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Sea Ray L 650 Fly

Discussion in 'Sea Ray Yacht' started by olderboater, Jun 12, 2015.

  1. olderboater

    olderboater Senior Member

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    Closet space is limited by size but also designed for week or two cruises and not those doing longer trips. Still the rest of the storage compensates well. From what we saw there may still be storage or drawers you haven't found. I think there must have been some challenge to leave no space unused.

    The one thing we'd try to change in the master would be to squeeze a king bed in but that might be impossible. Actually is possible, just might look so strange as to not want to do it. Did you go for the lounge or the dinette in the master? I'm amazed though that the master and VIP have the space they do considering four staterooms and both the 3rd and 4th staterooms are actually quite usable. For our use, a larger master and only 3 staterooms might have been a preferable design.

    The colors of the one we saw were neutral and nice. However, our thoughts were that it could just be the boat to get bold with colors and design on.

    Sounds like it's really the appropriate mix for a semi-custom boat. Structure production, interior design customized to tastes.

    Glad to hear you like yours as much as you do. I think this segment of the market really needed an infusion and a production builder is the best one to do that but it needs to have the attributes of larger boats as this one does.
  2. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    What about a small piece on one side of the bed that hydraulically folds up or down to make the queen into a king? With Memory foam it could be done and look right if you got creative.
  3. olderboater

    olderboater Senior Member

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    Why not just build it wider to start with then? Or could just move it tight against the lounge option on the side and let people roll back and forth between the two...lol
  4. Sea Gull

    Sea Gull Member

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    In the master we opted for dressers on both sides. The options for sofa or dinette are interesting, but we just don't hang out in the stateroom that much. Others may want a sanctuary from kids or guests, so it's owners choice. I spoke with one owner who opted for the dinette, so he could use it as an office space.

    As for the size of the bed, keep in mind that this is a 17' beam boat. The master is very adequate with centreline queen but there is not a lot of space beyond that. Night tables are tiny and there is a step up in the floor to accommodate utilities running fore and aft. I don't see how a king bed would fit.
  5. ranger58sb

    ranger58sb Senior member

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    You crack me up! :)

    -Chris
  6. Cruz

    Cruz Member

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    As relatively few have been produced, it is rare to glimpse an L650 Fly on the water. But here's a shot of one "sitting" on my desk thanks to Sea Ray's Augmented Reality app. I have to say, while it may seem gimmicky to some, I actually found it immensely more helpful in getting a sense of the models featured in the apps than photos or traditional virtual tours before I was able to see the boats in person. I really hope more production manufacturers get on board with this type of marketing. I imagine most are like me when they are in the market or pondering what could be next in terms of a desire for as much great information and imagery as possible.

    [​IMG]
  7. olderboater

    olderboater Senior Member

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    Not gimmicky at all. Unfortunately, to my knowledge, only available for the Apple iStuff....lol
  8. Capt Ralph

    Capt Ralph Senior Member

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    We are big second gen-set fans (30 & 9 on board) and run mostly with inverter while underway.
    However, was working on a 50ish boat a few weeks ago and it's seakeeper was run from an inverter. Single engine tug/trawler. I was blown away and the owner is very happy. No Gen set required going down the river. Extra batteries and it takes near 15 minutes to get ready, after that life if great per the year long owner.
  9. Capt Ralph

    Capt Ralph Senior Member

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    We have a customer with a 58 Bridge Sedan that wants to be able to operate in more choppy waters.
    How does this L thing run thru the muck at speed?
  10. Sea Gull

    Sea Gull Member

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    Having just moved up the Sea Ray line from a 58 Sedan Bridge to the L650 Fly, I can tell you that the 650 is a real sea boat with an "A" ocean rating. The Achilles heel of the 58 is the plastic bridge enclosure coupled with no lower helm. In rain or heavy seas the "windshield" can be inundated with rainwater or spray. With no wipers, it's a real issue and requires one to slow down considerably to accommodate lack of visibility.

    The 650 can have a bridge enclosure But the lower helm us the primary helm and has big, effective wipers.
  11. olderboater

    olderboater Senior Member

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    Although we only had a few hours on it, we found it meriting it's CE A and performing quite well in up to 6' (which was the most we could find and we had to go a good distance to find that). It was comparable to what we've experienced in other well built boats in it's range.
  12. PacBlue

    PacBlue Senior Member

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    Since the CE "A" Category is a Force 8 Sea State / with 4m significant wave height, I would not necessarily consider 6' seas a representative test.

    The biggest issue for boat builders to overcome and successfully label their product as Category A is the location of the most the significant downflooding point, and keeping the windage profile reasonable for the LOA. It is really not a true indicator of seaworthiness, just a measure of Righting Arms / Windage / Downflooding Points, as witnessed by some craft less than 30' loa that achieve the same designation.

    Another question - is the Category A label valid with a bridge enclosure for this model?
  13. olderboater

    olderboater Senior Member

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    I didn't mean to imply that at 6' we could validate it's ability to handle Force 8 states. or that at 6' I could state without question it was worthy. I couldn't address more than 6' since that's the maximum we saw. I didn't mean to offer it as validation of the CE "A", but that it was consistent with other boats similarly certified which I have been on. I also recognize "A" isn't absolute evidence of seaworthiness, but still I do prefer a boat in this range to be "A" as opposed to "B" and this is Sea Ray's first "A". I don't intend to seek out a Force 8 state to prove it's worthiness, but I did feel positive toward it's abilities and do think it would handle that state consistent with other well built boats in it's range. And I was comparing it to other boats in this size range that I have been on.

    Yes, we have a 44' boat that's "A" but there are a lot of 65' that are "B" and I would prefer to be on this boat vs. many of those 65's in worsening seas.
  14. PacBlue

    PacBlue Senior Member

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    I understand where you are coming from, and I am sure the SR can handle Category 'A when operated reasonably.

