Picking up my first boat this weekend! 99 230 Br Select

T

thunderman

New Member
Jul 5, 2009
17
Arkansas
Boat Info
1999 Sea Ray 230 BR Signature
Engines
7.4 MPI Mercruiser, Alpha 1 Drive
It is a '99 230 Bowrider select. Does anyone here have this particular boat? How do you like it? It has the 7.4 mp1 310 hp motor in it and from what I have read, that will haul some serious ass! I have 3 small kids so we are planning to use it to piddle around the lakes around here (Arkansas, great ponds!), hang with friends, and wakeboard and tow the kids in a tube. Anyone have this boat or somewhat close to it want to give me some pointers?

Mike
 
Well, yes that is what I intend on doing. I guess I don't realize how powerful that powerplant is. I will be finding out this weekend.

How good is this boat/powerplant combo for wakeboarding? I do not have a tower on the boat, but I think it should provide a good hole shot. Thoughts?
 
Yep! You'll enjoy it. I would think you should see something in the low 50s (GPS) with the 7.4 liter without too much trouble. Mine will run in the upper 40s on a regular basis. The best speed I've ever seen is right at 50 on a cool spring morning lightly loaded. My 5.7 EFI will pull me (215 lbs) up on a slalom ski w/o too much sweat. I've owned mine since new. The boat performs well. It comes up on plane with very little bow rise and planes quickly (nice for wake boarding or pulling rug rats on skis), cuts through lake chop w/o any problems and will run for quite some time on 57 gallons of fuel. The cockpit and bow area are relatively deep so you don't have to worry about the little ones bouncing out of the boat under normal conditions. The ski locker is large and runs forward to the bow section (great for storing skis or in our case storing luggage for coastal trips). There is also plenty of storage under the U shaped rear seats and storage locker forward of the helm. The anchor locker is a reasonable size so you can stow your anchor and rode properly without beating up your fiberglass. The freshwater system is useful as well. The windshield wiper does get used during showers. On coastal trips my average fuel burn is 6-7 gallons/hr. Your big block may burn slightly more, but not much more if you are running the same speed as a small block. The boat has held up well over the years from a quality standpoint. I also give her a lot of TLC, but the seats, trim, and gelcoat have held up well over the years.

I only wish my boat had the extended swimplatform from the '01 and newer 230/240 BR.

What else would you like to know?
 
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It has a bravo I drive. You covered a lot of the things I was thinking about. I too would like an extended swim platform, can we get an aftermarket one? I also am looking at a wakeboard tower to install on one next year.

Do you have trim or smart tabs? How is the wake on the boat?

Mike
 
Great boat purchase. You were wondering about any pointers. This is your first boat. Have you been around a lot of boats? It is amazing how many boaters do not know the basic rules. Such has who has the right of way.

Just for the fun of it go to the Dept. of Natural Resources for your state and look up boating. Our state has a boating course test you can take on-line. Take some time and do the test. Some of the questions are crazy but trust me you will learn a lot.

Have fun and be safe.
 
Mine does not have tabs. If you are trailering or drystacking, you will always want to leave the tabs in the up position as the trailer bunks or lifting arms will damage the tab assembly if contacted. You'll also want to experiment with them. Always operate the tabs in unison or individually. Do not try to raise one side and lower the other or you will blow a fuse. Pressing the top of the rocker switches lowers the tabs and the bottom raises them. If the port side (LH) of the boat is running high due to a crosswind or having more people on the starboard side of the boat. Simply bump the top of the (down arrow) LH switch a couple of times with short bursts and you will level out. This will lower the RH/starboard tab. If you do not know what position your tabs are in raise them both and start over. If your tabs do not come in contact with your trailer bunks, have a helper hit the buttons based on your commands so you can see how they work.

You can look at platforms from swimplatforms.com. Since this option was never offered from the factory, I really haven't looked into this any further. Just noticed this is your first boat.

Taking a Power Squadron course is a great idea as Happy pointed out. Even with this training, it would still be a very good idea to take a buddy along who knows the rules of the road and how operate/dock a boat. Also, if you are trailering, knowing how to back and manuever the trailer is most helpful. You will also need all of the usual safety gear, lines (I carry six or seven in varying lengths from ten to twenty feet), large fenders with socks and etc.
 
I am all about learning and being safe. I have a 6,4, and 2 year old that I plan on raising on the water. I was raised on the beach in SoCal and spent the most part of my little guy years on a surfboard. I am in Arkansas now so the beach is out of the question so wakeboarding and boating here we come!

I am all about safety, I have done the boaters ed course online and have purchased Chapman's bible.

Mike
 
There are still a ton of things to discuss. For example a launch checklist, do not start the engine with drive in the full up position or on the trailer w/o the water on and flushing device installed. Do you know the history of the boat? Was a survey performed? When were the fluids changed last? When was the impeller changed?

You may have learned some of this through your courses. If not ask away and good luck. You have a very nice boat. No bias here!
 
yep, the 230 is a great boat with plenty of room for the family. We love it. Here is a pic of a naked 230 at a lake in AR for the 4th of July.

What lake in AR are you boating at?

IMG_1260-1.jpg
 
What beauties you guys have, I simply can't wait! I will be boating on Lake Ouachita near Hot Springs. We live in benton and it is only an hour away!

gbolton said:
yep, the 230 is a great boat with plenty of room for the family. We love it. Here is a pic of a naked 230 at a lake in AR for the 4th of July.

What lake in AR are you boating at?

IMG_1260-1.jpg
Click to expand...
 
Mike,
I have a 98 230 Signature w/ the 7.4 and BIII leg. This boat is a winner! Plenty of room for the family, great engine and drive combination, plenty of freeboard, quick enough for the average day boat and a pleasure to run. I am sure you will be very pleased with your purchase.
 
Just came across this post and am glad to see another 230 owner. That 7.4 ought to be fast - how fast have you gotten it? My 5.7 with Bravo III will go 53. I do have the trim tabs and need to play with them to get the last 3 MPH out of it - they make a big difference.

I know the hull design changed with my 2001, but like SeaRide said, this boat planes up quickly and beautifully and is freakishly smooth riding. Even in choppy water it doesn't feel like it is even touching the water.

And, it is the best interior design IMHO! So many newer boats have gone to the stern walk through with truncated back seats, but you gotta love that curved sofa back there. The corners are basically lounge chairs and if you swivel the captains chairs around, you can put your feet up on them like ottomans. But you have figured this all out by now! Enjoy the boat!
 
I bought my 230 last spring. I've had it to 55mph with a 1/4 tank of gas and zero load. I love it. My wife and I are on DeGray every chance we get! ENJOY!
 
I had the same model many moons ago with the 7.4. The boat flew like crazy. I hope you have trim tabs because they kept me in check when it started acting squirrley at WOT. Get used to the boat and you'll love it!!!
 
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