maxum ,mariah or glastron opinions for bowriders wanted

[heath]

hi all

i would be grateful if anyone could give us a opinion on the maxum,maraih or glastron bowriders all of around 21 ft. i am currently looking to buy one and would like to know how people have found them . We will be having it berthed in the algarve so would also be grateful if people could tell us how the boats handle at sea.
Many thanks
Heath

 

[Overdraught]

Hi and welcome. Whilst I didn't have one of the three makes you mention, I shared a Rinker 182 Bowrider with a friend - it was a great boat, well built and generally reliable.

Bowriders are good for taking lots of people but not so good if you are likely to encounter anything much more than a calm day. A 21' might be beamier than an 18' (ours was 7') and doubtless heavier which will help at sea

As ever, depends what you want to use it for- if you must have 8 people on board, then not a bad choice, if not then I'd go for a cuddy with better protection.

Our 18'2 boat handled some fairly rough seas in the Solent.

As for the makes, I'd say they're all OK and will be similar. From what I've seen and IMHO Glastron are good value but the level of finish and quality is not perhaps as good as you'd find elsewhere.

 

[landlockedpirate]

I will start with the easiest, the Glastron is the value (Cheaper) brand, nothing wrong with it (Family had a 17ft bowrider)and no problems.

The maxum will be a step up as will be the Mariah, but a lot will depend on the age of the boat.

All of these boats are decent buys, I would suggest you look for 1 with a minimum 5.0l for a bit of excitment.

 

[KCook]

New or used? Makes a serious difference, as these are/were all built to a price. Over the years they have had swings in quality. Though this may be more of an issue for Maxum than Glastron. The Mariah company folded in about '01. A completely different company bought up the name and old molds. Then started building the current Mariahs.

If new, then my druthers for open water would be the Maxum. Nicer boat than the Mariah, and heavier than the Glastron.

But just what year you are considering is really an important factor.

Kelly Cook

 

[Rivendell]

What are you using it for ?

 

[Howardnp]

Re: maxum ,mariah or glastron opinions for bowriders wanted

I should start with Rivendell's query... I have a distinctly wary attitude to bow riders having spent a very wet 40 minutes waiting for a lifeboat in one, no appreciable waves and it buried its nose and filled up, quite frightening... the canvas cover over the bow area couldn't take the weight of water... the owner (I was level 2 assessing him at the time) has now fitted a detachable fibreglass cover for when he takes the family out on the lumpy stuff.