searay 185 outboard sport or..........?

[kozman01]

I like the new Sea Ray 185 outboard sport for the fact that it has the outboard on it. I just like OB's better than IO's. Anyways, is there any other boat like the Sea Ray that I should look at so as to make an informed decision. I'm not locked on the Sea Ray at all, just want to find other boats that are set-up like that. I think only Rinker makes a 18-19 footer with an OB, am I wrong? Thanks for the info.

 

[Mercury140-I6]

Re: searay 185 outboard sport or..........?

Glastron makes one also.<br /><br />Craig

 

[Pikester]

Re: searay 185 outboard sport or..........?

I have a Sea Ray 185 OB sport Fish and Ski in production right now, hope to receive it soon. <br /><br />I found several different ~18 footers with outboards.<br />Larson makes a very nice fishing 18' OB<br />Four Winns and bayliner also have OB versions. <br /><br />Hopefully soon I can tell you how great the 185 F&S is.

 

[kozman01]

Re: searay 185 outboard sport or..........?

Thank you. I look forward to hearing from you. Mind me asking what the out the door price was and options you got on it?

 

[RatFish]

Re: searay 185 outboard sport or..........?

Take a look at the Four Winns 180 Freedom OB. I saw the 2004 Sea Ray 185 Sport OB and 2004 Four Winns 180 Freedom OB at the boat shows this past winter. I liked the Four Winns 180 Freedom OB better. It was about $21,500 with a 150HP Johnson and galvanized trailer with disk brakes (included freight prep, plus tax and registration). Good Luck.<br /><br />EDIT: The $21,500 was before negotiations. You may be able to do better.

 

[cuzner]

Re: searay 185 outboard sport or..........?

Check out bass pro shops online,They have some nice tracker fish& ski for around 21000.They have welded alm hulls.Price includes trailer some electronics,trolling motor etc.<br /><br /> Jim

 

[kozman01]

Re: searay 185 outboard sport or..........?

Ratfish, can you tell me why you thought the Four Winns was better?

 

[quantumleap]

Re: searay 185 outboard sport or..........?

It's nice to see more manufacturers getting back in to the fish & ski's. Some quit making them a few years back them thinking there was no market for them.(Sea ray was one.) I think they make a pretty decent all around boat that can still handle semi-rough water. Good luck with your choice!<br /><br />Pikester, what motor does yours come with?

 

[Pikester]

Re: searay 185 outboard sport or..........?

I am getting the 115 merc 4-stroke.<br /><br />The other engine that I really wanted was the 135 opti, but the price difference from sea ray was 4K more. The ironic thing is that the actual list price of the two engines is less than a 2K difference. I passed on the question 'why' and got an answer to the tune of sea ray got a real good deal on the 4-strokes, so . . .<br />I couldn't pay 4K more for something that costs 2K!<br /><br />The options I got was the F&S package, galvanized trailer, depth finder, canvas package w/ convertible top and covers, snap in carpet, port side back to back seat. List price $28,443 (sea ray's website has a nice "Build this sea ray" link on the page which allows you to get list price on the options). <br /><br />Boattest.com recently added the 185 OB sport to their database.<br /><br />I was also considering the four winns, but when I sat in it at the boat show, the seat seemed incredibly low in the cockpit. So much that it would limit visibility for shorter people (maybe there was a seat riser that I did not see. . .)

 

[RatFish]

Re: searay 185 outboard sport or..........?

Kozman01,<br /><br />IMHO the fit and finish on the Four Winns 180 Freedom OB was better than the Sea Ray 185 Sport OB. Also, the cockpit on the Freedom seemed roomier. The beam on the Freedom is 8', only 7'6" on the Sea Ray. If my memory serves, the Freedom was also was priced less with more HP and options. I think the Sea Ray had a 135HP Mercury (OptiMax???) vs. a 150HP Johnson (carb) on the Freedom. The Freedom came with full canvas, satellite radio (with one year subscription), snap in carpet, ski pylon, drivers side bucket seat with bolster, free extended warranties and some other goodies. I can't give you any details on the Sea Ray because I can't find my notes on it. <br /><br />Correction: Before negotiations, the price on the 2004 180 Freedom OB was $21,400 and $19,700 on a similarly equipped 2003 leftover.

 

[kozman01]

Re: searay 185 outboard sport or..........?

I'll have to look a little closer at that Four WInns 180 OB. Thank you gentlemen.

 

[Eric K.]

Re: searay 185 outboard sport or..........?

Try this url for another type boat. http://www.seaswirl.com/Boats/Boats_Detail.asp?bid=122 <br /><br />I bought a used 1999 180 SeaRay Dual Console fish and ski and really like it for all types of waters. I have the 115 Mercury 2 stroke. Good luck with your search.

 

[phatmanmike]

Re: searay 185 outboard sport or..........?

i once was gonna get a 1999 sea-pro 18' dual console fish n ski with 115 yamaha for 14995, of course this was 5 years ago

 

[Mercathode]

Re: searay 185 outboard sport or..........?

Kozman<br />I have a Fourwinns 190 Horizon but I have a I/O. I have had no problems with this boat and I am about to turn 600 hours. It was cheaper than the Outboard and much quieter. My next rig will be a Glastron 205SF with a Mercruiser 350 Mag.