370 Sea Ray

Source: Chris Caswell, Sea Magazine

Sea Ray’s aft cabin yacht is so successful, the company debuts a 370 version

Watching the morning news in my hotel room, I remembered all over again why I don’t live in Florida. Severe weather warnings were broadcast for most of mid-state, including Merritt Island where I stood considering the long gray rollers capped with dirty white foam that were sliding by outside my beachfront room.

By mid-morning, the weather bureau was reporting more than 1,000 lightning strikes an hour, tornadoes were touching down, and waterspouts were seen offshore. As I stood in the protection of the Sea Ray plant watching the sky pour rain from a very big pitcher, a Sea Ray worker gave me a reassuring bit of advice: “Don’t worry about tornadoes around here — there aren’t any trailer parks for miles.” It was just another day in the life of a boat tester.

On the other hand, I couldn’t have been aboard a better boat for nasty weather like this, because Sea Ray’s new 370 Aft Cabin really gives you the best of all worlds. You can enjoy sunny days on the bridge or feel the warm breezes from the aft deck in the shade of the standard hardtop.

On thoroughly rotten days, you can stay warm and cozy inside the full bridge enclosure, and you can zip the aft deck side curtains into a pleasant all-weather living room. Not surprisingly, we chose the latter option for our exploration of the 370 Aft Cabin.

When you build a large home on a small city lot, you only have one option: Go up. The situation is the same when you want maximum living space aboard a boat that measures just a couple of inches more than 38 feet long — and at dockside, the 370 Aft Cabin is a tall craft. Not to the point of falling into the floating condominium category, but it certainly qualifies as a tall ship.

Suite Dreams are Made of This
In return, however, you get suite dreams: two spacious staterooms well-separated by a comfortable saloon, a galley ready for gourmet cuisine and even a third cabin that can be used as a stateroom or utility room. This is Sea Ray’s second aft cabin yacht, with the 420 proving so successful in 1996 that the 370 was designed from scratch as a smaller sistership.

Because the deck height eliminates stepping aboard from a floating dock, Sea Ray has made the swim platform an extension of the hull, with a curved staircase to starboard that allows access easy for everyone. Once in the aft cockpit, there’s plenty of space for chairs and tables.

As I already mentioned, the hardtop and standard full enclosure make this a living area for all weather. A fiberglass bulwark encloses the entire aft deck with clear Lexan doors opening onto the sidedecks, and the spacious wet bar has a sink, space for an icemaker/refrigerator and ample glass and bottle storage.

Two easy steps take you to the bridge, which has a pair of comfortable captain’s chairs on pedestals behind the centerline helm. A full complement of Teleflex gauges is easily scanned in a burled wood panel. The tilt wheel provides hydraulic steering, and engine controls are separated on each side of the wheel. Big panels to each side hold the standard Raytheon electronics equipment, including a 202 VHF radio/loud hailer and Raydata Multi-function panel with depth sounder, speed log and water temperature.

There’s plenty of space for a full complement of flush-mounted electronics radar, including GPS. A very well-equipped yacht, the 370 comes with a Lofrans anchor windlass with bridge controls and an ACR spotlight, also with remote control.

Directly aft of the helm seat is a comfortable bench seat, and a settee runs along the starboard side with twin backrests that make it usable as a sunpad or psychiatrist’s couch. The standard Bimini top stretches forward from the hardtop to cover the entire cockpit, and removable side curtains eliminate the need for a lower helm station, although Sea Ray does offer it as an option.

Ample Accommodations
The saloon is equally accessible from the aft deck, with two wide steps into the cabin and a Lexan pocket door that slides completely out of the way. This living area of the 370 is bright and white, with accents from honey maple paneling and trim (bird’s eye maple or sovereign cherrywood are $8,300 options). A deeply upholstered L-shaped settee is to port, and one entire section hinges down at the touch of a button — creating a double berth without having to struggle with filler cushions or folding tables.

A high-low table is standard for dining or cocktails and a barrel chair sits to starboard. An entertainment center against the aft bulkhead includes a 20 inch color television with a VCR, and a Clarion AM-FM/cassette stereo.

Forward and down is the galley, with the cabin windows creating a skylight effect. Separated from the saloon by only a breakfast counter, anyone with cooking duty isn’t going to feel like a galley slave. Faux granite countertops are actually fiberglass, with a built-in Corian cutting board, a Grohe European-style faucet and capacious storage areas.

A NovaKool under counter refrigerator/freezer saves space. The coffeemaker and microwave oven are hidden behind cabinet doors and a three-burner Kenyon cooktop is standard.

Further forward, the guest cabin is better than the master stateroom on most boats of this size — with a full-size berth on a center pedestal, cedar-lined hanging lockers, drawers under the berth, a prewired cabinet for a television, and even bed linens and pillows. The forward head has a VacuFlush head with settee lid, a Corian vanity and a pull-out shower nozzle.

Just aft of this head is what a homebuilder might call a “bonus room,” with a twin bed, a hanging locker and full headroom all in a private compartment off the galley. As an option, buyers can also choose to make this an accessory room for a combination washer/dryer with a folding counter and extra storage.

The master cabin has a queen-size berth offset to starboard (with a huge bin under the inner-spring mattress), an entertainment cabinet with a television/VCR, twin hanging lockers and a small vanity counter that uses the foot of the bed as a seat. The master head is to starboard, with a large stall shower with seat, a Corian vanity and a VacuFlush head.

Underwater, the 370 has a surprising deep-V of 19.5 degrees deadrise at the transom, but this was accomplished by placing the props in oval pockets that not only reduce the draft but also provide less drag. The hull chines are well-submerged, so you don’t have the annoying chine-slap at rest that is found on so many boats in this size range.

Ready to Roar
Power for our test boat was a pair of optional Caterpillar 3116 diesels of 292 hp each, replacing the standard MerCruiser 7.4L gas inboards of 310 hp. Other options include the MerCruiser 7.4 with Multi-Port injection and a Cat 3116TA of 340 hp.

Access to the engines is not easy on the 370, because you have to move both the saloon table and chair to lift the large floor hatch. However, once inside, there’s more than ample space to work around the engines and optional generators (our boat had a Westerbeke 7 kw in a sound box).

The patented exhaust system is unique, ending in a pair of bullet-shaped struts that protrude downward at each corner from the hull bottom. These bury the exhaust gases, so they don’t drift up to the aft deck, and they also reduce the sound level, even at full throttle.

Under way, our 370 didn’t break the 30 mph barrier, but with a beam of more than 14 feet and a displacement of 12 tons — before you start adding your pots and pans — this is no small boat. With a comfortable 2,400 rpm cruising speed of around 24 mph, the 370 is going to get you where you’re going with enough time to enjoy the softly upholstered settee on the bridge

Unlike some builders, Sea Ray has included a large portion of the equipment that most buyers want in a standard boat — excluding those items (such as generators) that require some personal choices or preferences. Items like the hardtop, electronics, full bridge and cockpit enclosures, anchor windlass, VacuFlush heads and spotlight are surprises — while the central vacuum system, freshwater washdown, three-zone air conditioning and full decor package from drapes to throw pillows push this into the very well equipped category with a base price of $309,159.

The result is that the Sea Ray 370 Aft Cabin is a solid and luxurious villa on the water. Besides, I’ve been assured that it is fully tornado-proof.