SPX 190 vs SPX 210

[WaveDancer01]

My wife and I are getting ready to order our first Sea Ray. We are looking at either the SPX 190 or SPX 210. I am leaning toward the 210, but my wife is leaning toward the 190. My wife feels the 190 is large enough for us. My thought is we have two grown and married children and as their families grow, we would appreciate the additional room of the 210. Has anyone faced a similar decision and how did you reach the decision you made?

 

[ENstig8or]

I had an old 182. The 18 footer was too small to ever go out in the ocean except on the most calm of days. I didn't feel that a 19 would be that much of a difference so I went for the 21. I am very happy I made that decision. I now have a lot more flexibility over when and where I can run it.

 

[Espos4]

My wife and I are getting ready to order our first Sea Ray. We are looking at either the SPX 190 or SPX 210. I am leaning toward the 210, but my wife is leaning toward the 190. My wife feels the 190 is large enough for us. My thought is we have two grown and married children and as their families grow, we would appreciate the additional room of the 210. Has anyone faced a similar decision and how did you reach the decision you made?

Take 6 people on a sea trial and I think you’ll quickly see which one is right for you.

 

[FlyGuy]

When SR lists the max people capacity, that's with a butt in every chair (think coach/steerage/economy minus flying/back seat of a sports car). Knock a third off of the number to get what is reasonably comfortable for a couple of hours on the lake. Probably divide by two if you're adding kids, their stuff, water toys, etc. That was our biggest factor - can we comfortably carry 8-9 people. We launch at a public ramp and go for a few hours - everyone is there the whole time. Maybe someone with a lake house might only take a few of the group at a time for smaller trips and less stuff.

We went from a 175 Sport (17.5 ft) to 21SPX, so not an exact comparison (the layout is more open on the SPX, and the wake tower gets some of the toys out of the way). The extra length has no drawbacks (not harder to maneuver or trailer etc), but it does allow for extra storage (more than we use, even with the I/O), and it gives you more distance between the driver/observer seats and the bench seat - good for distancing from kids or having two separate adult conversations. Probably all relative, but the longer boat also feels a lot more stable in choppy conditions. Four years since we changed boats and I have never wished I bought the 19 ft instead, even though we've never had more than 6 aboard despite planning for 9 (but that's a much longer story!)

Good luck!

 

[GypsmJim]

We had the same dilemma and ended up with the 190. The 2 boats are almost identical, except for a 24" slice in the middle of the cockpit that provided 2 side facing seats. Logically you would say that adds space for 2 people, however the companion seat is now a single (not a convertible lounge), in our mind the 210 only adds 1 extra person.

In the end, though, the price difference for the 210 was not cost effective.