dcw
New Member
I am new, not just to boating, but to waterskiing, wakeboarding, and boat fishing, so I'm trying to get opinions from anyone who may have experience with the Sea Ray 185 Sport. I live in Perth, Western Australia.
I hope to buy a 2007 model with a 190hp motor within the next few weeks, and have my eye on one I've seen with a wakeboard tower (probably not something I would have ordered, but it has one anyway).
I have a couple of teenage boys, and expect to tow them on skis, wakeboard, biscuit, etc. I'd think at least one of them could become a wakeboard fanatic, though neither have any experience at present. The wife & I will try anything, but may be limited by fitness requirements.
I also intend to use the boat for river and estuary fishing and general pleasure boating to visit eateries along the Swan River, etc.
So far, so good. I would expect the 185 to handle these requirements easily.
I'd also like to be able to do some fishing within a few km of the coast. Obviously I realise that this boat is not really designed for this use, particularly as most of the coast here is exposed to the prevailing South Westerly sea breezes in the afternoon. Typically the forecast is for seas to 1.5M and swell to 2M. Local advice suggests that the forecast is not always very reliable, and the breeeze and "white horses" can spring up in minutes.
As a potential fair-weather boater, I would only be more than 1 KM offshore in the calmest of days. I would expect to stay within 5 KM of the shore and be within 10 KM of a harbour.
Any advice on the feasibility of this plan would be most welcome, particularly from anyone with experience of this boat (or similar) in slightly rougher water.
I'd like to go for something bigger, but money, and storage space would make that difficult. Also, I'm concerned that a 19.5 ft boat (say) would be more difficult to tow, launch and retrieve.
Thanks in advance, and sorry for such a long post.
I hope to buy a 2007 model with a 190hp motor within the next few weeks, and have my eye on one I've seen with a wakeboard tower (probably not something I would have ordered, but it has one anyway).
I have a couple of teenage boys, and expect to tow them on skis, wakeboard, biscuit, etc. I'd think at least one of them could become a wakeboard fanatic, though neither have any experience at present. The wife & I will try anything, but may be limited by fitness requirements.
I also intend to use the boat for river and estuary fishing and general pleasure boating to visit eateries along the Swan River, etc.
So far, so good. I would expect the 185 to handle these requirements easily.
I'd also like to be able to do some fishing within a few km of the coast. Obviously I realise that this boat is not really designed for this use, particularly as most of the coast here is exposed to the prevailing South Westerly sea breezes in the afternoon. Typically the forecast is for seas to 1.5M and swell to 2M. Local advice suggests that the forecast is not always very reliable, and the breeeze and "white horses" can spring up in minutes.
As a potential fair-weather boater, I would only be more than 1 KM offshore in the calmest of days. I would expect to stay within 5 KM of the shore and be within 10 KM of a harbour.
Any advice on the feasibility of this plan would be most welcome, particularly from anyone with experience of this boat (or similar) in slightly rougher water.
I'd like to go for something bigger, but money, and storage space would make that difficult. Also, I'm concerned that a 19.5 ft boat (say) would be more difficult to tow, launch and retrieve.
Thanks in advance, and sorry for such a long post.