Bayliner VR5 Boats For Sale

The Bayliner VR5 is a 20-foot 7-inch bow rider built around a beam-forward hull that carries its full 8-foot beam well forward before tapering to the bow, giving an unusually wide bow seating area for a boat this size. It replaced the 185 BR, which had a narrower 7-foot 7-inch beam, and a 20-degree deadrise at the transom with a sharp entry forward makes it a deeper, more substantial boat than older runabouts. High gunnels and a low-set floor let passengers sit down inside the hull rather than perched on top of it. Bayliner VR5 boats for sale come in two forms: a MerCruiser stern drive and the VR5 OB outboard, which share essentially the same layout aft of the engine.

The stern drive carries a MerCruiser 4.5-liter MPI 200-horsepower engine on an Alpha One drive, often specified with closed cooling and a raw-water heat exchanger to extend engine life. The outboard version takes a Mercury 150-horsepower outboard, its rated maximum, with a 33-gallon fuel capacity. At 4,000 rpm the boat runs 35.6 mph while returning 3.7 miles per gallon; the outboard tops out in the low 40s and cruises all day in the 20 to 25 mph range. The stern drive weighs roughly 1,500 kilograms, while the outboard sits at 4,095 pounds on its trailer, light enough to tow behind a midsize-to-large SUV rated for 5,000 pounds. A galvanized swing-tongue trailer comes standard.

The helm uses a clean dash with lighted rocker switches and a gauge cluster set directly in front of the wheel, plus a flip-up bolster, tilt steering and a swiveling captain's seat. A 9-inch Simrad glass dash was an upgrade on stern drive examples, replacing analog instruments and doubling as chart plotter and fish finder; the outboard offered a 7-inch Simrad Mercury VesselView Mobile unit for GPS, depth, fish finder and engine data. A Jensen Bluetooth stereo handles audio.

Seating wraps the cockpit in an L-shape with a removable teak table that opens flat so all eight passengers can reach it, and the passenger-side seat converts between forward-facing, aft-facing and a full flat lounger. The stern seats into a full-width sun lounger, and the bow takes filler cushions and a removable backrest that blocks wind or makes a second large sun pad. Storage sits under nearly every seat, with a gel-coated bow ski locker, an aft lazarette big enough for beach chairs and coolers, and a built-in day cooler. The VR5 is self-bailing with twin cockpit drains, unlike the 185, and SeaDek-style foam teak matting covers the floor and swim platform.

Build quality comes from an all-fiberglass stringer grid system, with the swim platforms integrated into the hull rather than bolted on. Options to weigh include the Monster wakeboard tower with quick-disconnect, anodized black aluminum frame and integrated bimini, the stainless steel rub-rail and hardware package, and the Coastline lux interior with diamond-pattern stitching. The outboard's MSRP showed around $48,440 at a boat show with builds seen near $38,000, and the VR5 launched at roughly $700 less than the 185 it replaced. Used examples turn up well-maintained, such as low-hour freshwater 2021 stern drives and serviced 2017 models.