A Sporty and Economical Ride

Tested by Capt. Matt Barkley

If you’ve been looking for a way to get out on the water without spending a fortune, this boat may be the answer. The new Sea Ray 176 Bow Rider is inexpensive, economical, and it’s a blast to drive!

The Sea Ray 176 Bow Rider is Sea Ray’s newest boat in the Bow Rider family. While it’s the shortest boat in the Sea Ray product line, it is long on quality and features. And with an attractive price, the 176 Bow Rider will allow more people to experience the bowrider lifestyle.

And a fun lifestyle is zipping around the waterways in this sporty little boat. Its size gives it the nimbleness of a jet ski while providing the size and storage of a day boat. And with such nimble steering, even kids can handle this boat with ease.

Seating and Storage

The bow seating is in a molded wraparound design and is very comfortable for your passengers. The curved walk-through tempered glass windshield provides easy access to the cockpit while blocking out the elements. Beneath the seats are storage compartments for gear, towels, or dry clothes. There’s also a canvas cover available for chilly days that encloses the front seating area. Other standard features include a JVC AM/FM/CD player with two speakers, custom steering wheel, power trim and tilt, and full dash instrumentation.

Behind the Wheel

The helm boasts a sharp new look with high visibility gauges and illuminated rocker switches. Dual swiveling buckets seats come standard and there’s a locking glove box just in front of the observer’s seat just above the molded drink holder.

The cockpit is very roomy thanks to the dual swiveling bucket seats and dual aft jump seats. There’s also a huge floor storage compartment that easily holds skis, wakeboards, and other large, bulky items that are essential for a fun day on the water.

The Engine

MerCruiser really puts a lot of thought into the placement of key engine maintenance items like the oil fill, dipstick, and the coolant reservoir. You do it yourselfers will appreciate the ease of access. The 3.0L MerCruiser also features a T-handle for flushing and draining the exhaust manifold….something that should significantly extend the life of the motor. There’s also a unique access port into the engine compartment designed for a fire extinguisher nozzle to spray fire retardant into the engine compartment without lifting the access hatch.

Our test vessel featured a MerCruiser 3.0 liter 135-hp engine coupled to an Alpha 1 outdrive. That’s plenty of power to pull a skier out of the water and the performance is impressive as well.

Performance and Ride

The boat really jumps up on plane with little or no cavitation. This is a fun boat to drive with very nimble power assisted steering and great agility through tight turns and rough water. Her 17’6” length and 7’0” beam enhance the ride while keeping the boat compact and easy to handle.

Out on the test track the 176 produced some pretty good numbers. We got a top speed of 44.3 mph turning 4900 RPM and a best cruise of 17.2 mph at 2500 rpm. At that speed we got a range of 180 miles on a single tank. The 176 is powerful as well with a time to plane of only 3.4 seconds and a 0-30 time of 7.9 seconds.

The Sea Ray 176 Bow Rider is a fun peppy little bow rider, that’s inexpensive, and easy to run. Don’t be surprised to see more and more of these great entry level boats speeding around your local waters.

For more information visit www.searay.com.

Speeds measured with Stalker ProSports radar gun. Fuel consumption (gallons per hour) measured with Floscan digital fuel-flow meter on gas inboards, sterndrives, and outboards, TechMate electronic scan tool on gas EFI inboards, Caterpillar digital fuel-flow meter on diesel engines, or permanently installed fuel-monitoring equipment. Range is based on 90% of published fuel capacity. Sound levels determined using Radio Shack digital decibel meter on A scale. 68 dBA is the level of normal conversation.

Performance Chart

Test Conditions