175 seating options / sunpad/ used deal

[FlyGuy]

Anybody with any advice on the seating options for the 175? I am looking at a 2010 with 6 hours for $16.5, but it has the sunpad. My concern is that the sunpad seriously cuts down on the legroom for the back seats. Are the seats too small for normal adults? The kiddos are small now, but... Or is this just a non-issue?

Any sun pad owners have a feeling about this one way or another? Am I missing some great feature of the sunpad?

Thanks!

 

[wreckless123]

I would not own a boat without the sunpad but thats just my preference. Otherwise there is no place on the boat for the girls to really stretch out and get some sun. I hate the layout with all the seats front to back. How often will you have that many people on the boat? I would go maybe a few years older and pick up a 185 with the 4.3. The 3.0 is underpowered for skiing and tubing and the 175 is just small. Just my 2 cents.

 

[sltintexas]

I hear a lot of people say get more than a 3.0. Thats what I have, and thats all I've ever had so I can not speak about having more. I am sure it is better to have more...but I can pull skiers up, pull wakeboarders, and pull tubes all day long. Never had an issue.

I've had the boat fully loaded, in fact, probably over loaded and done it too with out issue.

I am sure more power would make it better, but a 3.0 gets 'er done.

 

[ZZ13]

Anybody with any advice on the seating options for the 175? I am looking at a 2010 with 6 hours for $16.5, but it has the sunpad. My concern is that the sunpad seriously cuts down on the legroom for the back seats. Are the seats too small for normal adults? The kiddos are small now, but... Or is this just a non-issue?

Any sun pad owners have a feeling about this one way or another? Am I missing some great feature of the sunpad?

Thanks!

I bought a slightly used 2009 175 last September. I looked at both the one I have without the sunpad and one with the sunpad. For me and my wife it was obvious the extra floor space was easily the winner. With four adults in the boat we do not feel cramped at all and actually have no problem getting on plane and cruising around. We are not water sports junkies anymore (we're older now...). We don't once wish we had the V6 - but like I said we don't do the water sports. FYI we paid about the same price you stated (from a Sea Ray dealer) plus they threw in free insurance for a year (about a $250 value) and a few other goodies.

 

[Sluggo33]

I have an 08 175 Sport with the 3.0L and the sunpad. I personally don't think I'd own a boat without someplace to for a person to lay out, but that's just me. The legroom is "adequate" for 4 adults in the cockpit, but not much more. My biggest issue has been storing a cooler with snacks and drinks for 4 people. I've recently reorganized, and now have room under the sunpad in one of the engine compartment storage areas for a decent sized soft sided cooler. Down the road I'd like to add a sub and spare battery, so the 175 might have an issue there. We'll have to see how creative I can get.

As far as the 3.0L goes, with a 4 blade 18p prop it pulls me (230lbs) up on a wakeboard from the tow "eye" with 3 adults in the boat. It's not nearly as effortless as my buddies Malibu, because of the powerplant and lack of a tower, however I saved about $60,000 getting my Searay. And besides, I do 95% of my wakeboarding on his boat anyways. LOL!

As far as pulling a tube, there really isn't an issue, unless you're trying to kill somone. My father was able to pull me with 3 adults in the boat at almost 35mph (straight, god help me if he'd have slingshotted me at that speed).

My suggestion is if you have the cheddar and the storage (my 175 fits perfect in my garage, a 185 would have called it CLOSE), you may want to look into the 185. I'm not sure how much more "leg room" that 1 foot get's you, but it may be worth looking into. FWIW, As far as the sunpad goes, I have 3 buddies that have bowriders between 18 and 19 feet, all with jump seats that all say they wish they had gotten the sunpad option instead.

Good luck with your search!

 

[dutchman]

woohoo, 175's are a hot topic this week...:smt038
Again, everyone has their own preference. Last Sept, we bought a brand new 2008 and we picked the jump seat layout. To me, the sunpad left no floor space on the 175.
As for the 3.0, it has lots of power for this size boat. On the weekend we had 3-4 in the boat and pulled a couple tubes without an issue. Also pulled a single skier no problem. This is a great package.

 

[FlyGuy]

Thanks everyone for your responses!

I went to the local dealer and sat in their 175 w/sunpad. The bench seat was actually very comfortable, and the storage areas are a nice touch. The dealer said that was his only 175 in stock, used or otherwise, so there wasn't anything to compare it to. He also mentioned that the sunpad configuration was the only way they ordered them, so anything else would be a custom order.

Thanks to the responses here and the dealer trip I felt OK buying the used one w/sunpad. :thumbsup: (Though I still like the idea of having the kids a foot further away and isolated in their own bucket seats....)