Best Boat Brands
What are the best boat brands to consider? We look at 10 top contenders in 2023.
February 28, 2025
Selecting the top 10 best boat manufacturers or brands is challenging, given the vast distinctions among the best fishing boats, premier best cruisers, and best daysailers.
Nevertheless, certain brands consistently stand out over the years. While there are compelling arguments for numerous boat brands to be featured on this list, based on consumer satisfaction, average resale values, overall sales, and search popularity, these 10 boat brands consistently secure their positions as industry front-runners. It's worth noting that there are plenty of other commendable brands available in the market beyond this round up.
Above: The Bertram 31 Moppie, and its newer cousin the Bertram 35 is one of the reasons why Bertram is one of the most-loved boat brands around. Photo by Bertram Yachts.
1. Bertram
Although Bertram doesn’t build nearly as many boats as it once did, nor quite as diverse a range as in some years past, it is still one of the top regarded boat manufacturers on the planet. As of August 2023 the company offers six models, including two center consoles (29CC and 39CC), a dual console runabout (28XC), and the larger 35, 50, and 61 models. This iconic brand continues to engender mass loyalty and was the winner of Boat Trader’s “Boating Madness” popularity tournament back in 2018. Bertrams’ iconic status is also confirmed by a constant demand for classic models like the 28 and 31, which are regularly refinished, repowered, and resold for spectacularly high prices for boats of their age. If there’s any doubt in your mind as to just how loved the Bertam brand really is, just check out YachtWorld's Cult Classics Episode 2 all about Bertram Yachts. Or browse listings for “old” 31 Flybridge models.
Check out all Bertram listings on boats.com.
Above: A Boston Whaler Montauk. Boston Whaler is unquestionably among the best-loved boat brands on the water today. Photo by Boston Whaler.
2. Boston Whaler
Boston Whaler makes fishing and luxury boats from 13’ to 42’ in 28 different models (as of August 2023), in all. For many years, Boston Whaler boats have been celebrated as "unsinkable". This legendary reputation dates back to when the inaugural 13-foot model was first introduced by Richard "Dick" Fisher in 1958. Even when the boat was cut in half it stayed floating, due to the flotation foam injected between its hull and deck (a common practice by today's standards). More than sixty years on, Boston Whaler still upholds this unsinkable legacy, delivering boats that ensure stability, safety and confidence on the water.
Resale value, in particular, is one of this brand’s strongest points. Check out the used boat listings for Boston Whalers on boats.com, and you’ll notice that even 20 year old boats maintain a huge portion of their value. There will be 24-footers which are over 20 years old yet are still priced at over $70,000, and 18-footers 10 years older than that which are still priced at over $35,000—as much as some new boats of the same size. Whaler also boasts 15 consecutive Consumer Satisfaction Index Awards (meaning customer satisfaction information gathered by the NMMA is 90-percent or higher), and has won seven NMMA Innovation awards in the past decade alone.
See all Boston Whaler listings.
Above: A Chaparal 257 SSX runabout boat underway on the water. The popularity of Chaparral’s boats earns the company a place on the best boat brands list. Photo by Chaparral Boats.
3. Chaparral
Chaparral has been manufacturing a wide range of boats for nearly 60 years, since 1965. Their model lineup includes bowriders, wake surf and watersports boats, and cruisers from 21 to 30 feet in length. Chaparral makes our list because it’s one of the top-searched boats on our own site, it scored high in Boat Trader’s Boating Madness tournament (as well as being a top-searched brand on Boat Trader), and was voted the number three brand overall on Ranker.com. We also send special kudos to this brand for standing by it’s employees in a big way and awarding over a half-million dollars in scholarships to graduating seniors who are kids in the Chaparral “family,” over the past 25 years.
See all Chaparral listings.
Above: Grady-White builds center consoles, expresses, and dual console boats like this Freedom 307. Photo by Grady-White.
4. Grady-White
When it comes to family fishing boats, few names in the boating world carry as much weight as Grady-White. This company has won the highest possible customer satisfaction recognition in every third-party measure or study of boat brands in modern times. Whether you consider Marine Matrix, J.D. Power and Associates, or NMMA CSI awards, Grady-White gets a big, fat thumbs-up. Oh, and did we mention that as a result, Grady-Whites are also one of the most valued brands on the used boat market, as well for new boats?
See Grady-White listings.
Above: Boats like the Lund Pro Guide earn this brand a top spot in the industry. Photo by Lund.
