2014 Bayliner 190 Deck Boat & 185 Flight

Bayliner needs no introduction. The global brand has put more budding boaters on the water than most marques. Its bowriders have always been go-to craft for the hoi polloi. But the new 2014-model 185 Flight has some extra cool by way of a Monster Tower, while the latest 190 Deck Boat — fresh of the ship and the first of the new model tesedt in Australia — gains a class-leading Mercury 150hp FourStroke outboard engine.

OVERVIEW
- Brace of Bayliners with more bling and zing
We’ve always delighted in following the evolution of Bayliner’s mass-produced boats for the boating masses. These are mainstream family rigs that aim to please, which are built to a formula and priced keenly, often with enough bling and zing to tempt converts to the fold.

While Bayliner offers an appropriately named Element
for about $25K turnkey to get boaters afloat, and its conventional bowriders range down to 16 ad 17ft models, the 185 Flight tested here is a genuine 18-footer that is sized and priced just right.

The 185’s 2.31m beam means you don’t need a permit to tow it, the 19-degrees of deadrise is moderate for stability but with enough vee to punch wake and waves, while the upgraded MerCruiser 4.3L V6 with sterndrive as tested here offers towing and cruising grunt. We wouldn't entertain the thought of a base 135hp 3.0L engine with this boat as per Yankee markets.

Add the optional Flight package and the 185 gains some more go-go, with cool graphics, hull colour, extended swim platform, stainless-steel gear package and now a Monster Tower that gives greater watersports performance and poise. Some of the mouldings, such as around the engine box, are now more curvaceous, and there appears to be greater insulation and focus on reducing running noise.

But the trend in bowriders globally has been to Deck Boats offering more space and lazing room. And sterndrive-powered bowriders have been overtaken by outboard models using the latest direct-injection two-stroke and especially lightweight four-stroke technology.

Enter Bayliner’s new 190 Deck Boat, the smallest model in the increasingly popular range, equipped with the latest Mercury 150hp FourStroke outboard engine instead of the American standard 115hp four-stroke or 150hp Optimax DFI two-stroke.

With this 2014-model 190 Deck Boat you get almost more of everything compared with the 185 Flight — 17.5cm more LOA, 15cm more beam (brought well forward), 26 litres more fuel, 300kg more weight, an 11 person versus eight person capacity, greater ‘pontoon-style’ surround seating and storage, even a freshwater deck shower.

But the 190 Deck Boat has 17 degrees of hull deadrise instead of 19 degrees on the 185. Therein is a point of difference upon which we’ll duly expand. The question you need to ask yourself is: high volume, more capacity and a price premium, or a smoother ride, more sportiness and extra watersports fun for almost $16K less.

PRICE AND EQUIPMENT
- Turnkey bowrider packages in the true sense
The term “turnkey” is bandied about a lot these days, but long-time Bayliner importer Avante Marine, which has been bringing these boats to Australia for some 25 years, does it well. Everything comes bundled in the drive-away packages except fuel, water, bait, tubes, kids and ice. And with representation on east and west coasts, in the four big states, you get excellent after-sales support.

The 185 Flight with the 220hp MPI V6 MerCruiser, factory fitted graphics and watersports kit including tower and extended swim platform, and local registrations, safety gear and so on was a $47,990 BMT package at the time of testing. As a base model with the same engine, tested back in 2006, the boat rig commanded $39,990. According to an online CPI Inflation Calculator from the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the USA, $40K in 2006 has the same buying power as $115K in 2014.

Given the styling upgrade and the new tower, plus the competition in the market often fitted with smaller horsepower, the $47,990 BMT price for the 185 Flight is on the money. This should be your benchmark when you shop for an inboard 18-footer bowrider with tower.

You pay a premium for the 190 Deck Boat. The drive-away package price was $63,790 with upgraded 150hp Mercury FourStroke outboard and, it has to be said, more inherent comforts, seating, storage, general boating real-estate and amenities. So it’s going to come down to personal boating styles and application.

If you want the big pontoon-style people mover, the 190 Deck Boat justifies its price. If you want a family sports bowrider, we like the inboard 185 Flight. You’ll get a better wake and air for boarding from the Monster Tower and a smoother hull in the rough stuff if that matters.

