The roomy and nimble Stingray 235 LR is built upon the company’s Z-Plane hull and powered by a Volvo Penta 5.7 GXi with a Duoprop drive. Both power and hull platform combine to offer a sporty ride and a luxury experience on the water.
The boat’s snappy hole shot and impressive top speed exemplify sport. More than this, however, I liked the way it lifted up, smoothing the ride. When I slowed slightly and made a sharp turn while tucking the drive back in, the 235 LR came around smartly with no ventilation in all but the tightest turns. At idle speeds, the 235 behaved wonderfully, turning crisply toward the dock and tracking without too much input on steering. While my tester was equipped with Volvo Penta power, Stingray also offers several Mercruiser options for 2011.
Inspecting the interior, I paced off its beam and length, noting how well traffic would flow with a crew of six, as well as how easily Stingray made boarding this boat. A swim platform meets a wide walk-through aft to the cockpit; while forward, the anchor-locker hatch also serves as a boarding step. If boarding on a beach, simply fold out the bow ladder forward of the twin-fender compartment. Stingray placed a cooler with a lid for use as a step pad when stepping down into the boat.
The 235’s firmly cushioned seating provides great comfort. Two full-length lounges provided plenty of room forward for my 6-foot frame — and twin bucket seats for captain and passenger offer the best cockpit-seating complement when matched with the aft L-shaped lounge (which also allows plenty of room for a handy transom walk-through). A swiveling, adjustable passenger seat allows plenty of room for accessing the changing room, which is equipped with a pump-out head. These kinds of comfort values are not often found in a big-performance boat.
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Extra Points**
Boarding ladder and compartment for two fenders conveniently housed in bow anchor locker.
Speed control is effortless thanks to silky-smooth throttle lever.
A radius helps prevent swim platform from striking the dock when pulling away.
A sink in the starboard coaming is elegant, durable and useful.
Test Drive
» Test Engine: Volvo Penta 5.7 GXI
» Test Prop: F7 Duoprop
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» Test Load:** People (235 LB.); Fuel (20 GAL.)
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» Top Speed:** 58.8 MPH @ 4,990 RPM
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» Time to Plane:** 4 sec.
» Time to 30 MPH: 5.2 sec.
» Most Economical Cruise Speed: 27.1 MPH @ 2,500 RPM, 5.6 GPH
Vital Stats
» Length Overall: 23’11”
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» Beam:** 8’5″
» Dry Weight: 4,105 LB.
» Seating/Weight Capacity: 12/2,535 LB.
» Fuel Capacity: 57 GAL.
» Max HP: 320
» MSRP: $57,934
» NMMA Certified
