Thoughts on L650 Fly and Sunseeker Manhattan 66

Hello all ...

I’m considering moving up from my Sea Ray 510 Fly, which has been an amazing boat for us, and I’ve narrowed the search primarily to a Sea Ray L650 Fly and Sunseeker Manhattan 66. I’d appreciate thoughts from anyone who has owned, operated, serviced, or spent meaningful time aboard either.

A little context on how we’ll use it:

• Family of four with two teenagers
• Great Lakes/freshwater boating
• Primarily leisure and entertaining
• Roughly 50–75 hours per season
• We spend 3–5 days a week living aboard during the summer
• Most trips are relatively short, with our longest typical outing being about 5–6 hours round trip
• I’m an owner/operator and don’t anticipate using a captain

The 510 Fly has been a great fit for us, so I’m not moving up because there’s anything particularly wrong with it. We’re simply looking for more living space, better accommodations as the kids get older, and more outdoor entertaining space.

I’ve spent quite a bit of time researching both boats and see advantages to each.

The L650 Fly feels like a natural progression from the 510. I like the substantial construction, enormous flybridge, hardtop, wide beam and overall layout. I’m also familiar with Sea Ray ownership and have found the boats relatively straightforward to maintain and source components for. The boat I’m considering has CAT C18s with shaft drives.

The Manhattan 66 is obviously a different animal stylistically. I really like the exterior design, bow entertaining area, large windows, accommodations and the way Sunseeker managed to package so much into the boat. The example I’m considering has MAN V8 1000s on conventional shafts, bow/stern thrusters and joystick control.

I’m less concerned about fuel economy given our relatively low annual hours. My bigger considerations are:

Build quality and durability, ride/seakeeping, reliability, ease/cost of ownership, owner-operator maneuverability, livability for a family of four, parts/service availability, and how well each boat is likely to age over another 5–10 years.

I’d especially appreciate feedback on a few things:

1. For anyone familiar with both brands, how would you compare the construction/build quality of the L650 to the Manhattan 66?
2. How do they compare underway, particularly in typical Great Lakes chop?
3. Any significant concerns with CAT C18s vs. MAN V8 1000s in this application?
4. How has parts availability been for older Sunseekers compared with Sea Ray?
5. Are there any L650- or Manhattan 66-specific issues you’d pay particular attention to during a survey?
6. For a family actually spending several days aboard rather than just day boating, which layout would you prefer?
7. If you’ve owned either, would you buy it again?

I’m particularly interested in hearing about real ownership experience rather than which one looks better on paper. Both appear to be excellent boats with very different personalities.

Thanks in advance.