Formula 380 SSC | Sunreef 80 | Sea Ray SDX 250 OB - 10/17/21

Formula’s 380 Super Sport Crossover is not a new model for the vaunted company, but if a boat can experience a resurgence, she’s having one. That’s because she’s powered by two 600-hp Mercury V12 Verados. They pushed the boat to 59.2 mph at 6200 rpm, but it was the engines’ two-speed automatic transmissions that stood out in our evaluation. They cannot be heard or felt shifting, and the only way to tell the trannies are in second gear is to look at the glass dash. Out of the hole, the shifting transmissions and twin props per motor helped put our 23,685-lb. (10,743.34 kg) test boat on plane in 7.0 seconds. More...  

Capt. Steve is not only Director of Testing for BoatTEST, but he also monitors the status of Sovereign Boat Club boats in St. Petersburg, FL from the comfort of his living room in Yarmouth, MA. To do that, he, and all the SBC crew, use a smartphone app for the Siren 3 Pro that is connected to its boats for real-time monitoring. A quick check of the app after sundown each day confirms that all of the boats are bedded down for the night where they should be. More...  

The Riviera 5400 Sport Yacht Platinum Edition's helm is finished in a matte black Alcantara suede upholstery and has two 17” (43.18 cm) Garmin displays that are part of the Volvo Penta Glass Dash. It also has a 7” (17.78 cm) Volvo Penta engine screen and CZone digital switching, plus Siren 3 Pro remote monitoring and control is available. Another place where Riviera sets itself apart is with the warranty. The Australian company provides a five-year extended warranty on all Volvo Products from the propeller nut to the Glass Dash and if Riviera installs a Garmin component at the factory, it’s covered as well. More...  

The Sunreef 80 is an exquisite catamaran available as a sailing or power model. Tennis star Rafael Nadal has the power version.  Both have penthouse-like interior volume — (3,875 sq. ft / 360 sq. m). Even more enticing to an owner who has the money is that Sunreef will customize the layout to levels most manufacturers wouldn’t dare approach. Tennis, anyone? More...  

Sea Ray’s SDX 250 OB: Kudos to the design team at Sea Ray for breaking more than 60 years of lemming-like design in bowriders, which invariably put the passageway to the bow straight down the middle of the boat. This bifurcation could only create sameness in the entire bowrider genre. And it did – for more than 60 years. But, in one fell swoop Sea Ray has created something very different with a lot of utility – for example, three people can sit forward of the helm without stretching both legs out forward. A parent and child can sit together at the helm in the extra-wide seat. The view from the helm is not marred by the frame for the fold-over windshield.

Now, we’d urge the designers to take matters a step further and widen the helm seat for three people and reduce the port seat to regular size. She has a deep cockpit for the deckboat type and that is important to keep the young ones aboard. This detail necessarily makes the boat more expensive than boats with less material in them, but how much are your kids worth? Finally, she is the smallest boat that Sea Ray builds in the SDX lineup, so she's probably one of the least expensive in the Sea Ray line. We’d say she’s a bargain.

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Bradenton is in the epicenter of some of the best cruising grounds in Florida. Even on land, there are fun things to visit by water, such as the city’s Riverwalk. There are just four memberships left in SBC’s beautiful Robalo R317, which is ready to take your family and friends out on the water for a day they’ll remember. Explore Bradenton by boat! For membership details, go to SovereignBoatClub.com or call 727-200-3474.