Did you know that, at $1.7 million, the 1Sea Ray 540 Sundancer is the most expensive speed boat in the market?

Speed boats are considered luxury items; big toys for the big boys, they say. And the 55-foot long luxury 1Sea Ray 540 Sundancer features a Cummins MerCruiser QSM11-715 with maximum Horse Power (HP) of 1430, and can take you in places in just a couple of minutes. 

It’s as luxurious as it gets. The Sea Ray 540 Sundancer has a galley filled with a freezer, oven, stove, refrigerator, coffeemaker and other kitchen appliances and can accommodate up to 6 people. Among other features are included electric sun roof, flat screen TV, helm joystick, iPod dock and surround sound system.

The first Sundancer, a 24-footer introduced in 1974, melded express boat and cruiser with its clever midcabin design. Since then, hundreds of Sundancer models up to 68 feet have been launched and each has served as a telltale in terms of market direction. 

Sea Ray is not clairvoyant—it simply leads with its investment in product development. Today, Sea Ray‘s PD&E (product development and engineering) facility in Merritt Island, Florida, is flanked by a state-of-the-art computer-controlled five-axis mill that can cut tooling for a boat up to 60 feet in length. Nearby, an automated cabinet-making plant, opened in 2008, turns rough stock into virtually faultless finished product. It is here on Sea Ray Drive that the 540’s design germinated, her tooling was cut, a prototype was built, and production began.

Before moving a mouse in the design of the 540, Sea Ray took advantage of its most valuable resource—its dealers and customers, according to Rob Parmentier, President of Sea Ray. The late C. N. (Connie) Ray founded the company in 1959. The economy has been up and down many times since then, but C. N.’s formula for success always seems to work, Parmentier asserts.

The 540’s shapely silhouette, her upscale interior, and her user-friendly Zeus technology are a reflection of Sea Ray‘s latest thinking. While some might suggest that the 540’s look is Euro inspired, Parmentier argue that it’s 100-percent American, because Sea Ray has been pushing the styling envelope since day one. The generous sweep of her reverse sheer is mirrored by the soft curves of her deck and superstructure. 

The 540’s bridge area is laid out with centerline helm seating that can be pivoted aft towards the cockpit seating area several steps below. While the bridge is air-conditioned, a retractable sunroof in the hardtop and venting side windows deliver the breeze. The cockpit has a wet bar, a refrigerator, a grill, and an ice maker. The swim platform can be fitted with a PWC lift. Exterior teak soles are offered and seem an appropriate upgrade.

Belowdecks, the 540’s collection of hull side windows and ports adds significant natural lighting. Its test boat had a master stateroom amidships with a queen berth and a private head. A second stateroom forward has a queen island berth and a private head. Those that cruise will want to opt for the combo washer/dryer. An alternate arrangement splits the compartment amidships into a stateroom with a queen berth and a third stateroom with a lower berth and dropdown upper berth. In this layout, the forward stateroom serves as the master...

The 540 is now the largest Sea Ray to be fitted with the Cummins MerCruiser Zeus drive system. Each bronze pod can rotate independently and is fitted with contrarotating propellers with throughhub exhaust. The pods are independently controlled by computer and actuated by either conventional helm input (throttle/ wheel) or a joystick (up to 1500 rpm). Move the joystick ahead or astern, to port or starboard, and the boat follows—no bow thruster is required with the pod equipped 540. The Skyhook feature, when activated, causes the Zeus drives to hold the 540 in position.

Among the Top 10 speed boats in the world include: Azimut 48, 4300 Open, 48 Cantius, Sabre 42 Salon Express, Regal 42 Sport Coupe, 3100 Coronet, 310 FX5, MasterCraft X35, and Silver Bullet.

Sources: Yachting Magazine | Alux | The Richest

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