Why?

spfortjohn

spfortjohn

New Member
Jul 31, 2011
640
Orange Beach, AL
Boat Info
2014 219FS Keywest CC
Engines
F200 Yamaha Outboard
Why does Sea Ray not make but one outboard boat? I would love to have a 260 Sundeck with a 300 outboard on it. Less problems and more power to weight.
 
Sea Ray is strictly a market driven company. If the customers wanted big outboard deck boats, they would offer them. Having said that, it might help to understand that you and I, i.e.living and boating in the NW Gulf, are in the minority as far a Sea Ray's market is concerned. The majority of the buyers of this type boat are on lakes or in the north where their exposure to corrosion is far less than ours. The other factor is that a 300hp outboard is a complicated beast.........Bubba down at the boat shop in East Jesus County, Arkansas isn't going to fix the air pump or supercharger on one of them.
 
fwebster said:
Sea Ray is strictly a market driven company. If the customers wanted big outboard deck boats, they would offer them. Having said that, it might help to understand that you and I, i.e.living and boating in the NW Gulf, are in the minority as far a Sea Ray's market is concerned. The majority of the buyers of this type boat are on lakes or in the north where their exposure to corrosion is far less than ours. The other factor is that a 300hp outboard is a complicated beast.........Bubba down at the boat shop in East Jesus County, Arkansas isn't going to fix the air pump or supercharger on one of them.
Click to expand...

Bubba down at the boat ramp cannot fix the DTS or the Fuel Injection either. All motors now require trained techs.
 
spfortjohn said:
Why does Sea Ray not make but one outboard boat? I would love to have a 260 Sundeck with a 300 outboard on it. Less problems and more power to weight.
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I'm with you on this. I would like to see some outboard cruisers and outboard flybridge cruisers in the 28-30ft range. I doubt it will happen though. There are already alot of fishing expresses out there. HOWEVER, there are few nice cruisers that will "ALSO" fish.

Anybody, anybody?
 
There is no doubt that some segments of the boat business are headed toward simplicity and outboard power. We are seeing far fewer big sportfishermen, even in tournaments, in these parts. There is a big invitational bill fish tourney here every july. Five years ago the smallest boat entered was 55 ft...this year 8 of the 50 boat fleet were twin and triple outboard center consoles. Our marina, who is the largest servicing dealer in NW Fla, has hired 2 additional full outboard specialists, because more customers are running twin and triple OB's. This same dealer added a line of outboard powered deck boats (Southwind) last year So they can offer their customers an alternative to Sea Ray's inboard only products.

However, the original question had to do with Sea Ray's product offering, not the industry in general. Apparently, Sea Ray's marketing guys feel their customers aren't interested in such a move.
 
They've had them, in the past, on and off over the years. Although, I think the largest was 21' (could be wrong). But, like Frank said, it's market driven and they just weren't a good seller for the Sea Ray line. The last one I remember was a few years ago and that was an 18' runabout/FNS - which actually cost about $3k more than the stern drive. But Sea Ray ain't stupid.... Guess who Boston Whaler reports to?
 
34 Sundancer with 2 350 Yamaha's. 2 Full staterooms and 2 full heads. Build mine with a diesel generator and I'd send a check tomorrow.
 
One word answer "Yamaha"
Two word: "Honda"
Brunswick is a VERTICALLY integrated company and I imagine they would like to see the maximum number of their hulls powered by Merc. product. With inboards they greater predictabilty on factory loading for Merc. and get to stack profit margins. From a market perspective I guess they also need to differentiate Sea Ray from BW.
 
fwebster said:
This same dealer added a line of outboard powered deck boats (Southwind) last year So they can offer their customers an alternative to Sea Ray's.[/QUOTE

I looked at the southwind and felt the quality was not as good as the searay
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You are right, but they also cost a fraction of what a Sea Ray does.

I ran all 4 Southwind models the dealer considered stocking and while the fit and finish leave something to be desired, they are excellent handling and performing boats with standard Yamaha power. For the guy who wants a less expensive boat powered by an outboard and will keep it on a trailer, lift or dry stacked, they give the customer an option to high line expensive boats like Whaler and Sea Ray.
 
spfortjohn said:
Why does Sea Ray not make but one outboard boat? I would love to have a 260 Sundeck with a 300 outboard on it. Less problems and more power to weight.
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Good question; I have a 1988 SR outboard that I purchased new. We still use it, mostly my kids, and like it very much.

