More of this Feature • Part 1: Bayliner 3488 • Part 2: Bayliner 3488 continued • Bayliner 3488 Specs • Bayliner 3488 Deck Plan • Bayliner 3488 Acceleration Curve
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The comforts of the saloon are commensurate with the conveniences of the teak-trimmed galley, which include a Norcold below-counter refrigerator, a stainless steel double sink, two-burner stove (LPG or electric), and microwave/convection oven. When meals are ready, you can extend the leaves and raise the teak table to dining level before the port-side settee. Stowage beneath this settee is ample, with deep compartments taking full advantage of available space. Likewise, there is plenty of room for belongings in the forward stateroom in hull-side shelves, a starboard hanging locker, three drawers built into the double berth, and a compartment beneath the mattress. The common-access head with shower and optional VacuFlush MSD is port of a midcabin with a recessed double berth that kids should enjoy for its novelty and adults should appreciate for its roominess.

Access to the engine compartment is through a hatch in the saloon sole that drops you in between the twin powerplants. You may feel cramped when doing work on the outboard sides of the engines, but you can go at them comfortably when taking care of routine maintenance on the inboard sides. For major jobs, two more hatches open directly above each engine.

Our test boat was equipped with a lower helm to starboard in the saloon in place of the second settee on standard models. Visibility from it was good. I especially liked the view astern through the sliding glass door. Anderson said that most rain-drenched Northwesterners were requesting this option, but he expects boaters in sunnier climes to be more than satisfied with the standard flying-bridge helm.


At that station, with the 3488’s dimensions in clear sight fore and aft, you’ll feel high and mighty. As we motored through the cut between Lake Union and Lake Washington, we towered over dedicated members of University of Washington’s crew team rowing needle-thin boats. I envied their heat-generating exertions; there wasn’t a cloud in the sky and hardly any wind, but it was January nonetheless, and cold—especially when we put the 3488’s optional twin 240-hp 4B-250 Cummins diesel inboards to work. Her 26.7 mph at wide-open throttle (3000 rpm) was a little too bracing. Talk about wind-chill factor! The peak of Mount Rainier suspended to the southeast didn’t look any colder. Even at a typical cruising rpm of 2750, we were still doing nearly 24 mph, and the chattering of my teeth seemed a lot louder than the 77 decibels we recorded on the dB meter. As Bayliner’s photo-shoot manager Chuck Thompson and I recorded acceleration curves, the 3488 charged ahead like a three-year-old filly. The brisker the better, she seemed to say, while Thompson and I wondered just who was being put to the test here.

What a relief when it came time to check out the boat’s niftiest option, the Integrated Control System (ICS) for close-quarters (thankfully, slow and relatively warm) maneuvering. Including bow and stern thrusters controlled by a hull-shaped module at the helm, the ICS might bring skippers about as close as you can get nowadays to point-and-click docking. Push the “bow” of the module to port, and you activate the bow thruster, causing the boat itself to mimic the motion of the module. Push the “stern&148; over, and the aft thruster kicks in. If you rotate the hull shape firmly clockwise, both thrusters go to work in opposite directions and the 3488 spins on a dime. Push the module laterally, and the thrusters work together to walk the boat sideways. It’s as simple as that—perhaps the greatest onboard stress reliever since the invention of the dock-side margarita.

When I used this clever switch, the 3488 reacted so nimbly I even felt a little cruel, like some ruthless puppeteer. It was, I think, the opposite reaction I’ve seen in more than a few skippers who, just after crunching a fuel dock, will address their vessels using terms usually reserved for one’s most reviled enemies. As we tied up again on the edge of Lake Union, it occurred to me that you’d be unlikely to have many arguments with a user-friendly boat like the 3488. She’s just too easy to get along with.

Bayliner Marine Phone: (800) 443-9119. www.bayliner.com.

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