A Winning Combination

Tested by Capt. Dan Maxwell

Sea Ray’s new 220 Sundeck was designed to capture the fast growing deckboat audience by combining an open layout with a sportboat hull. With the impressive power package and a lengthy features list this boat has something to say, and the test result are impressive in their own right. This 220 is bound to be a winning combination for Sea Ray.

Performance

The 220 Sundeck handles just like a sportboat should, very responsive and easy too maneuver in tight situations. She was quick to take off, and planed out nicely. Her top speed was 51.9 miles per hour and she has a comfortable cruising speed of 24 miles per hour. The boat leaned over effortlessly in tight turns and maintained her deckboat integrity in rough water.

The Helm Station

The 220 Sundeck has a very nicely designed helm station, which includes an instrument package with a speedometer, tachometer, fuel gauge, trim tabs, and a water temperature gauge. The stainless steel tilt steering wheel makes access to the helm seat a breeze. That’s where you’ll find a shift and throttle lever with a built in out-drive trim button and ignition circuit switches. All of this adds to the comfort level of the driver. The visibility is 360 degrees from the helm seat, which is a big plus when it comes to combining pleasure with safety.

Up at the Bow

Let’s talk about the layout of this deckboat. Forward you have a collapsible swim ladder that can be stowed in a combination swim ladder/chain locker. This leads you to the forward lounge area which has ample seating, a removable table, a snap on carpet liner, and lots of storage.

The Cockpit

Moving aft through the walk-through windshield you have a large and quite comfortable enclosed porta-potti, a swivel seat on the port side that matches the helm seat, and more bench style seating that wraps around another removable table. This leads to a wide walk through to the integral swim platform that has an integrated self-stowing drop down swim ladder and plenty of room.

Some other nice features in the layout include two sinks (one forward and one aft) an electric engine hatch cover, various grab handles, a 12-volt accessory outlet and an AM/FM stereo with CD player and waterproof speakers. This entire layout spells nothing but fun.

The Sea Ray 220 Sundeck has done a really nice job at combining the sport boat hull with the deck boat layout. They have also integrated some options generally used in much larger boats. They started with an engine hatch, which is electronically driven and opens to give full access for ease of maintenance such as oil change, a water/fuel separator, batteries and battery switches.

The Engine

The Sundeck is powered by a single 260 horse power 6.2 liter MerCruiser equipped with a Bravo III sterndrive and stainless steel dual prop system making this a very efficient power package. Match that with a fifty-gallon fuel tank and you’ve got some serious cruising range.

All in all, the design of the Sea Ray 220 Sundeck is well thought out by combining the sport boat hull with the deckboat layout. Sea Ray has come up with a very efficient, easy to handle, fun to drive, spacious 23-foot boat. With the deckboat market becoming one of the fastest growing in the industry, Sea Ray can rest assured they will obtain a favorable spot.

For more information on this model visit www.searay.com.

• Top speed for the Sea Ray 220 Sundeck is 51.6 mph (83 kph), burning 24.7 gallons per hour (gph) or 93.49 liters per hour (lph).


• Best cruise for the Sea Ray 220 Sundeck is 29.1 mph (46.8 kph), and the boat gets 3.16 miles per gallon (mpg) or 1.34 kilometers per liter (kpl), giving the boat a cruising range of 142 miles (228.53 kilometers).


• Tested power is 1 x 320-hp MerCruiser MX 6.2 MPI.