Sea Ray SDX 270 Review, Specs and Used Buying Guide

From 270 Sundeck to SDX 270, a name change with substance

The Sea Ray SDX 270 is the Knoxville builder's answer to a simple question its own customer research kept raising: how do you fit more people, more seats and more storage into a trailerable 27-footer without making it look like a floating patio? The answer was a deck boat with a sharp-entry bowrider hull underneath, and for the 2016 model year Sea Ray rebranded its 270 Sundeck as the SDX 270, the anchor of a new SDX family that grew to include the 250, 290 and later the 230.

BoatTEST describes the result directly: Sea Ray narrowed the gunwales while holding the beam at a road-legal 8 feet 6 inches, freeing enough interior volume to seat 15 people underway. That is the core of the sea ray sdx deck boat concept, deck boat lounge space without the slab-sided, blunt-nosed look.

There are two distinct generations. The first ran from the 2016 model year until a keel-up rebuild in early 2024, when Sea Ray also launched the first SDX Surf. If you are shopping a used sea ray 270, knowing which side of that line a boat falls on matters more than anything else.

Why the 21-degree bottom matters on a deck boat

Most deck boats give up ride quality for volume. The SDX 270 does not give up as much because the running surface is a proper deep-V with 21 degrees of transom deadrise, the same figure Sea Ray quotes for the new boat and that BoatTEST measured on the original. The square-shouldered bow is created by flare and freeboard rather than by a blunt entry, a point Boating made when it tested the 270 Sundeck OB in 2015 and found it dry and smooth up to 25 mph in a stiff chop.

BoatTEST's captain found the first-generation sterndrive boat solid and heavy-feeling, with none of the bounce of lighter hulls. Bow rise was mild, turns held their bite without ventilation and maximum bank angle was a comfortable 18 degrees, though the boat sheds some speed in tight turns, worth knowing when towing a skier.

What the SDX 270 actually runs on a single 300 hp MerCruiser

The most complete independent numbers come from BoatTEST's run on a first-generation SDX 270 with the standard 300 hp MerCruiser 6.2L and Bravo Three drive, carrying two people, half fuel and no water. Top speed was 44 mph (38.3 knots) at 5,300 rpm while burning about 23 gph. The sweet spot was 3,500 rpm, where the boat ran 28.3 mph (24.6 knots) on 8.8 gph, about 3.2 miles per gallon. Time to plane was 3.5 seconds and 0 to 30 mph took 8.5 seconds.

Sea Ray's estimates for the redesigned boat are close: a 24 to 28 mph cruise, 44 to 46 mph wide open and about 160 miles of range from the larger 75-gallon tank. The new boat is heavier, at 6,775 pounds dry without engine, so owners who carry a full crew or pull wakeboarders should consider the 350 hp 6.2L or the 430 hp 8.2 MAG HO with Bravo Three X.

On the outboard side, Boating's 2015 test of the predecessor 270 Sundeck OB with a single Verado 300 reached 49 mph with full fuel, full water and the tower raised, planing in 5.8 seconds. That remains the best published guide to what an early SDX 270 OB will do.

• Best cruise measured: 24.6 knots at 3,500 rpm, 8.8 gph (BoatTEST, first generation, 300 hp 6.2L)
• Top speed measured: 38.3 knots (44 mph) at 5,300 rpm, about 23 gph
• Builder estimate for the current boat: 44 to 46 mph WOT, 160-mile cruise range
• Sterndrive power ladder today: 300 hp 6.2L, 350 hp 6.2L, 430 hp 8.2 MAG HO

Three social zones and the seats that flip

The SDX 270 is laid out as three distinct gathering areas. Up front, the bow carries the beam well forward, so the lounges are wide at the back and taper gently, keeping knees apart when guests face each other. BoatTEST measured 6 feet 2 inches across the rear of the bow and lounges about 4 feet 6 inches long. A concealed boarding ladder at the stem and, on many boats, a freshwater bow shower make beaching practical.

Amidships, the helm and companion seats have flip-over backrests that turn them into aft-facing loungers, which is the trick that makes the cockpit feel like a living room at anchor. First-generation boats used an angled offset walk-through from the platform, an L-shaped lounge to port and a standard cockpit table. The redesigned boat swaps in an L-shaped bench with an integrated cooler, a board-sized locker under the bench, USB outlets and an optional table and wireless charging.

Aft, a convertible sun pad with a fold-down backrest becomes the place to watch swimmers, and lockable in-floor compartments swallow wakeboards.

Helm electronics, the optional head and the bundles worth having

The current helm centers on a 9-inch Simrad NSX touchscreen with Mercury SmartCraft Connect, with a dual-screen Digital Dash optional. Early boats used SmartCraft gauges and a smaller plotter, so older dashes look dated.

The starboard console can be storage, a kids' hideaway with cushions, or a head. First-generation boats had a portable toilet standard with pump-out and VacuFlush upgrades; on the new boat the head comes with the Water System Bundle, which adds a sink and countertop.

Sea Ray now sells most options as bundles: Anchor (windlass), Comfort (teak table and bow filler cushion), Entertainment, Essentials, Lighting and Water System. The electric folding watersports tower is optional on the sterndrive boat and standard on the Surf. If you plan to resell, the tower, the Comfort Bundle and a head are the three options that buyers ask about first.

Sterndrive, outboard or Surf, picking the right SDX 270

The sterndrive SDX 270 is the version most people mean. It keeps a full-width swim platform, offers the widest range of power and suits freshwater lakes where corrosion is not a worry.

The sea ray sdx 270 outboard is a different boat in practice. Sea Ray lists the current model at 29 feet 11 inches overall including the engine, with a 90-gallon tank, a lighter dry weight of 6,484 pounds without engine, 35 inches of draft trim down and a choice of Verado 300 or Verado 350 V10. With no engine box, the aft cockpit becomes a yacht-tender-style lounge. Coastal and saltwater owners should lean this way, because the motor tilts fully clear of the water.

The SDX 270 Surf, launched with the redesign, uses a forward-facing Mercury Bravo Four S drive, a tapered transom, about 1,900 pounds of ballast in three tanks and electric surf tabs. It is standard with a 350 hp 6.2L and the electric tower. Buy it if wakesurfing is the point; skip it if you only tube occasionally, since the ballast and drive add cost.

Ownership costs and the sterndrive maintenance reality

Fuel is modest by big-boat standards. At BoatTEST's 3,500 rpm cruise the 300 hp sterndrive burns under 9 gph, so a 75-hour season costs only a few thousand dollars in gasoline. Realistic all-in yearly costs, excluding depreciation, run from about $8,000 for a trailered freshwater boat to $16,000 or more for a saltwater slip with bottom paint and winter storage.

Sterndrives ask for more care than outboards: annual bellows inspection on the Bravo Three, gimbal bearing and U-joint service every few seasons, impellers, and anodes in salt water. Mercury and Sea Ray dealer support for the 6.2L and 8.2 V8s keeps parts and labor predictable.

Reading the used market for a sea ray 270

Sea Ray built a lot of these boats, so supply is healthy and buyers can be choosy. First-generation boats from 2016 to 2019 typically trade in the $55,000 to $85,000 range depending on engine, hours and the tower. Later first-generation boats from 2020 to 2023 sit higher, and the redesigned 2024 and newer boats carry a clear premium because of the new styling, the larger tank and the glass helm.

Listings for an sdx 270 sea ray also capture older 270 Sundeck and 270 SLX boats, which are different hulls, so confirm the model year and hull identification number before comparing prices.