First time here!

[JimmyJ]

Hi all,
Just would like to hear anyone who has the new 175 sport. I live in Australia and the boat would be used inshore waterways. I do like the finish compared to the price of locally built vessels. I would appreciate any comments as i have also been weighing up between new Four Winns H180. Thank you in advance for your help.

 

[Scottzzzy]

Welcome to the site! :thumbsup:

I went with the 220 SD simply due to the size of my family, but we shopped most major brands including Four Winns. First I was simply sold like you mentioned on fit and finish, then from looking so much I noticed that durability seemed to be superior in the Sea Rays. Unfortunately that was reflected in the price being a bit higher. But from a newbies view it certainly seemed the Sea ray sport boats cruised better and held up better than competitors in the same class.:huh:

Oh yeah, whatever you do, pay for a survey! You will hear that repeated over and over on here!:smt043:lol::smt101

Again, welcome!

 

[rcknecht]

Great! Congratulations on the new boat... You will love it...

 

[dutchman]

In late August, I purchased a new 2008 from a dealer. I managed to get 15 hours before winter came. Since i was following Sea Ray's break-in process, it's been quite casual. Did some light tubing and a lot of just cruising around.

We've been boating for 20 years and have owned and ridden in quite a few different boats. Even though the 175 is the smallest in the SR family, it's exactly what we wanted. We chose the open seating plan over the sundeck, since IMO with the sundeck, it gets quite crampt inside. We have the snapin carpets, bimimi top, full covers, trailer has disc brakes and the fold away tongue.
As for performance, I love the way it handles. Has a smooth, quiet cruise speed, bites into the corners firmly. Has lots of power for this size boat. So far I've been gentle on the WOT, but still up on plane in seconds.
Compared to other boats in it's class, the fit/finish is pretty good, ample storage, nice seating, hah even the wife feels comfortable driving it (1st time for that).
We've had a couple minor issues, not really a manufactured problem, but more to do misc dealer adjustments which they have looked after.
Over all, it's a great package and I can't wait for summer to come.:thumbsup:

 

[ZZ13]

I bought an '09 175 in September for the purpose of cruising around the sea islands of Beaufort and Hilton Head, SC. Google it and you'll see numerous salt water sounds, rivers and creeks that will accomodate the 175 just fine. We've had it out twice so far and I was pleasantly surprised. Like dutchman said it got on plane really easy and handles beautifully with 2-3 of us adults onboard (haven't had more than 3 and rarely will). With the 3.0L I was worried it would be sluggish. I am considering Smart Tabs but may not get them afterall. Trailering is very easy and I load/unload it by myself (my wife watches, ha!) faster that some others do with two people. Still figuring out where the rough water threshold is so that I don't want to take it out. That may be the only thing that would drive me to a larger boat.

 

[JimmyJ]

Hey guys, thank you all very much for your wise words. I actually went out on the brand new 175 today with only 0.2 hours on the clock. After taking the Four Winns H180 yesterday i have decided to proceed with the Sea Ray. Just love the finish and styling over the 2 (very close but personally like the Ray better). Dutchman, have to agree we are going to go with the standard layout as it will work best for our needs, getting 2 x rod holders, GPS combo flush mounted, and dual battery also s it will give me peace of mind. Boat today happily sat around 43mph and you are right she digs very hard into the corners. Looking forward to sharing some pics with you guys!!