April 2, 2026
Sea Ray SLX 310: The Sterndrive Dayboat That Still Makes the Case
The SLX 310 is the 31-footer for the owner who wants a clean swim platform, a wet bar within reach of the helm, and drives instead of transo…
Read the articleThe Sea Ray SLX Series
The sport boats — SLX 310, 360 Outboard and 400 Outboard, 31'6" to 42'2", on Mercury sterndrives and Verado outboards
The SLX line is where Sea Ray puts its best finishes and its newest technology. These are day boats first: the cockpit is the room that matters, the wet bar is standard rather than an option, and the swim platform is treated as living space rather than a place to store a ladder.
Three of the twelve SLX models sit in that upper bracket, and all three are reviewed here. What separates them is not size so much as how the power reaches the water. The 310 keeps its engines inside the hull on Bravo Three drives, which buys a clear transom and a full-width swim platform. The 360 and 400 hang Verados off the back, which buys shallower water with the drives up, service at the transom instead of through a hatch, and — on the 400 — the option of two 600 hp V12s.
All three carry a 21-degree deadrise, which is the number that explains why these boats stay civilised in a chop that has flatter hulls slapping.
The SLX Lineup, Smallest to Largest
Every Sea Ray SLX model we review in depth, in the order owners step up through the series.
Photo credit Sea Ray.
A 31'6" sterndrive dayboat: twin MerCruiser 4.5L with Joystick Piloting standard, 21° deadrise, a wet bar aft, and a published 44–50 mph.
The best-documented boat in the range: triple 300 Verados, 35–38 mph cruise, 49–52 mph WOT and 238 miles at cruise — all four figures Sea Ray's own.
42'2" and the only Sea Ray in the range offered with twin 600 hp V12 Verados. The fold-down swim terrace opens the cockpit all the way to the water.
Don't see the SLX model you're after — or a brand-new launch? Request specs through Yacht Specs Direct.
Moving Up the SLX Series
The SLX 310 is the sterndrive of the three at 31'6", with twin MerCruiser 4.5L engines at 250 hp a side standard and 6.2L options to 350 hp. Sea Ray publishes a 44 to 50 mph wide-open throttle band for it — but no cruising speed and no range. It carries 130 gallons, a 20-gallon holding tank and an open bowrider layout with a head compartment. It is also the only one of the three under the five-year SURPA5S+ warranty umbrella alongside the 360.
The SLX 360 Outboard at 38'1" is the best-documented boat Sea Ray currently sells. Triple 300 Verados standard with e-Steering, triple 425 V10s optional, 275 gallons — and, uniquely in the range, four published performance figures: 35 to 38 mph cruise, 49 to 52 mph wide open, 238 miles of range at cruise and 178 at full throttle. It also carries the most advanced helm in the line, with Fathom e-Power in place of a generator, gyro stabilisation and Pro Control auto-levelling. Worth knowing: Sea Ray's own descriptive copy calls it a 36-foot dayboat while the specification block says 38'1". Use the specification figure.
The SLX 400 Outboard is the flagship at 42'2" — nearly two and a half feet longer than the 39'9" sterndrive SLX 400 it derives from, because the stern was re-engineered rather than adapted. It is the only Sea Ray offered with twin Mercury 600 Verado V12s, carries 375 gallons, and opens the cockpit to the water on a fold-down swim terrace. Sea Ray publishes no speed and no range for it at all. It is also the only SLX excluded from the five-year warranty scheme, covered under the three-year Sundancer terms instead.
This hub covers three of the twelve boats in Sea Ray's SLX line. The 260, 280, 310 Outboard, 350 and their Outboard and Surf variants are not reviewed here.
Our Take
The SLX line is the reason Sea Ray still matters in a market that has been handed to centre consoles. These are unashamedly social boats — the layout starts at the cockpit and works outward — and the finishes are a step above what the volume-builder label suggests.
What I want you to notice is how differently the three boats behave as products. The 360 Outboard publishes a full performance set, right down to two range figures. The 400 Outboard publishes none at all. Same line, same builder, same year. That is not a small inconsistency when you are trying to plan a run somewhere, and it means your sea trial has to do more work on the bigger boat than on the smaller one.
The other thing worth carrying into a showroom: the 400 and 400 Outboard are quietly excluded from Sea Ray's five-year SURPA5S+ warranty and carry the three-year cruiser terms instead. Nobody is hiding it — it is on the warranty page in plain type — but it is not on the model pages, and it is the sort of thing a buyer discovers two years in.
Tony Smith, Founder — Minted Yachts.
Sea Ray SLX Articles & Guides
Watch Our Sea Ray SLX Reviews
Official Sea Ray Premieres
Videos courtesy of Sea Ray.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between the Sea Ray SLX and Sundancer lines?
SLX is the sport-boat line and Sundancer is the sport-cruiser line, and the dividing line is what happens below deck. An SLX is built around the cockpit: standard wet bar, convertible sunpads, a swim platform treated as living space, and a cabin that ranges from a head compartment on the 310 to berths on the 400 Outboard. A Sundancer is built around staying overnight: both boats reviewed here are rated to sleep four, with an enclosed head and a galley, and the 370 adds a separate shower stall. SLX boats also carry the longer five-year warranty, with the SLX 400 and 400 Outboard the two exceptions.
Should I choose the SLX 310's sterndrives or the outboards on the 360 and 400?
It comes down to the transom and the maintenance. Sterndrives on the SLX 310 keep the machinery inside the hull, which gives you a clear transom, a full-width swim platform and weight carried low and inboard. The cost is annual service on bellows, gimbal bearings and the drives themselves, plus corrosion management in salt water where the SeaCore option earns its keep. Outboards on the 360 and 400 give you a shallower draft with the engines trimmed up, service at the transom rather than through a hatch, and diagnostics a dealer can run at the dock. Sea Ray now offers both configurations on almost every model, so you can pick the propulsion without changing the boat.
Which Sea Ray SLX has the longest published range?
The SLX 360 Outboard, and it is the only one of the three with a published range at all. Sea Ray rates it at 238 statute miles at its 35 to 38 mph cruising speed, and 178 miles at wide-open throttle, from a 275-gallon tank. The SLX 400 Outboard carries a larger 375-gallon tank but Sea Ray publishes no range, no cruise speed and no top speed for it, and the SLX 310 publishes only a 44 to 50 mph wide-open band. If range is the deciding factor in your shortlist, the 360 Outboard is the only boat in the line where you can plan against the builder's own arithmetic.
Which SLX Fits Your Life?
Tell us how you plan to use the boat — guests, range, crew or no crew — and we'll give you the straight story on where in the SLX series you belong, new or brokerage.
Explore All Sea Ray ModelsOr reach Tony directly: TS@MintedYachts.com · +1 (404) 805-9819