New Guy Looking For Advice on Bow Rider Brands

[Pandabear90]

Hi guys,

Looking to purchase our first new bow rider. We reside in New York, so it will be salt water and will need an outboard.

We are currently looking at the Sea Ray SPX190 OB

What other boat brands/models for this kind of boat and price range would you guys recommend?

Also, how does Sea Ray rank amongst other bow rider brands such as Four Winns, Cobalt, Monterey, Chapparal, etc... how would you rank them?

Thanks,
Nick

 

[Leardriver]

Here goes a giant debate of biblical proportions:
Cobalt
Sea Ray
Chapparal
Four Winns
Moneterey.

Cobalt is priced purposely to not be in that group. If buying more than 5 years used, condition is more important than brand if you are considering the middle three, all of which will do the job splendidly.

 

[Pandabear90]

Thanks for the response! We’re probably going to buy a new one.

Here goes a giant debate of biblical proportions:
Cobalt
Sea Ray
Chapparal
Four Winns
Moneterey.

Cobalt is priced purposely to not be in that group. If buying more than 5 years used, condition is more important than brand if you are considering the middle three, all of which will do the job splendidly.

 

[JimS123]

We are in our 3rd month with our 2019 190 SPX OB. We upgraded to the 150 HP and had the dealer rebuild the trailer into an all roller model. I also added a lot of custom features myself. To say we are delighted would be an understatement.

IMHO, what sets the SPX apart from the other competitors is the space, ergonomics and the overall layout. The storage space is huge. The windshield is flat with no distortion. The dashboard is black vinyl. You can pay tons more for a Cobalt, but try to look out that curved windshield atop a white dashboard on a sunny day and see if you can see the water ahead.

I can go on and on. Go look at them all, sit in them, see if a cup holder is in the right place, see if the seats are comfortable, etc. None of the boats you listed are bad ones. Maybe one of them will feel just right.

 

[roffey]

nice looking boat...

Im not going to recommend or rank boats as I think they are all nice and feel you should buy what fits your pocket book and your butt, lol. Boats are like cars and trucks, the best one is in your driveway. If you are buying new then condition will be mint and likely you will keep it that way for years to come.

:welcome:

 

[roffey]

… and if you can, get the biggest motor you can. My feeling is you can always use less throttle but when you have to get going its nice to have the seed to get off the water in a hurry.

 

[SkiGuy1980]

My cousin bought a 2019 190 SPX with a 200 (?) IO. I love that boat! It has plenty of room and generous storage. I see you are looking at OB power and I don't know how that runs on this boat... but the IO has plenty of power for skiing/tubing.

 

[JimS123]

My cousin bought a 2019 190 SPX with a 200 (?) IO. I love that boat! It has plenty of room and generous storage. I see you are looking at OB power and I don't know how that runs on this boat... but the IO has plenty of power for skiing/tubing.

The 150 OB beats the standard 200 I/O both in top speed and fuel economy. The hole shot is also better.

The down side is that the space where the I/O engine would have been is now a big empty hole and nobody has enough boat stuff to fill it up.

 

[rojeho]

We just went through a similar exercise. We ended up with the Four Winns HD200OB. In both cases we liked the walk-in transom. It makes the boat feel larger and more luxurious. The 190SPX has a large sundeck. You lose floor space so you need to decide if that sundeck is important to you. The 210SPX has more floorspace but a decent jump in price to get there. The HD200OB was the best compromise for us. We decided with a bow filler cushion and usually 2 and max 4 adults, we didn't "need" the sundeck and didn't feel the cost jump from HD200 to 210SPX could be justified. Another selling point is the HD200OB has a dedicated space for a porta pottie and it doesn't encroach on other storage. We are very happy with the fit and finish and the style of the Four Winns. The Sea Ray is definitely a more upscale boat, but there is a price to pay for that.

With any of these, even the 190SPX, please please please select the 150hp engine. Don't do a 115. The only time you'll hate the choice is when you see the selling price. Every time out you'll thank yourself. I was teetering, found a HD200 already built with a Yam 150, and I can't tell you how happy I am that I went that direction.

 

[QBhoy]

Have a look at the Canadian Campion models. Likely a fair bit more expensive than the lost given, but not such a difference as there used to be, since they were bought over

 

[JimS123]

The 4Winns HD 200 looks like a nice boat. I don't think it was available last year, or I would have looked at it. Regardless, the only dealer is 100 miles away - not a deal breaker, but certainly not as convenient as my Searay dealer who is only a mile away.

The potty is certainly a topic we discussed. It would have required a Searay 230, and that wouldn't fit in the garage, so we decided we didn't really need one anyway. Regardless to that, having it in the open cockpit would have been a non-starter for the wife.

We don't sunbathe so the sundeck was not needed. It was the storage space under it that sold us on the boat. Now that we have it, we love it. When we eat lunch or dinner we sit on it. The shade provided by the bimini makes it a perfect spot.

As i said before, a curved windshield was a non-starter for me.

Finally, I don't know what is upscale today. The 4Winns looks pretty nice. When I priced it out with comparable options to the Searay, they came out pretty close. Plus, we have an upscale Chartplotter / GPS / Sonar that I didn't see as an option on the 4Winns.

Too many choices and too little time. We lost 2 months boating this Spring due to awful weather.

 

[lineman09]

i think any of the choices will be good to go ...i have a 2016 four winns h190 and its been great .. just wish i had bought a little bigger tho [H210] i agree on getting the most HP you can swing ... never too much power ... enjoy