Deckboat vs 18' Runabout

[arminius]

Trying to decide on used boat. Was set on used 18' runabout with the 4.3 and swim platform for about $12k. However, I'm wondering if going the deck boat route seems to make more sense for us. I realize it'll cost me $5k-$10k more, but seem very nice. I'll mostly use boat for tubing, fishing, and slow cruising. I've never been on a deck boat, anyone have thoughts on plusses, minuses?

 

[oldjeep]

The plus is more usable space, minus is typically heavier for same length will not go as fast. There are a lot of deck boat configurations so it kind of matters what brand/model you are talking about.

 

[CV16]

Lots more room for extra people on a deck boat. Also easier to get back into the boat, you don't have to climb over the sunpad/seats to enter. I bought a bow rider last year, now I wish I had went with a deck boat.

 

[jkust]

Lots of times the deck boats have a head and a fresh water system such as a faucet/sink area. Many will have a bow ladder even in older versions whereas it took bowriders a few years to add the bow ladders. I don't really care for their shallow angle of entry however. My boat has a 20 degree deadrise and I've seen some nice deckboats with shallow 17 degrees and think I've even seen a 16 which means it won't cut through the waves as good. Some of the mid 2000's deck boats to me just have an awful style about them and are just less attractive than their bowrider counterparts. We went bowrider because we don't want a head or any sort of water system to have to winterize and maintain given our 90 day summer and the fact we are on a lake and don't need those things.
I think on the 18 foot bowrider, you need to decide how may people you will be running with on a daily basis. We had an 18 foot bowrider for 8 years and as the kids grew, even our family of 4 needed more space.

Newer, smaller bowriders and older larger bowriders (and of course newer) have a pass through area at the transom so you never have to walk over the upholstery. The pass through then will have a hinged bit of upholstery that will swing back down into place or a removable seat section if you want to reclaim the space that is taken up by the pass through. We simply step off the dock onto the extended swim platform through the pass through and into the boats. Feet/your full weight never are on the upholstery. Buying your second boat is great because you know exactly what you need that your first boat lacked but you didn't realize it when you bought it.

 

[wrvond]

I don't think the deck boat bow has any great gains over a bow rider. What I do like is the swivel chair for the mate and the huge seating available aft. However, in boats this size, loading the rear does make getting on plane much more difficult, if not impossible. The walk through transom is very nice too. However, the deck boat is going to give a much rougher ride over wakes. There are bow riders out there with full width seating and a huge sun deck, you just have to look around.

 

[jkust]

I don't think the deck boat bow has any great gains over a bow rider. What I do like is the swivel chair for the mate and the huge seating available aft. However, in boats this size, loading the rear does make getting on plane much more difficult, if not impossible. The walk through transom is very nice too. However, the deck boat is going to give a much rougher ride over wakes. There are bow riders out there with full width seating and a huge sun deck, you just have to look around.

Lots of bowriders a bit larger have these things but pretty much every single deck boat i've seen (I don't consider boats prior to the 2000's and technically 2002 as that is when MPI on small block v8's and v6's was introduced) have a lot of extras such as multiple table locations to deploy the table that comes with it. Many times a spot in the bow and at the rear seating area as well. We absolutely love the table that came with our bowrider which wasn't available on the 18 foot version of our boat. Getting on plane is a function of the power plant, dry weight of the boat and of course prop selection and whether it has trim tabs or not. An 18 footer with a small block v8 MPI engine can be loaded to the hilt and then some vs that very same boat with a 4.3. Many times deckboats and fewer times smaller bowriders have bow door as well. Many times on deckboats because they are a standard item and fewer times on the smaller bowriders because they are an option if they were offered at all.

 

[wrvond]

Lots of bowriders a bit larger have these things but pretty much every single deck boat i've seen (I don't consider boats prior to the 2000's and technically 2002 as that is when MPI on small block v8's and v6's was introduced) have a lot of extras such as multiple table locations to deploy the table that comes with it. Many times a spot in the bow and at the rear seating area as well. We absolutely love the table that came with our bowrider which wasn't available on the 18 foot version of our boat. Getting on plane is a function of the power plant, dry weight of the boat and of course prop selection and whether it has trim tabs or not. An 18 footer with a small block v8 MPI engine can be loaded to the hilt and then some vs that very same boat with a 4.3. Many times deckboats and fewer times smaller bowriders have bow door as well. Many times on deckboats because they are a standard item and fewer times on the smaller bowriders because they are an option if they were offered at all.

I took it the OP is looking at 18' deck boats and comparing them to used 18' bow riders.

 

[jkust]

I took it the OP is looking at 18' deck boats and comparing them to used 18' bow riders.

