My brother is deciding between these two choices of new boats for use in Great Egg Harbor Bay, New Jersey, for fishing, skiing, and tubing. This would be his first boat. What do you think of these choices for a family of 5?
He likes the space on the deck boat but we're not sure it's the better choice for a bay and inland waterway or if it makes much of a difference. He probably would not take this onto the ocean except on a very calm day, if at all.
I've read another posting that says bow-riders give a better ride than deck boats particularly in the kind of choppy water that sometimes get in the bay especially when near the breakwater. Anyone have experience with these two types of SeaRay boats or bowrider vs. Deck boat in general? He would power them with Mercury four stroke outboards.
SPX 230 OB Bowrider vs. 2018 Searay SDX 250 OB Deck Boat for Bay Fishing & Skiing
230 SPX bowrider - 23.5' incl. platform; Beam 8.5'; deadrise 19°; fuel: 50 gal.; dry weight 3919#; 250 Merc Verado
250 SDX deck boat - 25' incl. platform; beam 8.5'; deadrise 21°; fuel: 63 gal.; dry weight ? 300 XL Merc. Verado
I would have preferred power by Honda or Yamaha but Searay doesn't offer those choices.
The boat will be stored on a rack and maintained by the Marina.
With the higher deadrise for this deck boat and long with the greater length, I would think it would ride as well as or better than the bow-rider. Right?
Is the outboard a better choice? I have an 1987 Cobalt 17BR with a 3.9L mercruiser I/O (370 hours). It seems to me that an outboard is a simpler design and less problematic than the out-drive. Besides, I cannot raise my outdrive out of the salt water like the outboards do. (I think I read that the designer of the alpha drive passed away last week. His work benefited a lot of people.)
I would appreciate any advice on these 2 choices as a starter boat and on SeaRay quality in general.
(We know that Brunswick is in the process of selling SeaRay.)
He likes the space on the deck boat but we're not sure it's the better choice for a bay and inland waterway or if it makes much of a difference. He probably would not take this onto the ocean except on a very calm day, if at all.
I've read another posting that says bow-riders give a better ride than deck boats particularly in the kind of choppy water that sometimes get in the bay especially when near the breakwater. Anyone have experience with these two types of SeaRay boats or bowrider vs. Deck boat in general? He would power them with Mercury four stroke outboards.
SPX 230 OB Bowrider vs. 2018 Searay SDX 250 OB Deck Boat for Bay Fishing & Skiing
230 SPX bowrider - 23.5' incl. platform; Beam 8.5'; deadrise 19°; fuel: 50 gal.; dry weight 3919#; 250 Merc Verado
250 SDX deck boat - 25' incl. platform; beam 8.5'; deadrise 21°; fuel: 63 gal.; dry weight ? 300 XL Merc. Verado
I would have preferred power by Honda or Yamaha but Searay doesn't offer those choices.
The boat will be stored on a rack and maintained by the Marina.
With the higher deadrise for this deck boat and long with the greater length, I would think it would ride as well as or better than the bow-rider. Right?
Is the outboard a better choice? I have an 1987 Cobalt 17BR with a 3.9L mercruiser I/O (370 hours). It seems to me that an outboard is a simpler design and less problematic than the out-drive. Besides, I cannot raise my outdrive out of the salt water like the outboards do. (I think I read that the designer of the alpha drive passed away last week. His work benefited a lot of people.)
I would appreciate any advice on these 2 choices as a starter boat and on SeaRay quality in general.
(We know that Brunswick is in the process of selling SeaRay.)
