If you want a genuinely rapid seven-metre weekender, Stingray’s most sporting cuddy could be just the ticket. Alex Smith reports.

Take a long, hard look at this boat - a serious, critical look. And then have a think about what kind of boat you expect her to be. She has aggressive angles, crimson livery, raked steel vents and deep-set bucket seats behind a shallow screen. She has a long, flat foredeck of exactly the kind that might make an easy bedfellow for radical hull steps, an exotic powerplant and a set of burbling through-hull exhausts. In fact, she has all the arrogant bravado of an ostentatious muscle craft from the Miami Boat Show. And yet if you, like me, were anticipating a hard-core, narrow-beamed race craft masquerading as an everyday family leisure boat, you might be in for something of a surprise . . .

Big and clever

The moment you step on board the 225 SX, the thing that screams out at you is the huge beam. At more than 2.5 metres, it makes the Stingray feel like a very spacious craft. And while you’re standing there in the broad (almost square) cockpit, the other thing that makes itself plain is the peculiar generosity of the equipment list. You get a compass on top of the dash (by no means a common standard feature on competing craft), plus a Porta Potti in the cabin, a table for entertaining in the cockpit, a marine audio system for an impromptu party and even a pair of proper bolstered bucket seats for the helm and navigator.

Elsewhere, however, the accessible price point of the 225 brings about quite a careful balancing act. On the one hand you get sunken steel cleats (very nice), while on the other, you get pale brown plastic grab handles (quite drab). In one area of the boat, you get low-level lights for the deck (very cool), while in another, you get storage spaces without drainage holes (potentially damp). In the engine bay you get LEDs and ingenious adjustable partitions (quite luxurious) but elsewhere, you find various lids without braces (quite sparse).

The long legged runner

Only a few seconds after letting her off the leash, I imagine I have just been easing into the experience with a fairly moderate and responsible cruise, but on checking the dials, it turns out I am already registering 5,000 rpm and around 46 knots. That’s just 250 rpm (and two knots) below this test boat’s top end and yet she still offers the reassurance of a stable and composed ride. Yes, the waterline is well back and the whole experience feels (and sounds) tremendously slippery and quick, but this boat is anything but lairy…

For the full test of the Stingray 225SX, buy the November issue of Sports Boat and RIB, available from 3^rd November. To buy the current issue, click here.