Sea Ray ups the ante

Sea Ray is making 2015 a big year for new launches and luxury launches. The banner brand for boatbuilding giant Brunswick Corporation has a new range of boats to cater for everything from dual-purpose use in a family/fishing bowrider to true five-star cruising on a Euro-inspired 65 footer.

NEW EDGY SPORTSBOATS
The big news in the trailerboat realm is the 19 SPX in sterndrive and bound-to-be-more-popular outboard iterations.

The new edgy sportsboats have been designed to deliver more space and comfort than the competitors, look extra sharp thanks to sculptured decks and groovy graphics, and there are four options' packages to cater for popular boating bents.

The Comfort Package does as the name suggest, the Elevation Package will appeal to tow-sports buffs, while the Sport Package is for anglers. The Select Package creates a virtual LTD with yet more upgraded kit. Engines start at a 135hp sterndrive but for local waters a V6 will be standard, if you’re not going for the outboard variant.

The two 19 SPX sold into Sydney to date with the new dealer Chapman Marine Group are both sterndrive boats.

The Sea Ray dealer in Queensland. Queensland Marine Centre (QMC), has 19s in stock at the time of writing. QMC was also staging a big clearance sale and hot deals were being offered  on 2014 clearance models.

There are also new 21 SPX boats in sterndrive and outboard configurations if you want to go bigger,

However it’s the new 250 SLX that heads the 2015 Sport Boat line-up and covets the most attention. With a 21-degree deep-vee hull and 300hp 350 Magnum V8 , the big bowrider isn’t hanging around and, with an enclosed head, wetbar and shower plus plush seating, it’s a true luxury dayboat.

FAST DECKBOATS
The Sea Ray Sundeck range gets a big kick with the new 270 in sterndrive or outboard set-ups and a huge 15-person capacity atop a deep-vee 21 degree hull. There are comfort, towing and toilet options, but the sleek profile concealing the extraordinary volume and seating on these deckboats comes standard.

Two 2015-model 270 Sundecks, with a Verado 300hp Mercury Pro and a big-block 380hp 8.2L MerCruiser sterndrive, have already sold into Sydney via the Chapman Marine Group again.

SPORTYACHT WITH THE LOT
The new 470 Sundancer has been reinvented, says Sea Ray, taking cues from European boats with more light via increased hull glazing and a sunroof, plus lively lifted finishes, and with an open-plan deck/saloon design.

The two-cabin/two-bathroom layout includes a full-beam master made possible by the pairing with compact Cummins QSCs 550hp diesel engines with vee drives. We understand a 2015-model 470 Sundancer is heading to the QMC dealer.

THE LUXE L SERIES
There’s been a lot of promotion of the Sea Ray L Series and rightly so. Not content to rest on its laurels, and facing increasing competition from European imports, Sea Ray went back to the drawing board to create a whole new class of 55-65 footer in Express (sedan) and Flybridge guises.

The flagship L650 has been such a big hit that Sea Ray has recently reopened its production lines and expanded its L-Series facilities.

The iconic American boatbuilder is certainly playing in the big league, with the L-Series boats built to CE Offshore Category A, which is beyond some European boatbuilders offerings in Cat B, and makes for a serious ocean cruiser.

Twin 1150hp C18 CAT engines ensure the performance of the L650 is in accord with the stunning finishes in the four-cabin boat. Online tours and phone apps provide great virtual tours of these boats.

The 2015 Miami Boat Show is the launch platform for the new Sea Ray L590 Fly sister ship, with three cabins and three Cummins QSC 8.3 600hp engines with Zeus pod drives.

The L Series is now being promoted here and the models appear to have the luxe levels and European styling required to attract the attention of upmarket boaters and the many faithful Sea Ray owners in Australia.