The world would be a better place with more boats like the Bayliner 325Cruiser around. If you have a chance to spend a day or two aboard one, I'm sure you'll agree. Fact is, sharing time on the water with family and friends should be easy and fun and-in a perfect world-affordable. That's not to say Bayliner's new flagship is affordable for every aquafile, but at $121,051 base, you definitely get a lot of bang for the buck.

I test drove the 325 in Knoxville, Tennessee, on a foggy and cool morning last fall (shades of Lake Michigan in late August come to mind). My boat had quite a few big-ticket upgrades like twin320 hp MerCruiser gas engines, a 5 kW gas generator, 12,000-BTU air conditioning, a cockpit refrigerator and a blue hullstripe. Yet it rang in at just $163,004. Do some comparison shopping and you'll find this is still thousands less than the base price of many similar-sized express models out there.

But enough about dollars and cents. What else is it about the 325 that makes it so appealing? First, the sidedeck windows are practical for allowing interior light, dramatic in their cat's eye shape and ineffably old-school Pacific Northwest (Bayliners are built in Arlington, Washington, after all). Second, the plunging sheerline, the assertive engine air vent covers,and the rakish windshield and radar arch give the silhouette a propulsive energy. Third,the boat?Ĵs generous dimensions,35 feet long and 11 1/2 feet wide, create a stable stance and desirable entertainment zones.

What the 325's looks and volume don't account for is its swiftness. Zero to 30-mph ticks by in 13 seconds and the boat is just getting warmed up. Jam the throttles, and you'll leave other cruisers in your wake at 48 mph. This is with the twin 320 hpMercs. Step up to a pair of 375 hp Merc 496 big-blocks, and you should blow right by the 50- mph barrier. Also figuring in the boat's performance are the Bravo Three drives. The added surface area of twin, counter-rotating wheels means better bite in the water, which more efficiently converts horsepower into forward motion. Do the math, and you'll find that range is roughly 200 nautical miles at 3500 rpm.

With the iron situated well back and low in the engine bay (entered by a hatch in the cockpit sole), the 325 planes best with the standard trim tabs applied to check bow rise. Visibility of the waters and of the instruments is good from the amidships helm. An angled panel left of the wheel seems a fine place to flushmount a plotter, but the optional stereo remote and spotlight controls were placed here on my boat. I'd move these to the open area above the wheel. Molded steps at the helm lead to the walk-through windshield (the rail-rimmed sidedecks also extend all the way forward; let?Ĵs hear it for choice). Do yourself a favor and order the foredeck sunpads.

Once at anchor along a happening beach or in a quiet backwater cove, the 325 becomes a prime-time leisure platform with everything you need close at hand. The cockpit seats a dozen people. The adjustable, doublewide helm bench pivots 90 degrees to lie against the starboard gunwale. This, together with the lounge to port and the L-shaped seating aft, creates a wide-open, single-level patio so inviting you'd think the 325 had pontoons. Serve snacks at the removable table and dole out drinks from the wet bar and the 36-quart cooler, which stores in its own niche. There's even a 110-volt outlet for your blender.

Bayliner puts family first, and parents' fingerprints are all over the 325. The cockpit is deep and safe. All the vinyl on board, inside and out, has KidClean stain guard with UV ray and mildew resistance. This helps protect against an attack of mustard, ketchup or suntan lotion (three of the most caustic substances to end up on upholstery, says the boat builder). The transom has a positive-locking door for controlled access to the swim platform. A big stern trunk conceals the shorepower hookup and will hold water toys, as well as fenders and lines.

In the cabin, there could hardly be a better layout for socializing. A snake-like settee wraps from the portside mid-cabin all the way to the forepeak and then back around to the starboard galley. The forward section has a dinette table and converts to a curvaceous double berth. The mid-cabin has a wood privacy door, a changing bench, clothes cabinets and a double berth. Sure, headroom above the mattress is modest, but for a couple that wants a retreat from prying eyes and ears, this arrangement is hard to beat. What about quality and construction, you ask? This nextgeneration Bayliner is certainly not your father's fixer-upper. The frame is a one-piece cored fiberglass encapsulated stringer system that's bonded to the hull from stem to stern. The major compartments, like the enclosed head for example, are modular units that are glassed-in to make a strong, seamless structure that has no cracks for water to get into. That's precision design. The fiberglass part molds are constructed with CAD-controlled routers to ensure a fit within 1/25,000 of an inch. All seats are made to withstand impacts of 400 pounds (or three jumping teenagers).

With its competitive pricing and dependable construction, you might think the 325 comes with a meager standard equipment list. You'd be wrong. It's outfitted with an anchor roller, windlass and line locker; windshield wipers; TV/VCR; stereo/CD-player; microwave; refrigerator; trim tabs and much more. This express cruiser is ready to go right out of the boat shop and should be an easy-to-own, easy-to-operate addition to the Bayliner product line. Welcome to the family.
Bayliner, (800) 443-9119. www.bayliner.com.