T
he 80s music thumped in
time to the splash of the
waves as they slipped past
our speeding bowrider.
“I can see you,
Your brown skin shining in the sun.
You got your hair combed back,
And your sunglasses on, baby.”
W hile the setting sun played on the
glistening towers of Sydney’s CBD and
workers contemplated the mindless
commute back to the suburbs, we
savoured the joy of boating on the
harbour. If there’s a better way to
experience our biggest city than a fast
blast on the water, I’ll bet it’s illegal.
That the Sea Ray SLX230 isn’t illegal
must be an oversight because I felt
almost guilty having this much fun.
Driving this superbly kitted boat took
me back to an age when big V8s ruled
and the speed limit was whatever you
could wring out of the iron. Except
for some obvious limits, the harbour
- like most of our waterways – doesn’t
restrict how fast you can travel. Alcohol
limits sure, but no seatbelts, helmets,
roundabouts or bloody stop lights.
Down the back, a 6.2L bent eight sets
the pace and at 45kt the engine howls
and your eyes begin to water. Those are
tears of joy, perhaps. Years of building
deep-V hulls conceived to rip up the
water are evident in the limpet-like
grip the boat displays.
The Sea Ray story harks back to
simpler-seeming times. In 1959 Connie
Ray pioneered the use of fibreglass to
build runabouts. Taking inspiration
and maybe the company name from
the then-revolutionary designs of
C Ray Hunt, the brand became a
leading innovator, a worldwide force
in recreational boating and a major
American manufacturer.
When the company introduced the
moulded-in swim platform in 1991 it
established a design parameter that
permeated the ski and wake-boat
worlds and also cemented inboard
power for that style boat as the
benchmark it remains today.
Joined in the Sea Ray catalogue
by luxury cruisers out to 65 feet,
this 23-footer is the smallest in the
upmarket SLX group – bowriders that
includes a mind-blowing 40-footer. In
local terms, the 230 is a big sportsboat
whose stunning looks and big-engine
sound ensure you and your 12 best
friends will be noticed on the water – or
at the ramp, if you go all the way with a
custom Sea Ray aluminium trailer.
The SLX range competes with the
best in the vast American market of
bowrider sportsboats, so the finish
and attention to detail have to be
a cut above. This is evident in the
fine detailing and fit of the pleated
three-tone upholstery, the powerfully
built hardware and the solid hull
construction.
To comfortably accommodate
up to 13 adults, the layout has been
well thought out, with comfortable
bow seating, wide walkways and a
U-shaped lounge in the cockpit. At
rest, the crowd can spread out onto a
rear-facing transom seat or fold down
a wide step on the swim platform for
underwater seating. This area converts
to a sunpad and also doubles as a
natural staging area for watersports,
with a large storage hatch under the
seat to store boards and skis.
A locker in the bow hides an
innovative fold-out ladder that makes
boarding from a beach a cinch.
Unfortunately, like most similar
American boats, the anchoring system
is rudimentary – you can store a small
sand anchor under a front seat and
use a side cleat to secure it. I’d have
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