You may have heard about the Element last year, when it won an Innovation award at the Miami International Boat Show. But chances are you haven’t heard about the new XL version. Either way, both boats can be found with extensive packages that trim them out for either watersports or fishing. Now, are you ready for the shocker? You can buy an Element for under $14,000. You can buy a bigger, better Element with all the goodies and gadgets, and you’ll still have a tough time pushing the price up beyond $25,000.
Now that you’ve gone from bummed to surprised, let’s dig a bit deeper. These are extremely simple boats, which come with relatively small powerplants and offer relatively moderate performance. The original Element (a 16-footer) has a base powerplant of 60 horses. Yes, after you load the boat down with gear and four of your buddies, it will take some extra time to get onto plane with that engine. The 18-foot XL version, with a base of 90 HP, has a bit more pep. It planes fast and tops out close to 30 miles per hour. If you want more oomph, you can get it with a 115.
Now, for the packages. The Sports package gets a mini tow-tower with board racks that turn this basic runabout into a wakeboarding or water skiing boat. It also gets you special graphics (insert sarcastic “yippee” here) and a bow filler cushion. The Fishing package adds in bow and stern casting deck inserts, pedestal-mounted chairs, a (minimal) Lowrance Elite 3X fishfinder, a livewell, and an electric trolling motor. Overall it seems geared toward freshwater fishing styles, but for light tackle casting in the tributaries of the Chesapeake, it will certainly get the job done.
The construction and interior and level of fit and finish are about what you’d expect from a modern Bayliner. It’s relatively unadorned; there’s some plastic where you’d rather see stainless-steel or fiberglass, and “fancy” is certainly not the description that pops to mind. That, of course, is one of the ways Bayliner manages to deliver so much boat for so little money. But there’s more than meets the eye: Take a gander at the part of this boat that lies below the waterline. The Elements have an “M-hull” hull design which looks sort of like a cross between a powercat, a tri-hull, and a V-hull. The biggest advantage is stability. Even the 16-foot version is amazingly stable at rest. Another up-side is quick and efficient planing, which is one of the reasons the Elements can get away with utilizing such small powerplants.
Of course, there is a down-side. When you go flying off of waves, the landing is a bit harsher than it might be in a V-hull boat. But again, remember that these are 16-foot and 18-foot runabouts. You’re going to have a tough time finding any boats of this size that don’t thump after going airborne. The other down-side is the fact that these aren’t self-bailing boats, so you’re depending on a bilge pump and the batteries. The plus-side here is a deep cockpit and high gunwales, which give most people a feeling of security.
Is an Element going to be the first choice of die-hard anglers, dedicated wakeboarding fanatics, or speed demons? Heck no. But if you’re on the lookout for a small runabout that can serve a diverse array of purposes, it may well fit the bill. And the bill for fitting that bill is, for once, a relatively small one.
Bayliner Element:
LOA: 16'2"
Beam: 7'5"
Draft: 2'3"
Displacement: 1570 pounds
Max HP: 75
Fuel Capacity: 6 gallons
Water capacity: 0
Bayliner Element XL:
LOA: 18'2"
Beam: 7'5"
Draft: 2'3"
Displacement: 2000 pounds
Max HP: 115
Fuel Capacity: 12 (18 optional) gallons
Water Capacity: 0
by Lenny Rudow
Tuesday, December 2, 2014 - 09:38
If you’ve been bummed by the fact that nearly all of the hot new boats to hit the market are uber-expensive luxury yachts that cost more than your home, you’re not alone. Today’s boat prices are rather shocking, for sure. But Bayliner is reversing the trend, with the Element series.
You may have heard about the Element last year, when it won an Innovation award at the Miami International Boat Show. But chances are you haven’t heard about the new XL version. Either way, both boats can be found with extensive packages that trim them out for either watersports or fishing. Now, are you ready for the shocker? You can buy an Element for under $14,000. You can buy a bigger, better Element with all the goodies and gadgets, and you’ll still have a tough time pushing the price up beyond $25,000.
Now that you’ve gone from bummed to surprised, let’s dig a bit deeper. These are extremely simple boats, which come with relatively small powerplants and offer relatively moderate performance. The original Element (a 16-footer) has a base powerplant of 60 horses. Yes, after you load the boat down with gear and four of your buddies, it will take some extra time to get onto plane with that engine. The 18-foot XL version, with a base of 90 HP, has a bit more pep. It planes fast and tops out close to 30 miles per hour. If you want more oomph, you can get it with a 115.
Now, for the packages. The Sports package gets a mini tow-tower with board racks that turn this basic runabout into a wakeboarding or water skiing boat. It also gets you special graphics (insert sarcastic “yippee” here) and a bow filler cushion. The Fishing package adds in bow and stern casting deck inserts, pedestal-mounted chairs, a (minimal) Lowrance Elite 3X fishfinder, a livewell, and an electric trolling motor. Overall it seems geared toward freshwater fishing styles, but for light tackle casting in the tributaries of the Chesapeake, it will certainly get the job done.