5. Lund
Having built aluminum boats since 1948, Lund consistently ranks among the most popular brands (particularly in the north/mid Western regions of the nation), it won an NMMA Innovation Award in 2022 and is regularly cited as a great value holding top position in many industry publications for the best boat for buyers on a budget. Lund builds a range of fishing boats from jon boats to species-specific models, plus a few cross-over watersports boats and a small line of pontoon boats.
Anyone looking for an aluminum boat will want to check out these Lund listings.
Above: When it comes to pure watersports boats, the MasterCraft brand will be tough to top. Photo by MasterCraft.
6. MasterCraft
When it comes to single-mission watersports boats, few brands have attained the status of MasterCraft. The builder regularly takes top spots on industry rankings of boat brands, particularly wake boats and wake surfing models. In 2022 MasterCraft introduced the Ilmor Supercharged 6.2L engine, for which it won an NMMA Innovation Award. Additionally, MasterCraft was awarded a 2022 NMMA CSI award for customer satisfaction. The company has also won awards for its advanced-tech manufacturing plant in Vonore, TN. MasterCraft is also much-loved for its unusual five-year “MasterCare” warranty, which covers the boat from stem to stern and is fully transferrable.
See MasterCraft listings.
Above: Topping the Sea Ray line is the L650 Fly, a luxury yacht any boater would be thrilled to own. Photo by Sea Ray.
7. Sea Ray
No one’s going to question Sea Ray’s popularity. In fact, this brand is always atop the list, and boasts more awards than any other brand (from the likes of NMMA, CSI, Product Quality, J.D. Power and Associates, and Editor’s Choice). At the 2023 Miami International Boat Show, Sea Ray received accolades, winning an Innovation Award and the Marine Marketers of America Neptune Award for the Sea Ray SLX 260.
On top of that, more Sea Ray dealers appear in Boating Industry’s top 100 dealers than any other manufacturer’s dealers. This all comes courtesy of a line between 30-40 models offered every year (and several new ones introduced every year) ranging from bowriders to luxury yachts. Just how popular is Sea Ray? It’s a top brand for listings volume on boats.com, with nearly 5,000 boats currently listed for sale!
See Sea Ray listings.
Above: Focused mostly on fishing boats, the Tracker brand is immensely popular. Photo by Tracker Boats.
8. Tracker
When we say Tracker Boats we’re including their line of pontoons, marketed as Sun Tracker. Put their fishing boats and their pontoons together, and you have one of the best-selling brands in the nation. Trackers are also some of the most-searched boats on boats.com, and have taken NMMA CSI awards for 8 consecutive years as of 2023. Aside from the ‘toons their line consists mostly of fishing and utility boats, plus some hunting-dedicated models. All are aluminum, and the tracker warranty includes five years from stem to stern plus limited lifetime structural coverage and provisions for transferring ownership.
See Tracker listings.
Above: Sport boats like the AR190 have helped make Yamaha one of the best brands on the water. Photo by Yamaha Boats.
9. Yamaha
Yamaha boats are the only jet-powered watercraft to make our list, but it’s clearly deserved since they are consistently the number-one choice of consumers buying runabouts in the 19 to 24 foot class, as well as for personal watercraft (PWC). They are a top-searched brand on boats.com. Along with the expected bowriders and watersports boats, Yamaha is also in the fishing boat market with a pair of jet-powered center consoles, among the first of their kind. In February 2023, the NMMA recognized Yamaha with its prestigious Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) Award for excellence in customer satisfaction in the Jet Boat and Personal Watercraft categories.
See Yamaha listings.
Above: The Viking 68C is indicative of the entire line, which is appropriately termed yachts as opposed to boats. Photo by Viking Yachts.
10. Viking Yachts
Although the cost of Viking Yachts will price out the average boat buyer, this brand is still one of the most recognized—and admired—on the ocean. Viking Yachts made it to the final round in Boat Trader Boating Madness, builds 90-percent of the yacht’s pieces-parts in house to maintain top quality control, and carries one of the top resale values for boats of their size.
From their offshore sportfish models that range in size from 38 feet (38 Billfish) to a massive 90 feet (in the form of their 90-foot bluewater titans the 90EB and 90SB) to their newer line of center console fishing boats under the brand name Valhalla, the company is unquestionably a premiere yacht manufacturer of quality convertible yachts, open yachts and luxury motor yachts.
See Viking listings.
So there you go, everyone—10 leading boat brands that stand out by every standard in 2023. Indeed, there might be other brands that could stake a claim on this list. Of course, one might come across individuals who've faced issues with boats from these manufacturers. However, taking into account aspects such as popularity, accolades, overall customer contentment, and resale worth, these 10 boat makers remain unparalleled in the industry.
Editor's Note: This article was originally published in April 2020 and last updated in February 2025.
