Sporty: Sea Ray 190 SPXE
The American manufacturer Sea Ray offers a wide range of motorboats. However, the shipyard set a special milestone in its 60-year history in 1991 when it launched its first water ski boat on the market. It also had a fixed bathing platform, which was a major innovation at the time. Since then, the water ski range has been an important and popular part of the programme. It was not without reason that the German importer Boote Pfister chose this entry-level model for its 50th anniversary model.
The Sea Ray 190 SPXE is not new per se, but has already been tested by us in BOOTE 2/2015. What is new, however, is the Pfister special equipment package, including synthetic teak on the bathing platform, a plotter and the 4.5-litre Mercruiser inboard engine, which represents a considerable 46 per cent increase in performance and completely changes the boat. With a trailer weight of around 1800 kilograms, it can still be towed with a mid-range car.
Even at first glance, the Bowrider looks incredibly high-quality: black hull, white deck, two-tone quilted imitation leather on the seats and grey imitation leather on the dashboard. A real hand and bum flatterer, both visually and haptically. But the biggest upgrade is located under the large sunbed in the stern: the Mercruiser power unit, a 6-cylinder V-engine with 200 hp. Here, too, the installation and GRP work is exemplary: no matter where you look, everything is neatly installed and there is nothing to complain about in the details. No sealant sausages "where nobody looks anyway". Everything is modern and of the best quality. A Mercruiser Smartcraft transmitter, for example, enables engine monitoring on the smartphone. The engine ventilation system consists of four large hoses and air vents, which promise a pleasant climate in the engine compartment even at high speeds and in hot weather. There is also an automatic fire extinguisher and the space next to the battery is used to store a cool box. A well thought-out and well-equipped boat throughout.
The boat also makes a smart impression on deck, even in the harbour: the large sunbathing areas in the bow and stern invite you to sunbathe, the seats are comfortable but a little harder. On sunny days, the wide driving deck shades the cockpit well, and the teak-covered round table invites you to enjoy a cup of coffee. The helm seat can be rotated, and together with the wide bench on the port side, which replaces the co-driver's seat, the cockpit can be quickly converted into a cosy seating area in the harbour or at anchor.
The powerful Mercruiser starts with a low rumble and is then barely audible at idle. At a speed of three knots and 800 rpm on the Main in smooth seas, it is immediately noticeable that the boat is yawing. If you increase the revs and speed, this effect is reduced but remains noticeable. Weight shifts caused by moving people, for example, have little effect on the course stability.
In the transition to planing, the Sea Ray briefly raises its nose, but then immediately lowers it again. The field of vision is not significantly restricted. The bowrider achieves a good planing speed from 2800 rpm and then rushes across the water at 20 knots. In the freighter waves, the Sea Ray bangs hard into the crests of the waves due to the shape of the hull. But if you trim 1/4 up, the boat feels completely different, jumps softly over the stern waves and remains controllable at every landing.
Now we want to know how the boat behaves at full throttle: Trimmed down, it quickly gets into planing speed, easily reaches 40 knots and still goes very smoothly over the waves at this speed in cruising trim. However, the engine audibly hits the rev limiter here. This is a sign that the propeller has been selected too small. The course stability is good, as is the handling behaviour. Only if you overtrim the boat a little is a slight rocking noticeable - even when we enter the bend at 35 knots and drive a tight circle and the boat rocks up. The wide bench seat on the co-driver's side now has a negative effect, as it is difficult to find a grip during fast manoeuvres. The sports seat, which can be ordered as an alternative, would be a better choice. With the drive trimmed downwards, turning is much easier and the rocking is gone. We experience the same effect when turning: With the trim down, the boat goes round the bend very tightly; with the drive trim, we have to reach out further. Even when sailing straight ahead and slaloming, the boat runs optimally with trim down and can be controlled very well even during jerky manoeuvres without breaking out.
Conclusion
The Sea Ray 190 SPXE is a fast and well-equipped boat that requires some experience to realise its full potential. Then it is not only a powerful piece of sports equipment, but with its spacious cockpit it is also suitable for families.
You can find this article in the May 2020 issue of BOOTE. Available here!
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