DECKS AND LAYOUT
- Deadrise or decks, sportiness or space, inboard or outboard
You could accuse Bayliner of being somewhat formulaic with its bowrider designs and the 185 has, essentially, a tried-and-proven layout. The extended swim platform in the Flight package adds a 0.6m of waterfront real estate and watersports prep area. The swim ladder is tucked underneath, with a central ski hook playing second fiddle to the high towing point on the aluminium Monster tower.

You come aboard via the starboard quarter. Removing the seat squab means you don’t step on the upholstery and find your footing on a Kingboard panel over the sub-seat storage instead. The battery is under the portside seat, while the upholstered engine lid lifts on gas struts to assist pre-departure bilge checks and maintenance.

Engine-bay lid down and with seat squabs in place, you get a neat aft seating arrangement with drink holders and plastic grab rails nearby. Relocate the quarter seat squabs in slots up higher and you create a quasi sun lounge across the transom. The co-pilot seat was a back-to-back number for more lounging space and, together, the cockpit can seat five, with a couple of kids in the deep and safe bow.

Storage ranges from a moulded recess in the moulded engine-bay lid to full-length sidepockets (with albeit small upholstered retaining lips), to higher pockets for personal effects, a lock-up glovebox (with nearby stereo Jensen unit and MP3 jack), underfloor ski and board locker to sub-seat storage in the bow and twin hatches leading back inside the helm and co-pilot consoles.

There are non-skid treads strategically about the gunwales, the new helm carbon-look has a simplified design using multifunction engine-data gauges rather than lots of analogues, and there are aircraft-style toggles switches and a Taylor Marine wraparound windscreen with plastic fittings on its struts.

The internal upholstery, furry-grey frontrunner internal hull lining, and glued caps over the foam-filling access points on the hull sides were a bit slap dash on our 185 test boat. A better application of sidepocket liners is expected and we’d like to see deeper sidepockets that let you retain bulkier items. Anchor storage is relegated to the central sub-seat storage hold in the bow.

The 190 Deck Boat offered walkthrough transom access, non-skid transom steps either side of the outboard, optional deck shower (40-litre water tank) and wet storage, plus a retractable ski pole. Once aboard, there’s a veritable catacomb of dry storage (no sidepockets for paddles though) beneath the surround pontoon-style seating, a lot more foot and shoulder room, and flat floor space than the 185. With the bimini pulled across this will be a great lunch boat.

Further storage exists inside the helm consoles, in bow and foredeck lockers, where there’s a boarding ladder and room to stow an anchor, plus in an underfloor ski locker. There’s an abundance of drinkholders, speakers front and back, a higher level of trim and plush upholstery, and more design going on. As such, the 190 Deck Boat is a better entertaining platform and multi-family dayboat.

HULL AND ENGINEERING
- Time-proven build and fit-up
Given parent company Brunswick Marine owns Mercury and MerCruiser you can expect the engine fit-ups, wiring looms and runs to be up to scratch. There’s not a lot new to report on the engineering front, with the foam-filled GRP hulls including glass-encapsulated plywood as part of a construction method that has stood the test of time.

The Mercury and MerCruiser plug-and-play wiring, multifunction gauges and engine set-ups were as per the factory, leaving little to chance. While the MerCruiser inboard engine is old news, the latest 150hp FourStroke outboard has attracted a lot more buzz. The 3.0-litre, four-cylinder in-line configuration has more displacement than any other 150hp four-stroke, yet Mercury claims class-leading fuel efficiency at cruising speed.

At just 206kg, Mercury’s 150hp FourStroke is in fact the most compact in its class (for now) and a simplified SOHC engine with some 18 per cent fewer parts than Yamaha’s DOHC F150 design. The other nice thing, inherent with an outboard, is that you can tilt the leg clear of the water and get into the tightest beaches. You might have to wade to shore from the 185 with sterndrive leg.

As for bilge and battery access, it rates as good on the 185 Flight for owners, with access to the sender on the polypropylene tank, too. The 190 Deck Boat’s bilge access wasn’t as good and the freshwater pump for the deck shower was in a tricky spot under the transom seats.

ON THE WATER
- A case of more deadrise for a better ride
As touched on, the 185 Flight has more deadrise, less beam and a pointier, sportier hull, with a nice wake for watersports derived from the 220hp V6 4.3 MPI MerCruiser and Alpha one leg. You get the consummate Bayliner bowrider drive, with our notes reading  “great poke and hole shot, sporty off-the-wheel steering, and good efficiency down low.”

