Bowrider boats , pro's & con's

[Geoff]

A friend is looking at buying his first boat , Aluminium , 4.8 - 5.10mt in length & is , at this time leaning towards a bowrider.

The boat would be used mainly for family outings , Wife & kids but also a bit of fishing from time to time.

Whilst the concept is attractive , kids up the front etc , the concern is the boat may become bum heavy if all are in the cabin area & as such the bow is up in the air making visibility difficult especially in rough weather which may restrict the boat being fully on the plane.

Would be interested to hear comments especially , from those with Bowriders , would you buy another one

Geoff

[Wazz01]

I've also got a quintrex 5 meter freedom sport with a 90 on it. I can really only echo Obey1's comments, in fact he took the words right out of my mouth. The kids love being up front, there is enough room for fishing at both ends. We have clears with ours so if the wheather closes in we can get out of it. I guess being bum heavy will depend on what donk you have on the back an how heavy your passangers are, we've had 6 adults in ours(its rated for 7)and getting up on the plane was no problem and visability wasn't an issue. The only time visability it an issue is driving back on the trailer, as you sitting amid ships its just a little more tricky to line everything up.

Would we buy another one...depends on the need, if it was as a family all rounder, then definetly. But once the kids have buggered off we will probably look at either pure fishing platform ( hard to get out of the rain or sun though,) or a run about with bimini and clears.

Edited March 25, 2011 by Wazz

[Geoff]

Tks guys for your comments. Looks like it is for a bow rider provided it suits your family requirments be it just cruising or a bit of fishing.

Will pass the info on.

Geoff

[NickF]

I own a fibreglass bowrider (Haines Signature 600BR) and do everything from family, skiing, offshore etc and it does all very well.

Being fibreglass it handles the ocean quite well and is extremely stable at rest and also on the plane.

With a 175Hp EFI 2-stroke on the back it does around 80km/h at full noise and cruises very comfortably at 3500-4000rpm.

I have had it fully loaded with 5 adults and 6 kids (Capacity of 8 adults max) and it handled us all perfectly well.

Couldn't recommend the bowrider highly enough!

Edited March 28, 2011 by NickF

[idolz]

My friend has the same 5MTR QUINTREX Freedom Sport,,,, The one thing I HATE about his boat is YOU GET VERY WET IN IT,,, he only has a Bimni cover not any clears on the sides,,, but every time I go fishing in his boat we come back wet! My mates boat IS NOT the Millenium hull it is the 1999 or the year before the Millenium hull was bought out...

Edited March 29, 2011 by idolz

[Wazz01]

My friend has the same 5MTR QUINTREX Freedom Sport,,,, The one thing I HATE about his boat is YOU GET VERY WET IN IT,,, he only has a Bimni cover not any clears on the sides,,, but every time I go fishing in his boat we come back wet! My mates boat IS NOT the Millenium hull it is the 1999 or the year before the Millenium hull was bought out...

Thats unfortunate, the millenium hull must be the difference, we have never taken water over the sides, we've gotten wet if it rains and we don't get the clears out though, but generally if we see the wheather closing in we have enough time to get them out.

[garryl]

I went through the process and bought a 2002 5.3m Freedom Sport with a 115 2-Stroke a few weeks back, have been out in it nearly every weekend since. Before that I has a 12 foot tinny which I fished out of and the kids got bored quickly in. I don't have a lot of boating experience, my brother and another mate have fibreglass boats that I have been out in a few times. For me the boat has been great, for fishing I'd say three comfortably, probably only 2 out of the back, especially when the bimini is up, as it reduces the space at the back a bit. I would normally fish alone, or with one other anyway. The kids do love sitting up front and getting dragged around on the 3-person tube behind. It's really easy for them to get in and out with the ladder and the transom platform (whatever you call it). Heaps more pwer than I could use at this stage, had adults wake boarding on the weekend and they enjoyed it as well. They have spent a lot more time around boats (skiing etc) than me and their comments were that it was a perfect boat for the family. With the steering wheel in the middle of the boat it can be difficult to see out the front in choppy water, but I don't mind standing up occasionally, again the bimini does tend to get in the way a bit. I think I'll be taking it off if I'm going out purely to fish, or even if it is not stinking hot, and I don't need the shade. I have started leaving it folded up on the windscreen when I don't need it. You can get a bit wet in very choppy stuff, and the bimini doesn't give a lot of protection when it rains, storm sides would come in handy, but not sure about visibility if they were up.

Good luck with the search.

[Geoff]

Tks again for the comments. My friend has decided to purchase a 4.8 mt Ally Craft Bowrider.

Geoff