Rae Line 186C outboard

Rae Line 186 C Outboard: Boat Review

In this video, chief boat tester John Willis and his old mate Theo Rozakis, from Victoria’s MY Marine, venture out on a stunning day on Port Phillip Bay. Their mission: to review the outboard version of the new Rae Line 186C family boat.

RAE LINE BOATS

Rae Line is a boat manufacturer based in New Zealand. Our review subject was the outboard motor version of the Rae Line 186C family boat. “Family boats” is actually the most accurate description. In 2011, we reviewed the Rae-Line 186 C (sterndrive) in almost the exact same location in Port Phillip Bay. Later that year, the same Rae Line boat would be judged the best boat in the Family Boats category for Australia’s Greatest Boats 2011.

PRICE

The Rae Line 186C outboard is priced from the mid $40k mark up to around the $55,000, depending on the engine and options list. Our review boat was fitted with a new 150hp Mercury FourStroke outboard motor.

For the price, you get a lot of boat for your money, including an exceptional finish and lots of extras that are either lacking or are of a lower standard compared to similar boats in the same price range.

“This is the ultimate family boat,” says John Willis. It’s built to CE Certification, it has glass windows rather than Perspex, there’s a roomy cabin and cockpit, build quality and finish are exceptional, and it handles well on the water.

150hp MERCURY FOURSTROKE

As mentioned, this Rae Line 186C was fitted with a new Mercury 150hp FourStroke outboard motor which easily got it to 50mph (about 80kmh).

“It does get up and boogy,” says John Willis. “If you’ve got guys who want to do a lot of skiing as a family, the 150hp Mercury FourStroke is a great thing. However, you can knock quite a lot of price out of that and really not lose that much performance by going down to even as low as a 90hp outboard motor in a cruising boat scenario.

“I reckon a 115hp Mercury FourStroke with a Command Thrust would just be sensational.”