230 Sundeck

D

Danny Arrigo

New Member
Jun 26, 2008
12
Hot Springs, AR
Boat Info
2011 260 Sundeck
Engines
350 MAG w/Bravo III Drive
I'm thinking of moving up in size and the 230 Sundeck has caught my eye. Is it my imagination or has the line of Sea Ray changed? If so, what's people impression - good, bad or in different? With so many Sea Ray owners on this site, I figured I'd ask here.
 
Ask about prices first.

I like the 230 Sundeck but you can probably get a 240 Sundeck for less money and that would be my choice.

Dave
 
Dave S said:
I like the 230 Sundeck but you can probably get a 240 Sundeck for less money and that would be my choice.

Dave
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According to the Sea Ray website the base MSRP on the 230 Sundeck with a 5.0 L B3 is $61K whereas the 240 Sundeck with the same engine and drive is $57K. Similarly for the 350 Mag with a B3 drive, $65,5 vs $61,9. So I guess I don't understand - a bigger boat for less money. :huh:
 
Have to agree with Dave on this one. The 230 SD is a new model with new features and naturally comes with the higher price. The model designator would lead you to believe that the 240 is only a foot longer. Check the specs. and you'll see that the 240 is over 2' longer. The 240 is a true 24' boat. The difference is quite apparent once you have a look at the two boats. I would rather have the additional 2' in LOA vs. the aft facing stern seat. As I understand, the 240 will be back for the '09 model year.
 
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I'm not sure what you mean when you ask has the sea ray line changed... We first looked at our first boat in '06 so I can't give you a history of Sea Ray, altho there are many on here that can. What I can tell you is that looking at the boat show we went thru just about every manufacturer and came away impressed with only a couple of lines. Sea Ray, for the cost and quality of build was obviously our choice and the 240SD was our boat of choice. There were a couple of items after delivery to be corrected, all minor, and others have had issues, but just about without exception Sea Ray has stepped up to the plate to make anything right. The 240 has been an excellent seller for Sea Ray and I think has held it's value relatively well. Best of luck with your decision! (crownline was the other line we were looking at..feature wise the Sea Ray won out for us)
 
I climbed on the new 230SD just a couple weeks ago. While the aft facing seat and extra cargo nooks are nice but when I tried out the head I found that it was reduced by at lease 6 inches downward. It is cramped on my 220 but I can sit on the can and change wet clothes without having to bend my head while doing so. Also the freeboard on the new 230sd has increased, and so the lines have changed some. The front seats are now hinged and the storage areas are completely enclosed. There are some nice features to the boat and if I were in a smaller 20/17 ft boat it would be a nice move up.
 
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Danny Arrigo said:
According to the Sea Ray website the base MSRP on the 230 Sundeck with a 5.0 L B3 is $61K whereas the 240 Sundeck with the same engine and drive is $57K. Similarly for the 350 Mag with a B3 drive, $65,5 vs $61,9. So I guess I don't understand - a bigger boat for less money. :huh:
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It's likely the 240 Sundeck won't be around much longer since it was introduced in it's current configuration in 2000. However, since it has been Sea Ray's largest selling model, I think Sea Ray has been reluctant to drop it. The 260 Sundeck was probably intended to replace it (this is strictly my opinion) but it didn't. If you look at the specs for the 240SD and 260SD you will see the boats are identical in beam and length. But check the price and you will see the 260SD is much more costly.

Therfore as far as I am concerned, the 240SD is a great bargain compared to these other models. And having owned a 240SD I can also attest to how great a boat it is. I still miss mine and there are days I would rather have it than the 260 Sundancer I currently have.
 
Since I own a 240SD I have to agree with all the good comments about it. When Sea Ray came out with the new designed 240SD back in 2000 they hit a home run. It is such a versatile boat. Works good on inland waters as well as coastal waters.

PS: When I was looking for a new boat the Crownline was the other top boat I was looking at.
 
Larry&Leisa said:
I'm not sure what you mean when you ask has the sea ray line changed...
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I mean, that the 210 and 230 Sundeck look a little different at the stern then, for example, the 220 or 240 Sundeck.

