searay l650 bridge

@Sea Gull was a previous owner before switching to Maritimo and @olderboater looked at one previously and decided on Sunseeker. They would likely be the best resource.

Before going through the punch list of an owner who spoke very highly of it, I was ready to buy one. However, it and most others I heard about were delivered with many problems they should not have had. A former dealer I'd known for years (was a dealer at that time) said he felt they just rushed it to market. Some of them were ultimately taken to the Sea Ray plant for a couple of months so they could work through all the issues Marine Max had not resolved. I would have personally been too frustrated to keep the boat, but then it never would have passed survey, and I do get surveys on new boats, so I wouldn't have ended up with it. When people who love the boat have such lists they share, it doesn't speak well for it.

As far as layout and ride, I only was on one for a few hours one day. I liked everything about it. I would have bought it had I not done due diligence. The use of space on a boat that size combined with the extra little features was impressive. If you like the way it performs and you can get one through a survey, might not be bad. Then get someone other than MM to provide you service after the purchase.

I also looked at one for a customer. Fit and finish was on the poor/cheap side. Lots of latches and things of that nature felt cheap and undersized. Access to items wasn't the best. The worst was hearing the a/c discharge that they decided to marry to the aft deck drains was louder than hell on the aft deck, instead of simply running it out of the hull side with it's own drain.

Look at a 65' Sunseeker manhattan instead, much better sea boat.

I just purchased aL650fly in fact I have not closed yet. However I will say the survey on this boat which had nearly 900 hours on it was very extensive and we did come up with some issues that were production lines issues , so I hired a Naval architect to supervise the work which truthfully was relatively minor s few minor delamination's and a couple of spots of dry glass. I being aware of the reputation yet still loved the boat had the surveyors go through the boat with a fine tooth comb.. The boat I am buying is currently operated by a captain the existing owner prefers to have a captain operate the boat for him. The captain loves the boat says he has spent full days in the ocean in 6 to 10 seas .. To me it appears to be a great boat that some suffered some sloppy workmanship . I will say the work is being done as we speak and Sea ray has agreed to pay for all the repairs.. IN shopping for a new boat I decided to get one with more hours figuring if it was going to break it would have broken by then ...so i will let you know once i bring it north 1000 miles.. but expect it to be a great boat and the pricing seems fair...

At least you didn't go in blind. Yours wouldn't be far from my opinion of it as a well designed but very poorly executed boat.

I felt differently, to me it felt cramped a bit compared to say a 65' Sunseeker......

I'd say some things better and some worse than the Sunseeker. Still, not a bad design as we'd rate the Sunseeker best in that range. Just couldn't live with the punch lists others had, but by buying used the poster here shouldn't have the same problem and does know the major items he faces.

"and Sea ray has agreed to pay for all the repairs." THIS is why I consider dealing with a manufacturer that has a robust U.S. presence and support network so important. I like Sea Rays. I consider them the Chevrolet of boats. Sure there are better boats, but Sea Rays are good boats and there's no trouble getting parts or service wherever you are in this country (especially on the east coast). They're also the easiest boat to resell because everyone knows them.

These are pretty much my thoughts. They're an above average quality boat, built for an average price. I have done some LONG deliveries in Sea Rays and never felt unsafe or there would be a structural issue. Some of the 2000's boats (right up until the L series started) were really nice boats.

But the L series are hard to sell now that they're no longer made.......well I guess they were hard to sell when they were made which is why they stopped making them.

Brunswick Boat Group Does a VERY good job of standing by their products. Finding the dealer with the knowledge and patience to fix everything can be the harder part.

There's another thread about someone looking at a 50' Benateau cruiser. Good luck finding people with the knowledge or even the parts with that or so many other boats. Even boats like Sunseeker where parts come from Europe and service is a day or two's cruise away. Here on L.I. Sea Ray has 4 service centers and parts at the ready. As for patience, that's what boat owners need and knowledge would be nice also. All jobs should be supervised.

I have owned other Sea rays and other boats. one of the things that drew me back to the L650Fly is the fact that the manufacturer stands behind the boats very well and most of the parts on the boat are relatively common brands so the ablity to get parts in the past has never been an issue.. The power is by CAT C18 which have great reputations and are also under warranty .... I guess time will tell ..
The last Sea ray i owned was a 58 Sedan bridge that I bought new and kept 8 years it was a great boat ...

That's the challenge since Marine Max controls so much of it, including buying the dealer I trusted. Much of the repairs being done on L Series Sea Rays is being done directly by Sea Ray rather than by the dealer.

Yes this is correct my boat is being handled directly by Sea ray .. not by Marine max.. I will say other then the few problems the surveyor found it seems to be a good boat.. The one I purchased is a pretty high option boat and has some very nice features that I am surprised to find on a production boat...I hope to close on it in the next 2 weeks ...then take it on a 1000mile trip fingers crossed..

Just to up date on this boat. We did close on the boat and then I along with a hired captain and a friend of mine brought the boat up from Palm Beach to Virginia .. we traveled about 2/3 of the way on the outside including a couple of fairly rough days the Twin Sea keepers worked amazingly and boat ran trouble free for over 1000 hours .. The few remaining problems the boat had at the start seemed to heal themselves on the way . The boat felt solid the entire time ..The hydraulic bow and stern thrusters were very handy ///..I got stuck in a storm in the Chesapeake bay for a couple of hours with up to 60 mph winds.. .
SO far after the first 1000 miles I am very happy with the boat.. I did hire a Capt for this maiden voyage... just cause he was previous owners captain but I drove and docked 90% of the time...I found it easy to operate..

Glad to hear that you had a great trip and enjoy the boat.

I have the L650 express for a couple years now and my electric thrusters been down and got no response when I press the bow thruster button from my joystick system. Please help!
Anybody who got a 650 with electric thrusters not hydraulic?