Materials & Sizes
Aluminium bowriders are the practical choice. They are lighter to tow, they survive ramp knocks and oyster racks, and when something does go wrong a welder can fix it in an afternoon.
Everything about aluminium bowriders: pressed vs plate construction, ride quality, corrosion care, leading brands and who they suit.
The bowriders that come up most often when readers ask us where to start.
The world's best-selling bowrider size, in its most accessible form: light, simple and easy to tow.
US$38,000 - US$52,000 new
The refined mainstream benchmark: quiet, dry, and beautifully finished for the money.
US$72,000 - US$95,000 new
The previous-generation classic. Millions of families learned to boat in one of these.
US$8,000 - US$22,000 used
Pressed alloy boats, such as most Quintrex and Stacer models, use thinner sheet formed into shape. They are light, affordable and easy to tow. Plate alloy boats use thicker sheet welded into a heavier, stiffer hull that rides better and costs more.
If you boat in open water regularly, the extra weight of plate is worth paying for. On lakes and estuaries, pressed alloy is entirely adequate.
Aluminium is lighter, so it moves more in a chop and transmits more noise. Modern hull designs like the Quintrex Blade and Stacer EVO Advance have narrowed the gap dramatically, but a fibreglass hull of the same length will still be quieter and softer.
What you gain is a boat that does not care about a rocky ramp, a sandy beach landing or a hard day of fishing.
Rinse with fresh water after every saltwater trip, especially the trailer. Check anodes annually, avoid mixing dissimilar metals at fittings, and inspect welds around the transom and chines for hairline cracking on older boats.
Painted hulls need touching up where they chip; bare alloy simply oxidises to a dull grey and keeps going.
Quintrex and Stacer dominate Australia and New Zealand, with Stessco and Sirocco covering the value and plate ends respectively. In North America, Lund, Crestliner and Smoker Craft build alloy open-bow runabouts on the same principle.
