RUNABOUT

The runabout is the quintessential boat that many of us see when we close our eyes and daydream about getting on the water. That's because so many people took their first-ever boat ride aboard a small, single-engine boat meant for short day trips that when the time comes to get their own boat, the classic boat style comes to mind.

The modern version of the runabout comes in so many styles and different power choices that you'll find plenty to light a fire under your aspirations if you're looking to buy one today. Take a look at some of the best runabouts today's boatbuilders have to offer and pick the one that, ahem, floats your boat.

SEA-DOO EXPLORER PRO 170

Personal watercraft buyers increasingly put their craft to more uses, riding longer and longer distances, planning and completing multiday rides, exploring new waterways, and even using their PWC to camp along shorelines en route. The Sea-Doo Explorer Pro targets those same adventurous consumers with amenities borrowed from touring motorcycles and snowmobiles, as well as vastly increased storage potential.

The obvious addition to help serve this mission is the Explorer Pro's industry-first windshield. Designed to reduce wind and noise-pressure fatigue by funneling air up and over the rider, it also offers protection from a driving rain or an early- or late-season chill. A vent provides fresh air when needed. In the unlikely event a rider contacts the windshield in a fall, it drops forward to prevent injury. The Explorer's game-changing addition, however, is storage. An aft deck extension adds almost a foot to the craft's overall length. An adjoining platform has also been added between that extension and the saddle.

Both feature six sets of Sea-Doo's recessed LinQ mounts, pop-up cleats that anchor a variety of accessories. Fill them with a combination of cooler, gear and fuel caddies to max out the provisions. Or clear the deck, load up to five fuel caddies, and double the craft's range, easing concerns about that next fuel stop.