I assumed he was looking at deckboats which come in sizes larger than 18 feet versus a smaller 18 foot bowrider given his penchant to want to increase the budget 10k if needed. I want to say they come exclusively larger than 18 feet but of course there could be an unusual small deckboat out there somewhere. If for example a deckboat was available in the 2000's that was the same year as the hypothetical 18 foot bowrider, it wouldn't be 10k more just because it is a deck boat leading my deductive reasoning to believe he was intending to go to a standard deckboat sized craft. I haven't come across an 18 foot deckboat in the 2000's.

Deckboats are generally larger boats than 18 feet loa.

 

[oldjeep]

I don't think the deck boat bow has any great gains over a bow rider. What I do like is the swivel chair for the mate and the huge seating available aft. However, in boats this size, loading the rear does make getting on plane much more difficult, if not impossible. The walk through transom is very nice too. However, the deck boat is going to give a much rougher ride over wakes. There are bow riders out there with full width seating and a huge sun deck, you just have to look around.

I don't know about that
19 ft deck boat. That is a whole lot more space than is in a 19ft bowrider, especially if you are into fishing

 

[wrvond]

I don't know about that
19 ft deck boat. That is a whole lot more space than is in a 19ft bowrider, especially if you are into fishing

Which brings us right back around to your original statement: "There are a lot of deck boat configurations so it kind of matters what brand/model you are talking about."

 

[JasonB]

Here's my humble take, keep in mind, we are inland lakes and river use only. We used to have a 19' bowrider. It rode very well and did all the watersports my family of 4 cared to do and would touch near 50mph, though it was rare occasion to run it that hard. It was rated for more, but if we got over 4 passengers, the rest needed to be kids because space was getting tight and a cooler just made things worse. The boat was over 4200lbs loaded, trailer and all. Loved the boat overall, but we felt it didn't fit our boating style and I disliked the amount of maintenance (a few hours to winterize/unwinterize) and we wanted to consider a smaller tow vehicle.

Fast forward, we sold that boat and picked up a Lowe 22' Aluminum deck with a 120hp outboard, much like the boat pictured in the post above. I call it my back porch on the water. It tops out in the mid 30's. The ride is a bit different, maybe a bit rougher, but not horribly so, maintenance is almost nil, and it weighs less than 3000lbs ready to go. It is rated for 8 and we can move around freely.

Our use is mostly to find a quiet cove to swim and relax a while then maybe some tubing, boarding, or skiing. This boat does it all for us reasonably well. We added a 3 seat jet-ski to the mix this year. The deck is a great platform to use as a floating base with it. Enough room for everyone to move around, very stable, and remarkably nimble for its size, though not as much fun to drive as the bowrider. Maintenance with the outboard is minimal, winterizing takes 10 minutes. While I can pull it with a smaller vehicle, it is larger and is kind of like a parachute, so the weight savings may be offset. We just bought a mid-size suv, so I will find out for sure in the next couple weeks. The only real downside for me so far is it's like going from a sport sedan to a full-size suv driving wise, but I'm ok with that. We did do a 20+ mile cruise last fall and everyone enjoyed the couch on the water feel.

All in all, I have no regrets about going the deck boat route. The family is happier with the comfort and I'm happier with the reduced maintenance. I'm an outboard guy at heart anyway. Really digging the Aluminum hull as well, few things to rot, but, since it is a riveted hull, I'll probably have to deal with a leaky rivet or two one day down the road. If it happens, I'll fix it and ride on.

It all comes down to the waters you operate on and the activities you do. I would consider a fiberglass deck boat before a bowrider for our use, but don't discount the aluminum decks out there from Lowe, Princecraft, and some older SunTracker and Fisher models, maybe others. A few could/can be had with I/O's if that's your flavor. Hope this helps.

 

[H20Rat]

The plus is more usable space, minus is typically heavier for same length will not go as fast. There are a lot of deck boat configurations so it kind of matters what brand/model you are talking about.

Not always! Deckboats are almost always heavier, but they often have very little deadrise. My deckboat is nearly flat at the transom, and once it is up on the plane, the thing moves! (also rides like crap if it gets to rough out)

 

[jkust]

Not always! Deckboats are almost always heavier, but they often have very little deadrise. My deckboat is nearly flat at the transom, and once it is up on the plane, the thing moves! (also rides like crap if it gets to rough out)

There were some really great deals on deckboats when I picked up my current standard bowrider boat this spring. Thing is we are on a large lake full time with the boat and can't stand getting beat up with a low deadrise boat when it is a busy day with lots of rogue waves all around or just a heavy wind day which is a lot of days.

 

[roffey]

Not sure if this counts for anything but my current boat is considered a deck boat however most would pass it off as a bowrider. ( http://www.stingrayboats.com/products/models16/models.php?model=198lx ). This boat is faster than most 20 foot boats on the lake and will take 9 people, I can still fish off of it and pull skiers no problem, just MHO.