2016 Sea Ray 290 Sundeck: First Drive

Sea. Ray. Sun. Deck. The family of nouns fit together perfectly well. But with a big-block V8 MerCruiser, the new 2016 Sea Ray 290 Sundeck imported by Queensland Marine Centre (QMC) on the Gold Coast adds driving pleasure to the mix.

Fresh from the first test of the first new 2016-model 290 Sundeck in Australia, and ahead of our impending review, your crew can now report that the new flagship in Sea Ray's dayboat/deckboat range has a real focus on fresh design.

There's smart upholstery, a lifted finish, fair mouldings, abundant upmarket fittings and a long list of standard inclusions that reflect the $160K-plus base-boat price tag. Rather than mix it with the plebs, the 290 Sundeck bats in the luxury bowrider league. But there's something else that will float your boat.

The new layout bolsters seating, with clever convertible lounging arrangements, better use of the transom area, while also improving the all-important flow and cockpit thoroughfare.

With a 15-person passenger capacity and seating for even more, the 2016-model 290 Sundeck is a very social boat. The flip-down swim step is terrific, the new twin transom lounges raise the luxury levels, while the WC inside the passenger console has an upmarket freshwater Vacuflush loo.

QMC ticked plenty of other options' boxes on its Aussie 290 including boosted refrigeration for social boating and the top spec 380hp MerCruiser 8.2 MAG DTS for crowd-hauling power. The big-block V8 gave 42 knots top speed and 35 knots smooth cruise.

The new flagship of the Sundeck range follows our test of the first outboard- and sterndrive-powered Sea Ray 270 Sundeck boats in Australia earlier this year.

The new Sundecks are part of the Next Wave 24-month commitment to enacting major innovation across all Sea Ray platforms.

Look for the first test of the new 2016 Sea Ray 290 Sundeck on our sites. Meantime, more on the new boat at Queensland Marine Centre and Sea Ray.