STIHLBOLTS said:
I climbed on the new 230SD just a couple weeks ago. While the aft facing seat ... There are some nice features to the boat and if I were in a smaller 20/17 ft boat it would be a nice move up.
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At our dealership, there are two flipup buckets seats which suggests that there might be a second layout option.

The reason for the 230 instead of the 240 is the jump in length. At present my boat is 20.5ft LOA and the 240 Sundeck 26.+ LOA - that's a pretty big jump in length.

As for Sea Ray - I've heard only great things about these boats (next to Cobalt). My 20 ft crownline get bounced around quite a bit on a small lake with a lot of traffic and my wife just hates that. I want a smoother ride and with a increase in deadrise, (19 vs 21) and a heavier boat I think I'll get that. I also hate that my boat wanders at slow speeds (it plays havic on my nerves coming into the dock) and I get a stern walk in reverse (although I'm told that is becase of the alpha I drive and the Bravo III would help that)
 
Danny Arrigo said:
At our dealership, there are two flipup buckets seats which suggests that there might be a second layout option.
.......
I also hate that my boat wanders at slow speeds (it plays havic on my nerves coming into the dock) and I get a stern walk in reverse (although I'm told that is becase of the alpha I drive and the Bravo III would help that)
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Yes there is two layouts for the 240 one with a port side lounger and one with a port side captain chair. I think most 240s have the port side captain chair layout. You can still swing it all the way around if you want a port side lounger. Very rarely will we do it.

Yes the Bravo III will help with the big time:thumbsup: with stern wander.:smt038
 
Danny,

Quite frankly it's not difficult to dock a 240 SD. You simply need a couple of feet more dock space. The fact of the matter is that the 240 SD will track better in forward and reverse than your current boat. It will also respond better to steering inputs around the dock. My previous boat was a Crownline 196 BR with an Alpha drive. It tracked horribly in reverse. My 230 also has an Alpha. However it will track straight in reverse and also follow steering inputs in reverse. The old CL did not always do so.
 
SeaRide said:
Danny,

Quite frankly it's not difficult to dock a 240 SD. You simply need a couple of feet more dock space. The fact of the matter is that the 240 SD will track better in forward and reverse than your current boat. It will also respond better to steering inputs around the dock. My previous boat was a Crownline 196 BR with an Alpha drive. It tracked horribly in reverse. My 230 also has an Alpha. However it will track straight in reverse and also follow steering inputs in reverse. The old CL did not always do so.
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So it sounds like you were in my position (I wanted to say boat but you know . . . ) a few years ago. So you really know what I'm talking about (also with the 19-20 ft Crownline with the Alpha drive)). Is it a Crownline thing that they wander going forward at slow speeds? When you say steering inputs, do you mean slight adjustments in steering?
 
My CL wondered at idle as well. My SR does as well, but not to the same degree. ...and here's what I meant. In reverse my CL would not alway respond when I had the wheel hard over. For example, if I had the wheel hard to port and then wanted to straighten out, you had to over correct and give the engine a burst of power to do so and sometimes it still wouldn't do so. I could be backing in straight line with the wheel hard over. However, the bow would be off to one side or the other. Sort of like an old pick up going straight down the highway with the back end tracking off center.

This is probably a combination of prop walk, rudder control and a short hull. My SR will respond to hard inputs in reverse and will also back in a straight line after correcting from having the wheel hard over with no or minimal throttle inputs.
 
Also a Bravo III's counter rotating propellers cancel out each others prop walk and the Bravo series also has a larger rudder than the Alpha. So these two factors alone will give you better control at idle and around the dock. You will probably still have some tendency to wander, but if you leave the wheel alone or make minimal adjustments the boat will come back around w/o over correcting. I also use a tad bit of positive trim to reduce my boat's tendency to wander while idling. Once again, this boat wanders far less than my CL.
 
I think it was a combination of the Alpha drive coupled with a shorter hull. In general longer hulls will track better. At least that's been my experience. I never had the opportunity to test a CL 196 w/a B-III. However, I have run a 240 Select (slightly newer version of my boat) w/ a B-III and it wandered slightly less than than mine. It's been a while since I've been behind the the wheel of a 240 SD (B-III), but I do not recall this boat wandering much at all.
 
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