You’re in the market for a new boat, and you’ve spent considerable time researching the types you might be interested in. That’s allowed you to narrow down your options to two types of boats: the bowrider and the pontoon. What’s the difference between these vessels?
Bowriders and pontoons possess the following differences:
- The V-hull of a bowrider compared to the flat hull of a pontoon boat allows the bowrider to outperform pontoons
- Pontoons have room for more passengers as these are wider, larger boats
- You can also store more gear and equipment on a pontoon than you can on a bowrider
- The bowrider has a more pointed shape whereas a pontoon is shaped like a rectangle
- Bowriders are much faster than pontoons
- The fuel economy is better with a bowrider than a pontoon
- Bowriders may be more expensive than pontoons
In this article, we’ll clearly explain both bowriders and pontoon boats in depth, then spend some considerable time contrasting them so you’ll have a clear list of differences. By the time you’re done reading, you should be able to answer with confidence whether a pontoon boat or a bowrider is the best choice for you.
What Is a Bowrider?
First, let’s begin with a discussion of bowriders. The bowrider is considered an offshoot of the runabout, a tiny motorboat that can carry up to eight passengers on bigger models. The style of the bowrider allows for more seating in the front than the rear, and its offset helm is another trademark feature.
When shopping around, you’ll find that bowriders are 17 feet at the shortest and 35 feet or over at their longest and largest. You can typically choose between outboard or stern drive engines for a bowrider.
A stern drive engine is also referred to as an inboard/outboard drive or I/O. That name comes from the way a stern drive engine works, which is using the power of the outboard drive and the inbound as well. The positioning of a stern drive engine is slightly ahead of the transom. The drive leg, aka the outdrive or drive unit, is outside of where the hull goes.
Outboard engines rely on propulsion via a self-contained unit with a jet drive or propeller, a gearbox, and the engine itself. The unit goes near the transom, typically outside of it. For small watercraft, outboard engines are more popular than stern drive engines are.
Regardless of the engine type your bowrider has, you can enjoy this boat for all sorts of aquatic activities, among them swimming, waterskiing, and tubing. If you’re an avid fisherperson, you might be more interested in a walkaround boat or a center console, as these make fishing more convenient than bowriders.
Bowriders feature railings for the protection of the captain and all passengers, especially in the front-helm area where most passengers will relax. Most bowrider seats include seatbelts in case you feel like zipping along on the water.
The deck of these boats is always flat and nonslip to prevent incidents on your boat. Your deck can double as a sun pad, as it’s even possible on some bowrider models for your passengers to lie down.
What Is a Pontoon Boat?
The next type of boat we want to discuss is a pontoon. Named after the tubes or pontoons that buoy these boats on either side, pontoons have two tubes. Some styles of pontoons such as tritoons add one more tube in the middle.
Pontoons have a wide, flat profile that fits between the pontoons a very sizable deck. Since the deck is so large, practically no amenity is off-limits. That includes the addition of sun pads, stand-up bars, and a large lounge area that could be used for sleepovers. You can even get a grill installed on the railings of the pontoon boat, which encircle the vessel and, like with bowriders, prevent passengers from spilling out over the boat and into the drink.
Typically, pontoons lumber through the water relatively slowly, but even that’s changed. As the pontoon tubes have been designed and redesigned over the years, the stern has received even more horsepower with each new update. That still doesn’t make pontoon boats fast per se, but they are speedier than they once were.
The draft of a pontoon can be eight inches, which is relatively shallow. This is done on purpose to prevent damage beneath the boat. Pontoons are also known for capsizing far less often than other vessels, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen. When it does, it even has a name: the pontoon effect.
What will often drive the pontoon effect into action is when force comes up from the side of the boat, causing it to tip over in the water.
You have your choice in either an inflatable pontoon boat or one that doesn’t inflate. The inflatable variety is much smaller than a standard pontoon and can fit maybe one other person besides the captain, at most two other people.
Standard pontoons are designed with frames made of plastic, steel, or aluminum. They also have nylon or PVC features that are resistant to abrasiveness and other damage. You can buy frameless pontoon boats without the railings if that’s what you prefer. These boats require the use of electric trolling motors equipped with deep-cycle lead batteries as well as oars or paddles.
Pontoon boats are a classic pleasure boat, and they’re often favored for leisure fishing, big game fishing, swimming, waterskiing, and relaxing.
What Are the Differences Between a Bowrider and a Pontoon?
Now that we’ve talked more about bowriders and pontoons, it’s time to take a deep dive into the differences between these two types of boats. This will help make your buying decision easier.
Hull Shape
All boats have hulls, but the shape of these differs from one type of boat to another. The hull is a boat’s watertight body. Most often, a deck goes atop the hull, but not always. For example, with dinghies, the hull has an open top.
The hull is there for more than just boat design. It also transfers the water that surrounds the boat. Some hulls will plane, which means to sit atop the water as the boat travels. Other hulls will displace or move the water around the boat so the vessel has a clear passageway ahead.
