Builder · Mid · West Frankfort, Illinois
Illinois mid-tier sport boat builder, 1991-founded. Family-held. Bowriders, deck boats, and surf-platform SS line.
Crownline is the family-held mid-tier sport-boat builder from West Frankfort, Illinois. Founded in 1991, the brand has stayed family-owned throughout. The lineup runs from the E1 entry bowrider through the SS 290 surf-platform flagship.
The brand argument is the FasTab automatic trim system (standard across most current production) and the family-held build discipline at mid-tier pricing. The SS surf line uses a stepped hull form that pulls the brand into wake-and-surf competition.
Our reviews
Crownline
Crownline's 21-foot eclipse-series bowrider with the FAS3Tech hull and a sterndrive setup. Cleaner finish than Bayliner or Tahoe, lower price than Cobalt or Chaparral.
Crownline
A 23-foot sterndrive deck-style bowrider with the cockpit volume the segment average does not give you. Built in West Frankfort, Illinois, and aimed squarely at family lake weekends.
Lineup
E series (E1 / E2 / E26 XS)
Entry-to-mid bowriders
SS series (SS 220 / 250 / 290)
Surf platforms with stepped hull
Model breakdown
E is the volume bowrider line. Mercruiser sterndrive or Mercury outboard. The E2 is the volume mid-segment seller.
Things we like
Things we don't
SS is the wake-and-surf line. Volvo Penta Forward Drive sterndrive, ballast tanks for surf wave, stepped hull form.
Things we like
Things we don't
Buyer's guide
Crownline was founded in 1991 in Illinois. The brand has stayed family-held throughout and has not been acquired or licensed.
Production has stayed in West Frankfort, single-site. The SS surf line launched in the mid-2010s as the brand expanded into the wake-and-surf segment.
Crownline hulls run moderate-V (typically 18 to 21 degrees at the transom on the bowrider line). The SS surf line uses a stepped hull form with the Volvo Forward Drive engine.
Mercruiser sterndrive is the dominant rigging on the E line; Volvo Penta Forward Drive is standard on the SS surf line.
FasTab actuator service is a 5-year preventive item. Replace before symptoms.
Volvo Penta Forward Drive prop-shaft seal pattern at three to five years on SS surf hulls.
Mercruiser 6.2L bellows tear on 2015+ E-series hulls past five years.
Dealer network concentrated in the Midwest and Great Lakes.
Crownline holds resale at the mid-tier average. Three-year depreciation runs 22 to 28 percent. Five-year depreciation runs 35 to 42 percent.
Buyers cross-shop Crownline against Chaparral, Four Winns, and Monterey on the bowrider segment, and against Malibu Wakesetter on the surf segment. The argument is family-held build discipline at mid-tier pricing.
FAQ
Weekly
One boat we ran, one guide worth reading, one model we'd shop next week. No press-release rewrites. Unsubscribe any time.