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Materials & Sizes
The overwhelming majority of bowriders sold worldwide are fibreglass, and for good reason. It rides better, looks better and allows the sculpted seating shapes that define the category.
Why fibreglass dominates the bowrider market: ride quality, styling, layout freedom, and what to check for on older hulls.
Fibreglass can be moulded into any shape, which is exactly what a bowrider needs. Curved bow lounges, integrated lockers, flowing gunwales and moulded swim platforms are all straightforward in glass and expensive or impossible in alloy.
The material is also heavier, and weight is your friend in a chop. A fibreglass hull settles into the water and stays there.
Premium builders like Cobalt and Sea Ray use bonded stringer grids, vinylester barrier coats and composite transom cores. Value builders use lighter laminates and, in older boats, plywood cores that can absorb water.
This is why a 15-year-old Cobalt can feel tighter than a five-year-old budget boat. Construction, not age, decides how a fibreglass boat feels.
Tap the transom and stringers listening for a dull thud rather than a sharp knock. Look for gel coat crazing radiating from fittings, which suggests flex. Check the bilge for staining and the hull-deck joint for movement.
Osmotic blistering below the waterline is mostly cosmetic on trailered boats but is worth negotiating on.
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
Buying Advice
A 1998 bowrider and a 2026 bowrider look superficially similar: open bow, walkthrough windscreen, rear bench. Underneath, almost everything has changed. Knowing what improved, what did not, and what you actually pay for is the key to buying well at any budget. Older bowriders were commonly built with modest deadrise and simple running surfaces, tuned for calm lakes and easy planing. Modern hulls carry sharper entries, better-developed strakes and wider chines, giving a drier ride, flatter turns and more predictable behaviour in a chop. Aluminium has moved furthest. Pressed flat-panel hulls from the 1990s slapped in waves; today's roll-formed hulls carry curved, fine-entry bows that slice rather than pound. If ride comfort is your main complaint about older aluminium boats, a modern hull is a genuine step change rather than a marketing claim. Older bowriders were mostly sterndrive, often with carburetted petrol V6 or V8 engines. They were torquey and cheap to buy, but thirsty, and they demanded regular tuning. Modern outboard packages deliver similar performance while using noticeably less fuel and starting reliably every time. Fuel economy improvements are real. A modern 150-200 hp four-stroke pushing a 6 m hull at a relaxed cruise typically uses substantially less fuel per hour than an older…
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