With three big staterooms, an overall length of 55 feet, and a cruising range approaching 400 miles, the 540 CPMY is as well-suited for long-range cruises as she is for luxed-out daytripping. The amenities start way aft where a 4'6"-long swim platform can have chocks for a personal watercraft. The platform itself has an 800-pound carrying capacity along with its own hideaway stainless steel ladder. That, combined with the roomy cockpit and benchseating for 4 make the CPMY a great choice for divers and watersports fans seeking out-of-the-way destinations.

The cockpit also provides easy access to the well-laidout engine room. The big 640-hp Cat 3196's are separated by a 27"-wide walkway so there's plenty of elbow room in which to work. Meanwhile, a sound-shielded 20-kW genset cranks out enough juice to power the whole yacht, including all of her air conditioning systems.



The big attraction on the 540 (after the fully equipped L-shaped galley) is the skylounge. This huge C-shaped lounge can seat 7-8 adults and it will be your dining table, card table, library and work table, and its raised perch gives you a good view of the marina or anchorage around you.



From this main deck its 7 gently sloping teak-treaded steps up to the flying bridge via a translucent hatch that locks securely. While we couldn't understand why it opened inboard, the designers must have their reasons. Once up top, the skipper gets the best seat in a single pedestal helm chair surrounded by a curved lounge. A second dining/lounging area with wetbar is abaft that, and way aft our favorite part was the oversized fore/aft-facing benchseat that folds down with the push of a button to create a massive sunpad for three.



Underway the 540 bested the elusive 30-mph mark and best cruise will get you nearly 400 miles down the road--important if the Bahamas or Mexico are in your travel plans. But while the good news is you get tons of playroom topside, that extra weight aloft raises the 540's center of gravity, so our advice--which is equally true for all flying bridge motoryachts--is to seatrial her in conditions appropriate to your intended cruising area.



So with three full staterooms and enough floor space to have a full-blown party AND a band on the bridge, the 540 Cockpit Motoryacht is welcome, versatile addition to the Sea Ray fleet that leaves nothing to be desired in the luxury motoryacht class.

• Top speed for the Sea Ray 540 Cockpit Motoryacht (2002-) is 30.7 mph (49.4 kph), burning 68.4 gallons per hour (gph) or 258.89 liters per hour (lph).


• Best cruise for the Sea Ray 540 Cockpit Motoryacht (2002-) is 19.6 mph (31.5 kph), and the boat gets 0.51 miles per gallon (mpg) or 0.22 kilometers per liter (kpl), giving the boat a cruising range of 369 miles (593.85 kilometers).


• Tested power is 2 x 640-hp Caterpillar 3196 TA inboard diesels.