Sea Ray 275 Sundancer

But for the NSW teachers' strike that saw more terrible tykes tearing up the waterways than usual, my mid-week sortie on an American Sea Ray 275 Sundancer was shared with a few cormorants drying their wings in the sun, some weird wading birds with beaks as long as chopsticks, plenty of finny friends swimming in the clear water below and a lone ferry weaving about the channel.

Without the madding crowds and the mob mentality, mid-week is a great time to go boating. It's an even better time to down anchor since you haven't the incessant wash to contend with from the passing parade. If you intend to overnight, all the better, as there will be plenty of peaceful anchorages to choose from.

Which brings us to the world of pocket cruisers designed for, well, overnighting. The competitive pocket cruiser market is flush with demanding buyers who want everything including the kitchen sink on a shoestring budget.

Not surprisingly, most of the pocket cruisers hail from the US and follow a common theme. However, the Sea Ray 275 Sundancer was non-conformist. Rather than adopt a follow-the-pack mentality this pocket cruiser had less by way of overnighting space and more of a performance hull designed to go places.

DIFFERENT STROKES
The 275 Sundancer has accommodation for a family of four, a compact galley and a separate head with hot shower. But it also has a sporty profile and well-proportioned deep-vee hull with 19 degrees of deadrise. The efficient hull offers a very smooth ride.

The former owner of this 2004 model 275 Sundancer was a family man with a couple of young children who used his boat for overnighters on an enclosed estuary. However, the boat would be just as happy high-tailing it across the SA gulfs, Moreton Bay or a passage to Rottenest. In other words, it isn't a river boat.

The popular pocket cruiser also bore evidence of Sea Ray's recent return to quality. The boat has sweet mouldings - long a feature of Sea Ray - but a lot less glitz in the finish. There is now more by way of stainless-steel deck gear, thick upholstery and easy-clean cherrywood Formica joinery down below.

The new 2005 model 275 Sundancer, to debut at the imminent Sydney International Boat Show, has turned even more Euro. The boat now has a boarding platform moulded to the hull and wraparound cockpit seating. For the most part, the 2004 model was the same boat, with a power upgrade from a standard 260hp 5.0lt MerCruiser MPI motor to a single 300hp 350 MerCruiser Mag MPI with SmartCraft (an engine-monitoring system). 

QUALITY BUILD
Built to US Coast Guard and American Boat and Yacht Council safety standards, the Sea Ray 275 Sundancer has a solid-'glass hull with a good solid feel on the water. The cruiser doesn't shake, shudder or slam when crossing boat wakes or, I suppose, wind waves. Trim tabs, which aren't always standard, let you put the boat on an even keel in strong crosswinds or with an uneven load.

The boat was, of course, fitted with a holding tank (with seacock outlet) for its top-shelf VacuFlush loo. Both water and fuel tanks were mounted close to amidships on the centreline where their combined weight will have the least effect on trim.

The engine room also contains the electrical panel with battery charger and engine-room light. There is an access panel to the dash wiring and cockpit hatch with the master switches for bilge pumps, stereo, cabin and helm power, and battery isolator.

The engine room is well insulated, with manual and auto fire-fighting systems and a water heater linked to transom shower and internal shower. The 318lt alloy fuel tank is equipped with an electric shut-off valve.

The boat comes standard with an impressive set of camper covers with insect screens and fore and aft canopies hanging off the targa arch, which was a factory-fitted option. One might also consider optional air conditioning and a petrol generator or invertor so you can use the microwave oven at anchor.

TOUR OF DUTY
I came aboard via the aptly-named boarding platform, which is a wide design with a concealed swim ladder and transom locker for fenders, mooring lines, shorepower lead and extraneous gear. The non-skid used throughout the boat, including on the gunwale tops, is grippy without being hard to clean.

The transom door leads into a good-sized cockpit. From here you can advance forward by negotiating the moulded steps in the sliding companionway door. The steps head to the opening windscreen and onto the non-skid foredeck. Thus, the boat is accessible from bow to stern. Up front on the demo boat was the optional windlass with foot controls.

The clever cockpit seating included a rear lounge with hinged stainless steel legs so you could open the engine-room hatch. There was an aft-facing seat forward of the lounge. Between the two lounges is space for four to five adults and an optional cockpit table which I found in a storage locker below decks.

