L650 FLY, one year later

Sea Gull

Well-Known Member
Oct 19, 2006
1,398
CT
Boat Info
2019 Maritimo M64
Engines
Volvo D13-1000
It’s hard to believe that a year has gone by since we took delivery of Sea Gull, our L650 FLY at Port Canaveral Florida. As we approach this happy anniversary, Sea Gull is again at Port Canaveral for bottom paint and some service work before she makes the trek back to the Northeast for the summer.

So, as she's come full circle to the place of her birth (or at least her delivery to us), I thought it would be fun to do a little public recap of some of the statistics from the first year. The L Class and especially the L650 FLY boats have generated a lot of interest among owners of smaller Sea Rays, the boating press and public in general. – I’ve been told that inquiring minds want to know...

After taking delivery in May 2015, we brought the boat to her summer home in Connecticut. That trip took 6 days and was a steep learning curve for us, trying to learn and maintain the systems and to keep track of the inevitable “punch list” items that crop up. Sea Gull is only hull #9 of the L650 FLY, so there have also been some design changes that Sea Ray has implemented retroactively as they refine their design. We have found both Sea Ray and MarineMax to be very responsive to our needs, and Sea Gull proves herself to us every day.

Summer 2015 was spent cruising the Northeast and included a Club Sea Ray rendezvous in Atlantic City and the MarineMax “Black and White” event in Montauk. We migrated south to Florida in November and enjoyed cruising Florida and the Bahamas. Unfortunately work demands meant that we were only part time boaters – as we say, the boat lived in Florida for the winter. We just visited.

During the year we spent 130 nights on Sea Gull, exceeding my plan for living aboard 1/3 of our time. But we didn’t just sit at the dock either. We logged 278 engine hours, 450 generator hours, and 445 hours on the Sea Keeper gyros. We covered roughly 4,000 nm of coastline and burned a whopping 15,000 gallons of diesel.

Operating costs were lower than we budgeted, but partly because much of the service work was covered under warranty and fuel was relatively cheap this year. Overall, expenses were only 3.6% of the purchase price of the boat, and we budgeted for 10%. The biggest bill was for fuel, followed by dockage, insurance, service and parts.

All in all, it was a wonderful first year. We look forward to summer 2016 in New England and adventures beyond.
 
That's a nice recount of a year and an impressive amount of boating. Your engines have more use than mine which are 5 years old!
 
Glad to hear your report and glad to see you using the boat. In November I was shocked to see six used 650's at the FLIBS. It sounds like you're living the dream.

Just curious, what type or range do you get at cruise?
 
Congrats.

"...Sea Gull is only hull #9 of the L650 FLY, so there have also been some design changes that Sea Ray has implemented retroactively as they refine their design. We have found both Sea Ray and MarineMax to be very responsive to our needs, and Sea Gull proves herself to us every day...."

I studied Lexus rollouts years ago. I'll be very interested in how you are dealt with at trade-in/up time.
 
Thanks for the update - great that you're enjoying your boat, as you should. My head is spinning with the thought of paying for 15,000 gallons of fuel in one year, and you're under budget :thumbsup:
 
Lots of interesting and useful information. Any pictures captured during those 278 engine hours you'd care to share with CSR?
 
Just curious, what type or range do you get at cruise?

We went with the extra fuel capacity, so we carry 1150 gallons, with about 1000 of that useable. We once put 1000 gallons in at a fill up, but I don't like running her that low if possible. She's very sensitive to the extra fuel weight, so runs faster as she burns it off. We figure 23 knots cruise speed and 11 hours of fuel, so range of about 250 nm. Because she cruises at more like 25 knots on half fuel, the theoretical range is a bit more than that. Of course at trawler speeds she can cross oceans or go to Bermuda and back on a single tank!
 
I studied Lexus rollouts years ago. I'll be very interested in how you are dealt with at trade-in/up time.

Based on experience with my 58DB, the market value is based more on model year than build sequence. The retrofits on the L650 are completely OEM, invisible, and should be inconsequential to value (unless they were NOT done).

Remember that these are semi custom boats that owners ordered to their own specs, so value questions will be more about cabin configurations and gyros vs. no gyros.
 
