Best Sea Ray for wakeboarding, tubing, family fun etc.???

K

kimmyintexas

New Member
Jul 23, 2009
2
Texas
Boat Info
Boatless
Engines
Boatless
Hi there! We are looking at buying a 2005-2007 Sea Ray. We want atleast a 22ft and prefer a 24ft and are not sure which one between the Select and Sundeck. We have three kids and usually take extra kids or another family with us to the lake. We tube and play mostly but want to start wakeboarding as well but we have ruled out a true wakeboarding boat in favor of a Sea Ray. I would like to hear from those of you who do these activities with your Sea Ray and I would like to know which model you chose and why. Thanks so much!

Kimmy
 
Go all the way and get the 240 DA, the Sundancer.. Great boat for water sports for the kids with the added comfort for the adults. A word of caution though, you are going to want to get bigger in the future… Maybe a 280…. Good luck with your choice.
 
If capacity is going to be a major concern, go with the Sundeck. IMHO - the 240SD was/is one of Sea Ray's best boats ever built, but then again I may be a little bit bias. (Grin)
 
chuck1 said:
IMHO - the 240SD was/is one of Sea Ray's best boats ever built, but then again I may be a little bit bias. (Grin)
Click to expand...

I'd second that! The "best boat" part, not the "bias" part!:grin: I'll wait to comment on that bias part 'till I meet you...:lol:

EDIT: Typically the Selects will slightly out-perform their Sundeck counterpart (keeping everything apples-to-apples as much as possible). But this IS NOT due to hull design. It's more due to deck design and where the weight of passengers ends up being.

But, even accounting for that, the 240SD with a 350MAG, B3 and tabs is absolutely a fabulous boat. For all-around versatility, I really don't think you can beat it.
 
Last edited:
Love our SD. We typically will have the 2 grandkids, plus 4 other adults besides the wife and myself. With the 350 mag B3 we have no trouble pulling and there is plenty of room and storage for a day out. We like to beach a lot as well and love the front boarding ladder and the wash down sprayer up front.
 
We love ours and it has been perfect for outings with the kids or just cruising! Definately go with the 5.0 L or 5.7L Bravo III option. They are easy on gas IMO and very versatile!:thumbsup:
 
Thank you all very much! From my research thus far it seems that the Sundeck 240 is going to be the best option for our family. I am finding some really great deals on '03-'06 models but almost none of them have the 350 Mag engine (I don't think). Can someone give me a quick tutorial on the engine differences. I keep seeing 5.0 and 5.7 and 260 horsepower and then once and a while I see a mention of 350 mag (which most of you seem to have). I know I'm showing my ignorance here but I am really confused about the engines and exactly what I should be looking for.
 
First:
5.0L = 305 cubic inches
5.7L = 350 ci

Unless I'm mistaken, for the years you're looking at, you're only going to come across MPI engines (Multi Port fuel Injection - like a car). If you go back a few years, you would also find EFI (Electronic Fuel Injection... aka "a glorified carb").

Typically, a "5.7" was used to designate either a carb'd 5.7 or an EFI 5.7. In the case of the 5.7 EFI, it's most recent HP rating is 260HP (the same as the 5.0L MPI).

When the 5.7 is instead designated by it's ci's, that is commonly used to refer to the MAGnum engine... 350MAG.

Anyways, all that being said...

What you'll find:

5.0L MPI 260HP
350MAG MPI 300HP
6.2L MPI 320HP

Hopefully that helps and doesn't just confuse you more!
 
Completely agree on the 240SD, I've got the 6.2 in mine and its a great boat. Rated for 12 people (and I've had 12 in it on the lake). It has a great ride, performs well, and is very comfortable with lots of room. Good luck!
 
I highly recommend the 240SD. We really enjoyed our 2002 240SD and would regularly have 8 -10 people on board when we went out. The sunpad for the bow was a popular place for the kids and sunbathers and there was ample room in the rear for the adults. Water sports were always part of our outings and the boat would perform well even when we had 12 people on board and we were pulling two tubes. Plus the head makes it very desirable particularly for the ladies on board.

I would buy another in a heartbeat if I were going back into a runabout.

Dave
 
Well it's not like you need another vote for the 240SD but here's mine.

One thing you might want to consider if you'll be doing a lot of water sports is the tower. The tow eye on the SD is pretty low on the boat & the tow rope tends to drag in the water some.
 
We love our 240 SD - lots of water sports with as many as ten aboard.
Have never wished for more than my 260 HP engine but I guess if I was looking at used I would consider a larger engine but not sure it is necessary - at least for my needs.
 
avguy said:
Well it's not like you need another vote for the 240SD but here's mine.

One thing you might want to consider if you'll be doing a lot of water sports is the tower. The tow eye on the SD is pretty low on the boat & the tow rope tends to drag in the water some.
Click to expand...

+1 with out a doubt. If you get a choice and you are going to pull skiers and wakeboards the tower makes a big differance
 
Last edited:
Blueone said:
+1 with out a doubt. If you get a choice and you are going to pull tubes and wakeboards the tower makes a big differance
Click to expand...

Okay, dumb question can you pull tubes from the tower? I guess I'm just old school and did not think you could do that? :huh:
 
chuck1 said:
Okay, dumb question can you pull tubes from the tower? I guess I'm just old school and did not think you could do that? :huh:
Click to expand...

Every tower I have seen has warning against pulling tube from the tower. You can do it, but you don't want to!



Oh, yeah, and +1 on the 240 Sundeck. Great boat and the 350 MAG is the perfect motor for it.
 
Chuck1... I was thinking tubes for some reason but I meant skiing and wakeboarding for the reason of the low tow eye.
I am not sure what the rating is on the tower if that is what you are referring to. As far as tubing is concerned the higher tow point will have a tendancy to lift the tube out of the water if jumping a wave and depending age of rider might not be advisable at a higher rate of speed as the tube wants to turn over with the riders weight. So old school would be right as far as I am concerned
 
When I made the comment about the low tow eye, pulling a tube is what I had in mind. The rope drags in the water & gives the kids a constant stream of water in the face. I'm still considering that gismo Dennis has for $130 to alleviate that problem.

Never realized you can't pull a tube from a tower.....I learned something today....Kim will be so proud :lol:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,116
Messages
1,426,364
Members
61,028
Latest member
ddbyrd329
Back
Top