Bayliner 305

I reckon it is every Australian's dream to live by the sea. For me, it's a waterfront where the waves lap at my own beach, the fish are ripe for the plucking, the jetty has a couple of boats tied up alongside, and there's a quaint timber shed filled with nautical knick-knacks.

Such houses line the shores of Berowra Waters in Sydney's north-west. I know, because I saw them from the helm of Bayliner's 305. There were brick houses, fibro houses, timber houses, jetties and boatsheds, big old fruit trees, rainwater tanks, barking dogs and fleeing fish.

Best of all, these houses are accessible only by boat. Now imagine how good life would be without traffic snarls, the garbage trucks at 4am, the constant reliance on the supermarket because there's not enough room to grow your own. Vegetables, that is.

Then it struck me like a four-by-two rapped across the noggin. Bayliner's flagship sportscruiser on which I was cruising is a waterfront weekender. If the neighbours turned out to be shockers, no worries, I could decamp to somewhere else. Only the vegie plot would have to go on hold. Small price.

COOL LOOK
Hailing from a range of sportscruisers formerly known as Cieras, the 305 loses that name for 2003 but gains a noticeable aesthetic upgrade. The biggest boat wearing the Bayliner badge, the 305 is also the only Bayliner sportscruiser fitted with twin engines.

The blue topsides help reduce the visual bulk of the 305 hull. An older, all-white Ciera nearby looked boxy and less sporty by comparison. A blue canopy, clip-in blue cockpit carpet and a raked targa arch add to the boat's good looks.

Bayliner has retained its signature eagle-eye saloon windows. As always, the deck fittings and stainless steel hardware strike a happy medium between style and practicality. For example, the bow rail tracing the foredeck is quite high for safety, rather than being low for show.

There is only a whiff of reverse sheer and the 305 looks nice just idling. Inside, the mouldings are typically rounded and no different to those you will find on Bayliner's 24-28ft models.

But it's the length of this boat that keeps everything in sweet proportion. Which is quite an achievement for a 30-footer with an 11ft beam.

TOUR OF DUTY
While Bayliner's sportscruiser could be described as formulaic, there is an overriding sense of top-to-bottom design. Amenities are integrated, seating carefully positioned, and the various stations have been created so the boat flows and passengers can move about freely.

This was evident from my first few steps aboard. Immediately, my hand found a long grab rail that helped my passage across the full-width moulded boarding platform to the port-side transom door, which is high enough to contain kiddies.

En route I brushed past an aft fender locker, which harboured an after-market stainless steel barbecue (a mounting bracket was fitted on the port-side gunwale), and noted a central swim ladder, fuel filler and pump-out point. The aft cleats sit proud of the deck for easy access to the mooring lines and fenders.

Access to the foredeck is terrific, thanks to the broad beam. Use the moulded step to port, or step off the lounge on the starboard side, to access the flat non-skid sidedecks, which have rails where you need them. By amidships the bow rail has kicked in at knee height.

A flat recess in the centre of the foredeck suggests there is a sunpad option. Meantime, a plush beach towel or two will suffice. A moulded recess further forward provides a flat work area for tending the anchor.

The boat comes with a Lewmar windlass which can be operated from the deck or the dashboard, a deep chain locker with deadeye, bowsprit and roller, and a spotlight with remote control on the dash.

But the one-piece bow rail isn't so good for loading passengers on or off at the front end and the plastic navigation lights looked a bit cheap for a $300,000 package.

Looking back from the bow I noted frosted deck hatches that provide privacy to the cabins, and two wipers on the five-piece wraparound safety-glass windscreen.

On closer inspection it became apparent that you can open the centre section of the windscreen. In fact, there are moulded steps in the dash, a courtesy light to show the way at night, and a large non-skid area to step off. Before long, owner/drivers will be berthing the boat and tying off the bow and stern lines on their own.

DAYTIME CRUISING
The seating in the 305 has been well thought out. Looking back from the helm, you can imagine how the boat would work when entertaining friends and family. The stitched white vinyl upholstery and high-density foam seems substantial, perhaps more so than in previous models.

By my reckoning the boat can seat eight people. The U-shaped lounge to starboard, which is at least half shaded by the canopy, can take five. There is a single navigator's seat to port behind the windscreen. Opposite is a helm bench seat big enough for two.

Lunches can be served around a twist-fit moulded table. When not eating or entertaining, the table can be removed, support poles fitted, and in-fill cushions plonked down to make a big sunpad or sleepout. This becomes an outdoor bed if you add covers, or dial up a balmy summer's night.

A moulded deck recess with overboard drain has been created under the lounge to carry the boat's Igloo cooler. A central-hinged lounge cushion lets you to reach the food and drinks.

While the boat has a decent fridge below, the portable cooler lets you pack lunch before the day's cruising and then take the leftovers home again afterwards for Sunday night's TV dinner.

On the port side near the transom door is a recessed hot/cold hand-held shower. Alongside is an unobtrusive moulded sink with drinking water faucet, three drink holders and a grab rail. There's storage in a locker, the boat's engine and house battery switches and shorepower lead inside.

The targa arch was fitted with overhead lights with cool stainless steel bezels, recessed speakers for the CD player, and an aerial for the after-market TV. Additional storage was provided in a big locker behind the navigator's seat to port, which held the stainless steel gas bottle for the after-market barbecue. There were courtesy lights in abundance.

