Boston Whaler 16 Ventura

The signs of summer are many - cricket on the television, bronzed bodies on the beach, flies on your back, the smell of coconut oil, barbecues in your neighbour's backyard, the flip-flop of thongs on concrete, the sudden fizz announcing a cold drink, Bindi-eyes and sand and sunburn.

On the waterways, there are boats of all shapes and sizes setting out on adventures wherever you care to look. As sure as there will be kids reaching for ice-blocks in the freezers at milkbars - and leaving the sliding lid open - there will be sun and fun-seekers gadding about in bowriders.

All the sights, scents and sounds of a summer came to mind when I set foot on the Boston Whaler 16 Ventura bowrider. These were, however, fanciful visions because it was mid-winter and the waterways looked as summery as a high-country trout stream during a dump.

But don't think this bowrider was as out of place as a bikini-clad girl in mid-June, a zinc cream snoz in a trendy inner-city cafe, or a straw hat at the snow. Deep and beamy, the Boston Whaler 16 Ventura is a surprisingly versatile boat, an all-water, all-season, please-all-the-people-all-the-time kind of boat.

Compared to some low-profile bowriders, this is one you can take upriver and back down again, cross the bay at full noise, and find another river less travelled. Here is a bowrider to skedaddle about the waterways with the family, a sportsboat to tow the tykes on their toys, and a beach hopper to find a picnic venue.

Even in mid-winter, it's a very competent boat not at all out of place speeding across a big river -trimmed out and skipping on the barest shred of fibreglass - in search of your old summer haunts.

BUILT LIKE A BRICK OUTHOUSE
Whaler uses what it calls the "Unsinkable Unibond" construction method. The hull gains a tremendous amount of rigidity from being foam-filled and is backed by a transferable 10-year warranty.

Basically, there is an outer hull and a moulded top deck, bonded together, with the void filled with a special closed-cell foam. Aside from creating a stiff hull, the foam deadens running noise and gives positive buoyancy.

The boat's swamped capacity is an impressive 1905kg or five people including outboard, fuel, and gear. Just to prove a point, the company shows a 16 Boston Whaler in its brochure which has been pumped full of water and is still floating 15 people high and dry.

The boat comes with seating for six adults. The hull weighs 589kg dry, and is rated to a 20in long-shaft outboard, from 50-115hp. Underfloor fuel capacity is 170lt - almost twice what you'll find on some 16-footers - allowing you to run long distances, set-up camp, ski all day, and come home again.

All the deck fittings are top-shelf marine-grade stainless heavier gauge than you might find on other 16ft bowriders. The bowrails, aftrails and windscreen frame feel solid when you grab hold off them, ditto the cleats when you lasso a mooring line.

Whaler's reputation for a well-finished boat was evident on this 16-footer. There were a few gaps where the fittings joined the deck, but the deck moulding was very well done, and the running surface is quite complex, especially when viewed on the trailer.

The so-called Accutrack hull boasts a fine forefoot, with a massive amount of flotation and lift. The forward section is almost cathedral-like. Compared with other bowriders, the Boston Whaler Ventura must be the driest and safest 16-footer money can buy.

The bow sits so high above the water that you can carry a bunch of brawny mates, with two beer-gut Aussies up front, and they would remain dry even in tight turns. The cockpit is a self-draining number with 47.5cm of internal freeboard. The optional canvas pack comprises a forward cockpit cover so you can convert the boat into a runabout.

MUSICAL CHAIRS
While the seating positions on this bowrider are regular - that is, front, back and middle - the way the seats have been constructed is different to most boats with moulded top decks. In the bow there is a padded wedge that could be used as a casting platform or throne, but the real seating begins with two forward-facing seats ahead of the windscreen.

Instead of sitting side-saddle, you get to ride facing forward with a terrific view of the water (though the skipper's vision may be impaired), and there is a good amount of legroom to boot. The bow is traced by a solid welded rail - the entire hull is outlined with a heavy-duty rubrail - which provides useful handholds.

Unlike so many US bowriders, there is - hooray! - a self-draining anchor locker up front, plus the usual storage under the forward seats, a split navigation light and two cleats. The windscreen is a wraparound number with an anodised alloy frame and an opening centre section. It's more upright than some sportsboats, affording protection from the afternoon nip when you finally decide to make a run for the ramp.

The helm and companion seats are both sliding buckets on pedestals, with polypropylene backrests and room to stretch the legs under the dash, despite there being an Igloo cooler under the copilot seat. The copilot also has a non-locking (why?) glovebox, drinkholder and a stainless grabrail.

Swivel the copilot's seat and he or she can observe the thrill-seekers chopping up the wake. The ski pylon, which slots into pos ition just ahead of the enginewell, is an option as are ski-racks under the gunwale. The boat doesn't have dedicated sidepockets or room for storing skis and toys in standard guise.

The king of the kids, the skipper, is treated to a simple dash with a drinkholder, compass, electric horn, and engine gauges including tacho, water temp, volts and fuel. The switch panel controls lights, bilge pump, and accessory outlets, where you can plug in the mobile or video recorder.

While the wheel is a sporty, tilt-adjustable number, the boat really does need hydraulic steering to lessen the load.

A terrific grade of non-skid covers the cockpit, while the aft seating is surrounded by stainless rails for added security like a carriage on a roller-coaster. (You'll have to try hard to fling the kids out of this one.) A live-bait tank doubles as an icebucket under the port seat, with the battery and isolator under the starboard seat base.

Reversing or coming of the plane in a hurry didn't ship water into the 16-footer's cockpit. Yet the boat is low enough for skiers to clamber aboard. There is a swim ladder to starboard and a ski hook just in case you forget to order the optional pole.

RIDE TIME
Worse luck, I forgot my okanuis, left my girlfriend at home in a new bikini, and my kneeboard suspended from the rafter in the shed - home to a family of Daddy Long Legs. But I did hightail it upriver to some popular playgrounds where, had this been summer, I would have let my hair down.

With a 75hp Mariner and a 16in stainless prop, the Boston Whaler Ventura 16 had no problem getting out of the hole. It felt like a slippery skiff.

It's definitely more of a rough-water boat than a thoroughbred sports machine, though it banked well and didn't wash off speed. Just fine for social skiing.

As one of those sprats who spent long and holy days by the river, dodging jelly blubbers while trying to stay upright on two skis, stopping only when the snags were cooked and the mums were waving and shouting from the shore - I gauge this to be a handy family sportsboat.

But in addition to the sand, salt and bloody flies, summer days are remembered for their afternoon sea breezes. For many sportsboaters with low-profile runabouts, the wind spells the end of a day's boating.

Wind and waves are no obstacle for the Boston Whaler Ventura, however. It's a summer savvy all-rounder, keenly priced at $44,500, but you'll need to pay extra for the thongs, zinc cream, tow ropes, tubes, snags, mohair rug and Hibachi...