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.
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 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.
