Nick Burnham picks out 4 of the best boats for beginner boaters on the market right now, from a Parker Voyager to a compact Bayliner Ciera 8
One of the most gratifying things about my YouTube channel is when people write to me saying that they had no interest whatsoever in boating before discovering Aquaholic, and yet after a year of watching my aquatic nonsense had decided to take the plunge themselves and get afloat.
Of course there are many ways to achieve this, depending on where you do your boating, what your budget is and the kind of boating you want to do, so this month I’ve found four distinctly different routes afloat to tickle your fancy with.
However, the most important thing is not what you start boating with, but the decision to do it in the first place. Come on, summer is coming, and you are a long time dead!
Besides, in all of those emails I’ve received, not one of them expressed regret for taking the plunge, only regret at not having done so sooner.
Best boats for beginner boaters
Parker 850 Voyager
Built: 2023
Price: £154,950
Although it clearly is one, calling this a cuddy cabin boat is selling it short because this is a big boat at over 27ft long and 9ft wide. Add to that the fact that this one is almost brand new with only 62 engine hours and it starts to make a lot of sense as a first step afloat.
A sociable dinette with a wet bar opposite makes this ideal for lazy days afloat…
Interior
If you’re looking for standing headroom and a large galley down below then you’re going to be disappointed; it is a cuddy cabin sportsboat after all. And yet, this is way bigger than your typical 20ft Sea Ray cuddy and actually has everything that most people need for a weekend afloat.
Parker has eschewed cabin seating in favour of a proper comfortable bed with a thick mattress, and there is a separate heads down here too. But, unusually for this style of boat, there’s also a second berth running back beneath the cockpit, giving family weekending capability.
Exterior
Keeping the interior compact does, of course, maximise outdoor living space, as does taking the cockpit right out to the edges – there are no side decks, access forward is through the opening section of the windscreen. So there is plenty of space and it’s cleverly used.
The C-shaped dinette to port creates a great social space, but add in the two moving backrests fore and aft and you can convert this to rearward facing seating at the back of the boat, fabulous at anchor, or flip the forward backrest to create a great forward-facing seating space next to the helm. There’s a wet bar here providing basic catering and a drawer fridge beneath the seats.
Performance
The 350hp Mercury outboard is an ideal match for the hull. Quiet at low speed, it’s also gutsy and fast, giving strong acceleration and a top speed of 40 knots.
… and a pair of double berths means you can extend the fun to overnight stays as well
Seakeeping
We tested an 850 Voyager out of Southampton, discovering that the twin stepped hull runs dead flat and corners like a swing ball. Safe for a novice, but exciting for someone with more experience, it’s not a boat that you’ll quickly outgrow.
Parker 850 Voyager specifications
Length: 27ft 2in (8.3m)
Beam: 9ft 2in (2.8m)
Draft: 4ft 7in (1.4m)
Displacement: 2.2 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 230 litres
Engine: Mercury 350 Verado 350hp
Contact: Boats.co.uk
Sealine S28
Built: 1996
Price: £49,950
I often mention the size/age/price triumvirate – altering one will have an immediate and obvious effect on one or both of the others. Well here’s a great example. Same length as the Parker, but with twin diesel engines in place of that single petrol outboard and a proper cabin with standing headroom, a galley and a dinette as well as a separate bedroom and it’s a third of the price! Why? Because we’ve moved the age side of the triangle from almost new to almost 30 years old.
But wow, what a lot of boat that gains you.
The S28 has a proper galley, a separate heads compartment and can sleep four comfortably
Interior
Higher and wider, with a beam of almost 10ft, the cabin is in a different league to the Parker’s cuddy. Step inside the Sealine and you’ll discover a large U-shaped dinette that will seat six forward (and converts to a double bed), a decent galley with an oven, twin sinks and a fridge as well as ample storage, a nice heads and then a separate sleeping cabin aft with a double berth that runs transversely beneath the helm.
A family could spend a week aboard easily. A couple could comfortably spend a month!
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Exterior
Styling is very mid 1990s Sealine, with the anchor concealed within a dolphin beak at the bow and the hull-side knuckle that runs full length, but this is still a well proportioned and good looking boat. There are some neat details too, like the way the aft canopy rolls up inside an opening clamshell section of the radar arch.
Performance
Although there was a single-engine option, a 230hp Volvo Penta KAD 42, it was extremely rare, as were petrol engined alternatives (a pair of 4.3 litre V6s). Most boats went out with twin diesel engines.
Volvo Penta’s 150hp AQAD 31s or 170hp supercharged KAD 32s were the most popular choices, but Yamahas were also an option during the 1990s. This boat is fitted with twin Yamaha ME370s that split the difference at 160hp for a top speed of circa 30 knots.
The helm may look a little dated but it’s got everything you need for cruising duties
Seakeeping
A medium-vee hull that flattens off towards the transom gives the boat good fuel efficiency and reasonable offshore performance if not quite in the same league as Sunseekers or Fairlines of its era.
