2018 Sea Ray build quality review

paulswagelock

Well-Known Member
Oct 25, 2010
2,183
pa
Boat Info
2018 SDX 270 OB 300 Verado
Engines
Verado 300
I have owned many boats since 1985 including Bayliner, Larson, Maxum, Chaparral, Regal, and a few Sea Rays. I ordered a 2018 SDX 270 to replace my 2008 Slx 270. I have had it several months now, and wanted to offer up my experience, and see what others who purchased newer Sea Ray boats experience has been.

I ordered the SDX 270 with the 300 Verado outboard, vacuflush, tan interior, woven vinyl floor, seadek, docking lights, bimini, full covers, trim tabs and some other goodies.

Let's first start with aesthetics. It is a visually pleasing boat with a black hull, tan upper stripe, tan interior, brown swim platform, and black bimini - lots of compliments everywhere I go.

Performance - the Verado 300 is a perfect match for this boat. It leaps on to plane, zings along quickly, and does it without making any noise. Smooth, quiet. It rides and handles well also.

Usefulness - well designed boat. TONS of storage with the outboard. Great seating layout. A day with 10 adults is fine and not overly cramped. The layout is why I decided to order the boat and it works perfect for the way we use it.

Materials - here is where I notice the first shortcoming. The surfaces are nice, but just barely. The vinyls are mid grade, the flooring is mid grade, the fabrics mid grade, all of the materials seem mid grade. I understand this is their crowd-pleaser series, not the SLX series, but it still retails way into the 6 figure price tag. I expected better. The longer I live with it, the more I notice things are not as nice as they were in my 2008 SLX or the Chaps/Regals/Cobalts/Montereys I have been on.

Build Quality - Some corners were cut in the way they upholster with no batting around the backer boards, the stitching on my cockpit cover has already needed redone in a few spots, the steering wheel stitching started to pull out - all small items but added up paints the picture. The gel coat is ok, but not spectacular. The boat had several rattles that I needed to fix - all simple design issues that were not hard to remedy. Some latches needed adjusted after the first few uses. The wiring is not particularly neat or organized - again not bad, just not premium. Some of the rubber seals on the hatches started to pull away. The details in the finishes are lacking or mediocre.
Overall, the quality really seems average. Compared to my last Sea Ray - definitely lesser.

Support - I purchased the boat at a dealer near a summer home that I sold, so now I am 4 hours from him. They were fine, but not great. The boat is cleaner after 4 months of using it then when I took delivery. I did not press the issue because I am super particular and no one ever lives up to my expectations with cars, boats, etc. The local dealer to my full time house is an hour away, but I have not needed to engage them yet. Sea Ray corporate has been terrific for support, answering questions, helping during the manufacturing process, etc. A+ for that team.

So the important part - brand loyalty. My last three boats have been Sea Rays including this one. I didn't even really consider another brand, partly because the layout of this boat suits us perfectly for this phase of life, and I had great experiences with the previous 2 SR's. There were a few other distant choices, but I hardly spent any time investigating those offerings other than price/feature comparison. I will absolutely go look around if I decide to replace this one.

So my review if I had to score it on a scale from 1-10, 10 being the best, is probably a 7.
I want to love the boat, but I worry how things will hold up over the long haul. This is likely a boat I part with in 4-5 years while everything is still nice and do it again. Time will tell.
 
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Good review.

Lets hope things pick up in the details department with the restructuring of SeaRay.

I had a 2011 260 DA for almost 5 years and it was a good boat but I had some items fail early one........ jump to today when I went retro and purchased my current 1998 290 DA and it's a rock solid performer. I can't put my finger on it but it just feels like a better made boat.
 
Thanks for posting. I wonder if you’d been happier with the SLX interior. I’ve been comparing the SDX 250 v the SLX 250 and the SLX interior is much nicer. The SDX is a lot cheaper though, and the layout appears superior.

I would definitely be interested in your updates to this thread as you get more hours on the boat. I will be interested to see if the materials hold up and if the build quality meets your satisfaction.
 
I wanted an outboard this time. If the SLX 280 had outboard power, then I would have ordered it, although the bow seating is cramped compared to the SDX.
 
The SLX was a little heavier and I could feel the difference. The SLX also had slightly better side to side stability but that really might be the difference of a 496 in the bottom of the boat versus the outboard with high center of gravity.
My crew says they can't tell a difference in ride, but I would give a slight nod to the SLX.
 
