Stacer Bowrider Boats

Stacer has been building boats in Australia since 1974, and like almost every long-lived boat builder the story starts small: a workshop, a handful of tradespeople, and local customers who wanted something better than what they could buy. The early boats were built for the water on the doorstep, which is why the brand's hulls still carry the fingerprints of that home coastline decades later. As volumes grew, hand-built one-offs gave way to tooled production, and the company moved from making boats to engineering them: hull moulds or jigs, repeatable laminate or welding schedules, dealer support and a proper spare parts chain.

The move into bowriders was a natural one. Dealers kept asking for a boat that a family could grow into rather than out of, and the open bow answered it. Stacer adapted its existing hulls to the open-bow format, then began designing specifically for it — walk-through screens, convertible cushions, under-seat lockers and transom lounges — and bowriders have been a core part of the range ever since.

Aluminium is the reason this brand exists in the form it does. Hulls are pressed or welded from marine-grade plate and sheet, which makes them light for their length, tough against rocks, ramps and beach landings, and cheap to repair when something does go wrong. A dented alloy hull is a panel job, not an insurance write-off. The trade-off is a firmer ride in short chop and a plainer interior than moulded fibreglass, which is exactly the compromise the target owner is happy to make.

Stacer is the value end of Australian alloy boating, and the Wild Rider and Outlaw bowrider variants are aimed squarely at families who want aluminium toughness without paying plate-boat money. The EVO Advance hull gives a sharper entry and more lift forward than older pressed alloy designs, so the ride is noticeably drier and quieter than the reputation alloy boats once had. Layouts keep it simple and practical: padded bow seating that lifts out for casting, a walk-through screen, swivel helm seats, a rear lounge over the fuel tank and enough dry storage for towels, vests and tackle. Because the boats are light, a mid-size SUV tows them easily and a single person can retrieve one at a steep ramp without drama. That lightness is also the trade-off — in a stiff afternoon chop a Stacer works harder than a heavier plate or fibreglass hull. For lakes, rivers, estuaries and sheltered coastal water, they are outstanding value and hold resale well.

Ask anyone at a boat ramp to name a Stacer and you will hear 509 Wild Rider, 539 Wild Rider, 589 Outlaw. These are the boats that built the brand's reputation, and each one is documented on its own page on this site with specifications, layout notes, engine options and a real-world price guide.

The Stacer 509 Wild Rider is the model most buyers start with, and it sets the template for the rest of the range: open bow seating, a walk-through windscreen, a helm and companion seat amidships and a convertible transom lounge. Moving up the range adds beam and freeboard rather than just length, and beam is what you actually feel — a wider boat carries more people comfortably, stays flatter at rest and gives deeper lockers under the seats. Series naming follows length, so the numbers in the model name are the quickest guide to which boat suits your ramp, garage and tow vehicle.

Stacer is particularly recognised for 509 Wild Rider, 539 Wild Rider, 589 Outlaw — and the full list of every model, series and range we have documented from this builder appears further down this page.

Stacer sells mainly into Australia and New Zealand, where boating means beach launching, estuary and offshore fishing, ski runs on inland rivers, and long tows behind a family four-wheel drive. That market shapes the boats: high sides, self-draining decks, rugged fittings and trailers designed for salt water and steep ramps. Dealer coverage across the eastern states, South Australia and Western Australia is strong, and resale within Australia is consistently good because the brand is a known quantity at every ramp.

Being a Australia builder matters more than it sounds. Boats are designed around the water their designers use, so the Stacer range reflects Australia conditions in freeboard, deadrise, cockpit drainage and seating priorities. If you boat somewhere similar, the boat will feel like it was designed for you — because it was.

Value-focused aluminium bowriders that shrug off trailer life and shallow ramps. Longevity is its own achievement in this industry: boat building is brutally cyclical, and a company trading since 1974 has survived multiple recessions, fuel shocks, ownership changes and complete generational shifts in what buyers want from a family boat. That kind of continuity is why parts, dealer knowledge and used-boat values all stay healthy for this brand.

Stacer shares dealer and parts infrastructure with Quintrex through Telwater, so servicing across Australia is easy.

The brand is known in the trade for 509 Wild Rider and 539 Wild Rider, and among owners for something less measurable: boats that get used every weekend instead of sitting on the driveway. That is the highest compliment a family bowrider can be paid.

Day to day, a Stacer bowrider is judged on the small things. How quickly can two people get it off the trailer and back on again? Where do the wet towels, the ski rope and the cooler live? Is there shade at midday, and somewhere dry for phones and keys? Alloy decks hose out in seconds and dry fast, which matters when the boat goes back on the trailer wet. These boats are set up so a single adult can launch, retrieve and pack up without help, which in practice is the difference between a boat that gets used most weekends and one that stays in the driveway.

Running costs are modest for the class. Modern four-stroke outboards are frugal, quiet and simple to service, and a day of cruising with a couple of ski sets rarely troubles the fuel budget. Insurance, storage and trailer registration are the same as any comparable trailer boat, and because Stacer is a recognised name, both insurers and finance companies value the boats without argument.

Pricing sits at the accessible end of the market, and that is deliberate rather than accidental. Expect hard-wearing vinyl instead of stitched leather, moulded liners instead of joinery, and a sensible options list instead of a bespoke build sheet. What you get in return is the lowest realistic cost of entry into bowrider ownership, plus the cheapest running and servicing costs in the class.

Whatever you buy, inspect it the same way. Check the transom for flex with the drive or outboard lifted, tap the floor and stringers for softness, look hard at the bilge for staining and weeping, run the engine to temperature and confirm steering and trim work through their full travel. Upholstery seams and covers are the first things to fail on a boat stored outside, and they are also the most expensive cosmetic items to put right. On aluminium, check the welds along the chines and transom, and look for corrosion where dissimilar metals meet.

Finally, buy the layout rather than the badge. Sit in the bow, sit at the helm, sit on the transom lounge and imagine a full day aboard with your own family. Stacer builds entry level aluminium bowriders with outboard power, and if that combination matches the water you use and the way you use it, this is a brand that will serve you for years and sell on well when you are ready for the next one.