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Of course, no pod drive comes without some sacrifices. When I took a look at the engine room layout, I found it functional, if a bit quirky. For starters, the Racors are on the aft engine room bulkhead (see photo, page 57), and checking them requires hunching down and leaning over the motor for the swim platform’s hydraulics. This is also the position required to sight the Groco seawater strainers for the mains, which are bolted to the aft side of a transversal. To port are a pair of large drums for the Cablemasters, but there’s room to get by them, so refilling the hydraulic fluid on the port pod drive shouldn’t be too difficult. So, except for the outboard side of the starboard engine, which is blocked by a lengthy black-water tank, I had access to the entire engine room, including all the key maintenance points.
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
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Inside, however, the living spaces are intuitively laid out and spacious. Saloon overheads are a generous 7'1" above the standard hardwood flooring. There’s an instantly recognizable European flavor, with dark cherrywood and sharp angles. All joinery is built, finished, and edge-banded at Sea Ray’s Cape Canaveral facility just up the road, and future models will be available with high-gloss light and dark cherry, matte cherry, or rift-cut white oak. And the wood is given Sea Ray’s “Cypress Treatment,” which denotes the company’s proprietary machined gloss finish and has nothing to do with the swamp vegetation. Shoji screen doors, like those that used by Mochi Craft, are made from cherrywood as well (done with frosted acrylic panes instead of rice paper). Unlike the 52’s layout, the king-size berth in the master runs athwartships and you can walk around both sides.
On deck are more enhancements. “We wanted to keep the open space of the 52 Dancer’s cockpit, but improve upon it,” explained program manager Nate Hutchins. One example is the company’s trademark swiveling helm chairs. They lock in three positions: forward facing for driving, facing starboard for cocktails with guests, and facing aft for large parties. But it’s the tricks in the L-shape settee aft that I found particularly smart. The first is so simple, it’s strange not to see it more often: The seat cushions are attached on gull-wing-style hinges that move outward as you lift them up. This way, you don’t have to mess with a separate panel or fear losing a cushion. The other interesting feature here is the settee’s backrests: They open outward to allow folks to fully stretch out on the sunpad.
These components make the boat more versatile and better suited to entertaining. The Zeus drives do the same thing—who wouldn’t be entertained by her high-speed, hard-over turns? And despite my reservations, the engine room is more functional than other pod-drive boats I’ve tested. There’s a reason Sea Ray’s Sundancers have been around for years. The company starts with a solid product and tweaks it with every rendition. I can’t imagine what they’ll do with the 540 in four more years.
Noteworthy
RAYMARINE G-SERIES
Talk about top of the line equipment: My test boat came decked out with Raymarine’s G-Series displays. Not only is it both faster and sharper than anything Raymarine has produced thus far, it has better resolution and glare-damping technology for improved visibility, even when viewed in the daylight. In order to fit the G-Series controls into an already crowded instrument panel (note the rows of rocker switches), Raymarine had to custom-build a controller for the 540. The 61⁄2''x4'' fingerpad lets you deftly navigate all the functions and display settings without accidentally pressing the wrong button.
The Vitals
STANDARD EQUIPMENT:
Cummins MerCruiser electronic controls and steering; 4/8-D batteries; 21.5-kW Onan genset; Reverso oil-change system; fuel-transfer pump; 20-gal. water heater; Raymarine 240 VHF; Bose Lifestyle 48 sound system w/ Sirius satellite receiver; Grohe faucets; 2/Charles iso-transformers; 32", 26", and 19" LCD TVs; 2/32,000-Btu zone-controlled, reverse-cycle Cruisair A/Cs for cockpit and saloon
OPTIONAL POWER: None
OPTIONAL EQUIPMENT ON TEST BOAT:
custom china; Kenyon Custom electric grill; Isotherm ice maker and drawer ‘fridge; Raymarine electronics package w/ 2/12" G-Series displays running Navionics platform w/ custom key pad controls, 4-kW radar; 2/Glendinning Cablemasters; fabric upgrade; central vacuum system; opening hull windows; swim platform w/ hydraulic lift; teak on swim platform; Splendide washer/dryer combo
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This article originally appeared in the March 2009
issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine.
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