We went with the extra fuel capacity, so we carry 1150 gallons, with about 1000 of that useable. We once put 1000 gallons in at a fill up, but I don't like running her that low if possible. She's very sensitive to the extra fuel weight, so runs faster as she burns it off. We figure 23 knots cruise speed and 11 hours of fuel, so range of about 250 nm. Because she cruises at more like 25 knots on half fuel, the theoretical range is a bit more than that. Of course at trawler speeds she can cross oceans or go to Bermuda and back on a single tank!

Interesting on the range. The increase in efficiency as the fuel level goes down makes sense. Even my 350 sees a noticeable change once we get below 2/3-1/2 tank.

How owe is the stability on open water at displacement speeds? Ie: if you were to cross from the Bahamas to TCI and then to Puerto Rico and the BVI would it be a comfortable ride?

Unrelated note, have you heard rumblings from SR about a 750? My dealer says its in the works. They must have also caught up on some of the L class backlog because my dealer has a brand new L590 Fly in stock.
 
I do love the L650 fly...thank you for the update :)
 
Can't wait to hopefully tour her in Atlantic City in July! Thanks for the interesting write-up. Everything is relative but I am jealous about the amount of time you were able to spend boating last year. Good for you!
 
Have you been on an L650 without the gyros? If you have a comparison reference, how much better is the ride with the gyro's?
 
Beautiful boat and adventure over a period of a year, congrats
 
Great stuff Jeff, thanks for sharing!

Just curious if you ever come up with a better way or better tool to access the zinc on that port gyro? I remember a bunch of hands on deck trying to solve this one in Atlantic City. I too am jealous of the time and hours you've put on the boat. I've said it before and I'll say it again: you're my hero!
 
Have you been on an L650 without the gyros? If you have a comparison reference, how much better is the ride with the gyro's?

I spent a week on 650 hull #1 with Capt Higgins as the boat was being returned to the factory from its NE tour. This was my first experience with a stabilized hull and I can tell you the difference is dramatic. We usually left the dock about daylight, well before the gyro's had spooled up to operating speed, when you unlock the gyros, your immediate reaction is "Hey old friend, where have you been." Depending upon the angle of approach and the size of the seas, the stabilizers take almost all of the roll out of the ride. They are not cheap, but well worth the added cost on a boat this size.
 
Based on experience with my 58DB, the market value is based more on model year than build sequence. The retrofits on the L650 are completely OEM, invisible, and should be inconsequential to value (unless they were NOT done).

Remember that these are semi custom boats that owners ordered to their own specs, so value questions will be more about cabin configurations and gyros vs. no gyros.


Lexus listened. Lexus engineers actually took prints to see where hands set down to perform tasks. Improvements made.....old Lexus removed...new Lexus put in place. No charge to the owner. Lexus took this upon themselves as a failure in engineering.

Is Sea Ray willing to do this?
 
Frank, I have heard salesman say it, but wanted to hear the straight scoop. That must have been a fun journey.

SG, how about some pictures of your adventures, including the engine room.


I spent a week on 650 hull #1 with Capt Higgins as the boat was being returned to the factory from its NE tour. This was my first experience with a stabilized hull and I can tell you the difference is dramatic. We usually left the dock about daylight, well before the gyro's had spooled up to operating speed, when you unlock the gyros, your immediate reaction is "Hey old friend, where have you been." Depending upon the angle of approach and the size of the seas, the stabilizers take almost all of the roll out of the ride. They are not cheap, but well worth the added cost on a boat this size.
 
Great stuff Jeff, thanks for sharing!

Just curious if you ever come up with a better way or better tool to access the zinc on that port gyro? I remember a bunch of hands on deck trying to solve this one in Atlantic City. I too am jealous of the time and hours you've put on the boat. I've said it before and I'll say it again: you're my hero!

Oh yes. We call it the FC3 method. That port side gyro anode, that took four of us several hours to change the first time, now takes 3 minutes. (Note that it would take 2 minutes if I lost 20 pounds - easier to wriggle past the water maker and hydraulic reservoir if you're skinny). The trick is a modified wrench: in this case a 15 mm, 12 point closed end ratchet that has been cut to 3" long. This gives me blind, one handed (left hand) access to the top of the zinc. Frank (FC3) engineered it in his mind while crammed in my hot engine room in Atlantic City.
 

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