Sea Ray's built to meet WA's tough conditions
Sea Ray Amberjack shows its' sharp entry lines.
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There has been some conjecture in the local market whether or not American boats are suitable for the Western Australian conditions. With a number of distributors of Australian products suggesting that imported boats are made for the lakes and bays rather than the ocean we decided to put the matter to the test.
It¿s a big generalisation to suggest that all boats from the US are designed specifically for the lakes. You only have to look at the success that Challenge Marine has had, and deservedly so, with the Boston Whaler brand. These boats imported from Florida USA have the reputation world wide of being the most durable and sea worthy production boat on the market. That in its self dispels the myth that US boats are not made well. But what about the plethora of other US brands?
Like most things in life there are the good and not as good. One way that intending purchasers can gain some insight into the sea worthiness of the hull design is to take a look at one out of the water. Go to a point on the boat that is about twenty percent of the hull length back from the bow and imagine a cross section of the hull. This is the section of the hull that is going to do all of the work in rough conditions from any direction.
If the section of the hull under the level of the chine is becoming excessively flat there is more likelihood that the hull will not ride as well as one with a deeper section. Also in a following sea the rounder the bow the more the front of the boat is incline to ¿stall¿ potentially leading a broach situation.
A review in April revealed sixteen US brands with a presence on the local market. Across the range there a broad spectrum of hull designs that are suitable for different applications and conditions. The study likewise revealed that similar issues existed with Australian brands. Not all Australian boats support a design that makes them strong performers in offshore conditions.
One US brand that stood out in our review that had an outstanding design was Sea Ray. The 325 Sundancer that was examined showed an excellent deep V section forward with a deadrise of 21 degrees. In contract a competing brand was examined that was distinctly different from the Sea Ray. The competing boat had a shallow forward section that was reflected in the declared deadrise of only 18 degrees.
It¿s not surprising though that the Sea Ray has such strong ocean style lines. If you look behind the scenes you will see that Sea Ray and Boston Whaler are joined at the hip allowing a transfer of technology. Challenge Marine¿s Troy Dunning said that the company openly promotes customers testing the Sea Ray¿s on the ocean on the same day as testing competing brands. ¿On each and every occasion the Sea Ray¿s have come up trumps on ocean performance¿ said Mr Dunning.
Sea Ray Amberjack making easy work of a 4m swell.
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