Sea Ray Boats - Texas Marine

Show
Stopper
Story and Photos by Jim Hendricks
O
riginally, I had shown up
at Tennessee’s Tellico
Lake to test Sea Ray’s
new outboard-powered
185 bowrider (“Pony Express,” July 2003). Yet,
even as I hooked up the
test equipment on the 185,
my eyes were drawn toward another boat tied up at Sea Ray’s factory docks.
It was a crimson beauty known as the 200 Select,
and I could not keep my eyes off of her. And so, as soon as
we’d finished testing the 185, I made a beeline for the 200 Select.
The most striking feature of this particular Sea Ray bowrider
was the gelcoat. It was a rich, deep red — one of five gelcoat
options for the hull of the 200.
In years past, Sea Ray tended toward conservative, albeit
classy gelcoat colors, such as its standard pearl. Recently,
however, the builder has gotten bolder with its colors — and
this boat is one example.
This Select was also equipped with a wakeboard tower —
an anodized tubular aluminum structure with wakeboard racks.
Though Sea Ray has offered this option for a few years, I’m still
not used to seeing one on the otherwise conservatively styled
boats.
The tower itself is nicely designed. We particularly like the
way the Bimini top is integrated into the structure.
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APRIL 2004
LONG STORY
Sea Ray’s 200 seems like a big
boat for a 20-footer. Much of this is due to the integral
swim platform that extends the length at least another foot. It
is an inviting area with an aggressive non-skid and concealed
boarding ladder. Its contoured edges give the 200 a sleek
look.
Unlike many bowriders today, the 200 does not pretend to
be a deck boat. It has a deep-V hull with 20 degrees of deadrise at the transom, and there’s plenty of bowrise for tackling
rough water.
Missing are the traditional deck boat amenities such as minigalley, enclosed head and forward boarding ladder. Yet, the
200 Select makes no apologies, for its purpose is not cocktail
cruising and beach parties, but rather, shredding the water
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Sea Ray’s 200 Select,
with a tower and red gelcoat,
catches your eye,
even in a crowded marina
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Show Stopper
side of the engine is good.
The port side of the engine is
a different story. It’s a tight fit,
even with a small-block V-8.
■ Powered by a 260 hp
5.0L V-8, the Sea Ray
200 Select achieved a
top speed of more than
50 mph.
with wakeboards, tubes and skis.
The deep-V of the 200 has an
added benefit for watersports.
At low speeds, it throws a big
wake. While not as nicely shaped
as that created by a V-drive
wakeboard boat, it works for
most recreational wakeboarders.
Given its watersports orientation, the 200 comes standard
with twin swiveling bucket
seats. You can pivot the port
bucket to face aft for an observer, which is required by
law in some states while pulling anyone on a ski rope. Both
■ The 200 Select excels in
comfort, with thickly
padded seating and bow
loungers. There is
abundant storage
throughout, but service
access to the engine is
tight.
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APRIL 2004
buckets have flip-up bolsters for
extra seating height to look over
the windshield.
ROOM FOR A CROWD
There’s plenty of room to take
a gang with you when wakeboarding. Seating includes
a stern bench
seat, as well
as a jump seat
in the port,
aft corner of
the cockpit.
What’s more,
two people can
lounge comfortably in the
bow.
An expansive sunpad adorns the stern. It’s
big enough for two people to
lounge on while the boat is at
rest. However, it does not
stretch across the entire stern.
As mentioned earlier, there is a
jump seat in the starboard corner, which also serves as a passageway to the swim platform.
This seat and backrest, as well
as the stern bench seat, lift to
reveal storage below.
The sunpad also lifts. Gas-assist struts allow you to open and
close the hatch with one hand,
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revealing the engine compartment. On the starboard side of
the engine bay is additional
storage, and it’s separated from
the engine by a removable bulkhead. With the bulkhead removed, access to the starboard
SPECIFICATIONS
SEA RAY 200 SELECT
Base Price (w/ trailer) $28,742
Price as Tested
(w/ trailer) $33,209
Length
(w/ platform) 21’ 0”
Beam 8’ 5”
Weight 3550 lbs.
Fuel Capacity 37 gals.
Engine as Tested MerCuiser 5.0L
MPI/Alpha
Horsepower 260
Propeller Vengeance14”x19”
stainless 3-blade
Sea Ray Boats, Dept TBM, 2600 Ray Blvd.,
Knoxville, TN 37914; 800/SRBOATS;
searay.com.
TEST RESULTS
Engine
Speed
Fuel
Range1
(rpm)
(mph) (gph) (mpg) (miles)
1000
5.0
1.5 3.3
110
1500
7.2
2.7 2.7
90
2000
8.6
4.1 2.1
70
2500
12.3
6.5 1.9
63
30002
28.0
7.7 3.6
120
3500
33.9
9.6 3.5
116
4000
40.8
12.5 3.3
110
4500
45.8
15.4 3.0
100
5000(WOT) 50.3
18.4 2.7
90
1
Based on 90% fuel capacity
2
Optimum cruising speed
PERFORMANCE
PERSPECTIVE
While standard power is a
220 hp MerCruiser 5.0L/Alpha,
our boat was equipped with
the optional 260 hp MerCruiser
5.0L MPI/Alpha drive, turning a
19-inch-pitch stainless prop.
This combination propelled
the 20-footer from 0 to 30 mph
in 91/2 seconds, and it topped
out at slightly more than 50
mph with two adult males
and a half tank (18 gallons) of
gasoline.
As with virtually all Sea Ray
hulls, handling was predictable,
smooth and easy, thanks to the
integral power steering.
The helm is extremely userfriendly, featuring a padded,
tilt-adjustable steering wheel,
■ The helm is both stylish and functional. A tilt wheel and flip bolster
multiply the number of driving positions.
and Lowrance 3500 digital
depthfinder. More significantly
however, if you order an MPI
engine such as the 260 hp
5.0L MPI, the 200 Select will
include as standard equipment
Mercury SmartCraft digital
instrumentation. This is a great
feature, offering a variety of
information choices, including
your burn rate in gallons per
hour.
Options include a compass,
an automatic fire suppression
system and a premium stereo
system with an amplifier and
subwoofer — a good choice if
you also opt for the watersports tower and equip it with
speakers. An AM/FM/CD twospeaker stereo with a dash
remote is standard. Also on the
standard equipment list is a
tandem-axle painted trailer with
a pair of drum brakes and a
swing-away tongue for more
compact storage.
Back on the dock after finishing up the test, I felt satisfied
that we had given the Sea Ray a
thorough going-over. Yet as I
walked away with the test gear,
I could not help but pause and
turn around for one last look at
the crimson beauty. “Yep,” I
said, “that boat’s a real show
stopper.”