    Having done the calculations necessary for various CE Categories, for number of different sized recreational vessels, I am not sure you are have enough information on paper to believe that a 65' "A" boat will perform better than a similar 65' 'B' boat. I believe a SR 60 Sundancer is a Category 'B' boat, but I would not be concerned to be running side-by-side with the SR 65 Fly in the same sea state.

    I am still curious if the 65 Fly made the grade for Category 'A' with or without a Flybridge enclosure?
  15. olderboater

    olderboater Senior Member

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    Have you run an L 65 Fly? I wasn't judging on paper. And again just stating personal opinion that I'd feel more comfortable in rough conditions in the L 65 Fly than I would in a 58 Sundancer or a 60 Princess, for instance. I'd feel equally as comfortable in it as I would in a 63' Riva (and we've been extremely pleased with a 63' Riva in rough conditions, up to 10'), at least as much so if not more than a 64' Pershing, equal to a 60' Hatteras. None of that is based on science or expertise in all those models, just spending a few hours running the boat and finding the worst conditions we could at that time.

    You keep asking about a flybridge enclosure. To my knowledge there is not one offered. They offer a hardtop (which is generally purchased if not always), but no complete enclosure that I'm aware of.

    Where I really judge it's comparative ride is thinking of trips to the Bahamas with the gulf stream rough or kicking up along the way. We've made dozens of those trips in various conditions and observed many boats making them as we did. We've observed many in that size range handle even 6' much less 8-10' extremely poorly as while the boat we were in was handling it far more capably. We felt the L 65 Fly would have handled those conditions well and those are the conditions most buying the boat might be expected to face. I certainly don't anticipate anyone in one encountering 10 meter conditions. The boat doesn't have enough range that it will ever be more than 6 hours from shore. Certainly no transatlantic crossings.

    Now where does this come into the average user in a practical basis. Runs to the Bahamas. Choosing to run outside vs. the ICW. We encounter a huge population of owners of boats in the 45-70' range who spend all their time running the ICW because they don't even like running outside with 3-4', much less 4-6'. That's fine if they're not comfortable and many of them are in boats, including trawlers, that could handle those conditions. But many are in boats where even 3-4' takes the pleasure away. I'm just evaluating the boat for the way if I was an owner I would use it and based on a few hours running one. That's all.
  16. PacBlue

    PacBlue Senior Member

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    Olderboater, you are covering a lot of territory, from the ICW to offshore, and are missing my point - I am sure you have a lot of water under your sea legs and the L 65 Fly SR measures up to snuff.

    I was just making a point that a Category 'A' or "B' CE certificate may not be the one and true indicator of vessel seaworthiness when comparing different models / makes within similar loa's.

    I am also aware of existing SR sedan models that would drop a Category if the Hardtop, which is a common option, where enclosed with isinglass. But this may or may not be the case for the L 65 Fly, so that is why I have asked if anyone knows?
  17. olderboater

    olderboater Senior Member

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    Again, I know of no enclosure for the hardtop. Since none is offered, then the CE wouldn't be for an enclosed hardtop. I would think the CE is with the hardtop but couldn't guarantee that.

    No one claimed anything was singularly indicative of seaworthiness, but I do believe CE is a tool and my personal experience on the boat indicated that it handled water as I would expect a CE "A" to handle them. I will also say that in that size range, I've noticed a difference in handling mildly rough conditions between the "A"'s and "B"'s I've been on and observed. I'm sure, however, there are exceptions. However, the same factors that are important for the rating determination generally also lead to quality of ride. No one claimed CE was the one and only factor, but I've found in my limited exposure it to be quite indicative of differences in boats in this size range.

    We own "classed" boats but I'd never state that as an absolute determination of seaworthiness either and it requires a lot more compliance than CE. I do think CE is at least a useful rating in an industry that previously had none. It beats anything the US has.

    UL or CE approval of the light fixture in my home doesn't promise they won't shock me, but it does make me feel a little safer.

    My comments on the boat are not based on tearing into the structure, reviewing all the drawings and plans and calculations or any other engineering or design evaluation that I'd not be capable of making to start with, but simply on the basis of being out on the boat and comparing to others.
  18. PacBlue

    PacBlue Senior Member

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    I would then expect a soft enclosure to move it from a Category A to B, with really no drop in performance / sea keeping except in very extreme conditions.

    The factors that determine the rating are many as I stated before, but not necessarily indicative or leading to a determination of quality of ride. In this example, (enclosed bridge) you can drop a rating but not impact the quality of ride. You can do the same by manipulating down flooding points / engine room air supply locations, etc. In some cases, even adding lead ingots / ballast can change a category, other than lead these would not be considered ride quality enhancements. Given the right hull form, you can achieve the desired categories without changes to the hull lines, it becomes a bit of a dance with the designers and all the other inputs that are advocating for a shot at getting their own "signature" on a given design.

    As for the usefulness of the CE rating, that is still to be debated, as history does not necessarily support their requirements. How many '70s / '80s American made boats have been used in Category A conditions without issue - plenty. The CE system really just highlights the differences across the Atlantic, where you have an industry of regulation / oversight in Belgium that wants to just reach out and touch you however they can!
  19. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    Aside from the long winded thread about scientific stuff. Olderboater was just trying to get across that the boat handled extremely well in 6' seas, and he wouldn't be afraid to be out in a rough sea in it. If you have wind strong enough to make 12' seas, chances are an enclosure won't be an enclosure for very long anyways.
  20. olderboater

    olderboater Senior Member

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    You're not listening. There is no enclosure-hard, soft, semi-hard, semi-soft, or virtual so it's irrelevant.