Newer Sea Ray or Meridians 40' to 50'. Opinions on build quality?

When you say newer - could you be a bit more specific.

Owner/captain on two SR's - both late 2000's. Bare boat experience on Meridian (approx. 07 model) in the Chesapeake bay.

you may be looking at newer models that what I have any input on.

They are both decent quality volume production boats. Their overall quality is good. However, quality is a comparative measurement and you must measure against similar boats, not against a boat in that range built by a yacht company. But I think Sea Ray and Meridian are acceptable quality and good boats depending on your desired usage. Can't say if they fit your planned usage or now since you didn't state that.

For coastal cruising in FL, I would not consider stern drives under any conditions. Understand, I only had stern drives in NC and until 2012, but just not a good option for the ocean and salt water, in my opinion.

I'm sure it will be no surprise that most of us would favor diesel. However, it really depends on how much you intend to use the boat. On a low usage boat, gas can result in big savings.

I wouldn't touch gas in that size range. Also the searay is much better quality and a much better sea boat than the Meridian.....

The 2 companies are both owned by Brunswick.....they are not the same company and Meridian is definitely built to a lesser standard than searay. Now quality is still better than most of it's peers at it's price point, but a Searay it isn't..... Sort of like Cadillac and Chevy.

That's funny but a polar opposite of what most people think.

Bayliner the low end entry level boat line from the Northwest, needed a new name to upscale their products , hence Meridian. Sea Ray, the more premium product and innovator, has a continuous lineage as a better product and innovator, and has carried the majority of the profitability load for the Brunswick Boat Group.

I think the engineering for the two come out of Sea Ray PD&E in Merritt Island, and a Sea Ray plant now builds Meridian. Respective price points/marketing decisions go the way of the Brunswick boat portfolio managers along with their bean counter partners in corporate HQ.

We had a Sea Ray and it was great. Opinions are subjective, but I also agree that the build quality on the SR is better than a Meridian. There is a reason they cost more out of the gate, and have a better resale.

As noted on this forum, I was in the market for another bridge Sea Ray, but we ended up going in a different direction.

A lot of happy SR owners out there, both on forums and the docks.

The main thing you look at is what they look like when they're 10 years old. Searays look nearly new inside AND out if relatively taken care of. The Meridians don't weather the storm as well. Their layup is lighter, gel coat a tad cheaper quality etc. Searay's do stand the test of time a lot better than other brands in their class. While accessing things in the engine room takes a little bending around things, they have relatively very few inherent issues unlike the Mutts you keep referring to! hehehehe I've gotten on a lot of 10 year old Searays and did 1000 nm trip or delivery without having to really fix anything.

It's been well over a decade since Meridians were simply re-badged Bayliners. The 341, 391, 411, 441 and 541 are all post-that era and beginning with about the 2010 model year all (except the discontinued 411) were built in the Florida plants alongside Sea Rays (Meridian is no longer in production). The 391, 411, 441 and 541 are all good coastal cruisers in their own right. It is all about how they will be used and, as the point has been made, the beefier construct of Sea Rays will make them in many cases a more comfortable boat when the going gets rough. The fit and finish and quality of components used on the Meridians is in many ways lesser than what is found on Sea Rays in the same class but that does not mean it is "bad." IMO, the layout and use of space on Meridians is far better/smarter than similarly sized Sea Rays. I was once told by a high level Sea Ray executive - around 2010 - that 75% of Meridian owners came from Sea Rays because of the bang for the buck offered. To Capt J's point - layup and gel is definitely where money was saved on the Meridian helping to make it a price-point boat, so how well things may hold up in the long haul may be a different story. But I'd take a well-kept Meridian over a neglected Sea Ray any day.

Are you sure about that? They still have an active web site with the 391 and 441 Sedans.

Technically Meridian has been folded into Sea Ray. There are a couple of unsold 2016 441 models in dealer inventory on Lake Michigan. That's it. Meridian is nothing more than a website at this time.

...and the website hasn't been updated in years other than to remove the 341 and 541 which ceased production prior to the end of the 391 and 441.

Always digging....................................