After 2 more months of use, here are a few more items:
Small seat cushion is loose and the screws are not accessible - need to glue it down
One side of the dash lights stopped working - researching this now but likely a bad 12v-100v inverter on the EL wire
Few more loose screws - some can't be tightened as they just do not bite

So still all small items, but paint an overall picture of the lack of quality in the details.

But the boat has a terrific dayboat layout and aesthetic design.
 
Small update for other owners and buyers.
I tested out the max capacity for the boat this weekend. I had 14 adults on it. Surprisingly there was enough room and seating them wasn’t that bad. It came on to plane really easily, effortlessly actually.
However, with all the weight in the bow (sometimes 6 were up there) the anchor locker drain goes under water and allows water to build up in the locker.
Also, we had a torrential rain earlier in the day, so this might be the cause, but the bilge pump kicked on while we were out for 60 seconds or so - Maybe longer. It has never kicked on automatically before. Not sure if it was from the rain or anchor locker water getting into the bilge.
 
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Spent the day on my friends SDX 270 (same as mine but with an IO).
The difference in ride and stability is noticeable since I now have 2 seasons experience on my outboard version.
The IO boat sits deeper, rocks a bit less side to side, doesn't need trim tab adjustment nearly as much, and feels heavier in big chop. To the casual rider none of this is noticeable, but I noticed it quickly. The biggest difference is the side to side (rocking) being less. I think the tunnel SR added at the rear of the transom out to the outboard (22" or so) adds rear buoyancy and creates a slightly less stable platform.
 
IMHO I think this is the case for everything that’s engineered and manufactured today.

My 1970 Harley is more reliable and better built than new ones.

My 2000 Ford truck is more reliable than new due to complexity of VVT engines by Ford.

My 1970 SRV180 has original engine, interior, teak steering wheel, vinyl seats and carpet.

I doubt we’ll see 50 year old SR’s, 50 year old Harley’s and 20 year old trucks in future.

This is result of new economy. Things are built w a cost/quality ratio vs quality/quality.
 
Was looking through older posts and thought I would provide an update after 3 seasons of use. Mechanically, the boat has been flawless. The 300 Verado purrs, is very athletic, and has no issues even with a dozen people on board. Winterization and maintenance are simple, and all done while standing in the driveway, a huge plus. No issues with the major systems like trim tabs, power steering, fresh water or vacuflush - all good. So for reliability it is scoring high.
I still have a dash light that is out so I can’t read what the switches are for at night on one side of the dash, but I have them memorized and we don’t boat often at night, so I have not taken it to the dealer to be fixed. I actually worry about them pulling that entire dash panel and replacing it, and what new issues they might cause in exchange for an illumination light being fixed..... Aesthetically the boat still looks great, but I am a certified neat freak and keep it very clean and polished. It honestly still looks new. Now there have been more loose screws and rattles, some loose weather seal on the hatches, etc that I have taken care of myself. I still find all of that disappointing but I guess I have to accept that is common for all boats, even newer ones. I did get another really small tear in the upholstery on the bow arm rest, but it in a location that only I saw, and I glued and touched up the color. SR has sharp edges on many of the underlying structures for the upholstery and did not use any batting over them - have had 3 small tears so far from this, one requiring a warranty replacement cushion. There are some shortcomings in design that have become evident - white console tops causing excessive glare on the the windshield, no gutters on seat bases, carpet in storage areas, not enough USB ports, bad location for power steering fuel filter and trim tab pumps, etc but I did have the opportunity to provide that feedback to the SR design team - guess I will see if they listened when the refresh comes out.
So overall, a decent experience with this boat over 3 years. But, as mentioned in the first post of this thread, they have lost brand loyalty with me and I would be looking at other brands first for the replacement when the time comes.
 
Another year has passed . . . interested to know your thoughts on quality after four years!
 
So we are approaching the end of our fourth season and about 280 hours of run time on the motor. So far, the motor purrs and performs great. Not much has changed this season. Seems like all the original loose fasteners and gaskets were resolved and no additional ones popped up. Boat still looks great and it gets complimented often. Luckily, still no issues with any of the major systems, all working fine with no need for repair.
There have been a few issues this season though. I had the depth and water temp sensor fail mid season. The airmar transducers are not known for robustness. It is a warranty item, but I might just get the sensor for $270 and spin it in myself. Taking the boat to the dealer is a bit of a hassle, so I am weighing the cost against the value of my time and fuel costs to tow it to them. The dash lights from season one still do not work, but I still have the same feeling about letting them take the dash panel out and what new issue they might cause. The bigger issue, which I mentioned in earlier updates, is I had another tear in the upholstery. There is a molded step surface on the top of the gunnel on the port side at the rear seat back. With the curve of the hull, the seat back is elevated from the fiberglass. Someone stepped on that area, and I assume their foot was on top of the cushion (the non skid pad is small and it is impossible not to have your foot on the cushion). That caused a tear in the cushion right at the top of the port side seat back cushion because of the non-batted backer board previously mentioned. I tried to get a warranty claim but was denied. It is a $675 replacement, which will by my nickel. It is a design flaw, but only if someone tries to use that step pad. Lesson learned. I patched the rip, and it is not overly noticeable to anyone but me, but I did order the cushion with a 3 or 4 month lead time. So I am highly irritated with SR, but not much can be done about it.

