Ebbtide 188SE or Sea Ray 185 Sport?

My boat search continues!! Just started to get snow up here and new boat prices have come way down. I found a new 2010 Ebbtide 188SE and a new 2011 Sea Ray 185 Sport. The Ebbtide is $20 000 and the Sea Ray is $23 000. Both are loaded with towers, ext. swim platforms, and 4.3 Mercruisers, but the Sea Ray is the 220hp MPI while the Ebbtide is the 190hp TKS. I'm really having a tough decision as both boats are sweet. Any insight would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Pat

Re: Ebbtide 188SE or Sea Ray 185 Sport?

From the research I've done on buying my next boat i would take an Ebbtide over a Sea Ray, if all else is equal. For you, you would lose 30 hp of course. I've been really impressed with how Ebbtide boats are built and finished out. We've got a local dealer for them and I've had a chance to crawl around and look them over.

Re: Ebbtide 188SE or Sea Ray 185 Sport?

Sea Ray is a good boat too. I would go for the MPI you will not regret it.

Re: Ebbtide 188SE or Sea Ray 185 Sport?

I guess I'm wondering if the MPI is that much better. I obviously won't be able to test drive them so I'll have to go by reviews.

Re: Ebbtide 188SE or Sea Ray 185 Sport?

I like how the MPI starts and runs..like a car or truck, but some people prefer a carb. Fuel injection is more complex to fix but car /truck manufacturers have been using it for many many years. If you can't test drive it research it more and check out videos on youtube. The boats you listed are both good boats. That is the trouble with boats hard to choose sometimes.

Re: Ebbtide 188SE or Sea Ray 185 Sport?

I can tell you this you will not regret getting a boat with the tower. It makes a HUGH difference when doing watersports. I

Re: Ebbtide 188SE or Sea Ray 185 Sport?

Such tough choices lol, mine this year was the 95 bayliner or the 91 four winns! Personally id have to say go with the Sea Ray, my sister bought a new one a few yrs back and it was a very impressive boat.

Re: Ebbtide 188SE or Sea Ray 185 Sport?

I dislike Sea Ray when such nicer options are readily available. Large Sea Rays are nice boats while smaller ones are not. Some manufacturers build and appoint their small boats just like their much more expensive large boat but again Sea Ray never got that memo. They had many years where they were worth their name sake however the Sports aren't. What you get with a small Sea Ray is an undeserved reputation and a lot of people who don't know the lay of the land. They see the name and harken back to previous decades. That said the MPI would sway me. I may take a sub par Sea Ray over a nicer boat to get the MPI. What I like about MPI is the instant start and back away from the ramp. The carb requires a warm up period like the cars of yesteryear. Of course carbs now have TKS but still it's a carb. The quicker throttle response is nice but 30 extra horses is hard to argue with.
Don't forget that MPI and catalytic converters are now EPA required on new boats and carbs on new boats will only last as long as the inventory. I have dozens of friends with various Sea Rays and many other brands of bowriders.

Re: Ebbtide 188SE or Sea Ray 185 Sport?

I made a mistake. The Ebbtide is a Volvo Pentax 4.3. Is it hard to throw a 4 bbl carb on it to get some extra power? I went to deal with the guys on the Sea Ray and hated them. A bunch of pompous a-holes. Im leaning toward the Ebbtide. Seems like a better built and finished boat.

Re: Ebbtide 188SE or Sea Ray 185 Sport?

Well I can understand dealing with A-holes...that would turn me off.

Re: Ebbtide 188SE or Sea Ray 185 Sport?

pat6969 said:

I made a mistake. The Ebbtide is a Volvo Pentax 4.3. Is it hard to throw a 4 bbl carb on it to get some extra power? I went to deal with the guys on the Sea Ray and hated them. A bunch of pompous a-holes. Im leaning toward the Ebbtide. Seems like a better built and finished boat.

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Adding a 4bbl to a Volve 4.3 has been done on here before. Unlike the Mercruiser, the Volvo is more ready in oem form to accept a 4bbl so there is a plus there. That said the few times i've seen it added does very little. You are talking 15 horses.
Also that Sea Ray is a few hundred lbs heavier than the Ebbtide yet still maintins a narrow 7'6 inch beam compared to the very narrow 7'3" beam of the Sea Ray. Wondering where in the build accounts for the few hundred extra lbs. The dry weight of the boat, all else equal is a big indicator of the build. I'd take heavier every day in the same class of boat.

Re: Ebbtide 188SE or Sea Ray 185 Sport?

I talked to a guy that said the carb version has better hole shot because of the higher compression ratio but the MPI has better top end. Does this ring true?

Re: Ebbtide 188SE or Sea Ray 185 Sport?

pat6969 said:

I talked to a guy that said the carb version has better hole shot because of the higher compression ratio but the MPI has better top end. Does this ring true?

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No that doesn't ring true. Take a look at boattest.com and quickly debunk that. MPI is simply a superior system. Both engines are 9.4:1 compression ratio.