This Raider Boats review is about buying one, so it's the shopping and the build sheet and the dealer and the factory and the photos they sent me along the way, and I'm leaving ride quality and fuel burn and all that for somebody who can actually speak to it. If you want the backstory on why I wanted something tough in the first place, it involves a Sea-Doo I sank in the river and it's in Who I Am and Why I'm Doing This.
Who Raider is
Raider Aluminum Boats builds welded aluminum boats in Colville, Washington, at 367 Old Dominion Road. Their site says they've been doing it since 1989 and they build boats in the 21 to 35 foot range. I've seen 1990 in a couple of other places, but the builder says 1989 so I'm going with them.
Their lineup per their site starts with the Delta, which is the 21-footer, and goes through the Pro Fish, the Coastal, the Sea Raider and the Offshore Series up to the Kodiak and Aleutian at the top end. The Coastal is the one that adds self-bailing decks and commercial-grade options, which is part of why I ended up there. They make a pretty big deal about .250-inch bottoms, heavy side sheets and full weld-outs, and I went into what that actually means in aluminum vs fiberglass.
What I bought
I bought a 2026 Raider 230 Coastal and her name is Doreen. My contract lists her at 25'6" LOA with a 102" beam, and she's got a single Honda BF350 on the back, Garmin package 5 plus LiveScope, a second station, a Kraken trolling motor, Seakeeper Ride and Power-Poles. She was built in Colville and sold through Selkirk Marine, and every piece of gear is on the build page if you want the long list.
Factory specs vs my contract
One thing that confused me at first is the length. Raider's Coastal Series page lists the Coastal 230 at 23'3" hull length and 25'3" overall with the bracket, and my contract says 25'6" LOA. As far as I can tell those are just different ways of measuring and my number includes my options. The same factory page lists a 90" x .250" bottom, 40" x .160" sides, 18 degrees of deadrise at the transom (24 amidships and 40 at the bow entry), a 31" cockpit depth, 110 gallons of fuel and 4,100 lb. Those are Raider's catalog numbers for the model, not anything I measured on my boat.
What else I looked at
I didn't walk in and point at a Raider, and the shortlist got kinda loud for a while. My first serious build request was actually a Weldcraft 210 Revolution, which was a real option with workboat bones. Tobler Marina had a Duckworth in the mix that just didn't win the gut check for me. The used Raider 210 Explorers were tempting since they were already built and I'd have had one sooner, but that meant somebody else's options and hours I didn't know anything about. And my Raider conversation actually started on the 21 Delta before it ever got to the 230.
On top of that there was a whole feed of other stuff I browsed, North River and Hewescraft and Stabicraft and plenty more, which was useful for figuring out what I actually wanted even though none of them replaced a custom Raider for this river. The full list is on Boats We Looked At.
Why I went with Raider
The biggest thing was honestly the dealer. Kylo Matlock at Selkirk Marine stayed in my inbox for months sending build sheets and answering questions on the Ride system and shore power and deposits, and I asked a lot of dumb questions that he answered every time. That sounds small but it ended up being part of the decision.
I also wanted a factory build so the boat would be set up for how the Cumberland actually gets run and not somebody's leftover options sheet, which I wrote more about on Decisions. By mid-February I'd talked myself out of the 21 Delta and into the Coastal 230, which was about a $30k step for the same option stack, and that's not a small number for me. Twins were on the table for a while too, but Kylo's take was that a 230 doesn't get the same benefit from twin outboards that a longer boat would, so I went with one big Honda BF350 and let the Kraken and the second station handle the slow stuff.
The build photos
My favorite part of the whole process was the shop photos, real ones that came in between July and October, with the hull in the jig and then the frames tacked in and the cabin and hardtop and helm going on. All 24 are in the gallery and I cut three short build films out of them. Watching flat plate turn into your boat is a pretty cool feeling, I'm not gonna lie.
Who I think a Raider makes sense for
Going off what Raider says about itself and my own shopping, I'd say a Raider makes sense if you want welded aluminum that can take a beating and you're willing to wait on a factory slot so you can pick your own options instead of buying something off the lot. If what you want is a molded fiberglass boat with every curve in the gelcoat, that's a different kind of boat and you'd probably be happier looking elsewhere.
FAQ
Where are Raider boats made?
Raider Aluminum Boats builds in Colville, Washington, at 367 Old Dominion Road, according to the company.
How long has Raider been building boats?
Raider's website says since 1989, and a few other sources say 1990.
How long is the Raider Coastal 230?
Raider's Coastal Series page lists a 23'3" hull length and 25'3" overall with the bracket. Individual contracts can list a different LOA depending on options, and mine says 25'6".
Are Raider boats welded or riveted?
Raider describes its boats as welded aluminum, with .250-inch bottoms and full chine weld-outs.