Sealine S28 specifications
Length: 28ft 11in (8.8m)
Beam: 9ft 11in (3.0m)
Draft: 3ft 0in (0.9m)
Displacement: 4.5 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 410 litres
Engines: Twin Yamaha ME370 160hp diesel engines
Contact: Ancasta
Quicksilver 855 Cruiser
Built: 2017
Price: £89,950
At 29ft 3in, the 855 Cruiser was the biggest in Quicksilver’s range when it launched in 2013, so the company threw the proverbial kitchen sink at this one, making sure it had enough space and sufficient features to thrive in a market untested by the brand.
Full canopy covers ensure the cockpit can be used in all weathers as well as the saloon
Interior
The deck saloon layout massively extends your season as you’re basically driving this boat from indoors. Masses of headroom (6ft 8in!) and deep windows ensure this area never feels cramped and the dinette converts cleverly from a diner with two benches facing each other to a U-shaped sofa or even an additional bed courtesy of a dropping table and infill cushion.
The galley is up here as well, leaving space on the lower deck for two double cabins and a heads. More neat detailing in the forecabin, where tall people can opt to lose a little floor space but lengthen the 5ft 11in bed to 6ft 6in.
Exterior
We went to Rapallo to test the 855 Cruiser when it launched to guarantee great weather, but instead it rained, a lot. However, if anything that heightened what a great all-weather boat this is. That deck saloon has triple sliding glass saloon doors through to the cockpit and even a side door next to the helm which is great for shorthanded cruising.
A sliding roof hatch opens this area out further, but stayed shut on our test. Out in the cockpit, an L-shaped seat has a drop-in table and can convert to a sunbed whilst asymmetric decks give a 10in wide bulwarked side deck to starboard.
Performance
The boat we tested was fitted with twin Mercury Verado 150hp outboard engines for a 30-knot top speed. The Mercruiser 260hp 3.0 litre diesel fitted to this boat might lose a few knots at the top end but gains handsomely when it comes to fuel efficiency, doubling the range.
The pilothouse is blessed with big windows and a helm door in addition to the cockpit ones
Seakeeping
It wasn’t just rain that we battled in Rapallo, sea conditions were challenging too. We reported on its ability to “punch through a chop without wincing,” finding it an entirely competent performer. “No disappointments, but no surprises either,” we concluded.
Quicksilver 855 Cruiser specifications
Length: 29ft 3in (8.9m)
Beam: 9ft 9in (3.0m)
Draft: 2ft 1in (0.6m)
Displacement: 3.2 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 400 litres
Engine: Mercruiser 3.0 TDI 260hp diesel engine
Contact: Ancasta
Bayliner Ciera 8
Built: 2018
Price: £79,995
Years ago cars were divided into saloons, coupés, convertibles and estates. Today there’s a plethora of alternatives; SUVs, 4x4s, crossovers and hybrids. It’s the same in the boat world. It used to be that sub 30ft planing boats were broadly either 4-berth cruisers or sportscuddies, but now we have RIBs, explorers, walk-arounds and more to choose from. But sometimes, as 007 said in Skyfall, “the old ways are the best”, and this Ciera 8 harks back to a grand tradition of Bayliner sportcruisers that date right back to the eighties.
Interior
The layout of this is broadly identical to that you’d have found in a 1989 Bayliner 2455 Ciera, a converting dinette at the front, galley opposite the loo at the base of the companionway stairs, and a double berth running back beneath the cockpit. The difference is space optimisation.
A far more voluminous boat, the Ciera 8 is flatter and higher of foredeck with higher topsides and a cabin that stretches out to the very edges, so the space in here is far superior.
Exterior
As a result, the outside is suffering the same middle aged spread as the rest of us who were once svelte in the 1980s, but clever design and a coloured hull disguise it well. The cockpit also squeezes right to the hull sides, leaving steps in the cabin door and opening windscreen as the only route forward.
The result is loads of cockpit space and the radar arch (something you never found on those old boats) looks good too and is helpful for supporting the canopies.
Performance
A 4.5 litre petrol V6 producing 250hp was the standard power plant, giving a perfectly reasonable 30 knots. This one, however, has the far larger 6.2 litre V8 thumping 300hp through its Bravo 3 outdrive and punting the top speed up past 35 knots.
This 2018 boat still looks fresh and features a full width cockpit for extra seating space
Seakeeping
Whilst the emphasis is clearly on accommodation, the Ciera 8 is none the less a decent performer for its size and weight, offering a pretty good ride, and of course, strong performance.
Those high sides might catch the wind a little at low speed, but the bow thruster fitted to this boat will certainly help.
Bayliner Ciera 8 specifications
Length: 25ft 1in (7.7m)
Beam: 8ft 5in (2.6m)
Draft: 3ft 3in (1.0m)
Displacement: 3.1 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 265 litres
Engine: Mercruiser 6.2L MPI DTS B3 300hp engine
Contact: Bates Wharf
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