Sea Ray SLX 400 Review, Price and Performance

Why Sea Ray calls the SLX 400 The Entertainer

The Sea Ray SLX 400 is what happens when a builder takes a 40 foot hull, gives it a bowrider deck and asks how many people can have a good day aboard. The SLX line had grown up through 25 to 35 foot luxury bowriders, and the 400 pushed the concept to a size where it competes for the same buyers as an express cruiser. Sea Ray nicknamed it The Entertainer, and BoatTest rated deck capacity at more than 15 people.

The layout has three gathering areas. Forward is a deep bow lounge with touring seats, armrests, U-shaped benches and a table that converts to a sunpad. Amidships is the helm, under a fiberglass hardtop. Aft is a cockpit social zone with a wet bar, refrigerator, sink and optional dual electric grills, wrapped by seating that faces the transom and the water.

This is a boat for people who spend long days at a sandbar, a raft-up or a waterfront restaurant, and who want a cabin for changing, napping and the occasional night aboard. It is not a cruiser in the Sundancer sense, and buyers who expect a full galley and two private cabins should look elsewhere.

The fold-down swim terrace that won an innovation award

The feature that earned the SLX 400 an NMMA Innovation Award is the hydraulic swim terrace. A section of the starboard hull side folds down to the water, extending the cockpit outward and creating a second platform beside the swim step. BoatTest measured the extension at about 3 feet.

In practice it changes how the boat is used at anchor. Swimmers climb out at the side instead of queueing at the transom, the cockpit opens to the water, and the aft seating becomes a viewing gallery. The hydraulics for the terrace live in the machinery space aft, and their seals and rams are one of the first things to check on a used boat.

Sea Ray also kept a usable swim platform on the outboard version despite the motors. BoatTest measured it at 16 inches from the transom at its narrowest point, which is better than many triple outboard rivals manage.

Twin sterndrives or triple outboards

The original SLX 400 is a sterndrive boat. Sea Ray lists it at 39 feet 9 inches overall with a 12 foot 1 inch beam, 250 gallons of fuel and a dry weight of 20,794 pounds without engines. Power is a pair of 430 hp MerCruiser 8.2L MAG engines on Bravo Three X drives with SeaCore saltwater protection, with an HO version and joystick available. Sea Ray quotes wide open throttle speeds of 47 to 50 mph for the sterndrive boat.

The SLX 400 Outboard was previewed at the Fort Lauderdale show in the autumn of 2017. It stretches to 42 feet 2 inches with the motors, keeps the same beam and 21 degree deadrise, and carries a much larger 375 gallon tank. Current specifications list triple Mercury Verado 300 V8s as standard and triple Verado 425 V10s as the upgrade, both with Joystick Piloting and electric steering. Engine choices on early Outboard boats varied as Mercury's Verado range changed, so confirm the exact engines and their ratings on any used listing.

We would choose the outboard boat for salt water and for anyone who runs long distances, because the extra 125 gallons of fuel and the ability to tilt the motors clear of the water make ownership easier. The sterndrive boat suits fresh water owners who want a cleaner transom and a lower price.

What triple Verado 300s deliver

BoatTest ran an SLX 400 Outboard with triple 300 hp Verados at about 19,758 pounds, with three people, a quarter tank of fuel and half a tank of water. The wind was blowing 20 to 25 knots, but the test water was sheltered with less than a foot of sea.

Top speed was 51.8 mph, or 45 knots, at 5,900 rpm burning 72 gph. The boat planed in 4.8 seconds and reached 30 mph in 9.5 seconds. Best cruise came at 4,000 rpm, 28.6 knots on 34.8 gph, which gives a range of about 277 nautical miles with a 10 percent reserve. At 4,500 rpm the boat ran 33.3 knots on 42.7 gph with almost the same range, a good pace on a calm day.

The reviewer described the boat as excellent to drive with power to spare and a solid feel across wakes. There was some hull slap at full speed, but at cruise the hull cut through the chop comfortably. The turning radius is wider than on a smaller sport boat, something to remember in a crowded anchorage.

A day cabin with a queen bed aft

Below a center-mounted sliding door, the cabin has 6 feet 3 inches of headroom, a queen-size berth aft under the cockpit and a forward bunk area that converts into a social seating space. A small galley has a refrigerator, microwave and storage, and the wet head to starboard has a vessel sink on a solid surface counter and a hull side window.

The cabin sleeps four, but the realistic use is two adults overnight, or a family napping during a long day out. Air conditioning is the option that makes the cabin usable in a southern summer, and it needs either the generator or the lithium system described below.

Seakeeper, Fathom e-Power and the old engine room

On the outboard boat the space that held the sterndrive engines becomes a machinery and storage room under an electrically raised hatch. BoatTest found an optional Seakeeper 3 gyro there, with stringers already built to accept it, along with the house and start batteries, the generator and the terrace hydraulics.

The more unusual option is the Fathom e-Power system, which replaces the generator with roughly 22 kWh of lithium batteries, inverters and monitoring integrated into the Simrad displays. It runs the air conditioning and appliances quietly at anchor and sheds nonessential loads as the batteries run down. For owners who anchor in quiet coves, it is worth seeking out on a used boat, but check the battery health report and warranty status.

The helm has Sea Ray's Dual Digital Dash with twin Simrad touchscreens. Current boats list 9 inch screens as standard with 12 inch as an option, while earlier Outboard boats were tested with 16 inch units. Sea Ray+ app connectivity lets owners monitor the boat remotely on recent models.

The SLX-R 400e package and its 1,350 horsepower

Sea Ray built a performance flavored version called the SLX-R 400e, unveiled at the 2020 Miami show. It pairs the SLX 400 hull with triple Mercury Racing 450R outboards, Joystick Piloting, a Shadow metallic gel coat with a red boot stripe, black hardtop and legs, carbon fiber accents and red underwater lighting. It was also the first boat fitted with the Fathom e-Power lithium system. It is the most expensive way to own an SLX 400 and the rarest on the used market.

The racing outboards demand a stricter maintenance schedule than standard Verados. On a used SLX-R 400e, ask for Mercury Racing service records and a compression and leakdown test on all three motors.

Running an SLX 400 and buying one used

Expect annual costs of roughly $40,000 to $75,000 before depreciation, depending on slip prices, insurance, service and how many hours you run. Fuel is the biggest variable: at about 35 gph at cruise, a 75 hour season burns more than 2,500 gallons of gasoline. Triple outboards also mean triple service bills.

The used market is healthy. Early sterndrive boats from 2017 and 2018 start in the mid $300,000s, while late outboard boats with gyro stabilization and premium options trade from the high $600,000s into the $800,000s.