Cruisers Yachts 328 Bow Rider

By Andy Adams, Editor

The brand new Cruisers Yachts 328 Bow Rider is one of a new breed of boats that is redefining our expectations. The emphasis is on living space, entertaining friends and family on board and on going places for the day. With twin Volvo Penta V8-380 horsepower new generation V-8 engines that include features like multipoint fuel injection and variable valve timing, this boat is powerful, fast and economical.

It’s amazing to think that a spacious 33 footer can accelerate this quickly and hit top speeds in the 50 miles per hour range because this boat has a fully enclosed standing height head that includes a shower and a berth in the cabin to sleep two adults. Our test boat was equipped with air-conditioning, a refrigerator, microwave, portable cooler and simply sensational seating and accommodations.

The bow rider area has chair height seating, removable table, audio system controls and loads of storage. There’s a double width helm seat and companion seat so four can sit facing forward when you’re blasting from A to B but when you reach your destination, these versatile armrest-equipped seats swivel around to face back into the cockpit. A highlight is that the aft bench seat can fold right out as a sun lounge that is more than 6 feet long yet, doesn’t intrude into the cockpit foot area and has backrests that can face either forward or back for tanning, swimming or whatever you would like. So, it can go cruising if you want, but primarily the Cruisers Yachts 328 Bow Rider is big comfortable day boat and that seems to be what the high-end buyer is looking for today.

SPECIFICATIONS

Length Overall: 32’11” / 9.98 m

Beam: 10’10” / 3.30 m

Dry Weight including engines: 11,000 lbs / 4,990 kg

Fuel Capacity: 154 gal / 583 l

Max. Horsepower: Twin 380 HP

Price: US $251,195 (Cruisers base boat price)

Photo captions:

1) Cruisers Yachts new 328 Bowrider combines the best of a massive bowrider with a large mid cabin suitbale for overnighting a couple in comfortable surroundings

2) The helm is at once elegant and functional wtih carbon fiber paneling accented wtih brushed stainless steel and vinyl trim accents

Video Gallery

Bennington 22 MSB

By Andy Adams

If you’ve already had firsthand experience with a pontoon, you will easily understand the appeal of the Bennington 22 MSB. But if you haven’t, let’s start by reviewing a few of the reasons why pontoon boats have become top sellers in markets across North America.

Pontoon boats began in the early 1950s as basically four steel drums lashed to a frame. They were not unlike the log rafts of ancient cultures and not much more sophisticated at first.

Read More

Destinations

The Best of Two Worlds

By Mathew Channer

Interior British Columbia might not be as famous for recreational boating as Canada’s Great Lakes, yet it is no less a world-class boating destination. The mountains offer their own flavour of marine adventure with their series of long, deep ribbon lakes, and there is perhaps no area that embodies this more uniquely than the iconic Okanagan basin in southern B.C. One could be forgiven for assuming this valley was purpose-built for nautical fun, with a few delightful perks thrown in to make the area entirely irresistible (wine-tasting, anyone?).

Read More