Small but big, easy to live with, a truly multi purpose deck boat.
You must have seen a swiss army knife, a multi purpose pocket knife with accessories ranging from a corkscrew to a saw, multi use in a compact form, well that is exactly what the 240 Sundeck from Sea Ray is, small enough to be trailered yet large enough for long days out, a truly multi use boat, whether doing watersports or just enjoying boating, I have actually been out at sea on one of these with 1 to 1.5 metre waves and never had any doubt the boat would get me back to port, read on to find out why one of these is well worth a look.
This review will mostly concentrate on the second generation of 240. The first ones look very square nowadays but are very practical, great charter or sea school boats. The last of the 240 Sundecks follow the same formula as the second generation with a few changes to layout and materials and finishes.
What is it?
Open bow deck boat, powered by a single Mercruiser V8 petrol engine with outdrive. Over the years the boat got upgraded, it was more a case of evolution rather than revolution, the initial recipe was not spoiled. Electronic DTS controls replaced the manual ones, engines got more powerful, up to 320 horsepower.
In my humble opinion the next model up, the 260SD is not as good as its smaller sibling. It is easy to forget this boat is only quite small. It is a model that does not do any one thing brilliantly (except storage), but rather everything to a very good standard, it is a very easy boat to live with and going on experience, if you look after it, they are very easy to sell, it is a very sought after model.
The good points
Windshield, made by Taylor Made Systems, high quality glass windshield with opening centre section, the frames are aluminium and seem to hold up very well.
Head, really big for this size of boat, there was the option from the factory to have a full Dometic Vacuuflush system in place of the porta potti.
Storage, masses of it, huge centre locker big enough for several pairs or skis, fishing rods, wakeboards, fenders etc. Secondary in floor storage in the bow. Under the dash there is another locker with the Igloo removable cooler and dedicated storage for the cockpit table and table leg (sometimes relocated under the starboard wet bar), even with these in place there is still room. The stereo is usually also fitted in this locker. In the latest models the stereo was moved to underneath the starboard wet bar.
One of the layouts is a huge port side sun lounger with even more storage underneath. Under both forward cushions there are also large lockers. There is no excuse on this boat to not carry the essentials in an orderly manner.
Wet bar, useful sink with yet more more storage.
Not so good
Engine room, access to the engine for normal checks and servicing is actually okay, there is a large removable glassfibre panel that forms the forward part of the motorbox, with this piece removed it makes life much easier, it´s more that so many other things are in there too, the fresh water pump and batteries for example, so reaching to replace certain items is a pain.
Bilge pump, it´s located right under the engine, below the oil pan. If you're lucky with the front part of the motor box removed you might be able to reach it, if you´re very lucky, the model of pump fitted will release from it´s base and you´ll be able to replace it with the exact same model providing the base is able to be reused (don´t count on this), the reality is even if you can release the pump from it´s base, the gap between the top of the pump and the engine oil pan is too small to actually get the pump out. I have seen a few where a new pump is fitted further forward because it was impossible to replace the pump without pulling the engine out.
I would replace the pump with one of the specially made low profile models from Rule or Whale.
Fuse panel, on some models the main fuse panel is located behind a large carpeted panel in the locker under the dash, getting to it involves removing everything from said locker, unscrewing the carpeted panel, disconnecting the courtesy light, all just to change a fuse. This is an easy fix, to relocated the panel to somewhere easier to check.
On some boats the normal fuse panel was replaced by a circuit board with fuses and the dash had buttons incorporated into electronic modules instead of rocker or toggle switches, the electronic panels and circuit board modules are very reliable but be aware if they fail there are no original replacements available, whole system replacements are available both from Sea Ray and also aftermarket.
Gelcoat cracks, these have appeared on quite a few boats on the rounded joint between the deck and side panel under the steering position, none of these cracks have been structural, only cosmetic, a little bit of flex in that area and the gelcoat a bit thick and so has little give and forms cracks.
What to look for & upgrades
Macerator or black water discharge pump, as this possibly wasn't an option from the factory, so the installation goes from very well located and executed to terrible. Check that the seacock and thru hull fitting are within reach and the valve is not seized and what sort of thru hull fitting and valve have been installed, bronze works best.
Dual battery, this is worth having, if not factory fitted, it is a straightforward upgrade to go from a single to dual battery set up.
Carpets, the rubber backing will eventually start to go hard and drop black dust everywhere, either throw the carpets away, get new ones or replace them with another material such as Seadek.
Dash panel, make sure all the switches work, if fitted with the electronic modules make sure all the buttons work, it´s possible to isolate one or two circuits but replacing the whole panel for one with normal switches is expensive.
Stereo, usually fitted with quality Clarion marine units, the earliest ones, I think the CMD2 units with tapes are old hat now, the later CMD3 units can be upgraded with an external Bluetooth module. Check all the speakers work, including any subwoofers. Check the dash mounted remote control works too.
Hydraulic rams, these hold up locker lids, anywhere on the boat where there is a hatch, it usually has a ram, make sure these are all working and support the weight of the hatch lid (especially the centre ski locker and engine motor box), check the bases for the rams are secure. The larger more powerful rams can be quite expensive, there are stainless steel versions available for marine use but oddly enough the failure rate is not that different from normal ones.
Anchor winch, the factory did not offer the option of an ancho winch, so any fitted will have been installed aftermarket, as always have a good look at how it´s been done, to do it well is not cheap as the anchor locker lid needs reinforcing and extra bracing installed to take the strain of the winch, a large electrical breaker should have been installed near the battery for the winch too.
Pilot seat and co pilot seats, the thigh rise bolsters and the controls for adjusting the seat can seize up, actually not difficult to fix but they should work.
Bimini top and cockpit covers, if you boat in a sunny climate, you will want the bimini top, the factory fitted one is excellent, made of Sunbrella fabric, if this requires replacing, please pay the bit extra for original Sunbrella fabric, it´s worth it, the bimini boot (or cover) for when the bimini is folded should also be present, make sure the zip works.
The two covers (bow to windshield and windshield to stern) should be in good condition with no tears, check the studs and make sure you can snap all the studs into place and the covers haven´t shrunk over time, these are easy to replace.
Summary
This really was one of the best models Sea Ray made, ticks all the right boxes, makes a great family boat, one of the easier boats to maintain and any upgrades are fairly straightforward. When it comes time to sell, there is always a queue of buyers waiting for them, there are very few boats that can tick so many boxes.
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