Sea-Ray 230 Questions

[pjrogers]

Hello Folks. I'm located in the Okanagan area of B.C., Canada, where we boat on medium size lakes. That is to say: land is always in sight but the lakes are long and wide enough to get reasonably rough when the wind comes up.

I'm looking at buying a year 2000 SeaRay 230 bowrider equipped with a Mercruiser 6.2L MPI and a Bravo III leg. The props are 26" according to the sales guy. The hour meter reads 210 hours (that doesn't seem like much, maybe its because we have a 5 month boating season).

SeaRays have a reasonable reputation for quality - but can a boat that size handle say 3-4' chop on a lake? Also, other than a compression test, looking for cloudy oil, obvious stuff like steam or leaks coming out of the motor, are there any known common problems with the 6.2L motor or the Bravo III? My past experience has been with little 3.0 and 4.3 Mercs so I'm a stranger to the drive train in this boat.

Lastly, aren't 26" props a little too much pitch for this thing? We're going for a test ride on the weekend, but if there is a general consensus that it should be swinging 23" or 21" props, I may ask the dealer to swap them out before we waste any time on the water.

Many thanks for any guidance you can offer. Cheers, pjr

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Sea-Ray 230 Questions

23 ft is not an overly large boat and a 6.2L engine is 378 cubic inches which has a lot of grunt. 26P may be pushing the limit but I would expect something in that range. I wouldn't change the props until "after" the test run with an average load -- not a light or overly heavy load.

 

[j442w30]

Re: Sea-Ray 230 Questions

We have a 2000 SR 230 BR with the 5.7 V8 and an Alpha drive. Very nice boat, it handles chop on Lake Geneva decently well and has no problem getting out of the hole, we have it propped a little low for pulling and it tops out around 50 MPH. I think you will be very happy with that engine package.

 

[Zackman]

Re: Sea-Ray 230 Questions

I have a 99 Crownline 225 CCR (Cuddy), which should be similar in size and weight as the SR your looking at. It has the 350 Mag and the Bravo III. The Bravo III has a 2.00:1 gear ratio and the 26P props. This combination works great... Good hole shot and top end is around 54 mph (gps). You should get a little more grunt with the larger engine, espcially on the low end. Don't change the prop until you try the 26P, I think you will be very happy...

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Sea-Ray 230 Questions

i agree. we have a 23 Chiris Craft, deck boat, 5.7 volvo sx drive, but prop at 19 for the pull still runs out a 45mph. i think you'll be happy.

 

[Snoops2363]

Re: Sea-Ray 230 Questions

We just bought a 2000 230BR with a 7.4Merc Bravo I. You should have no problem with that boat power wise or handling. The 6.2 with Bravo III is a nice setup, and the 26P sounds about right. We have had it out on a rough day with 2-3 foot chop, and it was like butter. The dealer told us that we could be out on Lake Michigan with 5-6 chop, and it would be un-comfortable, but totally safe.
We mostly boat Lake Geneva, Green Lake, The Chain of Lakes, and Twin Lakes.

 

[airdvr1227]

Re: Sea-Ray 230 Questions

Last post here was 4 years ago

 

[NYBo]

Re: Sea-Ray 230 Questions

 

[Snoops2363]

Re: Sea-Ray 230 Questions

Yeah, I feel like a dumb *** now. I have been laughing ALL day at myself. I never bothered to notice the date on the thread. Happy 4th of July 2011 Everyone.