This is about as good as they come for room and ride in a bow rider deck boat. LOA is 26’ 4” and her beam is 8’ 6” with a dry weight of 5,400. Use a big V-8 from Volvo Penta with a Dup Prop stern drive I/O (inboard outboard).

Volvo Penta uses Chevy engines as its starting point for its gas engines that Volvo then adapts for the marine usage and then couples those engines to the two props on one engine shaft drive that they invented and call Duo Prop. Volvo Penta uses the Chevy 5.0, 5.7, and 8.1 engine displacement V-8 to make marine engine power packages from 270 Hp up to 420 Hp.

Go back a few years and Sea Ray could not keep up with the demand for Sea Ray Sun Deck bow rider boats. Then it happened, they updated their model line-up and lost the leadership in the deck boat business. Now, this boat, the 230 Sun Deck by Sea Ray, is charged to get that business back to Sea Ray.

What does she offer that the others did or did not? Let seabuddy cover that.

More words and photos are on the second page of this write-up.

Now, this 230 is a tight boat fitting boat. A tight head, tight cockpit, etc. everything is here, but its tight when the family gets onboard with their “stuff”. A tight main cockpit. It is OK on the showroom floor but tight on the water with everyone onboard. You know, food, soft drinks, towels, purses, jackets – that kind of stuff.

The 230 Sea Ray Sun deck has a tight head, but its there. It is also plain, but its there. Try it to see how it fits and feels to the biggest person that is expected to use it. That may be Mom in your family boating gang as Dad often does not use the boat’s head. By all means, make sure your boat has the dockside pump out head option and the two color optional gelcoat.

An anchor locker, longer bow seats, enclosed head, a cockpit table to lay out food for all upon, a number of places to sit, and a big swim platform in an inch over 24’ of family boat, is a lot. But, its all there. If its too tight for your family, there is the 260 sitting right next to it most of the times, so all of you, climb out of the 230 and into the 260 and see what the same items feel like in the boat that was designed to replace the old 240. Your Wife will be amazed.

Seabuddy has included a Sea Ray photo that clearly shows the best feature of the new 230 sun deck Sea Ray over the main objection seabuddy had with the old 240. It’s the  seat back height of the bow seating that makes those kids riding in the bow rider cockpit, feel like they are sitting deep down in the boat, rather than seating so high that they AND Mom felt that they could easily fall out of the boat when the Sun Deck bounces over a wake. The 230 is very safe feeling bow rider cockpit, as is the 260 bow rider cockpit is and the old 240 was not.

This 230 Sun Deck Sea Ray comes with three different size engine torques. Why torque? Because, this is not a top speed hull. Sea Ray changed the hull, so it rides more level by making more the hull length stick into the water underway. All three engines give WOT speeds in the mid – 40 mph range. Do not buy a bigger engine for more speed. Its not there in this hull. Buy a bigger engine to get going (the differences between the 5.0, 5.7, and 377 engines shows up in this hull is by in getting a light, medium, and fully loaded boat going and up on plane)  Base your engine choice about like this; two – three people and half full gas tank and little stuff in people gear and  boat supplies like an anchor, extra dock lines, back-up cans of engine and / or drive oil, etc – go with a 5.0,… medium load; four – five folks and more stuff; …and the 377 size displacement engine is for seven family members on board, a full gas tank, with jackets, towels, food, etc for everyone. Remember, this is a 4,850 lb boat dry, and you can safely add up to 1,800 lbs in gas, batteries, boat gear, and combined weight of your crew. The 6,500 lb type loaded boat can use the torque of the 377, in seabuddy’s opinon.

A 20’1” LOA boat with a 8’ 6” beam. This one is powered by Mercury Marine Mercruiser up to a V-8 of 270 Hp. Watch out, there is not much wind protection

One of the hot deals late this winter will be the Nautic Star Deck Boat at a special price. A 40 mph, 20 foot, warm weather, deck boat with a four Stoke Outboard is a nice rig at a great price for a fresh, new, 2010 boat.

Yes, add snap-in cockpit carpet, some electronics, and a trailer and the “out-the-door” price will be higher…but still a bargain.

Yes, one can upgrade to a 150 Hp if you plan on always carrying a full load and doing a lot of water sports. Yes, you can upgrade the steering system for a more secure feeling, but you can miss the point by adding to many options. Get into family boating without breaking the budget.

Why does seabuddy say “warm weather”? You will see for yourself once you and Mom take a sea-trial ride.

40 mph? Yup, with a light load. Less than that once the ice chest, boat gear, and towels come aboard.

The 20 feet LOA is needed for the room that a young family needs for a full morning on the water.

Nautic Star uses a 3 Star rated engine with this boat and motor rig. A three Star engine is far better than a 2 star rated engine in today’s world. Ask your dealer how this benefits you.

Take a look on their website hot link listed below…

http://www.nauticstarboats.com/

seabuddy words with a seabuddy version of a boat builder photo