[QC]

For 2008 Bayliner is releasing a brand new 20 foot Bowrider dubbed the 205. This is the same boat that tashasdaddy did blind testing with a few months back. I got the opportunity to spend some time on this boat while in Knoxville, and due to some quick thinking by Bill Gius from iboats we got in some real life testing as well. More on that toward the bottom . . .



The model we tested had the optional sport seating package which includes bucket seats, a big L shaped couch, walk thru transom and a nice big sun lounge. I prefer the individual helm and front passenger bucket seats to the typical back-to-back sleeper seats. I have literally fallen onto the floor making a hard turn to retrieve a fallen skier in the typical seat. Without side bolsters I simply threw over the helm and landed on me arse. If you are going to pull skiers, boarders or tubers, my recommendation is the bucket seat. Same goes for the observer, so our test model was setup right for my preferences. These seats also have standard flip up bolsters for a better view over the windshield. For some reason I did feel a little low with the bolster down. I am not sure why, as I could see well and reach everything.



Nice movable drink cup holder “module” here that shows the cozy L shaped couch.

Our test boat had no carpet. At first I was thinking that snap in/out would be the way to go, but the more I looked at the floor I realized how nice it would be to simply hose her down after a day out. When I get home after boating, I am the last one out there messing with the boat, and the carpet is still wet and I can’t clean her up the way I want, so I leave her out for a day or two to dry out. It turns into a week and I am dreading it etc. Without any carpet there is nothing to remove, nothing to dry out. Hose off the floor and back into the garage or storage. Done deal.



Cool access hatch. Speaking of drying out . . . I’d like to see a “bag” made out of netting suspended under here for things that need to dry out. I’ve seen this on higher end boats, and it is a great feature with low cost, maybe add to the water sports package



A picture of the built in ski locker. This is one place I would have actually liked to see some carpet. It’s going to be very noisy with anything that you put down there banging directly against the fiberglass. Elsewhere there was good storage too, under the bow seats, behind the bow seat back rests, under the engine cover.

The 205 was equipped with the optional Mercruiser 260 bhp 5.0 MPI and Alpha 1. What a fantastic combo. Even with no trim tabs I could still trim her all of the way out at wide open throttle (WOT) and we got to 56 MPH. The Bayliner brochure only shows 52 MPH for this package, but the above was GPS confirmed, and with a standard aluminum prop. I guess I am just a lot better than the Bayliner test pilot . . .



Gauges at speed

Not too shabby with three guys aboard, no porpoising whatsoever and we were all in the cockpit, bow empty. I was also able to go from full throttle and full up trim to full down trim, which cut speed to about 52 MPH, and then throw the helm all of the way over, still at WOT. I then threw the wheel all the way over the other direction and crossed our own wake three times before I got the prop to blow out. That is pretty awesome.

While crossing the wakes I was impressed by the ride which makes sense with a 20 degrees deadrise bottom. This just happens to be my standard recommendation for any small boat. I can’t tell you how many times we have had people come on here complaining about ride quality and almost every time it is a deck boat with 18 degrees or less. It just makes for a much more pleasant day on the water unless there are no wakes and no chop . . . when does that happen?

While we were out tearing up the perfect glass and looking like fools, we came across a wakeboarder who I am sure was very pleased with our efforts . . . Out of nowhere Bill Gius from iboats says “I’ve got a wakeboard to test with”. I kinda looked at him like he was nuts, but then realized what he was saying. I think the other iboats guy, Drew, was sure we were both nuts as we idled over to the waker in the water, and the boat that had been pulling him, and asked if we could take their guy for a test run. So we just transferred the rope over and took him for a quick ride.



Found a nice speed and wake that got him all the way up and over

The 5.0 didn’t even blink getting him up, but pulling wakeboarders is nothing like the struggle of a slalom skier, with that noted, this 5.0 combo would have no problem popping up a Skier too. Maintaining speed on the other hand can be a chore with wakeboarders and tubers as they seem to prefer the speed just as the boat starts to come over on plane. Every boat I have driven likes to go slightly faster or slightly slower there and it is usually very hard to maintain the speed just right. I have found that trim tabs help a lot, but even without them the 205 was easy to deal with. It didn’t hurt that this control was setup perfectly. Easy effort helped me find a speed that he liked, and it just wasn’t as much work as I am used to.

All in all it is things like the minimum effort to maintain wake speed, and the ability to trim her and turn her at any speed, that leads me to say this is a very good boat for a novice. You just can’t screw up. An experienced boater will have a blast too. Very easy boat to live with, spirited performance etc.

[QC]

A couple of more pics.



This one shows how the drink cup holder module deally thing comes out for storage . . .



This one gives a shot of the helm, and also notes a nice stereo with an MP3 input. The days of the disc changer are gone.

[Bigprairie1]

Price wise...how are they comparing with the better regarded brands?
(What was the list$ on the 205/5litre?)

[QC]

List price, according to the info I was given, was $30,593, this includes the trailer and a few other options. Bayliner's site gives prices if you want to see pricing as you would spec it. Of course this is before any deals the dealer would cut . . .

[BAYLINER185]

So according to this the 08 205 is a bit more redesigned then the 07 205....WOW sounds like a really nice boat! I like that they redesigned the back seat to be L shapped. Thats COOL!

I honestly wouldnt have expected that much change in 07 to 08. I know they are using grey inlays in the vinal seats now over the blue in 07. I tend to prefer the blue but then I problably would since I have an 07 185.

[RGrew176]

Our test boat.


From the front.


Storage under the stern L seat, with drain could be used as a cooler.


Extended swim platform.

This is one sweet boat, goes 50+ and cruises 40+. Fun, fun, fun for sure.

[QC]

Thanks Rick. Great pics . . .

[Bigprairie1]

Thats a great looking boat. I really like the red colour accent on the side.
I should look at painting something like that on my 90' Capri to spruce it up a bit and 'modernize' it.
Nice pics.