NOTABLEFEATURES • Stainless steel hinges, cleats and other hardware add durability, even in salt water • Exterior finish comes in various colors and adds an exciting look • Full swiveling passenger bucket seat gives a clear view of ski or tubing action • Bow step makes boarding easy and conceals an insulated compartment • Fish and ski version is available, giving boaters more versatile fun on the water • Head rests designed into stern seats are performance-boat accents

What do boaters want from a family runabout? That's a question Al Fink, founder of Stingray, has asked himself every year since their first model year 25 years ago. Speed has always ranked up there in his books, so he's developed one of the fastest hull designs on the water. Now Al is sprucing up his boats with even more durable, good-looking stainless-steel hardware and rich, stain-resistant upholstery.

The look of the 195LX is all new, thanks to the focus on premium hardware and the more supple, full-bodied vinyl over artfully sculpted and comfortable seating. Windshield supports, hatch hinges, cleats and other hardware make this boat ready for fun in saltwater bays and estuaries or the lakes and rivers of your choice.

The vinyl is heavily stitched shaped in a fashion you'd expect in more expensive boats. The new 25th-anniversary medallion embriodered on the upholstery highlights this change.

This little boat screams along at a top speed that comes from a strong but lightweight Z-Plane hull that lifts high on the water, reducing drag. This hull has plenty of rocker in the keel, helping boaters trim the boat up high to reduce the wetted suface and drag to build speed. While some boats lose stability with more trim and less wetted surface, the Z-Plane hull holds its footing beautifully, even in hard turns.

Stingray has a high standard in mechanical design, too. While most boat testers can't get "below the sole" of a boat to dig around in the gas tank, Fink handed us a sliced-open tank. It revealed a foolproof magnetic fuel level sensor molded into the rigid polymer tank. What's so great about that? It eliminates ballcock floats that break down over time. Also, a specially molded bottom gives the fuel line pickup an extra low level to make sure all the fuel can be drawn out of the tank — adding range to a family bowrider like the 195LX.

Stingray always sets a high standard in performance that makes us look forward to testing each new design. New styling, improved hardware and a creative use of cockpit space sets what we think will be a new standard for durability, too.