Buying & Owning
The used bowrider market is enormous, which is good news: there is always another boat. Never fall in love with the first one you inspect.
A complete used bowrider buying guide: what to inspect, what to walk away from, and where to find boats for sale worldwide.
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
Hull: tap the transom and stringers for dull spots, check the bilge for standing water and staining, inspect the hull-deck joint. Engine: cold start it, check the oil, look for corrosion and ask for service records. Drive: bellows condition, anodes, drive oil clarity, play in the leg.
Then the boring things that cost real money: upholstery condition, cover and bimini, trailer bearings, brakes and tyres, and whether every switch, light and pump actually works.
Soft transom or stringers, milky engine oil, a seller who will not allow a sea trial, missing registration or title, and evidence of a submerged or repaired collision hull. Walk away from all of them regardless of price.
Boatsales, Boats Online, YachtWorld, Boat Trader, Gumtree, eBay Motors and Facebook Marketplace all carry heavy bowrider inventory. Dealer used stock costs more but comes with recourse.
