When my parents were considering the purchase of a new deck boat, I had nightmares of all the problems we used to have at the Marina where I worked for 3 years, especially with the crappy deck boats that we used to rent.

"Ugh", was my first thought, then came the words "frumpy",
"lackluster", "no power", "boring", and "FUGLY".

Well, I was wrong. When I first experienced "deck boats", they WERE all those things, but Bayliner has taken the Deck Boat to a whole new level.

This boat is a catamaran hull, and 26 feet long. They finally found a boat that will glide over the big-@$$ waves that are put out by those idiot off-shore racers, and the cruisers that seem to want to ride with their bow in the air, creating a mini tsunami.

And on a CALM day, this boat performs like a jet plane - gliding over the water smoothly and seemingly without a care.

The 250HP engine has more than enough "umph" to pull a skier, or a tuber, and makes a relatively tight turn (at a high speed)for such a big boat.

The only disadvantage to such a big front end is when you drive it, you'll want to sit up on a knee, or stand to drive, so you can see what is in your path if you have riders up front.

And speaking of riders up front, there is seating for four on each side, which winds from the sides to the bow. There is plenty of storage underneath the seats, where we keep the bumpers, ropes, life jackets, the table leg and table top.

There is also seating for two at the driver's station, and seating for three more portside and three more at the stern.
We've never had a problem with not having a place to sit. The Grandkids like to fight over who gets to sit with Grandpa, but the rest of us all have our "spots".

We've used the two tables on numerous occasions when we've taken day trips and eaten lunch out.

We put up the top, which covers almost the whole back end of the boat, and put up a table back there, as well as a table at the bow of the Rendezvous.

On the bow of the boat, as well as the stern, there are sundecks for laying out, or for temporary storage of rafts, skies, or other water toys. A ladder is stored at the stern, at water level, which is convenient, as you don't have to keep putting in and taking out a ladder, then storing it.

There is no comparison of the Rendezvous that we enjoy now to the Cobalt tri-hull that we had before. The Cobalt was so bouncy we'd have to give up boating on the busy weekends, because the boat couldn't handle well.

One little annoyance with the Rendezvous we've found is putting on the cover. It does require two people to get it right, and to accomplish putting it on in a reasonable time frame.

The Rendezvous does also require a patient hand to get it into the dock slip. If you are the nervous type, make sure you have a wide slip on your dock that is well padded. A boat this large with a single I/O doesn't turn on a dime going slow, and if you rush your docking, or if the water is rough, you'll do some damage.

Overall, we've had two great summers with my parent's new Bayliner Rendezvous. It's all of the good things about a ski boat and pontoon boat, rolled into one.

**********
September 2, 2001 UPDATE!

We had lots of family at the parent's house this weekend, and the majority of them wanted to stay in the Rendezvous full time. Now, the Lake is very busy on Holiday weekends, but we packed 12 people into the boat, and took it out and pulled skiers, pulled tubers, and took a long boat ride over "hurricane swells". I heard many comments like "Wow this boat rides nice, even with all the waves!" and "I can't believe this boat can pull up a skier with all the extra weight in here".

And this, from city-dwellers from Chicago!

So, not only do you have my pinyin, you now have the pinyin of 3 novices!

LJK




Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 22,000
Brand of Motor: Mercruiser
Primary Location of Use: Large lakes and reservoirs
Primary Type of Use: All-around recreation