While I was looking for something larger and newer, this past year, I asked myself, the same question.

I personally concluded that SR is a little "behind the times" with what they are offering.

Everyone I have ever talked to loves those big outboards; dependable, quiet, over the top power, and relatively maintenance free, as was my 1988 model.

The BWs are top quality and nice, but a little biased towards being "utilitarian" for my female boating partner.

I would like a cross, in comforts, between the BW and SR, in at least a 26 ft hull, with a couple of those larger OBs also.
 
This is an interesting little snippet about a company in New Zealand building Sea Ray's under license. It was news to me until I read a recent article on the company called Rae Line. One of their lineups includes a Sea Ray mould powered by a Mercrusier outboard.

http://www.raeline.com/aboutus-history.asp

As sombody else mentioned, you have to wonder how many companies out there report to Sea Ray. Then again, you might also wonder how many companies report to Sea Ray's boss Mr Brunswick. Rayglass is another manufacturer in New Zealand that is considered one of New Zealand's top manufacturers. After a successful defence of the America's cup in New Zealand, Brunswick bought Rayglass primarily to get access to its rigid hull centre console Protector series which were used very succesfully as umpire boats. If you want a Brunswick boat with an outboard there are certainly plenty of firms to choose from.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brunswick_Boat_Group

http://www.rayglass.co.nz/


Terry
 
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Lazy Daze said:
They've had them, in the past, on and off over the years. Although, I think the largest was 21' (could be wrong). But, like Frank said, it's market driven and they just weren't a good seller for the Sea Ray line. The last one I remember was a few years ago and that was an 18' runabout/FNS - which actually cost about $3k more than the stern drive. But Sea Ray ain't stupid.... Guess who Boston Whaler reports to?
Click to expand...

Hellman Huddle said:
....and now Bayliner!
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If you're going to spout grossly inaccurate statements (even though you've been told the truth a number of times), please don't include, or refer to, my statements in any way, shape or form.

Back on point, I agree that there is a market for outboard powered (larger) boats. I think Sea Ray could be successful with it, but I don't think they've really ever given it their all. I've always felt it was a "half try" on their part. The SR's and Whalers will continue to sell because they've got a quality product and a loyal customer base, but there is definitely room in the market for inexpensive (not "cheap") boats - maybe not something that is real fancy or has lot's of bells and whistles - just a solid boat with good build quality.

Boy, imagine the room you'd gain inside the boat on something like a pocket cruiser if it had an outboard on it - there'd be a huge hole in the aft end of the boat where an engine used to sit! I wonder what could be done with that hole? A third bed? A larger galley?

Terry - That's a interesting find on that Rae Line!
 
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Exactly Dennis! Imagine the gain in interior space with outboards on a midsize cruiser! A 34' you could have 2 full staterooms. I think they'd sell the heck out of them. Tilt those outboards up and right up against the beach you go. When you get back to the dock tilt them up and flush them out. No crappy outdrives sitting in salt water or electricity filled freshwater slips. No ancient old iron technology in that big engine room either! Sign me up...
 
But SR would lose all those dollars for repairs and maintenance. Outboards are much more reliable and easier to work on than those car motors stuffed in an ER along with the HWH, Genny, batteries, ho,ding tank and such.
 
Hellman Huddle said:
....and now Bayliner!
Click to expand...

Just like Chevrolet is part of Cadillac..........................forget spell check, what we really need here is a fact checker.


Have you folks who are proponents of big outboards spent any time around them? I haven't seen anyone mention how expensive they are to repair or how frequently they need service. To wring 300 hp out of 158 cubic inches requires some "doing". The 300 hp Verado has a Porsche designed supercharger packed under that little cowling. All that sophistication comes at a price....like $24K each.....the 350 yamaha is close to $30K. And, a $4000 repair bill isn't that unusual for Verado owners.

No thanks........I'll stick to my inboards.
 
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