The 2009 Bayliner 175 review

[RyanSS]

Re: The 2009 Bayliner 175 review

My family and I spent a long weekend on a neighbors Bayliner 175 w/3.0L. It would pull 3 people on the tube with 3 people in the boat easily. Had no problem pulling up a skier with 5 people in the boat at the same time. Nobody wanted to be left at the dock! Even did a decent job pulling up a so-so experienced slalom skier with 5 people in the boat. If I had the money, I'd be in the market for one for sure.

 

[hotwls13]

Re: The 2009 Bayliner 175 review

Now days for 13k i do not think you could buy any other new boat.

Aint that the truth. I pick up my New 07 175 Flight Saturday (as long as everything goes as planned). At $14K OTD, I can't justify buying a used one around here.

 

[tmh]

Re: The 2009 Bayliner 175 review

Its hard to see in the pics but the engine compartment was painted light gray.
Now days for 13k i do not think you could buy any other new boat.
I was never a Bayliner fan in the past but if i ever buy a new one the Bayliner 205 Flight edition will be the one.
I will be posting it soon...

Hmmm.....I test drove the Bayliner 205 Flight edition at a local marina and neither I nor the Marina owner to get it to stop porpousing in cruise speed range. it was basically perfect condition - a slight chop, no other boats around so no wakes. It WAS a very quick, nimble hull but I wouldn't buy it due to the ride quality. Quality-wise it was so-so but certainly fine for me.

I think one needs to ride an entry level boat then a similar higher end boat (similar size) to really appreciate the difference. However, in the 175 size range I don't know if anyone has perfected the ride much.

 

[fixb52s]

Re: The 2009 Bayliner 175 review

From what I see, it looks like a $12K boat. It appears the fiberglass is pretty thin around the helm, and the whole boat looks kind of cheap. Getting 50 mph out of the 3.0 should not be a problem because this boat is so light, but what good is speed when it might have problems with stability?

I test drove a new 06 Bayliner 175 2 years ago that had the 4.3 V6. It looked good and the price was right at $15K. I was not that impressed with the ride, and the boat seemed to flex more than I felt comfortable with.

With that said though, a brand new boat for under $13K is a great starter boat for a small family that wants new for a good price and keeps it on calm waters. It should sell very well.​

 

[steve201]

Re: The 2009 Bayliner 175 review

Its hard to see in the pics but the engine compartment was painted light gray.
Now days for 13k i do not think you could buy any other new boat.
I was never a Bayliner fan in the past but if i ever buy a new one the Bayliner 205 Flight edition will be the one.
I will be posting it soon...

Hi Gary,
I was with you guys last week on the boat test!.I was teamed up with FTD.."Full Throttle Doug".....it was great to meet up with you guys and drive the boats....I didn't drive the 175 but did drive the flight packed red rocket.....
I'm interested in reading what you guys came up with for a review..

it was great taking the tour of the factory....bayliner/maxum is making thier boats more competitive and cost effective to buy and own...just outstanding boats for the money...

Steve Stephens

 

[steve201]

Re: The 2009 Bayliner 175 review

From what I see, it looks like a $12K boat. It appears the fiberglass is pretty thin around the helm, and the whole boat looks kind of cheap. Getting 50 mph out of the 3.0 should not be a problem because this boat is so light, but what good is speed when it might have problems with stability?

I test drove a new 06 Bayliner 175 2 years ago that had the 4.3 V6. It looked good and the price was right at $15K. I was not that impressed with the ride, and the boat seemed to flex more than I felt comfortable with.

With that said though, a brand new boat for under $13K is a great starter boat for a small family that wants new for a good price and keeps it on calm waters. It should sell very well.​

Don't kid yourself....we put these boats thru some rough paces....Doug and I took them out into the rough stuff and they took the full throttle beatings we subjected them too..they didn'f flex.....the quality of the build is excellent...fit and finish is definitely not of your old bayliners.......
bayliner has made alot of good strides in quality assurance and performance......

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: The 2009 Bayliner 175 review

Hi Steve!

Like you said,I run the heck out of the 175 and like Doug i took it in some rough water and was very happy with the ride for a 17ft boat.
Doug passed me driving the 175,I was in the 3100,He hit my wake and went about 5 ft in the air and never backed off the throttle...
We had a blast!!

I did not feel any flex in the hull of this boat!

 

[QC]

Re: The 2009 Bayliner 175 review

I don't know of any other 3.0s pushing 50 . . . That's pretty impressive. As I said, reminds me a lot of my experience with the 205. That boat could take a serious beating and downright stupid maneuvers without missing a beat.

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: The 2009 Bayliner 175 review

I don't know of any other 3.0s pushing 50 . . . That's pretty impressive. As I said, reminds me a lot of my experience with the 205. That boat could take a serious beating and downright stupid maneuvers without missing a beat.

I agree Kevin,The 205 was a blast! Very fast boat.Ask Bill about my WOT u-turn..

 

[Limited-Time]

Re: The 2009 Bayliner 175 review

From what I see, it looks like a $12K boat. It appears the fiberglass is pretty thin around the helm, and the whole boat looks kind of cheap. Getting 50 mph out of the 3.0 should not be a problem because this boat is so light, but what good is speed when it might have problems with stability?

I test drove a new 06 Bayliner 175 2 years ago that had the 4.3 V6. It looked good and the price was right at $15K. I was not that impressed with the ride, and the boat seemed to flex more than I felt comfortable with.

