Blue Fin Boats Blue Fin 4.85 Bowrider

The Blue Fin Boats Blue Fin 4.85 Bowrider is a compact bowrider built in welded and pressed marine-grade aluminium by Blue Fin Boats of Australia, a builder trading since 1970s. On our measurements it works out at roughly 15 ft 11 in (4.85 m) of hull with a beam near 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m), which places it squarely in the trailerable family bowrider class: one vehicle, one trailer, one afternoon of prep, and the boat is in the water. Value Australian aluminium brand with practical family bowrider layouts.

Layout is classic bowrider and that is the whole point of the boat. Twin lounges run forward of the windscreen with a walk-through to the anchor well, the helm and companion seats sit amidships behind a wrap screen, and a full-width lounge spans the transom for sunbathing and socialising. Around 8 people fit aboard comfortably in sheltered water. Cushions lift out, backrests fold and filler pads convert the cockpit from a conversation pit into one long sun bed in a couple of minutes.

On the water the Blue Fin 4.85 Bowrider is easy to like because nothing about it is demanding. Trim it out, settle into a mid-throttle cruise and it holds course with a finger on the wheel. Turns are progressive rather than sharp, wake crossings are soft, and the boat is forgiving of an inexperienced driver — an underrated quality in a family bowrider.

Power is a 80-120 hp four-stroke outboard package, and that suits both the hull and the way these boats are used. Keeping the machinery outside the hull frees up stern storage, simplifies servicing and removes the bellows and gimbal wear items that punish neglected stern drive boats. It also lifts the swim platform clear of the exhaust.

Watersports are well covered. A tow point is standard on almost every boat in this class, and Blue Fin Boats owners regularly add a pylon or a folding tower for wakeboarding. A modest outboard package pulls a slalom skier out of the water cleanly and tows children on an inflatable biscuit all day without protest. Skis, ropes and vests live in the under-floor and under-seat lockers so nothing sits underfoot while the boat is loaded.

Fishing is the quiet strength of this hull. Pull the bow cushions and the forward lounge becomes an open casting platform with clear access all the way around the bow, and the rear lounge lifts out to open up the transom and side gunwales. Ten minutes of work turns the family boat into a genuinely capable fishing boat, and ten minutes the other way turns it back again before anyone gets home.

Build and finish sit where you would expect for a entry level boat from Australia. Blue Fin is a long-standing Australian pressed aluminium brand aimed at buyers who want a genuinely useful family boat without paying plate-boat prices. The bowrider models pair conventional forward seating and a walk-through windscreen with the fishing-friendly practicality that Australian owners expect: removable cushions, open floors that hose out, rod holders and enough freeboard to feel secure with kids aboard. Hulls are welded pressed alloy with moderate deadrise, tuned for estuaries, rivers, dams and sheltered coastal water rather than open ocean. Because the boats are light, towing is easy behind a mid-size vehicle and launching solo is straightforward at almost any ramp. Fit-out is deliberately simple and hard-wearing, which keeps both the purchase price and the running costs down, and repairs are cheap because any competent alloy fabricator can work on them. Blue Fin has been sold widely through Australian retail chains, so used examples are plentiful and represent some of the cheapest ways into family boating.

Options worth having on the Blue Fin 4.85 Bowrider are the practical ones: a bimini for shade, a decent bow and cockpit cover so the upholstery survives being stored outside, an upgraded sounder if you fish, and a stereo package that can be heard over the engine. Aluminium hulls also reward a good trailer with proper skids, because the plating marks more easily than fibreglass on a poorly set-up trailer.

As a used buy, check the same things you would on any bowrider in this size band: transom firmness, stringer and floor soundness, hours and service history on the engine, steering and trim function, and the state of the upholstery seams, which are the first thing to fail on a boat that lives uncovered. At this end of the market condition matters far more than model year — a well-kept older boat beats a neglected newer one every time.

Our price guide for the Blue Fin 4.85 Bowrider is US$27,000 - US$36,000 new, which moves with engine choice, trailer, tower and how recently the boat was refreshed. Judged as a whole, it does what people buy a bowrider for: cruise, tow, swim, fish and entertain in one boat, without asking the family to compromise on any of them. Blue Fin Boats has been refining that formula since 1970s, and the Blue Fin 4.85 Bowrider is a straightforward, well-judged expression of it.