Boat of the Week: Sea Ray SLX-R 400e
The first boat ever to appear at a CES show gets my boat of the week feature.
At CES 2020, Sea Ray showed off its new SLX-R 400e bowrider.
The overall design is going to be familiar to most boating enthusiasts. You’ve got a standard helm position, being low in the hull with a low profile windshield. On the port side is access to the bow seating area. Overhead is a solid radar arch. Power on the demo boat comes from three Mercury Racing 450R outboards. No doubt that was an obvious choice given that Mercury is one of Brunswick Corporation’s house brands.
However, the real magic of this new boat lies in what’s under the hood, so to speak.
The SLX-R 400e incorporates what Sea Ray refers to as its ‘Fathom e-Power’ system. This is a bank of lithium-ion batteries coupled with an intelligent management system, all developed by Sea Ray parent Brunswick Corporation. This system provides full power to the boat’s electrical systems. What that means in practice is that when you’re at anchor, you and your family/friends can enjoy all that the boat has to offer without burning fuel to keep everything running. Brunswick Corporation says that this makes the boat more eco friendly.
The helm is pretty advanced as well. The dashboard incorporates two 16 inch screens coupled to electronics by Simrad and audio by Fusion.
A personal highlight for me is the foldout transom wings. I’m a big fan of this trend, in fact I recently wrote about the new Ocean Alexander 45 Divergence which has the same technology in the stern.
These fold-out sections quite significantly extend the usable space in the aft section, turning it into a real beach club. Swimming and entertainment will no doubt be much more comfortable with that added space.
For Apple users, the boat features Apple Airplay integration, making it easy to stream media from your mobile device.
The Sea Ray SLX-400e is not just a concept. It’s a finished product that will be available to consumers later in 2020. I am really looking forward to seeing the first videos go up. Once they do, you can be sure I’ll be featuring them here.
