March 24, 2026
Sea Ray SLX 400 Outboard: 42 Feet Built Around the Cockpit
Sea Ray calls the SLX 400 Outboard "The Entertainer" and builds it around a cockpit that opens all the way to the water. It is also the only…
Read the articleSea Ray SLX 400 Outboard
Expert Review, Technical Specifications & Market Analysis
The Essentials
| Feature | Specifications |
|---|---|
| Overall Length | 42'2" |
| Beam | 12'1" (3.68 m) |
| Draft | 45" outboards down / 32" outboards up |
| Displacement | 20,678 lb (9,379 kg) dry weight |
| Engines | Triple Mercury 300 Verado V8 outboards, Joystick Piloting and e-Steering (Tri-300 hp) standard; Twin Mercury 600 Verado 7.6L V12 optional (T-600 hp / 1,200 hp) |
| Fuel Capacity | 375 gal (1,420 L) |
| Water Capacity | 50 gal (189 L) |
| Cabins / Heads | Cabin with berths and an enclosed head; 28 gal holding tank. Sea Ray describes the cabin but publishes no berth count for this model |
Source: Spec & Photos courtesy of Sea Ray. Specs verified by Tony Smith, USCG 100 Ton Master, on August 11, 2026.
Part of the Sea Ray SLX series — see how owners step up through the lineup.
Quick Verdict
- The stern was re-engineered for outboards rather than adapted: at 42'2" the outboard boat is nearly two and a half feet longer than the 39'9" sterndrive SLX 400 it derives from
- The only Sea Ray in the range offered with twin Mercury 600 Verado V12s — 1,200 hp on two transom brackets instead of three, with the triple 300 Verado package standard
- Sea Ray publishes no cruise speed, no top speed and no range for this model, so every performance number in circulation is somebody's estimate. Measure it yourself on the trial
Our Take
The tell on this boat is the length. The sterndrive SLX 400 is 39'9". This one is 42'2". You do not gain two and a half feet by hanging motors on an existing transom — you gain it by redesigning the back of the boat, and Sea Ray did. That is why the fold-down swim terrace works here and why the cockpit does not feel like it gave anything up to make room for outboards.
The twin 600 V12 option is the configuration I would look hardest at, and not for the horsepower. Two engines instead of three means fewer service intervals, less rigging and simpler diagnostics, and the V12's steerable gearcase does genuinely good things at low speed. Whether it is worth the money over the standard triple 300s is a question your sea trial answers, not a spec sheet.
Two things to go in knowing. First, **Sea Ray publishes no performance data for this boat at all** — no cruise, no top end, no range. Its specification block stops after the holding tank. So do the fuel-flow arithmetic yourself against 375 gallons, at the speed you would actually hold. Second, the warranty. Every other SLX carries the five-year SURPA5S+ terms. The SLX 400 and 400 Outboard are specifically excluded from it and get the three-year Sundancer cover plus ten years structural instead. Sea Ray treats this boat as a sport cruiser, whatever the badge on the hull says.
Watch Our Sea Ray SLX 400 Outboard Reviews
Official Sea Ray Premiere: Inside the Sea Ray SLX 400 Outboard
Video courtesy of Sea Ray.
Sea Ray SLX 400 Outboard Photo Gallery
Photos courtesy of Sea Ray.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How fast is the Sea Ray SLX 400 Outboard?
Sea Ray does not say. Its specification block for the SLX 400 Outboard gives length, beam, fuel, standard propulsion, draft trimmed down and up, dry weight, deadrise, water capacity and holding tank, then stops — no cruising speed, no wide-open-throttle figure and no range. Every speed figure in circulation for this boat is therefore somebody's estimate rather than the builder's number, which is why the speed rows on this page are empty. Standard power is triple Mercury 300 Verado V8 outboards; the optional twin Mercury 600 Verado V12 package puts 1,200 horsepower on the transom. Measure it yourself on the sea trial.
Why is the SLX 400 Outboard longer than the sterndrive SLX 400?
Because Sea Ray redesigned the stern rather than adapting it. The sterndrive SLX 400 measures 39 feet 9 inches; the outboard version is 42 feet 2 inches. That extra two feet five inches is the re-engineered aft section that carries the outboard brackets and the fold-down swim terrace without eating into the cockpit. Both boats share a 12 foot 1 inch beam and a 21-degree deadrise, and the outboard carries 375 gallons against the sterndrive's 250. It is the clearest example in the range of an outboard model being designed rather than converted.
Does the SLX 400 Outboard get Sea Ray's five-year warranty?
No. The SLX 400 and SLX 400 Outboard are the two models specifically excluded from Sea Ray's five-year SURPA5S+ scheme, which covers the rest of the SPX, SDX and SLX sport boats. Instead they carry SENTIN3L: three years bow-to-stern on the boat and its components, plus a 10-year Limited Structural Hull/Deck warranty to the original owner. That is the same cover the Sundancer sport cruisers get. In warranty terms Sea Ray files this boat with the cruisers, whatever the SLX badge suggests, and the warranty is transferable to subsequent owners free of charge.