The really clever bit about the seating was the backrest on the aft-facing lounge - it was hinged and could be folded flat to make a sunpad.

Full marks also for the two-person skipper seat, and the Cleopatra-style lounge opposite that can accommodate another three people.

So, while the 275 Sundancer isn't the biggest pocket cruiser by way of volume, it's very generous up top. A family of four will very comfortably dine on the deck and cruise in company.

A handy amenities centre behind the helm seat offers a moulded sink with pullout spray nozzle so you could rinse the lunch plates and a dedicated locker with a portable icebox for carrying food and drinks aboard. The glaring omission was a rail-mounted barbie.

There were courtesy lights, overhead night lights in the targa arch, and a couple of small storage hatches about the place for personals. And, of course, those ubiquitous drinkholders.

Outdoors, the boat offered good wind protection behind its deep wraparound screen. With the covers on the boat it could be used year-round. At least that was the thought I had at the well-protected helm in brisk autumn winds. 

COMFY OVERNIGHTER
While Sea Ray is generally noted for its finish, the green upholstery looked a tad dull to my eye. However, details such as non-skid rubber-capped stairs leading inside, concealed garbage bin, big dash cutout so you didn't hit your head and 182cm of headroom around the galley didn't go unnoticed.

The moulded galley unit, immediately to port, had a butane stove running off a replaceable fuel cartridge with a pot holder and stainless-steel surrounds. There were opening portholes for crossflow ventilation, a 12/240V fridge, big circular sink, 12V outlet and a microwave that you could use on shore power.

Storage existed in a number of lockers and cupboards, including one big enough for pots and pans. I also noted fiddle and grabrails here and there, a 12V/220V control panel and Clarion CD stacker. A nice detail was the cupboard with dedicated storage room for the dinette table and infill for the vee berth.

Considering the second sleeping quarters converts to a double bed with the supplied infill, the vee berth up front works as a comfortable sitting or emergency dining area. There is a hanging locker, storage under the cushions and along the hull sides and a lift-out Formica table with cherrywood print for doing dinner, drinks or board games.

The head is a moulded, wipe-clean insert that you step up to and, as such, it lacks full headroom. Sitting on the Vacuflush loo felt a tad cramped. At least there was a shower curtain and hand-held shower for having a morning rinse.

The so-called stateroom is a transverse double bed taking up the floor space of the amidships or aft cabin. Its entrance is tight; you need to stoop to get inside and grab a strategically-placed rail to pull yourself back out again. Try it on for size.

Once inside the stateroom there is plenty of room to sit up in bed and talk to the kids preparing to hunker down in the bow. Legroom is about 180cm, but a big workaday week and a long, cruisy day on the water should help you sleep soundly. The cabin also has a privacy curtain and an opening hatch.

CRUISING BEAUTY
The helm seat has a lift-up bolster and there is a windscreen wiper to ensure you have clear views ahead. Seated, my eyes went straight to the middle of the glass panes. Fast or slow, vision is a highlight for you and your guests.

At the dash I found a drinkholder, storage area for personals, stereo remote, adjustable steering wheel, windlass control, trim tabs, walnut panels with Faria engine gauges, fuel and trim gauges, and a multifunction panel for bilge pumps, lights, horn and so on. The SmartCraft engine diagnostics also include a troll mode that lets you adjust the boat's idle speed.

At 2500rpm with the tabs down the 275 Sundancer held a low-speed 9.4kt plane and 3000rpm gave 12.5kt, which would be a handy speed for making your way back to port in rough weather. The boat advanced nice and level to a quiet cruising speed of 24.2kt at 4000rpm with the leg trimmed halfway up. An extra 500rpm gave 29.8kt and at 5000rpm I got a sporty top speed of 31.7kt.

Compared with the high-volume Bayliner 285 with its 3.0m beam or even the 265 with a 2.87m beam, the Sea Ray 275 is something of a dart with 2.59m of beam.

At the end of the day you need to make the decision whether living space or a smooth and sporty ride matters most. For Sea Ray, it's the latter. If you have to chomp your way through some rough stuff, put this boat on your shortlist.

HIGHS

LOWS