With an 1,800-lbs (816.5 kg) load rating, the 240 Sundeck will carry a family of five and all their stuff with capacity to spare. Although not shown here, a Bimini is standard.

A Sportboat in Sheep's Clothing?

Bowriders are fine boats for family fun, but let's be honest: Everybody likes to bump the throttle now and then and get a rush of speed, and many bowriders lack the gumption to let us live out our boat-racer fantasies – at least, not with standard power. On the other hand, when it comes to carrying family and friends, a pure sportboat may not be the ticket: The long deck that looks cool isn't good for much else, except stowing stuff under.



Rig the table for lunch or snacks in the cockpit. When you're through, return the table to its dedicated stowage locker. A portable cooler has similar stowage.

In creating the 240 Sundeck, Sea Ray designers managed to combine the high points of both a sportboat and a bowrider in one. (Our test captain can vouch for this; see his numbers below.) Is the 240 a sportboat with a forward cockpit, or a bowrider with exhilarating performance? We don't know what to call her, but in practice she's both.



The wet bar with sink (standard) has more stowage underneath. Pressure water is standard, with a 9-gal. (34.1 L) tank. Note the cubbyhole for the carry-on cooler – we prefer this to a built-in 12v. refrigerator that takes time to cool.

Ample Seating and Stowage

Helped by the boat's 24' 1" (7.34 m) LOA, the Sea Ray team fit in a large forward cockpit with P&S lounge seats, hinged for easy access to stowage lockers underneath. A stainless-steel four-step beach boarding ladder lives under a hatch, but there's still room for an anchor locker, too often missing on beach-bound bowriders. Also missing on many bowriders is a block-off door under the windshield, but Sea Ray includes that on the 240 as well.



SmartCraft diagnostics, standard, include custom instrumentation with blue night-lighting, a system tachometer incorporating engine alarms, fuel-consumption computer and depth sounder. Power-assisted steering and a tilt wheel are also standard.

Aft, the L-shaped transom seat has a fold-down backrest that converts it to a sunpad when you're ready for some quality time with Old Sol. (A Bimini top comes standard, too, for fair-skinned folks.) At the helm are skipper and co-pilot swivel buckets with flip-up bolsters; both adjust fore and aft, too. There's stowage under the helm console, an enclosed head compartment with a portable toilet in the companion console.

What About Water Sports?

There's more to boating than just riding around being comfortable – there's skiing and wakeboarding, too. And that's where we think the Sea Ray team has outdone itself, with the 240 Sundeck's coolest feature: There's ski and wakeboard stowage under the sunpad, accessible from the extended swim platform. No more dragging skis and boards back and forth between the cockpit and the platform, climbing over the sunpad and knocking over drinks enroute. (Where the ski locker is usually located, under the cockpit sole, the 240 Sundeck has – you guessed it – a large stowage locker; you can't have too much stowage.)



Ski and wakeboard stowage is under the sunpad, not in a typical under-sole locker in the middle of the cockpit. This makes accessing boards so much easier and less disrupting to other crewmembers. Why don't more builders do this? The extended platform is standard.

Serous skiers and boarders will want the optional aluminum water sports tower ($3,692); it includes fixed board racks and an anchor light. Swivel board racks are optional ($769, in addition to the tower). If you're getting the tower, you might want the optional tower-mounted waterproof stereo speakers, too ($1,769). A Sony stereo/CD player with iPod connector is standard; it has four cockpit-mounted speakers.

Power and Performance

None of the above is worth much if the boat won't perform, so Sea Ray packs the 240 Sundeck with a standard 260-hp MerCruiser 5.0L MPI ECT catalyzed sterndrive spinning a Bravo Three dual-prop drive. Our captain tested the boat a couple of months ago at the Sea Ray plant, and clocked her top speed at 49.6 mph (79.8 kph). That's plenty fast for a boat this size, fast enough to satisfy our itchy throttle fingers now and then. If you want more, a 300-hp MerCruiser 350 MAG MPI ECT, with either an Alpha One ($462) or Bravo Three ($4,769) drive, is optional. The Bravo Three option includes digital throttle and shift.



Even standing still, the 240 Sundeck looks pretty cool.

Fuel burn at top speed was 23.4 gph (88.57 lph), for a range, based on her 55-gal. (208.2L) fuel capacity, of about 105 miles (169 km). But nobody runs wide-open all the time: Our captain figured the 240's best cruise to be 32.2 mph (51.8 kph), 9.4 gph (35.6 lph) fuel burn for a range of 169 miles (272 km). However, check the graph and you'll see fuel burn is pretty flat between 3000 and 4000 rpm, so you can cruise a bit faster without giving up much range.

Aside from the Sundeck's speed and efficiency, our captain was impressed by how smoothly she accelerated from dead stop to top speed, without clumsiness as she climbed over the hump into planing speeds. He also remarked on her handling at all speeds, her sure-footedness in turns and her overall comfort. We're not surprised: the Sea Ray folks have been building boats for a long time, and if they haven't figured it out by now, they should find other jobs. We always expect good results when we test a Sea Ray, and we weren't disappointed by the 240 Sundeck.



The 240 Sundeck is set up for all-around fun. Her folding bow ladder makes expeditions like this one easier, and nobody will twist an ankle jumping from boat to beach.

Conclusion

We think the whole family will like the 240 Sundeck. We like her nice balance between family bowrider and sportboat, and have no reservations in recommending this boat if you're looking for a big bowrider, a stealth sportboat, or both. Her MSRP of $67,305, including inland freight, isn't the lowest you'll find – many similar boats cost less – but that price includes lots of standard equipment that's optional from competitive builders. We think when you equip all the boats you're considering equally, the Sea Ray 240 Sundeck will prove to be good value.



OK, speed isn't always that important. Boats just make life better at all throttle settings.

• Top speed for the Sea Ray 240 Sundeck (2011-) is 49.6 mph (79.8 kph), burning 23.4 gallons per hour (gph) or 88.57 liters per hour (lph).


• Best cruise for the Sea Ray 240 Sundeck (2011-) is 32.2 mph (51.8 kph), and the boat gets 3.42 miles per gallon (mpg) or 1.45 kilometers per liter (kpl), giving the boat a cruising range of 169 miles (271.98 kilometers).


• Tested power is 1 x 260-hp MerCruiser 5.0L MPI ECT.