So with 4 seasons under my belt, overall the boat is still holding up well. I have looked hard and there is not a better option out there for the way we use the boat, so I am still keeping it. I guess I would up my review to a 7.5 from 7 even with my annoyance with them on denying the warranty claim on the cushion.
 
Great perspective as I'm about to pull the trigger on a very similar boat and really appreciate the information you've provided. A couple questions for you, first how do you like the black hull? I really like the look but am curious about keeping it clean as well as the possibility of fading as it gets a little older. The one I'm looking at has a ceramic coating. Also curious to know how you like the Simrad and if it has the Vessel view to see the engine diagnostics, hours, fuel burn, etc. Also, do you ever wish you had a little more power? The one I'm looking at is a 350 but I really like the new 300 verado with the V8, so am a bit torn.
 
The black hull looks great, but I do buff and wax twice a season to keep it. It shows all the fender rash and water spots. It is a lot of work. I have the smartcraft gauges with vessel view mobile for diagnostics and displaying multiple parameters like fuel burn. The smartcraft gauge shows all parameters, just one at a time. I have the supercharged 300 Verado, which is similar to the 350 you are looking at. To answer the power question, no, never thought it needed more. I have had 12 adults and it still performed well. With 4 it is quite athletic really. Given the choice, I would take the v8 300 over the L6 supercharged 350. But, both are great motors.
 
I thought I would keep this thread going each year with an update.
This was the 5th season of use. Still no issues with the major mechanical items. All good there. I buff it mid season and again when pulled for winter. The gel coat pops nicely with a da polisher and some mild polish. I have not had any more tears in the seats, fingers crossed. The covers, bimini, sea grass flooring, all holding up well.
I had the impeller changed, did the plugs and belt, all the 300 hr service items. Outboard power is a game changer for maintenance, so much easier since there is no fighting access.

So, after 5 years it still looks great, still like new, but we are easy on boats and I am a maintenance nut and clean freak.
It is holding up better than I thought it might, so that is a big positive. I am tempted to bump my rating up again, but maybe after another season if everything continues to hold up well.

963030F2-BC36-4876-B30E-0AB942E0FA5C.jpeg
 
Appreciate you taking the time to keep this thread alive. Out of curiosity, how did you arrive at your username? I use Swagelok fittings in my work environment, and know they're somewhat of a specialized fitting. 'Just wondering...
 
Appreciate you taking the time to keep this thread alive. Out of curiosity, how did you arrive at your username? I use Swagelok fittings in my work environment, and know they're somewhat of a specialized fitting. 'Just wondering...
Short version - in the ‘90s the owner of the company I worked for could never get my name right and always said something along those lines, so the other employees dubbed me Paul Swagelock (we used a lot of Swagelock fittings as well) which is neither my actual first or last name, but it became my alias.
 
As far as build quality...

My first boat was a Maxxum, looked great, rode like doodoo, and the more I got into it, I was less than impressed

Boat #2 - Grady White - totally different world

Boat #3 Trojan Ten Meter International - groundbreaking design average hardware, superior soft goods.

For many years I sneered at Sea Rays and referred to the brand as "The Chevrolet of Boats"

After research and ownership, that opinion has changed a great deal.

The engineering, layout and thoughtful design of the 450DA is outstanding

Electrical and water systems - lightyears ahead of my 10 meter in form, function and materials quality

I never expected to have such a rainwater-free, dry bilge

The quality of the fabrics - well this is a 27 year old boat and the cabin AND cockpit upholstery is factory original and still quite serviceable.

And the gel coat - simply amazing

People see this boat and don't believe it is 27 years old.

Without offending anyone, I wonder if it would be safe to say there was a period of time where there was a GOLDEN AGE OF QUALITY for this brand that to my understanding is now long gone.

BEST !

RWS
 

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