Sea Ray SDX 290 OB: Review

There’s a revolution in America and it has nothing to do with politics. The power play underway is all about advancing the reach and influence of outboard engines. The new SDX 290 Sundeck is a case in point. This is the best big luxury bowrider we’ve driven with outboard power and a boat that offers advantages over the traditional big-block V8 sterndrive iteration.

OVERVIEW
- A luxury outboard-powered bowrider with unique features
When it comes to a lifestyle boat, the Sea Ray 290 Sundeck says it all. This is 29 feet of pure pleasure and it now comes with something extra — a twin 225hp Mercury Verado outboard-engine power variant. But are the twin outboards a better match than a single V8 petrol inboard?

Having driven the top spec 290 SDX with 380hp MerCruiser 8.2 MAG DTS V8, we arrived at this test with great interest. The engine pairings are polar opposites, although the boat is essentially the same.

After a previous test drive, the inboard SDX 290 rated as a sporty bowrider with voluminous bow-forward deck design. The SDX 290 Outboard (OB) is the same boat with twin outboards on the transom. The advantages flow from there. We quite like the look, too.

Our rendezvous with the established Queensland Sea Ray dealer, Queensland Marine Centre, was at The Spit boat ramp near Sea World on the Gold Coast. While the SDX 290 OB arrived on a trailer with dealer permits, most buyers will be storing this maxi bowrider in a rack, on the hardstand, or in the water in front of their house, ideally on an air dock so you don’t need antifoul.

That’s the obvious advantage of this outboard option — reduced long-term maintenance. You can just trim the outboard legs clear out of the water, flush them with a hose connection, and you have no sterndrive legs and props in the water. If the inboard boat is being kept out of the water anyway, then there’s no big advantage.

But the outboard option also let’s you access shallower waters, the sandy foreshore, private beach picnic spots and mosey up backwaters with greater reassurance. This could be a selling point around SE Queensland and for those with private pontoons. Draft with the outboards up is just 0.53m.

In addition, noise levels and fuel consumption are lower on the outboard.  The twin 2.6lt outboards don’t drink like an 8.2lt block — there is no blower on the boat either — and you gain storage space where the inboard engine otherwise resides.

Best of all, the performance is an eye opener — good acceleration, strong top end, quiet mid-range cruising — leading to our comment that this is the best big bowrider we’ve driven with outboards.

PRICE AND EQUIPMENT
- A loaded luxury bowrider with up to 17-person capacity and oodles of options
The base price of the 290 SDX OB with twin 225hp Mercury Verados, landed and factory loaded, starts at $220k. The same boat with the base 6.1lt V8 starts at $160k, but with the similar top-speed-producing 8.2lt big-block V8 you’re looking at a $175k starting price. So there’s a premium for twin outboards but they could save you maintenance costs and we’d expect the outboard engines to hold greater value.

Among the 290’s key standard features are things like convertible cockpit seating, wet bar, insulated moulded and portable coolers, a step-down head with toilet, pressure water with three handheld showers, dual batteries, a loaded dash with SmartCraft, Rockford Fosgate stereo, trim tabs, and the Sea Ray build quality and saltwater fitout that extends to lots of the stainless steel fittings.

Our test boat was priced for $234,128 as a loaded boat with some hot options. Foremost among them was upgraded head interior with pump-out portable loo, black aluminium tow arch with matching canvass, solid tan (almost titanium) hull colour, brushed chrome graphics, blue LED lighting and docking lights.

To enhance the entertaining ability there was an optional bow table, cockpit fridge, premium stereo upgrade, air compressor for the toys and tubes, SeaDek foam-topped swim platform, and a pair of luxury twin reclining aft-facing transom loungers.

These trick reclining transom loungers, which were also on the inboard-V8 SDX 290 we tested, are a key feature. It’s hard not to imagine yourself having a good time on either 290 Sundeck with all the plush seating and that is their forte. Party boating.

DESIGN AND LAYOUT
- A maxi bowrider with maxi storage and maxed-out seating
This flagship in SDX or Sundeck has been the focus of a lot of company love. A banner brand, Sea Ray offers smart quilted upholstery, five-star trim and finish, fair fibreglass mouldings, saltwater-proof stainless steel fittings, and a long list of standard inclusions.