Pontoon boats feature a flat-bottomed hull, which lends the pontoon its ability to ride especially well in smaller bodies of water with calm waves. If you love fishing, a boat with a flat hull suits you best as the placidity remains more intact. Pontoons also have greater stability due to their hull shape.
Bowriders have V-shaped hulls, a common hull type for many boats. These are a type of planning hull, which means the V hull rides atop the water rather than pushes it out of the way. Depending on how deep the V goes, V-shaped hulls can handle choppy conditions well and maintain their speed while doing it.
Boat Shape
Another key difference between pontoon boats and bowriders is the shape of these respective vessels. As we discussed in the earlier section, pontoon boats are large and wide. They’re shaped like a square or a rectangle. Compare that to a bowrider, which has a more standard boat shape with its V hull, rounded body at the sides, and flattened rear.
Size
Even the biggest bowrider can’t really compare to the size of a pontoon boat. That’s just not what bowriders are meant for. One of the pontoon’s most significant selling points is how large it is. Don’t get it wrong though, as you won’t be wanting for space if you have a larger bowrider. Like we talked about earlier in this guide, some bowriders have generous enough front seating that your passengers can stretch their legs and even lie down and take a nap on your boat if they wanted to. Pontoons aren’t the only boat perfect for sleepovers on the water.
Passenger Capacity
With the large size of a pontoon boat, you must expect its passenger capacity to be greater as well. If your pontoon measures 17 feet to 19 feet long, then it can entertain at least eight passengers. Larger pontoons that are 20 to 22 feet long can accommodate 13 people at once. If you have a big group of friends or if you’ve always wanted to bring your extended family aboard your boat at once, that’s possible in a pontoon.
If you want a bowrider instead, then you’ll have to get pickier about who you allow on your boat. On average, you can comfortably fit five passengers and maybe squeeze on as many as eight people, but that would require quite a large bowrider.
Gear and Equipment Capacity
What do you like to bring on your boat? Perhaps you prefer to keep it light, packing some food and drinks in a cooler, lots of sunscreen, some towels, and assorted toys and gear. If so, then a bowrider will suit you fine. That said, if you want to lug all your fishing rods, your water skis, a wetsuit, and your tackleboxes with you as well as the above gear, then you’ll need a boat that has a good gear and equipment capacity. That would be the pontoon without a doubt.
Storage Space
Another advantage that pontoons have over bowriders is that pontoons include way more storage space. This is simply to do with their larger deck and including more room onboard for storage caddies and cubbies. Most boats that are 18 to 21 feet long simply lack storage, and lots of bowriders fit into that category.
Not having a ton of storage capacity is not necessarily the end of the world. It just means you need to pack your gear more expediently, leaving the heavy things you’d have to lug onboard at home.
Fuel Economy
One of the major deciding factors when you bought the car you currently own was likely the vehicle’s fuel economy. Well, when shopping for boats, you can’t stop worrying about fuel economy either.
The fuel economy of your boat determines how much fuel the vessel sucks up the longer it’s on the water. You want to pay special attention to your boat’s fuel economy because a vessel that has poor fuel economy won’t take you very far. You’re also at a higher risk of accidentally stranding yourself out in the middle of the water with no way to get back until someone helps you out.
Bowriders far outshine pontoons in terms of fuel economy. You’ll more efficiently use the gas you do have and make it last longer.
Speed
Are you a speed demon? If so, then you might want to steer clear of a pontoon boat. The average speed for these boats is 18 to 25 miles per hour (MPH). You can make modifications to your pontoon to enhance its horsepower and speed a bit, but the results are typically negligible.
Bowriders have a speed of 21 to 45 MPH, sometimes higher, so achieving and maintaining the speed you want for fun activities like waterskiing shouldn’t be a problem in the least.
Price
Finally, we have to discuss another very important factor when buying any new boat, and that’s price. Pontoon boats may cost $18,000 to $60,000 while bowriders are $17,000 to $150,000, making them far more expensive.
That said, the cost of a boat varies depending on the manufacturer, the size of the boat, its performance, how many amenities and features you add, and whether you buy new or used. Thus, the price ranges are just that, ranges, and not necessarily set in stone.
Which Boat Is Better for You: A Bowrider or a Pontoon?
By this point, you’re probably leaning either more towards a bowrider or a pontoon boat. Maybe you have yet to quite make your decision, although you feel a lot closer to deciding than you did before you read this article.
If you’re still lingering on the fence, then here’s what we recommend. Compile a list of features you want your dream boat to have. Then, go through the last section contrasting bowriders and pontoon boats and see which type of boat checks off more items on your list.
Take some time to thoughtfully consider the factors that matter most to you. If you prioritize deck space, for instance, then a pontoon seems like a natural choice. If you want a faster boat that performs well, then you’ll likely lean much more towards a bowrider.
Conclusion
Bowriders and pontoons are two very popular boats today, but they couldn’t be more different. Pontoons are larger and bulkier, slower, and more spacious whereas bowriders are more streamlined, sleek, performance-driven, and expensive.
Hopefully now you’re ready to choose your ideal boat, but you can’t go wrong with either a pontoon or a bowrider!
