OVERVIEW
With an asymmetrical deck layout, offset helm, deep cabin and head, and smart sliding transom seating, the Sea Ray SDX 250 Outboard is one of the best new outboard-powered bowriders that's crossed our path to date.
Of course, Sea Ray's is no stranger to building bowriders. Its sterndrive-powered models are beautifully integrated boats. But with a market shift to outboard power, the design challenge has centred on creating the same level of integration with an engine bolted on the back.
There are some big challenges to overcome when it comes to powering sterndrive boats with outboard engines. The bolt-and-be-done-with-it approach now rates as a compromise. Buyers want greater assimilation, practicality and purpose. The design has to go deeper, as indeed does the Sea Ray SDX 250 OB.
This new Sea Ray SDX 250 OB from the Sundeck series provides some clever solutions to existing challenges and some real innovation at the transom, where the seating slides forward to create a big flat aft deck area. I love it!
Add good looks, plenty of volume and seating as expected from the Sundeck range of boats, and the SDX 250 OB tops our list to date for outboard-powered bowrider boats.
We were lucky to test the 2018 Sea Ray SDX 250 OB at the Sea Ray Yacht Expo in Florida in late-2017, where we reported on 10 innovations of the new Sea Ray model line-up,
but the good news is the boat's available here now.
Its sister ship, the Sea Ray SDX 250 with 300hp 6.2L sterndrive, is set to debut at the 2018 Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show (SCIBS). Having experiences both Sea Ray SDX 250 variants, we consider some of the pros and cons of both engine set-ups.