550 Sea Ray Sedan Bridge

Source: Patrick Short, Sea Magazine

Sea Ray’s curvaceous 550 Sedan Bridge works all the angles

Sea Ray Boats, a builder long respected for its high-quality runabouts and midsize cruisers, has entered the large luxury motoryacht market in a big way — using all the expertise they’ve gained from decades of production. The result is the 550 Sedan Bridge, a sleek European-style design that is a true head-turner.

The Jerry Michalak-designed 550 reveals just how much time Sea Ray spent on the details as soon as you step aboard. The cockpit is large and roomy, surrounded by two L-shaped seating areas in each corner. Under seats, ample room is provided for hoses, fenders and plenty of gear.

If more stowage space is needed, just lift up the cockpit carpet and you’ll find a large built-in combination stowage locker/fish box.

The seats are split by a centerline transom door, which leads to a wide swim platform. From the cockpit, steps lead up to an expansive flying bridge, and full-size sliding glass doors open to the 550’s main saloon.

The spacious bridge is 22 feet long and offers seating for 12 adults. Aft, a padded bench seat will accommodate four of your biggest friends and a center-mounted, semi-circular settee will seat three more, facing a wet bar with refrigerator and ice-maker.

Two more seats are positioned opposite the semi-circle — on either side of the refreshment console — making this an ideal conversation pit. And if you still need more room, the wide, adjustable helm seat (which might as well be called a helm settee) offers space for two additional guests and the skipper, too.

Even with all this seating, there is still plenty of room for dancing on the bridge, should the spirit move you while the multiple-speaker Sony CD stereo system plays your favorite tunes.

In the Captain’s Seat
Our test boat, furnished by Harrison Marine of Oakland, California, was equipped with a full range of standard and optional helm equipment — including a SEA VHF radio, a Robertson

Dataline depth sounder and Robertson autopilot with remote control, a Northstar loran receiver with remote control and a Furuno radar system.

The helm layout is typical Sea Ray: a wide 360 degree view, with well-lighted and arranged controls and plenty of space for future electronic add-ons.

Our 550 Sedan Bridge was powered by twin 735 hp Detroit Diesel 8V-92TA engines, instead of the 650 hp power plants in the standard equipment package. The larger engines powered the 550 to a cruising speed of about 29 knots and a top speed of 35 knots.

Putting the throttles to the stops, our 550 reached the maximum 2,300 rpm in 10 to 12 seconds. That brought the 23 ton cruiser to full speed in about 25 seconds.

While the 550 is unquestionably a large motoryacht, it handled and performed like a Porsche. It was a joy to maneuver across San Francisco Bay in a wide variety of conditions.

With its standard 600 gallon fuel capacity, our 550 had a cruising range of about 250 miles at 22 knots.

The source of all this power is accessible through a hatch just inside the main saloon door. The engine room is spacious and thoughtfully arranged, allowing plenty of room for maintenance, even though there is not quite enough headroom to stand upright. Everything is labeled, and wiring is bound and well-supported.

A Westerbeke 15 kw generator is available as an option, with a sound box that fits neatly by the aft hatch. The room is well-insulated for a quiet ride.

Topside, moving forward along the side decks is safe and easy. Wide deck space and numerous handholds help keep even the most clumsy of us feeling secure.

The spacious foredeck has a non-skid surface for good footing in choppy seas, and ample space for sunbathing.

Salute the Saloon
The bright, airy main saloon is a room looking for a party. Large windows surround the area, and to starboard, a white leather-upholstered L-shaped settee is big enough to seat eight people. A convenient row of pull-down lockers underneath offers stowage for blankets, pillows or foul weather gear.

Adjacent to that, a sculptured acrylic dining table with four matching chairs is a work of art that makes any meal a special occasion.

An angled entertainment center, to port, is visible from every seat in the saloon. It includes a full-size color television, a VCR, a CD player and a stereo receiver — all with remote control.

Directly to starboard is a breakfast bar, fronted by two upholstered acrylic barstools that match the dining table.

The saloon is accented with white wall-to-wall carpeting with green and blue inlaid sections running throughout the entire length.

An elevated lower helm station with leather seating is positioned on the opposite side of the entertainment center. It offers wide visibility through the front windshields and the large port side window. Just as on the flying bridge, it has ample space for adding more electronic equipment

Directly across from the helm is a U-shaped galley, with oak flooring. It includes a sand-colored, enameled double sink, a full-size set of oak-trimmed cabinets and drawers and abundant counter space.

A three-burner cooktop is built into the countertop to starboard, just above an under-counter side-by-side refrigerator freezer. Other galley appliances include a microwave oven, a coffee-maker, an ice-maker and a trash compactor.

Thanks to the boat’s 200 gallon fresh water capacity, the 550 is ready for weekends at a favorite anchorage or a month of gunkholing in comfort.

Getting Comfortable
Belowdecks, on the port side, the crew stateroom includes upper and lower berths and oak-trimmed stowage cabinets. The compartment also is ideal for children, if the boat is to be owner-operated. Light pastel interior colors make this compact compartment seem larger than it actually is.

A washer/dryer is located in the lower corner of the crew quarters, underneath the steps leading below.

To starboard, the 550’s guest stateroom includes a full-size double berth and an oak-trimmed vanity, with plenty of drawer stowage. This cabin is decorated in the same colorful pastels as the other staterooms. A guest head and shower is adjacent to the compartment, accessible from the passageway.

The large forward owner’s stateroom, decorated in pale pastels, is dominated by a rounded queen-size berth. It is inviting and comfortable, and Sea Ray seems to have spared no expense to make it luxurious.

The stateroom’s entertainment center includes a television and VCR. To port, a large oak-trimmed dresser and hanging locker provide stowage for an entire cruise wardrobe. An en suite head and shower is positioned to starboard.

All in all, the Sea Ray 550 Sedan Bridge is a well-thought-out and attractive motoryacht that makes optimum use of the space available. This is one vessel that not only attracts attention, it lives up to owners’ high expectations of quality, luxury and performance.