With that said though, a brand new boat for under $13K is a great starter boat for a small family that wants new for a good price and keeps it on calm waters. It should sell very well.​

Oh the price of "paying" for past sins, and over coming ones own target market. The quality and workmanship in todays entry level boats has never been higher.................this is not your daddy's' Bayliner. However an entry level craft by definition, and design is just that.
That said, the value/quality per dollar todays entry level owner receives is noticeably ahead of that available only a few years ago. This "bottom up" quality improvement in turn drives the mid and higher end manufactures to improve their products and customer service as well. This trend, if it continues bodes well for all future boat owners.

 

[tmh]

Re: The 2009 Bayliner 175 review

I don't know......when I see reviewer saying "it can take a beating" after a "part of one day" trial I start scratching my head. Obviously you wouldn't expect any brand new boat to fall apart going over some chop! Did you compare the ride to any other brand new higher-end boats of that size? Did you check each bolt./screw/ rivet when you were done to make sure none had loosened? Did the seats fully support you over big waves?

I'm not saying any of you testers aren't telling the truth - i'm sure you are - but I also think you're maybe overstating things that could never be determined by a simple test ride.

Also, the simple fact that a 3.0L engine pushes it over 50 mph makes me find it VERY hard to believe it has a comfortable ride! Fun, probably, but I just don't see how any design can be that fast AND have the ride quality of deeper, heavier boats.

As I sad earlier, i tested a 205 Flight Series and it was fast and fun but the ride quality really kinda sucked. My kids would love it but my wife would hate it.

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: The 2009 Bayliner 175 review

I agree that just testing one day does not say how the boat will hold up in the long term real world.
This 175 was tested by over 25 people in 3 days with no signs of anything coming loose or falling apart.
I have owned many different brands of boats in this size range over the last 20 years and i still think this boat had the best ride.
I did not expect the same ride that my deep V Chris Craft has.The Bayliner is about half the weight.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: The 2009 Bayliner 175 review

i went to the unveiling of the 205, we had 3 different model. 9 of us beat and abused those boats, in one area we had a 2- 2 1/2 foot chop. never back off the throttle, donuts. jumping each others wakes and our own wakes. i have never abused a boat like we did those.

 

[codertimt]

Re: The 2009 Bayliner 175 review

I don't know of any other 3.0s pushing 50 . . . That's pretty impressive. As I said, reminds me a lot of my experience with the 205. That boat could take a serious beating and downright stupid maneuvers without missing a beat.

Is there gps/radar data to verify the 50mph claim? It just doesn't compute... Unless they changed gear ratio on the 3.0/Alpha, it would take a 23" prop and 5000 rpm to touch 50. And it would have to be a crazy efficient hull(<5% prop slip) to even reach high 40's with a 21" prop.

Since the weight seems to be the same as the previous generation 175, I would assume a 21" prop and mid 40's...just like the previous year 175 and most other 17-18 footers with the 3.0...

Anyway, not trying to cause trouble, but unless verified a 50mph claim is a bit misleading to potential buyers reading this review...

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: The 2009 Bayliner 175 review

Speed was checked on each boat with a Garmin GPS.
Looking back at my notes for this boat it was 47 mph GPS and showed 51 on the Speedo.
Sorry for this wrong info,i was off by 3mph.I believe in calm conditions it would still reach 50 mph.
Our tests were on the intercoastal in pretty good chop.

 

[codertimt]

Re: The 2009 Bayliner 175 review

Speed was checked on each boat with a Garmin GPS.
Looking back at my notes for this boat it was 47 mph GPS and showed 51 on the Speedo.
Sorry for this wrong info,i was off by 3mph.I believe in calm conditions it would still reach 50 mph.
Our tests were on the intercoastal in pretty good chop.

Well okay then...consider me corrected...that's pretty dang impressive.

 

[QC]

Re: The 2009 Bayliner 175 review

I agree that just testing one day does not say how the boat will hold up in the long term real world.

I will say though this is more like being given the keys to a rental car . . . Our jobs were to run these things through the paces. I did things to that poor 205 (bigger ones too) that I would never do to my own boat. Yes, time is the biggest killer, but what I tried to do was compress as much stupidity into a short time as possible. All boats need tightening and TLC once and a while, but I was looking at this more from the perspective of how will it treat a first time owner.

With the 205 for example, I did consecutive lock to lock turns at WOT. I have NEVER done that with my own boats, but the 205 didn't begin to blow out until the 4th time back around. I looked for the biggest wakes, not the shortest. I punched it full throttle with the trim all of the way up. I ran it WOT with the trim all of way down, again stuff I rarely do. While there is no way to say what those things would do over time, I can say that a newbie would be well taken care of, but that same newbie would also freak out the first time he/she piloted something a little less fool proof . . .

 

[steve201]

Re: The 2009 Bayliner 175 review

I agree with you...doug and I did things to those boats I'd never do to mine..and I boat up in the pacnorwest...it can get ugly quick here..but the new bayliners for 2009 are impressively built...handle what we tossed at it and didn't miss a beat....when we got back to dock..i'd write up my notes and look at things to see how it worked or just took pictures....with the abuse we put on the boats...we found some things that needed to be changed..but overall...all of the boats held up great!!!....

Steve

 

[dinghy berry]

Re: The 2009 Bayliner 175 review

I have an 02 bayliner 19ft bowrider and i can see from this one they have taken out the woodgrain around the gauges,took out the glove box and stopped the carpet before the walk thru and i almost get 50 mph out of mine so no biggie there but it looks like they are cutting corner's again. Just my opinion and i love my Bayliner
Rich

 

[Chip73]

Re: The 2009 Bayliner 175 review

I test drove a new 06 Bayliner 175 2 years ago that had the 4.3 V6. It looked good and the price was right at $15K.
​

I need to find this 175, I have yet to see one without the 3.0. Maybe someone shoehorned the 4.3 in there and is why it was flexing?