Materials & Sizes
Three materials dominate bowrider construction, and each one changes the boat's character completely. Choose the material before you choose the brand.
Aluminium, fibreglass and polyethylene bowriders compared on ride, weight, durability, repairability, resale and cost.
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
Fibreglass rides best and looks best, but is heavier and harder to repair after impact. Aluminium is lighter, tougher and easier to fix, but noisier and less refined. Polyethylene is nearly indestructible and cheap, but limited to small sizes and basic layouts.
For open water and long days aboard, fibreglass. For rough ramps, remote launching and hard use, aluminium. For a knockabout tender or a lake runabout on a budget, plastic.
A 17 ft 9 in (5.40 m) aluminium bowrider might weigh 1,650 lb (750 kg) on the trailer. A comparable fibreglass hull will be closer to 2,650 lb (1,200 kg). That difference decides which vehicle you need and how easily you launch alone.
Fibreglass bowriders from established brands hold value best in most markets. Aluminium holds up strongly in Australia and New Zealand, where alloy is the mainstream choice. Plastic boats depreciate least in absolute dollars simply because they cost little to begin with.
