Sea Ray offers several engine options, up to a 425-hp MerCruiser 496 Magnum HO. In 2006 we tested this boat with a 375-hp Merc, clocking a top speed of 49.3 mph (79.34 kph); most efficient cruise was 26.0 mph (41.8 kph). The 425-hp stern drive should push the boat into the low 50s.

Creature Comforts

Boats like the 270 Select EX are designed for daytime use, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t include some amenities. This boat is big enough and capable enough to make long runs from harbor to harbor, or to spend the whole day on the water just messing about. But that means it needs a head, some place to prepare, or at least preserve, food and drink, and places to stow the crew’s gear.

Cuddy-cabin boats do most of the above under the foredeck, but the bowrider design precludes that – almost: Sea Ray designers managed to shoehorn an enclosed head under the 270’s portside helm console. It’s fitted with a pump-out toilet, stainless sink and pullout spray head; a VacuFlush head with separate holding tank is optional.



The head compartment is a molded fiberglass liner that fits under the helm console. The dash swings out for access, and the door is lockable. We don’t think we’d want to spend a lot of time in there, but it will come in handy when needed. Pressure water is standard, with a 21-gal. tank.

Cookin’ With Gas

There’s no galley per se aboard the 270 Select EX, but Sea Ray includes a wet bar in the cockpit that will serve for casual meal preparation. It’s basically a countertop, sink and stowage area, but adding the optional portable gas grill creates enough of a galley for most folks who will enjoy a boat like this one. A 12v. refrigerator is also available, but many folks prefer to carry food aboard already iced in a cooler; one is included as standard. We’ve found 12v. reefers to be more trouble than they’re worth unless the boat is kept in a slip and plugged into shore power so they can run all the time.



The solid-surface countertop is big enough for making sandwiches and assembling noshes, but too small for real meal prep. Who cares? Aboard a boat like the 270 Select EX, you go ashore for real meals at swanky shoreside eateries. The drink holders and stainless grab rail are handy, but the 12v reefer under the sink is an option we wouldn’t choose.

Lots of Lounging

Sea Ray intended the 270 Select EX to be a floating living room, and provided it with ample seating all around the cockpit. Rig the cockpit table and you’ve got an al fresco conversation pit with a sea view. A Sony stereo/CD with six speakers and iPod connector comes standard, but folks into tunes will probably want to upgrade to the optional package, with better speakers and a remote control on the transom.

Two people can get cozy in the forward cockpit, where the lounges have molded armrests and padded seat backs. An optional filler cushion turns the space into a sun pad, or you can move the cockpit table up here; there’s a second base in the sole.



The sun pad is really two pads with a passageway between for easy access to the swim platform. Add the filler cushion to create one large sunning area, big enough for two thin folks to bask athwartships. There’s stowage under the sun pads and a ski/wakeboard locker in the cockpit sole. The swim platform has a four-step stainless ladder with grab handles.

Power Trip

Standard power is a single 300-hp MerCruiser 350 MAG MPI spinning a Bravo III stern drive; MSRP with this engine is $101,155. We think most folks will want more power. Both 375- (add $10,992) and 425-hp ($18,031) MerCruiser 496 Magnum/Bravo IIIs are available; the 425-hp is the HO version.

Whichever engine you choose, Sea Ray fits the boat with power-assisted steering with a tilt wheel; digital throttle and shift; hydraulic trim tabs; dual batteries; complete instrumentation, including speedo, hour meter and depth/water temp; even a chartplotter with a 5” display. But a VHF radio is optional; go figure.



There’s not much room at the helm for mounting extras, but Sea Ray includes an in-dash chartplotter as standard. Where does the VHF go? We like the backlighted, weatherproof switches and the wood-accent wheel. Note that the compass is offset to the left of the wheel.

Extras and Costs

Like always, we want the watersports tower, if only for the way it makes the boat look. At $5,538, it’s an expensive vanity, but we want it, anyway. We’d also choose the VacuFlush head/holding tank ($1,846), the gas grill ($577), VHF ($846, but you can get it for less from an electronics dealer), selectable exhaust ($2,154) for noise-polluting when we want to, automatic fire-suppression system ($538, should be standard) and a couple other odds and ends. With the 425-hp MerCruiser, because we like to go fast, our cost came to $133,715 MSRP, including freight in the U.S.



The Sea Ray 270 Select EX is a fine boat for spending days on the water, then heading home at sunset, or maybe to a romantic waterside inn a couple of harbors away.

Our Recommendation

OK, let’s be honest: this boat isn’t for everybody. When most folks spend upwards of $130,000, they want a cabin, berths, a proper head, and so forth. And for less money you could get into Sea Ray’s 260 Sundancer, a little smaller boat but one with cruising accommodations. On the other hand, if you want a roomy boat for adults to enjoy during the day (or for romantic nights under the stars, until it’s time to go home to bed), this is a good choice.

We’d certainly prefer the 270 Select EX to a barely adequate cruising boat which would rarely get cruised. Like most people, we do most of our boating between sunrise and sunset, and sleep at home. If that’s your habit, too, maybe this boat, or one like it, would be a choice for you that should be on your short list.