very first test I do with any craft I am about to review, while still on land, is walk the length of the craft with my hand sliding along her side surface just above the water line. This tells me a great deal about the craft’s finish and the smoothness of the moulding and lay up. Try it and you will be surprised how much you can learn.

The GECAT E-23’s overall lines and finishes are excellent, and after spending hours aboard her at sea and inspecting her on land, my first impressions were confirmed. GECAT Marine take a bow, I was very impressed.

Considering the size of this craft and all the facilities she boasts, it must have been a designer’s nightmare to figure out how to include so many creature comforts and yet make it so practical for the offshore angler.

On the GECAT E-23 I reviewed, the foredeck is accessible around the sides of the substantial cabin and helm station that has high sides and features handholds to ease access in rough waters.

The aft deck, with its twin livebait wells, rigid transom-mounted rod holders, and well upholstered seating, will provide most offshore anglers with the space, comfort and fishability they need to fish any southern African waters.

Cabins on ski-boats, especially on craft in the 22–28ft class, are always a compromise, with the siting and size needing to take into account both comfort and protection, but also practicality and aesthetics. I believe GECAT Marine have accomplished that very difficult balancing act.

I am a fairly large fellow, but thanks to the substantial helm station I never felt constrained. I was fully able to skipper the craft and still had the support and seating facility to allow me to enjoy the ride throughout our many hours at sea.

Whatever challenges the designers faced fitting all these facilities into a craft of this size, they have overcome them. I believe anglers will find the GECAT E-23 exceptionally comfortable and practical whether they’re at the West Coast hot spots, the turbulent seas off Cape Point, Sodwana’s marlin waters or Moçambique. For those who have specific requirements, this manufacturer is very open to discussing adjustments.

On the return trip to Durban, Ryan Hansen and I towed the GECAT E-23 behind his Toyota Land Cruiser 200 series, and I was very pleasantly surprised at how easy it was compared to when I tow my own ski-boat which is the same length and weight. Considering this, I believe it would be very practical to tow this craft to Moçambique.

Nothing beats seeing the boat in person, but the accompanying photographs should give readers an idea of the versatility and onboard niceties that are standard on the GECAT E-23. To get a better idea of whether she is the best boat for you, I recommend a visit to one of the four distributors of this incredible craft.

In conclusion, I salute GECAT Marine directors who took on the  challenge of running this big boat manufacturing company which produces craft up to 40ft in length. The enthusiasm and hands-on work ethic of them and their staff, many of whom have over 20 years of service and are fully committed, must ensure a positive future for GECAT Marine.