What do you think of the New Sea Ray 680?

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I see that Sea Ray has introduced a new larger Sunsport this year... going from 63' last year I believe to 68' this year. (Hull length 65')

How do you think this stacks up against European super-cruisers

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At one time I thought that SeaRay really stood out from other production boats (in the days of the original Sundancers and Pachanga's) but I have to say that compared to Baia's or Magnum's, the newest Sunsport looks a bit stretched and disproportionate. I imagine it's hull to be "thin" just based on the looks... of course, this really isn't a fair comparison since I believe the former two are in quite a different price range....

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Maybe it is just a case of one well defined style (defined by the smaller Sea Ray's) growing into another class which has typically been dominated by a different "style"...

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Did SeaRay invent the mid-cabin layout which elevates the helm above the aft/mid cabin? Or did someone else do this first?

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The new sea ray appears to me to suffer from the same problem as almost every other new production boat - function following form.
Judging by the photos on their web site, the helmsman would be hard pressed to see anything nearer than 100ft in front of him. I own a Searay sundancer and can vouch for their build quality, but when is someone going to realise that safety should always be the first design priority in any project?

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I agree with Will and note that ABYC has a visibility standard that the Sea Ray may not meet. Also (I don't know if this applies to the Sea Ray) I have seen hardtops on which the overhead blocks visibility to port when the boat is banked in a hard left turn.
In general I think the Sea Rays aren't bad but that the British Sunseekers are the best boats in this class.

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Stephen Ditmore
New York

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ABYC:
http://www.abyc.com/index.cfm

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The 50' Tiara 5000 is also a particularly high quality boat according to Professional BoatBuilder magazine.