The construction and interior and level of fit and finish are about what you’d expect from a modern Bayliner. It’s relatively unadorned; there’s some plastic where you’d rather see stainless-steel or fiberglass, and “fancy” is certainly not the description that pops to mind. That, of course, is one of the ways Bayliner manages to deliver so much boat for so little money. But there’s more than meets the eye: Take a gander at the part of this boat that lies below the waterline. The Elements have an “M-hull” hull design which looks sort of like a cross between a powercat, a tri-hull, and a V-hull. The biggest advantage is stability. Even the 16-foot version is amazingly stable at rest. Another up-side is quick and efficient planing, which is one of the reasons the Elements can get away with utilizing such small powerplants.
Of course, there is a down-side. When you go flying off of waves, the landing is a bit harsher than it might be in a V-hull boat. But again, remember that these are 16-foot and 18-foot runabouts. You’re going to have a tough time finding any boats of this size that don’t thump after going airborne. The other down-side is the fact that these aren’t self-bailing boats, so you’re depending on a bilge pump and the batteries. The plus-side here is a deep cockpit and high gunwales, which give most people a feeling of security.
Is an Element going to be the first choice of die-hard anglers, dedicated wakeboarding fanatics, or speed demons? Heck no. But if you’re on the lookout for a small runabout that can serve a diverse array of purposes, it may well fit the bill. And the bill for fitting that bill is, for once, a relatively small one.
Bayliner Element:
LOA: 16'2"
Beam: 7'5"
Draft: 2'3"
Displacement: 1570 pounds
Max HP: 75
Fuel Capacity: 6 gallons
Water capacity: 0
Bayliner Element XL:
LOA: 18'2"
Beam: 7'5"
Draft: 2'3"
Displacement: 2000 pounds
Max HP: 115
Fuel Capacity: 12 (18 optional) gallons
Water Capacity: 0
by Lenny Rudow
You may have heard about the Element last year, when it won an Innovation award at the Miami International Boat Show. But chances are you haven’t heard about the new XL version. Either way, both boats can be found with extensive packages that trim them out for either watersports or fishing. Now, are you ready for the shocker? You can buy an Element for under $14,000. You can buy a bigger, better Element with all the goodies and gadgets, and you’ll still have a tough time pushing the price up beyond $25,000.
Now that you’ve gone from bummed to surprised, let’s dig a bit deeper. These are extremely simple boats, which come with relatively small powerplants and offer relatively moderate performance. The original Element (a 16-footer) has a base powerplant of 60 horses. Yes, after you load the boat down with gear and four of your buddies, it will take some extra time to get onto plane with that engine. The 18-foot XL version, with a base of 90 HP, has a bit more pep. It planes fast and tops out close to 30 miles per hour. If you want more oomph, you can get it with a 115.
Now, for the packages. The Sports package gets a mini tow-tower with board racks that turn this basic runabout into a wakeboarding or water skiing boat. It also gets you special graphics (insert sarcastic “yippee” here) and a bow filler cushion. The Fishing package adds in bow and stern casting deck inserts, pedestal-mounted chairs, a (minimal) Lowrance Elite 3X fishfinder, a livewell, and an electric trolling motor. Overall it seems geared toward freshwater fishing styles, but for light tackle casting in the tributaries of the Chesapeake, it will certainly get the job done.
The construction and interior and level of fit and finish are about what you’d expect from a modern Bayliner. It’s relatively unadorned; there’s some plastic where you’d rather see stainless-steel or fiberglass, and “fancy” is certainly not the description that pops to mind. That, of course, is one of the ways Bayliner manages to deliver so much boat for so little money. But there’s more than meets the eye: Take a gander at the part of this boat that lies below the waterline. The Elements have an “M-hull” hull design which looks sort of like a cross between a powercat, a tri-hull, and a V-hull. The biggest advantage is stability. Even the 16-foot version is amazingly stable at rest. Another up-side is quick and efficient planing, which is one of the reasons the Elements can get away with utilizing such small powerplants.
Of course, there is a down-side. When you go flying off of waves, the landing is a bit harsher than it might be in a V-hull boat. But again, remember that these are 16-foot and 18-foot runabouts. You’re going to have a tough time finding any boats of this size that don’t thump after going airborne. The other down-side is the fact that these aren’t self-bailing boats, so you’re depending on a bilge pump and the batteries. The plus-side here is a deep cockpit and high gunwales, which give most people a feeling of security.
Is an Element going to be the first choice of die-hard anglers, dedicated wakeboarding fanatics, or speed demons? Heck no. But if you’re on the lookout for a small runabout that can serve a diverse array of purposes, it may well fit the bill. And the bill for fitting that bill is, for once, a relatively small one.
Bayliner Element:
LOA: 16'2"
Beam: 7'5"
Draft: 2'3"
Displacement: 1570 pounds
Max HP: 75
Fuel Capacity: 6 gallons
Water capacity: 0
Bayliner Element XL:
LOA: 18'2"
Beam: 7'5"
Draft: 2'3"
Displacement: 2000 pounds
Max HP: 115
Fuel Capacity: 12 (18 optional) gallons
Water Capacity: 0
by Lenny Rudow