Sea Ray Pachanga 19 Specs and Review [Video]

Manufactured in the late ‘80s, the Pachanga 19 was an entry-level Sea Ray performance boat. Her more popular sisters were the mid-sized Pachanga 22, Pachanga 27, and the flagship Pachanga 32.

Sea Ray Pachanga 19 Review

Hull and Top Deck

Sea Ray revealed their high-performance Pachanga boat series in 1987 with the introduction of three different models, the Pachanga 19, 22, and 32.

They featured a very cool “evergreen” sport boat design, which has never lost its eye-catching appeal.

As this sporty look suggests, they were engineered with extreme performance and outstanding handling qualities in mind.

The smallest member of this family was the Pachanga 19 built on a Raytec modified deep-V fiberglass hull.

She measured in at an overall length of 19 feet 2 inches with a beam of 94 inches.

Her claimed dry weight was 2,250 pounds and the gross trailering weight exceeded 3,000 pounds.

Thanks to the closed-bow architecture, her top deck housed a tiny cuddy cabin.

Due to its fairly small dimensions, it was mainly suitable for storing equipment. This is why it came standard with built-in bow ski storage.

Protected by an angular, low-profile windshield, the sporty cockpit housed a driver and passenger sport bucket seats and a split aft bench seat.

Each of these enjoyed deeply bolstered cushions for support and comfort and were completed with a huge sun lounge above the engine bay,

Other standard features included an audio system, removable floor ice chest, ski pole, rearview mirror, gunwale-mounted grab rails, mooring cleats, eyelets, a lockable glovebox, indirect cockpit lighting, canvas package, and side panel storage.

Stylish but minimalist, the helm had a tiltable “European Racing Grip” steering wheel with a power steering system, shift/throttle lever, and a dashboard with a compass and analog instruments.

Rated for 47 gallons, the aluminum fuel tank was fitted with an electric fuel level sensor, a shut-off valve, and a stainless-steel fuel fill.

The boat was offered with a wide range of optional features like painted hull graphics, snap-in carpet liner, hour meter, a Lowrance 3400 depth finder, WHF radio, and a storage cradle.

Engines and Performance

Unlike larger Pachanga models, the 19 was only available with single engine packages.

She came standard with a V6 205 OMC and V6 206 MerCruiser engine variants. These 4.3L sterndrive engines were almost identical, both were rated 205hp.

In contrast, the optional 5.7L SRX MerCruiser was a much more powerful V8 power mill that delivered 270hp out of the box.

With reasonable use, these engines proved to be fairly dependable and durable.

Even though the Pachanga 19 looked fast just sitting on the trailer, its top speed lagged behind the performance boats made by Donzi or Baja.

This is no surprise since the Pachangas were much more aggressive-looking sport boats rather than true high-performance runabouts.

For example, the smallest Pachanga 19 topped out in the low-to-mid-50s with the standard 4.3L engine package.  At best cruising speed, you could expect the fuel economy to be roughly 4 mpg.

Due to her small lightweight body, the boat was also prone to bouncing on the chop.

Because of this, she was primarily recommended for rivers and small lakes.

Specifications

The factory specifications of the 1987-1988 Pachanga 19 were as follows:

Overall Length (With Platform)	19’ 2”
Centerline (Less Platform)	17’ 9”
Beam	94”
Draft (stern drive down)	28”
Draft (stern drive up)	16”
Dead Rise	20°
Dry Weight (OB model)	2,250 lb.
Fuel Capacity	47 gal.
Standard engine	V6 4.3L 205 MerCruiser /OMC (205hp)
Optional engine	V8 5.7L SRX MerCruiser (270hp)

Disclaimer: Specifications in this post are for informational purposes only. For further information, please refer to the operator’s manual.

Problems

Besides poor wind protection and a lack of convenience amenities, another design flaw of the Pachanga 19 was her narrow swim platform.

However, the biggest problems of this classic Sea Ray boat was her wood-based floor supports, bilge stringers, and transom.

Due to water penetration, the wood cores of these structural elements started to rot, causing many headaches for owners.

Takeaways

With the introduction of the iconic high-performance Pachanga series, Sea Ray tried to compete with the performance models of Formula, Donzi, and Baja.

Only marketed in 1987 and 1988, the 19-foot Pachanga 19 was the smallest member of this breed.

This fairly expensive boat enjoyed an aggressive design and a 205/270hp single sterndrive engine.

Even though her tiny cockpit seated 4 people, it was only comfortable for the captain and one passenger.

Due to her age and short production years, the Pachanga 19 rarely appears on the market.

If so, asking prices vary between $7,000 and $12,000 depending on the condition and engine option.

Note that these boats were manufactured with rot-prone wood-cored structural elements, which means that replacement would entail a complete restoration procedure.