2001 Doral 230 BR

A big bowrider, great for extending days on the water

By Matt Spencer

Large bowriders make perfect transition boats for those who want to move up from a small bowrider but aren’t ready to give up the sportiness. This 2001 Doral 230 Bow Rider would make the perfect used boat to do so.

Doral, which has been building boats of every shape and size for almost 40 years, also manufactured the 230 in a cuddy cabin so the bowrider version
of this model has many of the same amenities of its overnighter cousin. Both are very rare finds when shopping the used market.

The swim platform is moulded and there’s plenty of room to move about for swimming or water sports. Directly forward, the MerCruiser 5.7L EFI sits under a mini engine hatch, a smaller top section that hinges up with more access under the centre seat below. Equipped with the 5.7 EFI, you can load the boat up with gear and still have plenty of power to spare. And since this is quite a popular engine in the MerCruiser lineup, finding parts would be a breeze.

While moving forward into the cockpit may be a little awkward over the seats, the impressive U-shaped seating configuration and storage below makes up for it. Under the port side there’s plenty of room in the carpetlined storage, which provides a great place for extra gear or coolers. Under the starboard side, there’s similar storage that makes a great place to store the canvas.

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