Tested by Capt. Ron Svoboda

If I had to describe Sea Ray's 180 Sport in three words or less, I would say, fun, fun, fun! Sure, small boats are supposed to be fun. Yet when the right combination of power and handling come together in a package that makes a seasoned captain giggle like a five-year old, then you know that you’ve got something special.

With a name like Sport, you may think that this little boat has a high output engine to propel it into the fun zone. On the contrary, when I lifted the 180’s manual hatch, I was surprised to find a little four-banger coupled to an Alpha one stern drive. This set-up may be a bit antiquated, but it certainly is reliable and efficient.

Performance

Acceleration from a dead stop was surprising; as was the punch from cruise speed to wide-open throttle. Handling was excellent during the slalom test as the boat provided a confident, sure-footed grip on the water. The most surprising attributes of this boat was how well she handled crossing the wake of a big boat. To perform this test, I waited until a wide beamed, thirty-something cruiser went by, then I prepared myself by getting up to cruise speed with one hand on the wheel and one hand on my kidneys and then launched off the hefty wake. Most boats under 10 meters rarely do well under this test, yet the 180 not only sliced through the junk, but offered a soft landing.

Pros and Cons

There are some compromises that come from a simple and light weight boat. One of them is noise, and the other space. Since this vessel is built with minimal sound deadening material, you hear the water as it slaps the hull. Additionally, the engine growl is reminiscing of an old Ford pick-up truck. This can be drowned out though, depending on how loud you and your guests laugh as you carve up the waterways. As far as space is concerned, the 180 is best suited to a small group. Moving about the boat can be a bit precarious as with most small crafts. Nonetheless, there is plenty of seating in the cockpit, as well as the bow. Storage is a bit limited, predominately to the aft where you will find space under the aft bench seat along with wet storage bins under the engine hatch on both the port and starboard sides.

Behind the Wheel

At the helm is a simple and straightforward layout of switches and instrumentation. Dual bucket seats make up the seating accommodations for the captain and companion. The seats swivel and adjust for and aft, but people with long legs will find the seated position rather low. On the port side, the companion seat has access to a glove box and a handy, self-draining cooler that is built into the dash. Centrally located in the sole of the cockpit is a self-draining ski locker that is large enough for a wakeboard or two. At the stern of the 180 is a roomy swim platform with folding boarding ladder, and tow eye for pulling skiers and other water toys.

So if you are in the market for an entry level, open bow runabout, we understand how many choices you have to choose from. And even though the task can be mind boggling at times, don’t forget to have fun with it.

• Top speed for the Sea Ray 180 Sport is 43.3 mph (69.7 kph), burning 10.2 gallons per hour (gph) or 38.61 liters per hour (lph).


• Best cruise for the Sea Ray 180 Sport is 23 mph (37 kph), and the boat gets 5.54 miles per gallon (mpg) or 2.36 kilometers per liter (kpl), giving the boat a cruising range of 105 miles (168.98 kilometers).


• Tested power is 1 x 135-hp MerCruiser 3.0L.