Measuring 29ft (8.9m) and 31ft (9.5m) overall including outboards, and with a 9ft (2.74m beam), this is a big bowrider. The entire boat is traced by seats and padded backrests or bolsters, under which is lined storage and insulated coolers.

The broad hull has a lot of load-carrying capacity, but there’s a sharp 21 degree deep-vee hull underneath. You could put, say, six kids in the bow, six adults in the cockpit, two at the helm and two on the internal transom lounge. There’s your party of 16! Drink holders, grab rails and speakers exist throughout.

The non-skid foredeck has a concealed windlass and step-up forward cockpit for beach access. There is a pop-in-moulded table to create a second lunch setting, armrests on the forward-facing seats, plenty of storage including behind the helm console for the table, covers and so on.

The windscreen can be locked open with a trick safety catch long favoured by Sea Ray, while the wide companionway ensures this is an easy boat to get around. Back in the main cockpit, flip-back backrests on the helm seats help create the boat’s primary shaded social seating area.

There is loads more underfloor storage, another small drop-in moulded lunch table (get a bigger custom teak table made if you want to really entertain), and an inbuilt amenities centre with optional fitted fridge and sink. You can add an optional grill top with inverter to this boat. We’d do a BBQ ashore or go prawns and salad instead. There is a supplied portable carry-on cooler for it.

The transom arrangement is the highlight, with twin reclining loungers, drink holders and storage for personal effects like your iPhone streaming music and hooked to the supplied 12V plug. It’s an insanely luxurious back here overlooking the anchorage.

While you haven’t clear water access like the inboard 290 with swim platform, Sea Ray has added a submersible side-mounted swim step to improve water access. Having the outboards out there could be a deciding issue for buyers.

Either way, with a 17-person passenger capacity and seating for even more, the 2016-model 290 Sundeck is a supremely social boat designed to please a crowd.

HULL AND ENGINEERING
- Sea Ray quality sets the production-boat bar
You don’t hear of too many issues with the thousands upon thousands of Sea Rays on the water. The upmarket build quality is reflected by the lifetime warranty on the hull and deck and the five year warranty on just about everything else from bilge pumps to battery switches and the Mercury Verados.

There’s a lifted level of upholstery and trim around the dash, with details like the helm glove box strap and dash brow having an auto feel. The integration with the Mercury Smartcraft displays and digital DTS throttle is seamless, with room for the small standard 6in Raymarine A65 chartplotter ahead of the wheel.

The automatic ActiveTrim accessory is available, but with the supplied trim tabs you shouldn’t need that. Joystick piloting comes with the upgraded 250hp Verado option, but we’re really not sure you need more power or docking assistance.

The 492lt fuel supply will see you through a long summer’s day of cruising, while the 76lt of water rinses the salt from your body via the three deck sprayers. The portaloo is linked to a pump out to make life there a bit more dignified. Swing by the marina on the way home.

With 21 degrees of deadrise, the 290 hull has a deceptively deep vee when you look at the flared deck above the waterline. This ensures plenty of wave-cutting action and a dry ride. We didn’t experience banging or undue porpoising.

The SDX 290 OB is a smart looking boat with the outboards and it has performance to back it up.

ON THE WATER
- Deep-vee bowrider ride with twin outboards engine
On paper, compared with the inboard sister ship, the SDX 290 OB has 70 more horsepower, but it weighs 200kg more. While there are 12 cylinders with the twin four-stroke outboards, there is total displacement of 5.2lt (2 x 2.6lt) versus 8.2lt in the single big-block V8.

So how will this 3188kg maxi bowrider and party boat perform with twin outboards?

Look, parent company Brunswick Corporation owns a number of boat brand as well as Mercury Marine. Given its success with marques like Boston Whaler, which often run racks of outboards, we had plenty of faith in what lay ahead.

While my figures show this boat with the top spec 380hp MerCruiser 8.2 MAG DTS gave 42 knots top speed and 35 knots smooth cruise, it was actually faster with the twin 225hp outboard engines for a top speed of 46 knots at 6000rpm. That’s surprising.

