In-n-out. This site just stokes my intolerance for not being able to get out on the water
. But, what are you going to do?
To directly answer the question, we did look at the R5 and the R7. The leading contender was the 242. Originally my wife wanted a head compartment. After searching, searching, and more searching and not being able to find what we wanted, big block (merc) with head compartment and her wanting something to haul everyone we know + everyone they know around the lake, we broadened the search.
Ultimately, after talking to others, and realizing that we boat on a 4500 acre lake 95% of the time, she gave up on the head compartment. That, coupled with some research and good timing put us on the A25. There really wasn't any reason not to buy the R7 based on the merits of the boat. We probably could have saved some money and it would have been more fitting for our middle age infancy
, the speed was there and they are good looking boats.
The A25, I have zero regrets. It is more boat than I thought I would ever own, and more than I need. It is a bit inconvenient with the 20' slip length limit on our lake. However, I have a boat that I can take to any body of water that I have ever thought about boating on. There is soft upholstery everywhere to keep my little ones from bouncing off of anything hard. Looking at comparable Sea Rays at the boat show, the first thing my wife noticed was how much deeper the bow seating was (important for Mom's with little ones on board). We have storage on top of storage, almost too much. Sure, you can pull the potty out and use that space, but I like under the seat. The boat is laid out very well for our use. On Labor Day, we had 15 people on board. 6 adults. 3 teens, and 6 smaller than teens. Pulling water toys was not a problem. Rubbing sweaty body parts on each other was not a problem.
We are on a smallish lake and the marinas really aren't configured for bigger boats. This is my first boat, but I've been boating my entire life. I wouldn't want to navigate to the pumps in anything bigger. When underway, I feel a bit guilty for the wake this thing puts out. Again, I'm on a smaller lake and 20' boats and pontoons are the norm. Towing isn't an issue either. It is big and you know it is there behind and Expedition and F250 with a 7.3. Navigating strip malls and fast food joints isn't an issue with a boat this size. Again, not a problem, but I wouldn't want any bigger.
On the water, I would NOT give up my big block. Having said that, the swim platform is the only thing I like better. I really, really, thought it was gimmicky at first and was embarrassed to let it down in front of our boating friends. I'm pretty modest and not flashy. This just wasn't by style. However, when the water temps got comfy, it was without a doubt my favorite place on the boat. The kids can spend endless amounts of time playing back there without having to swim or float as the water comes up much higher on them. Back to the motor. The economy is very reasonable. We made a 90 mile round trip at an average of about 36mph in October. I'm thinking it was around 40 gallons of fuel or a little more. 15 up and 25 back. Reasonable enough. Pulling any water toy to this point has been a non issue with any passenger load. Ride is fantastic with water conditions within reason. My daughter slept for almost an hour in 18-24" wind driven chop on the Ohio River on that October trip (white caps) while running in the low 40's to get back to the trailer.
That's more than you asked and maybe more than you wanted to know. Hopefully it made sense. In short, I love the boat I have. I think the R7 is a great boat. For someone else. If I were buying an R series, it would be the R5 and is probably a more fair comparison.
