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Model profile · for Great Loop buyers
Sea Ray 480 Sedan Bridge
What the published record establishes about this model, what owners report,
and the questions worth asking while a boat is still a listing. This page is about the
MODEL — a specific hull always gets its own homework.
A capable, roomy planing flybridge cruiser whose Loop fitness turns on air draft and fuel range — a thirsty planing hull that is not a displacement trawler.
The 1999 Sea Ray 480 Sedan Bridge is a large, heavy planing flybridge cruiser with a raised sedan bridge, generous accommodations, and twin diesel power. For a 1999 hull the engine was typically either a Detroit Diesel 6V-92 (mechanical ~550 hp or DDEC electronic ~606–625 hp) or a Caterpillar 3196 (roughly 616–660 hp); the Cummins QSM-11 and MAN options arrived on later hulls (roughly 2003+), so Cummins/MAN-specific concerns generally do not apply to a 1999. As a fast planing hull it is inherently thirsty at Loop displacement speeds, and its bridge/hardtop height plus antennas make air draft the central Loop question. This particular listing states CAT 3196 power, which is a period-correct option for a 1999 hull — confirm it is original and not a repower.
How to read this: 🟢 Fact = confirmed against a document, spec sheet,
or owner. Everything else — Claim, Pattern, Question, Context — is not yet
verified: things to check, not settled truth. Sources are linked where published.
Range & fuel burn
CONTEXT
This is a thirsty planing hull, not a displacement trawler
Owner data points cluster around heavy fuel use: CAT boats near 30 gph total at ~20 kn cruise, Detroit boats around 4.3 gal/mile, and broad third-party figures of 40–50 gph on plane. A general owner estimate is 0.5–0.75 mpg on a good day because it is a heavy boat. Slowing to Loop displacement speeds helps less than on a trawler — a planing hull plows a hole in the water and is inherently less economical at low speed.
src:
The Hull Truth; BoaterEd; Trawler Forum
QUESTION
What is this boat's actual usable tankage, and what range does that give at your planned Loop cruise speed?
Owner figures suggest relatively short legs for a planing hull at cruise. With the reported tankage and ~40 gph total on plane, real-world range can be tight for longer open-water Loop legs, and running slow does not recover much economy on this hull form.
src:
The Hull Truth; Club Sea Ray; BoaterEd
Your move: Confirm the actual fuel capacity on this hull, then compute range at both your intended cruise speed and a slow speed, and map it against the longest fuel-free legs on your route.
Air draft & clearance
QUESTION
What is the measured air draft, and what can actually be lowered?
Air draft is the central Loop question for this model. One 480DB owner reports about 22 ft with antennas and everything up, noting it may be less with antennas down. The hardtop/bridge arrangement makes this a tall boat, and how much of that height can be removed determines whether it clears the Loop's controlling fixed bridges.
src:
Club Sea Ray
Your move: Measure the actual air draft to the highest fixed point, then identify exactly what unbolts or folds (antennas, radar, arch) and how much height that recovers; get it in writing before an offer.
CONTEXT
Height also drives storage and shrink-wrap logistics
Owners note the majority store these boats indoors because of the height, and that most marinas won't order shrink wrap wide enough to cover the hardtop. This is a practical planning/cost consideration for haul-outs and off-season storage along the route.
src:
Club Sea Ray
Systems
QUESTION
Is there any history of rainwater intrusion into the engine room?
A 480 owner reported rainwater entering the engine room, running across the hot water tank and shorting out controls, ruining batteries and an inverter. This points to deck/superstructure sealing as a possible weak point on the model rather than a certainty on any given hull.
src:
Club Sea Ray
Your move: During survey, inspect the engine room for water-staining and corrosion after a rain or a deck-flood test, and check battery/inverter/charger condition and mounting height.
Reading the boat
CONTEXT
On this model, condition and care trump hours and headline specs
Across forums, experienced owners warn that a neglected example can become a costly, drawn-out project — one veteran flatly called a poorly kept boat 'a dog with fleas.' Systems, engine care, and water intrusion history separate a sound boat from a money pit more than year or hours do.
src:
Club Sea Ray
Engines
The engines research — factory options, tested performance,
and the engine-specific questions our members' dossiers carry — is part of the
full profile inside the product. It travels with every dossier and survey brief
built on this model.
Looking at a specific 480 Sedan Bridge?
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