The best cruise was at 30.5 knots and 4000rpm, where the twin outboards just hum in concert, while 3500rpm gave a very relaxed 22-23 knots for long-range cruising, down to a 19-20 knot cruise at 3200rpm. There was no labouring at any point, while the noise levels seemed low to my ear, though you can hear the supercharger whine at times. It’s just a very agreeable cruising day boat.

As an approximation, you will see a fuel burn at cruise of around 20-30 per cent less with the outboards than the big block 8.2L. So expect 50-60lt/hr in those 3500-4000rpm ranges. While the V8 inboard will have the edge in sheer hole shot, acceleration and the mid-range, this outboard boat is a beautiful cruising conveyance for swallowing and spoiling a big family.

The SDX 290 OB will tow the kids perfectly well and, with bow to stern seating and trim tabs, you’re going to find it easy enough to shunt a big crew load as the boat travels nice and level. The hull responds well to trim and it is a very nice drive. There’s even a bit of the twin outboard bluewater excitement and a 200nm-plus range for tackling big inshore waterways, bays, harbours, and gulfs.

VERDICT
- A giant social family boating platform with deep-vee hull and outboard advantages
The new flagship in the popular Sundeck range is part of the Next Wave development commitment to enact major innovation across all Sea Ray platforms. From transom loungers to outboards, this is a fresh-thinking boat.

We came away from the SDX 290 OB with a new perspective on pleasure boating. With the twin 225hp outboards, it’s quieter, smoother, more economical and practical. Certainly, there’s more useable and useful boat on these big bowriders du jour than similar-sized sportscruisers.

This day boat might be all you ever need in your boating life on the Gold Coast, Pittwater, Port Hacking, or running around Perth. Seize the day is now a lot easier. Think long summer days afloat and less time putting the rig to bed. Think picnics ashore and fun upriver. Think running to your own beach or bolthole across the bay.

The SDX 290 OB is no V8 sportsboat, but it’s a terrific luxury chariot well suited to the way we are going day boating, family boating, active boating and entertaining on big bowriders today. It’s a smooth cruiser and a fast getaway that’s still heaps of fun to drive.

LIKES
>> The low maintenance, economy and other advantages of twin outboards
>> Huge deck space and abundant seating for 15+
>> Full enclosed luxury head and loads of storage
>> The aft sun loungers are sensational
>> The 21-degree hull runs very nicely and is dry
>> Sea Ray backing and five year warranty on everything including components

NOT SO MUCH
>> Those moulded lunch tables are small. Get a custom teak model for the cockpit.
>> Transom access from the water isn’t clear like the inboard model with swim platform
>> There is a significant price premium for twin outboards

RATINGS
Overall rating: 4.77/5.0
Mechanical/equipment: 4.95/5.0
Packaging and practicality: 4.75/5.0
On-the-water performance: 4.70/5.0
Value for money: 4.60/5.0
X-factor: 4.85/5.0

Specifications: Sea Ray SDX 290 Sundeck Outboard
Price as Tested: Our test boat was priced for $234,128 as a loaded boat with twin 225hp Mercury Verado outboards, 220V shorepower wiring, upgraded luxury pump-out head, black aluminium tow arch with matching canvass, solid tan (almost titanium) hull colour, brushed chrome graphics, blue LED lighting and docking lights, bow table, cockpit fridge, premium stereo upgrade, air compressor for the toys and tubes, SeaDek foam-topped swim platform, twin reclining aft-facing transom loungers and more
Priced From: The base price of the 290 SDX Sundeck Outboard with the 225hp Mercury Verados, landed and factory loaded, starts at $220k

Length Overall with Engines: 9.50m
Overall Hull Length: 8.90m
Beam: 2.74m
Dry Weight: 3188kg
Fuel: 492lt
Water: 76lt
Holding Tank (optional): 37lt
Deadrise: 21 degrees
Draft Minimum:  0.53m (outboards up)
Engines: 225hp Mercury Verado six-cylinder supercharged outboard spinning 17in Enertia

Supplied by:
Queensland Marine Centre
Unit 10, 71 Shipper Drive, Coomera, QLD, 4209
PO Box 104, Oxenford QLD 4210
Call (07) 5591 7032
Email sales@qmc.com.au
See Queensland Marine Centre
See Sea Ray