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Engines & Drives
The propulsion choice affects your boat more than the badge on the hull. It changes the cockpit layout, the maintenance bill, the resale value and the way the boat drives.
Outboard, inboard IO stern drive, direct-drive inboard and jet propulsion compared for bowrider boats, with honest pros and cons of each.
The dominant choice in new bowriders. Yamaha, Mercury, Suzuki and Honda four-strokes are quiet, efficient and easy to service because everything is outside the hull. They free up stern storage, tilt clear of the water when moored, and are simple to replace or upgrade later.
The downsides are a higher visual profile on the transom, a slightly higher centre of gravity, and less usable swim platform than an inboard layout.
A MerCruiser or Volvo Penta engine sits inside the transom driving an Alpha, Bravo or DuoProp leg. This gives a clean transom, a low centre of gravity, strong torque and a big sun pad over the engine box.
It also brings bellows, gimbal bearings, drive oil and, in cold climates, real winterising work. Neglected stern drives are the single most common source of expensive surprises on used bowriders.
Used by ski boats such as Malibu. The engine sits amidships with a shaft through the hull. It produces the best ski wake and the most linear pull, but you lose beaching ability and the engine box occupies cockpit space.
Yamaha's twin-jet bowriders have no propeller at all. That means shallow draft, a flat swim platform and a genuine safety advantage around swimmers. In exchange, low-speed handling takes practice and fuel consumption is higher at cruise.
The bowriders that come up most often when readers ask us where to start.
The world's best selling bowrider size, 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
15.5 ft fibreglass Bayliner bowrider with stern drive power — entry level pricing and a classic convertible bowrider layout.
US$26,000 - US$34,000 new
Featured Boat of the Week
This week we are putting the Bayliner Bayliner DX2000 in the spotlight, and it earns the spot. At 20 ft 2 in (6.16 m) long on a 8 ft (2.44 m) beam, this is a bowrider that reads the water well and still feels roomy enough for a full day out. A 20-foot deck-boat-width bowrider with outboard power and a huge social cockpit. Power comes from 115-150 hp mercury fourstroke outboard through a outboard package, and the fibreglass hull keeps the ride settled when the afternoon breeze puts a chop on the surface.
Seating is rated for 8 people, so there is space for family, friends, towels, eskies and the tow rope without anyone climbing over gear. Owners tend to buy it for family, water ski, leisure — which is exactly where it shines. Fuel is 30 us gal (114 l), and on the second-hand and new market you should expect to land somewhere around US$42,000 - US$58,000 new depending on hours, trailer and options.
Our full deep dive covers the layout in detail: bow lounge comfort, helm ergonomics, the rear entertaining area, storage that actually swallows a weekend, plus standard features, popular options and honest notes on where the boat compromises. If the Bayliner DX2000 is on your shortlist, start there — and check back next week, because the featured boat changes every week as we complete more full model reviews.
Featured Bowrider Article
Engines & Drives
Stern drives — sometimes called inboard/outboards or I/Os — powered the bowrider boom for forty years. Today the market is shifting hard towards outboards, which leaves buyers asking whether a sterndrive is a bargain or a liability. The honest answer is that it depends entirely on how and where you boat. The engine sits under the rear sun pad inside the hull, with only the drive leg outside. That layout produces a clean transom, an uninterrupted swim platform and a quiet, low centre of gravity. For families who swim, board and lounge off the back of the boat, a sterndrive transom is genuinely nicer to live with. Weight distribution helps the ride too. A few hundred kilograms of iron sitting low and forward of the transom keeps the hull settled in a chop and reduces the porpoising that light, transom-heavy boats can suffer. Sterndrive bowriders also tend to hold a plane at lower speeds, which matters for water skiers. There is also value. A well-kept sterndrive bowrider often costs 20-30 per cent less than an equivalent outboard model of the same age, simply because of market fashion. Servicing is the main penalty. Bellows, gimbal bearings, U-joints, drive lubricant, anodes and the transom seal all need…
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