Trade-A-Boat

T

here are advantages to

buying a production rather

than a custom boat, not

least the experience that

goes into the design. And

when it comes from a huge marine

manufacturer that also builds the

Mercury engines and sterndrives

installed in its boats, you know the

integration will be beautiful.

Brunswick Marine, headquartered

in Illinois, USA, has 19 brands in its

fold, including Rayglass, and also owns

Mariner engines.

Sea Ray is one of its bigger brands

and is focused on the luxury market,

with a range stretching from 19-foot

runabouts up to 65-foot cruisers.

SLX SHOW

This is the luxury sports range,

configured with bowrider seating, and

this 350 SLX has a pair of the latest 6.2L

V8 MerCruiser inboard motors.

The boat’s styling takes your breath

away, with a sportscar-style roof that

looks like a Targa yet manages to also

be a hardtop. Hidden in that roof are

two secrets: an opening sunroof over

the helm to let more light in, and an

extendable sunshade over the aft

lounge to keep the sun out. Both work

at the flick of a switch.

The 350 is the largest SLX, and feels

like a bowrider on steroids. At 10.5m

(34ft 6in) LOA and a beam of 3.2m,

this is a big boat. The dry weight is just

under 5857kg but the boat is amply

powered by twin 300hp MerCruisers.

Engine options include twin 364hp

Mercury Diesel TDIs or you can even

go to twin 8.2L, 380hp V8s.

The boat looks absolutely fantastic

on the water, as you can see, and once

we had the necessary pictures in the

bag, I hopped aboard. Our helper for

the day had no problem reversing the

boarding platform to within inches of

the photo boat and holding it there,

thanks to the control from the twin

motors with counter-rotating props.

So my introduction to the 350 SLX’s

details was a dignified step onto the

teak swimplatform rather than the

usual scramble over the gunwales.

The boat you want is easier to find tradeboats.com.au^31