Extreme Boats 646 Walk Around

You could be forgiven if you took one look at the 646 Walk Around from Extreme Boats and made the mistake of thinking it was a fiberglass vessel.

It’s supposed to look that way by design, but it’s not actually fiberglass. The 646 Walk Around is an aluminum boat built in New Zealand where “tinnies,” as they are called colloquially, are all the rage. The builder has an outpost in Parma, Ohio — Extreme Boats USA — where Ryan Evans is the vice president.

“The boats are made from 5083-grade aluminum,” Evans says. “They are 6 millimeters on the bottom and 5 millimeters thick on the sides, so these boats are super durable. But the metal is flared out so it looks like a fiberglass vessel.”

This extra touch gives Extreme Boats a significantly more elegant look than most aluminum boats, but without sacrificing any of the material’s famous toughness.

It’s a seaworthy boat too, and Evans is quick to bring up one interesting feature that helps it stay steady in the chop.

“Like all Extremes, it’s got a flooded keel system,” he says. “That basically means it has a ballast tank that runs from stern to bow so when you slow down water fills up that chamber and takes away displacement.”

The boat also has a high degree of deadrise and a reverse-chine design that Evans says makes it safe and reliable.

The 646 Walk Around is also an easy boat to trailer because of its relatively compact size at 21 feet, 2 inches long, and its light weight. This model has some zip thanks to a 225-hp Mercury outboard engine, though as of press time speed numbers were hard to come by. Regardless, if you’re looking for a boat that can take you fishing, cruising or even act as an all-weather commuter, the 646 Walk Around from Extreme Boats is an excellent option to consider.