43 Sea Ray Sundancer

Source: Chris Caswell, Sea Magazine

An Impressive Design Built with Fun in Mind

 

Unlike most other boats in this size range, Sea Ray’s new 43 Sundancer wasn’t designed for experienced skippers. Instead, by fitting it with the innovative Zeus drive system, the company turned this 43-footer into an entry-level yacht, so even a novice can handle tough docking or maneuvering situations.

A quick look shows that this 43-footer draws its DNA from a long line of Sea Ray Sundancers: yachts designed with the cockpit as a prime living area, a layout for entertaining with all the amenities needed to take family and friends on an adventure.

The 43 I tested had been fitted with an extra-wide hydraulic swim platform that could do everything. In its normal empty configuration, it provides comfortable boarding from floating docks, and it’s equally efficient at handling traffic from a tender. Fitted with chocks, it can carry a good-sized RIB or personal watercraft, launching it at the touch of a button and retrieving it with the same ease.

Here’s another cool choice: With the chocks gone and the swim platform lowered just a foot or so into the water, it’s where kids (of all ages) can enjoy the beach even at anchor.

A gate-protected walkway leads to the cockpit and underscores the fact that Sea Rays are very kid-safe yachts, with high coamings, lots of grabrails and rounded edges. Half-protected by the standard fiberglass hardtop (which includes a built-in electronics arch), the cockpit is where most people will spend their time. There’s a huge wrap-around settee, a heavy-duty pedestal table that can be raised or lowered for cocktails or dining and a ton of storage.

The backrest for the cockpit settee folds out of the way, creating a full-length sun lounge when you want to spread out and relax.

Most yachts have some sort of wet bar in the cockpit area, but the 43 Sundancer has more of what home builders are calling an outdoor kitchen. Our test boat has the optional stainless steel barbecue grill, which combined with the stainless sink, under counter refrigerator, ice-maker and ample counter space, means that you can actually prepare full meals right on the cockpit.

Just forward and up a step is the command bridge where guests can ride either facing forward on a bench to port or facing aft while reclining against a padded backrest.

On the starboard side the helm is designed so the engine and navigation screens can easily be scanned; switches are labeled and accessible and the controls are right where your hands tell you they should be. Our test boat has the custom Euro-style double wide helm seat with flip-up thigh-rise bolsters and armrests, and the seats slide fore-and-aft as well as vertically with pneumatic adjustment.

Raymarine is the electronics of choice for Sea Ray, and the dashboard is sized for two E120 screens that can handle a wide variety of functions. A quartet of engine gauges are just above the skipper’s sight line in the overhead, too.

Not enough breeze in the cockpit? Buttons actuate the electric rams to open built-in vent windows at the base of the windshield, bring a flow of air off the deck and the side windows work just like those on a car. The hardtop has two independently adjustable sunroofs that create the effect of a convertible car.

The Sea Ray 43 has been thoughtfully designed so that the entire cockpit can be surrounded with optional fabric enclosures. When the powerful air conditioning or heating is switched on it becomes a climate-controlled living area that can greatly extend the boating season.

Below is an elegant world that resembles an upscale New York penthouse; High-gloss cherrywood bulkheads accent our test boat with an easy-to-clean maple sole throughout.

An L-shaped settee is to starboard with a high-low table for meals or cocktails. Our test boat has the Ultraleather upgrade on the settee. It is the perfect place to stretch out and watch a movie on the television that hinges from the overhead above the galley. If you want to darken the salon the twin motorized overhead skylights slide shut, and wooden slat blinds cover the large side windows.

The galley runs along the port side and when not in use looks like a stylish buffet. Open a locker and lift a lid and you’ll discover the hidden sink in the solid-surface counter, the two-burner recessed cooktop under a cover and the concealed microwave/convection oven. A stainless steel-paneled refrigerator and freezer is just aft, and there are lockers and drawers to absorb the provisions and tools needed for weekends afloat. Upper and lower storage cabinets have dedicated areas to keep plates and glassware safe and rattle-free. And for those who need a jolt in the morning, a coffeemaker is also built in.

The master stateroom is forward with a full-size island berth that features a full innerspring mattress, and the 43 Sundancer is delivered with a full complement of bedspreads, pillows and sheets. Facing the berth is a 19-inch flat-screen TV with a DVD player, so you can retreat to your suite when you need a break.

The owners won’t have to face guests first thing in the morning, either, because closing the pocket door to their cabin gives them private access to the unusual but clever, divided head layout. The head and sink, with a mirrored vanity, are to port and a separate shower compartment with a tiled sole is to starboard.

With all this space devoted to the master cabin, you’d think that in a 43-footer the guests would be cramped. Not true. The mid-stateroom, which is tucked in the area under the raised command bridge, has another pocket door not a curtain. It’s spacious enough to have its own head and shower.

Even better, the stateroom has great flexibility, starting with the twin athwartships berths with a padded headboard under two opening ports. The twin beds easily convert into a queen-sized berth if you’re carrying a couple instead of kids and again the 43 Sundancer is delivered with a full complement of bed linens. The head is to port with a vanity and sink outside a private compartment with a head and shower.

Our test boat is optioned thoughtfully, including the 13.5 kw Onan generator to handle the cockpit air conditioning and heating. When it comes to engine room access, the entire cockpit sole lifts on a hydraulic ram. This provides good access down the centerline to seacocks and strainers, Racor filters and the usual maintenance points. It’s tighter on the outboard side of the engines, but Sea Ray has provided soft panels for access to those areas as well.

As much as I liked the layout and finish of the Sea Ray 43, what impressed me the most was how perfect it is with the Zeus drives. Until recently, Volvo Penta owned the new pod drive market with its IPS system. The 43 is one of the first to build a hull that takes advantage of the Cummins MerCruiser Diesel Zeus drives.

The key is the stubby joystick right under the skipper’s right hand. It’s a simple concept: Push forward, go forward; push forward harder, go forward faster. For reverse: Push sideways and the entire boat moves sideways and docking is just as easy. Additionally, if you twist the top of the joystick in either direction the boat will spin in that direction, pretty much in its own length.

Once away from maneuvering areas you steer as you normally would using the CMD throttle and shifters just like every other boat.

Our test boat has the standard 420 hp Cummins MerCruiser QSB 425 but you can up the ante with the optional 474 hp QSB 480. We topped out at 36 mph (31 knots), which is probably as much speed as you’ll need most of the time.

The steering was butter smooth and positive. Crank the wheel hard into a turn and you’re suddenly Tom Cruise, banking his F-14. The boat feels solid and confident, there’s no cavitation and if you pour on the coal as you spin the wheel straight, the boat snaps level and accelerates effortlessly.

I love the Sea Ray 43 Sundancer. It has all the right amenities and it’s well-built with a good turn of speed. It’s just a fun boat.