WINTER 2011
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Boat Tests > Caravelle > 217
Harbour blaster
WORDS + PHOTOS: IAN MACRAE
A bowrider you can take offshore...
I'd like to see that.
Lifestyle, family and fun are the bywords of recreational boating these days. It's a formula the Americans grasped more than 20 years ago and while we were a little slow on the uptake we have now well and truly caught up. It seems that the humble bowrider (a boat the Americans have designed and refined for decades) is now the family boat of choice in this country.
Today, there are hundreds of bowriders on the market in various shapes and sizes, but they all share a similar layout, so when a relative newcomer to Australia gains general approval almost overnight, it says a lot about the boat's build, quality, ride and performance. The Modern Boating Best of the Best awards' judges certainly thought so and named the Caravelle 196 Bowrider the 2008 Best Imported Boat (Under 24ft). I am pleased to say that the Caravelle 217 Bowrider continues along that vein. She even goes a step further, because the 217 can also handle a bit of offshore fun thanks to her cleverly designed hull.
XP... what?
The 217 is built around Caravelle's XPV (eXtended running surface, Pad bottom, and deep-Vee) hull design. The extended running surfaces help the boat to plane extremely quickly, remain stable and flat in turns and minimise "bow rise" on take off. And because the hull extends past the sterndrive leg on both sides, if the boat flies off a swell when running off the coast, the weight of the rear-mounted motor brings her down on the transom. The extensions hit first and force the bow down, so the sharp bow and deep-vee keel slice through the next wave cleanly, softening the ride.
read on below advertisement
This hull has a deadrise of 21 degrees and extremely aggressive chines that she carries well forward. These improve the 217's ride in two ways. When the boat is planing, air is trapped between the keel and the outer edges of the chines, which cushion the ride. And unlike a boat with a heavily-flared bow that throws water up and away from the boat (wind can blow some of this water back on board under certain conditions), the water peels down and away from a point just in front of the windscreen. The result is a soft, dry ride.
The 'P' in XPV is for 'pad bottom'. Instead of having a traditional-vee keel at the transom, this boat has a 'delta flat'. This helps it plane quicker, increases top-end speed and stops the transom digging in, similar to a ski boat. And while this will slightly reduce wake heights at slow speeds, she still 'walls up' enough water for beginners and intermediate wakeboarders. With the wake tower option fitted, this boat's destined to become a top, all-round, fun vehicle for all bowrider.
But there's another factor in her build quality that gives the 217 even more credibility and longevity: there's no wood used anywhere in her construction?"no wood, no rot" as the Caravelle slogan states.
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A bowrider you can take offshore...
I'd like to see that.
Lifestyle, family and fun are the bywords of recreational boating these days. It's a formula the Americans grasped more than 20 years ago and while we were a little slow on the uptake we have now well and truly caught up. It seems that the humble bowrider (a boat the Americans have designed and refined for decades) is now the family boat of choice in this country.
Today, there are hundreds of bowriders on the market in various shapes and sizes, but they all share a similar layout, so when a relative newcomer to Australia gains general approval almost overnight, it says a lot about the boat's build, quality, ride and performance. The Modern Boating Best of the Best awards' judges certainly thought so and named the Caravelle 196 Bowrider the 2008 Best Imported Boat (Under 24ft). I am pleased to say that the Caravelle 217 Bowrider continues along that vein. She even goes a step further, because the 217 can also handle a bit of offshore fun thanks to her cleverly designed hull.
XP... what?
The 217 is built around Caravelle's XPV (eXtended running surface, Pad bottom, and deep-Vee) hull design. The extended running surfaces help the boat to plane extremely quickly, remain stable and flat in turns and minimise "bow rise" on take off. And because the hull extends past the sterndrive leg on both sides, if the boat flies off a swell when running off the coast, the weight of the rear-mounted motor brings her down on the transom. The extensions hit first and force the bow down, so the sharp bow and deep-vee keel slice through the next wave cleanly, softening the ride.
read on below advertisement
This hull has a deadrise of 21 degrees and extremely aggressive chines that she carries well forward. These improve the 217's ride in two ways. When the boat is planing, air is trapped between the keel and the outer edges of the chines, which cushion the ride. And unlike a boat with a heavily-flared bow that throws water up and away from the boat (wind can blow some of this water back on board under certain conditions), the water peels down and away from a point just in front of the windscreen. The result is a soft, dry ride.
The 'P' in XPV is for 'pad bottom'. Instead of having a traditional-vee keel at the transom, this boat has a 'delta flat'. This helps it plane quicker, increases top-end speed and stops the transom digging in, similar to a ski boat. And while this will slightly reduce wake heights at slow speeds, she still 'walls up' enough water for beginners and intermediate wakeboarders. With the wake tower option fitted, this boat's destined to become a top, all-round, fun vehicle for all bowrider.
But there's another factor in her build quality that gives the 217 even more credibility and longevity: there's no wood used anywhere in her construction?"no wood, no rot" as the Caravelle slogan states.
next page »
« go back