Engine access is gained by lifting the cockpit carpet and a floor hatch. There was loads of servicing room around the twin Mercruiser 350 MPI V8 petrol motors and room for a 4kva genset if you want greater self-reliance or maybe air-conditioning.

The owner has added an optional inverter and freshwater cooling kit for the twin Mercruiser motors. The dealer said they also often fit an outboard bracket in the engine room, and there is room for a ducky on the transom. Fitted with a tender, no foreshore would be safe from this sporty cruiser.

DRIVING STATION
Crash-test dummies - or at least ergonomic models - are used in the design of the 305's helm. It rates highly in comfort and user-friendliness.

Vision is terrific to all quarters when seated. There are a few seconds of ‘blindness' as the bow raises when you accelerate, but standing, you can see everywhere all the time.

The driver's half of the bench seat is adjustable, as is the wheel, while the twin throttles fall naturally to hand. Engine trim switches are on the pegs and the trim tabs buttons are beside them.

The moulded beige dash doesn't reflect in the windscreen. Mock-walnut dash panels are fitted with Faria engine gauges with chrome rims, covering everything from revs to speed, oil pressure and water temperature, trim position and fuel. The switch panel controls lights, bilge pumps, windlass, wipers and the boat's digital depthsounder.

There is a blank walnut panel that, one supposes, is intended for flush-mounted electronics. There is room for at least two 7in colour or LCD screens. A GPS plotter and an autopilot would certainly be handy for cruising on big bays like Port Phillip or the SA gulfs.

Thought has been given to storing personal items like keys, mobile phones and wallets. There are two side-pockets at the helm, one with a 12V outlet and the other for maps of the relevant waterways.

Ahead of the navigator to port are three drink holders and a grab rail and the skipper gets a drink holder for his or her lemonade.

SLEEPING PILL
A new and improved bi-fold door with sliding hatch provides a big entry into the heart of the 305. While the open-plan layout has no surprises, it does have a lot of space over your entry-level 20-something sportscruisers. Headroom is hovering in the heavens and the girth-challenged won't struggle to get around.

The decor is a lot more timeless, if not nautically-themed, than the brown combinations previously seen in the Cieras. Now there are off-white headliners and mouldings, a neutral buff-coloured vinyl lounge, mock-cherrywood joinery, gold curtains and spiffy striped mattress covers.

I sat back and said to myself: "Hey, I could really live with this boat for a weekend or two".

The galley and dinette are spacious, functional and well-equipped and the positioning of the head, off the companionway steps immediately to port, means day guests won't trample your saloon carpet.

In that moulded head is a manual loo, hand-held hot/cold shower with wall-mounted bracket, moulded sink, mirror, 240V outlet (for the razor or hairdryer when tied to the dock), towel rail, moulded floor with drain to the sump pump, an opening hatch, but no extractor fan.

If you count the cockpit daybed and the convertible dinette, the boat can sleep eight people. However, it is more likely to accommodate a family of four or two couples on the separate forward and aft double beds.

The aft cabin is accessed via a big opening to starboard that allows it to double as a rumpus room for kids. There's a fully-lined hanging locker for your weekend attire and a privacy curtain on tracks at the cabin entrance. The bed offers serious sleeping space for two adults.

The dinette isn't stuffed in a corner and is nice and relaxed. The U-shaped lounge is big enough for four people to sit around a table with four meal settings. The lounge has a high back and there is a flat area nearby, which on this boat was used to house a sculpture. The boat's second hanging locker is alongside.

The galley borders on being a kitchenette, with a half-sized domestic fridge with a freezer big enough for a couple of T-bones, some frozen veg or a kilo of green prawns.

Weekends and parties are catered for by a two-burner alcohol/electric stove and microwave oven, complemented by a small amount of flat food-prep space.

The sink looks big enough to wash a plate and there were various cupboards and rough-cut marine ply drawers for storing pantry items, pots, crockery and cutlery. There were opening hatches but once gain, no extractor fan.

The circuit-breaker panel was beside the galley and a small television mounted alongside could be viewed from the dinette or forward double bed. This one rivals the aft bed for size, so neither couple should miss out on a good night's sleep. Loads of storage area is also hidden under the forward bed.

RESPONSIVE LEGS
You may pay for the convenience of two motors, but they make a huge difference about the marina. The Bravo 2 sterndrive legs are so responsive that you can put the 305 this way or that without a care in the world. Should your lose a motor you can still cruise home on the remaining one.

As for speed, well, twin 300hp V8s aren't in the habit of hanging around. The speedo didn't work and my handheld GPS started beeping before the batteries were dead. But take it from me, the boat goes plenty fast enough and it feels like it cruises at a comfy mid-20kt.

Though the river was like a mirror, the boat didn't seem to chatter across the camera-boat wake. But the biggest buzz was its handling. The hull responds immediately to a tweak on the wheel, letting you bank into tight turns, throw the boat one way then the other without ever feeling you have it wrong-footed.

Twin motors also take the 305 from being a riverside weekender to a coastal cruiser that can run to nearby ports. There are seriously good amenities and roomy accommodation aboard. Think home-away-from-home rather than a caravan on water. Think waterfront home.

Such was the quiet that the smoke from the cosy fires burning inside the riverfront cottages rose straight up into the heavens. The sun vanished behind the hills and everything changed. It was going to be a cold night on the river. I tied the final hitch on the mooring lines and ventured back... to the car.

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