We bought a 2018 2501 in July 2022.
I have previously owned a Parker 2310 WA and a GW 30’ express.
We love the space the 2501 offers, especially in the bow without the forward seating. We caught a 75# YF tuna this summer while chunking off Ocean City, MD so the 360 degree fishing space was a big plus in landing the fish.
We run 30-40 miles off, but we only have a single Yamaha 300 so not really a canyon boat and off Delaware you need 150+ mile range to do a RT, but great boat for inshore.
I prefer the ride of the 2501 cc to the other Parker’s with the helm in the forward position, obviously you lose some cockpit space but you have the 360 fishing space to fish 4-5 anglers comfortably.
Running in a 3’ head sea with high frequency (stacked up) you have to trim down the bow and back off the throttle like any other medium size cc, but same conditions with a following sea you can dam near run WOT. Our top end with the single 300 is about 42 mph. which IMO is pretty fast and much more economical than when we ran the GW with twin 350’s.
I’m taking the 2501 down to the FL keys this winter so we will be looking forward to that trip.
It’s a shame they discontinued this model. I hope the new 26 and 29 our the same hull design, the specs appear to be similar. Overall a very dry ride but I did put wings ( spray curtains) around the helm because all CC can get you wet if the wind is blowing across your bow.
IMO if you can find a nice used 2501 or 2801 and want to fish ocean inshore lumps or back bays, you will “NOT” find a better fishing platform for the cost,
I paid 88k for my rig including trailer and about 250 hrs. on the engine.
Compared to a 26’ Regulator, the 2501 Parker has much more space due to the 9’6” beam, and you probably won’t find many used Regs under 100k.
I’m 65 yrs old, and thinking my next Parker may be the new 29 with twins, but going to wait another year or two to try to find a slightly used model.
I haven’t seen the new 29 but with LOA at 33’ this boat could be a legit canyon runner here off DE/MD in that smaller offshore CC class, 30-35’.
Will wait to hear from some owners of the new 29 on this site, and hopefully they will share some info.
Good luck with your 2501!