Wide-open throttle of 5000rpm returned 53-54mph or 46-47 knots, which is a benchmark speed for a boat like this. Fast cruise at 4000rpm saw a speedy 47 knots, 3500rpm gives a cruise of 31 knots, while the 185 Flight sat down and planed happily at 2500rpm and 21.7 knots or 25mph towing speed. It’s a predictable but far from boring boat to drive.

The wider, flatter 190 Deck was eager to plane but presented a lot more surface area to the water. As such, it’s a tad chatty through the boat wake and waves, requiring you back off when traversing substantial boat wash from, say, big white cruisers steaming by on a sunny Sunday. You might need to nurse the boat a bit more on busy and exposed waterways, but in the estuary it is otherwise at home.

Wide-open throttle of 5600rpm saw 41-42 knots, 5000rpm fast continuous revs returned 36.5 knots, cruise was clocked at 4500rpm and 32-33 knots, whereupon we had the remarks “fool proof” and “good sight lines” scribbled down. Eco cruise of 4000rpm with this outboard gives 28-29 knots, while the boat will happily tow the tykes at 3500rpm and 23 knots (27mph) down to 3200rpm and 20 knots (23mph) for the kiddies on tubes.

There’s a tad less excitement when driving the 190 Deck Boat/150 FourStroke outboard combination, but the rig is agreeably quiet, predictable and safe, and user-friendly from the initial launch on its the matched trailer to the cruise, towing and eventually return. Having just tested Mercury’s new 2.0L 115hp FourStroke with the same engineering, we reckon you could power down here, save some bills and still derive hauling grunt with the optional bigger Command Thrust gearbox. Inquire about the savings with a 115 if you don’t mind cruising places at mid-20-knots.

VERDICT
- Sports bowrider or magic carpet people mover?
Deck boats and pontoon boats are hot property in North America. More and more people are heading out just to hang out. Stage a picnic aboard or ashore, step off via the bow ladder, tow the kids with the 150hp FourStroke après lunch, and then pack all the kit away and enjoy the ride home on your magic carpet while the decks remain uncluttered. And use less fuel.

The 190 is a great people mover, with factory options of portable toilet or a fishing package including trolling motor, live well and casting platforms. The boat excels in calm water, for gadding about the river and hitting a boat-only accessible beach. It’s got female and family appeal and is a very ‘clubbable’ social boat.

The 185 Flight is more of a single-family rig with sportier performance and better engine integration from the inboard. The extra two degrees of deadrise and less wetted surface area make a difference to the ride. This is a better performer for bays and harbours and a better towboat. It’s also a $16K less. Verdict: we’ll take the 185 Flight. Look at Bayliner’s new big Element if you want a more cost effective ‘deck-style’ boat.

LIKES
>> User-friendly turnkey bowrider and deck boat packages
>> Sporty performance of the 185 Flight with cool watersports kit
>> Abundant bow-to-stern seating, storage and space on the 190 Deck Boat
>> Mercury 150hp FourStroke is a class-leading outboard with frugal fuel economy
>> Big brand and established local dealer backing

NOT SO MUCH
>> The soft-furnishings and their application inside the 185 wasn’t up to scratch, with visible glue, foam-filling plugs and uneven fabric liners
>> We’d like to see deeper retaining lips on the sidepockets to hold more gear
>> You pay a pretty hefty premium for the extra boat in the 190 Deck with smaller outboard engine

RATINGS
Bayliner 185/190 Deck — Scores out of possible 5
Overall rating: 4.6/4.40
Mechanical/equipment: 4.7/4.7
Packaging and practicality: 4.6/4.7
On the water Performance: 4.7/4.2
Value for money: 4.6/4.2
X-factor: 4.5/4.2

Specifications:
Bayliner 185 Flight/190 Deck Boat
Price as tested: Drive-away BMT trailerboat rigs for $47,990 with 220hp MPI V6 MerCruiser and Flight package including Monster tower; $63,790 with latest 150hp Mercury FourStroke outboard, optional deck shower and more.
Length (overall): 5.49m/5.66m
Beam: 2.31m/2.42m
Deadrise: 19/17 degrees
Fuel: 106 litres/132 litres
Capacity: 8/11 people
Weights: Approx. 1060kg/1380kg with base 135hp 3.0L/115h Optimax engine options (sans trailer)

SUPPLIED BY:
Avante Marine
Silverwater - Sydney
T: (02) 9737 0727
F: (02) 9737 0235
210 - 212 Silverwater Road
Silverwater NSW 2128
www.avantemarine.com.au