Sea Ray Recommendations

[TequilaTrader]

I'm interested in a Sea Ray to be docked in San Diego and do periodic trips to Catalina which is 76 Nautical miles for my family of 4. What year, length and model do you recommend for this particular trip and just general comfort. I'm also unsure how old of a boat and hours I should buy such that I don't have tons of unexpected maintenance costs. Would enjoy getting recommendations for a guy with moderate money, not rich. Thanks!

 

[sbw1]

Is the 76 nauticals mile one way? Reason for asking is range could be an issue depending upon fuel availability on Catalina.

 

[TequilaTrader]

Yes, that is one way but there is fuel available on the island.

 

[sbw1]

Yes. I just looked that up. You will have plenty of range in most larger SRs to do that trip with a comfortable reserve. Any time you venture that far offshore you will need a fairly good sized boat for safety's sake. I not saying you could not do it in a small boat and many have done so. But assuming you are a careful person, safety would dictate a boat in the size range of 35 feet or larger. You should also have an auto pilot, chart plotter, vhf radio and radar to be properly prepared. Should the weather deteriorate, you could end up running out of fuel if you become disoriented. This may sound far fetched, but I have seen weather go from sunshine to full gale force winds and poor visibility that was unforecasted on Lake Michigan while crossing the open waters. Maybe that does not happen on the Pacific where you live. But your boat should be up to the worst weather you can expect to experience. Autopilots help you hold a course and conserve fuel. That is important when you are out of sight of land. One of my favorite SRs is the 370 wide body Express. In good condition, that model would be a good starting point. Most models bigger than that would be suitable as well. In all candor, SR is more of a coastal cruiser. There are other brands that are better suited for ocean cruising.

 

[Craig]

No less than a 320 for me. 340 or larger would be preferable.
Early 2000's thru 2009 are my favorites.

 

[MI_LkStClair_SDA260]

sbw1 has good advice. Talk to some local boaters, do you have friends who boat locally? Walk around the local marinas and start conversations, we all love to talk about boats and share experiences and give advice! Good luck in your search.