480 Sea Ray Motor Yacht

Source: Boatpoint Magazine

It may not be to everyone’s taste, but if you want a liveaboard craft the Sea Ray 480 Motor Yacht is hard to beat

The innovative Sea Ray 480 Motor Yacht will divide opinion. It is high volume with a big, blunt back end that might make some regular boaties shudder. But others are likely to fall in love with the home-away-from-home comforts and size afforded by that very attribute, the aft cabin.

In my opinion the aft-cabin is the ultimate liveaboard cruiser. You need to have lived on an aft cab – as I did for 11 months – to appreciate these boats. With the new Sea Ray 480 Motor Yacht, you need to climb aboard, stroll the vast amount of deck space and fossick through the cabins to find the beauty within.

SPORTSCRUISER-ESQUE
Sleeker than your average slab-sided aft cab, the Sea Ray 480 MY has a hull and deck styled almost like an aircraft’s fuselage. The deck line from the bow to the hardtop is sportscruiser-esque, even though the aft end remains voluminous.

Running across the back of the boat is a huge enclosed balcony with a moulded amenities centre including icemaker, fridge, sink, hot and cold water, storage lockers, sound system and hot/cold deck shower.

The boat’s big 38,000BTU reverse cycle air-con system feeds the aft deck area. The hardtop provides lots of shade in summer and floor space is massive. All-up, I gauged this boat to be capable of entertaining 16 people.

THE MAIN ATTRACTION
Neutral or buff colours and mock cherrywood or mock maple veneers make for an elegant interior.

Of course, the real attraction of an aft-cabin motoryacht is its master cabin and huge interior. Saloon seating consists of a U-shaped lounge opposite a two-person settee to port, facing the entertainment centre that includes a sound system, CD stacker, and a 20in combo TV/VCR.

The dinette lounge can seat four around a Corian table opposite the galley. A terrific design detail is the utility room beneath the lift-up galley steps, providing valuable storage for long-range provisions, golf clubs, wine, dive bottles, cased goods and so on, as well as housing a combo washer/dryer.

There are two cabins forward and the master aft, separated by the saloon, and two bathrooms with showers and Vacuflush loos at either end of the boat. The smallest room, to starboard, is for short-term guests, but even it has twin bunks that can be converted to a king-sized double using an infill, plus a cedar-lined hanging locker.

But nothing can hold a candle to the 480 MY’s master cabin, probably the size of the main cabin found in 60-70ft craft with conventional layouts.

DRIVER PLEASURE
Aside from looks, performance also sets this aft cab apart. With Cummins’ cutting-edge electronic QSM11 diesel motors (upgraded to the big 635hp models), the Sea Ray 480 Motor Yacht has sporty speed, good responsiveness and a sense of direction that will leave old clunkers tottering in its wake.

In Sea Ray custom, a lot of effort and ergonomics has gone into the helm. In the deep blue beyond the Gold Coast beaches, the boat exhibited surprising seaworthiness. It stayed on track and didn’t lurch or lope, which are all good qualities for a fast passagemaker. Top speed came in at 34.4mph at 2310rpm on the Raytheon GPS. I clocked a convenient cruise speed of 24.5mph at 1800rpm, at which speed both motors will consume a little over 100lt/h.

While the turn of speed may come in handy for short notice sojourns, at 8kt it cruises along quietly and incredibly efficiently.

In fact, its range is such that you could cruise all the way from the Gold Coast to Noumea, a distance of just under 800nm, should you have the time on your hands

Boat Specifications: 480 Sea Ray Motor Yacht

Sea Ray 480 MY

Options Fitted: Engine upgrade, Raytheon electronics, foredeck sunpad, aftdeck clears, cockpit fridge, macerators on loos, full chain windlass

General

Material: GRP

Type: Moderate vee planing hull

Length (overall): 15.24m w/platform

Beam: 4.65m

Draft: 1.19m

Deadrise: 15°

Weight: 17,464kg dry w/std motors

Capacities

Berths: Six

Fuel: 1892lt

Water: 454lt

Engine

Make/Model: T-Cummins QSM-11 Type: In-line six-cylinder four-stroke diesel engines w/electronic management

Rated hp: 635hp @ 2300rpm

Displacement: 10.8lt

Weight: 1125kg each plus gearboxes

Gearboxes (Make/ratio): N/A

Props: N/A