1969 Sea Ray Rebuild (and mods) [SPLASHED Sept 2017]

[CrazyFinn]

New guy on these forums (this is my first post). Did some reading here and looks like a good place to learn, ask questions, etc. Back in October, I started looking around on Kijiji for a small used fishing boat to take my retired dad fishing with me on some of these lakes that seem to be all around me in southern Ontario. As I browsed, I saw all of these little aluminum fishing boats for sale - but nothing intrigued me, and I realized I should get something bigger. So, I expanded my search, and discovered the wonderful world of project boats (ie. boats that others had given up on). Since that is basically how I buy all of my cars as well, it made complete sense to find a boat for as little as I could to completely re-do.

So... Beginning of November I found a 1969 Sea Ray SRV185, complete with a trailer. My wife and I took a two hour drive in my one ton Express van to go pick it up. After that long of a drive, I just bought it. It was cheap - and if all else fails I could sell the trailer for more than I paid for the whole package. It was also filthy, and needed a LOT of work. Exactly what I was looking for!

The trailer tires were ancient, although the bearings seemed fine. The old guy selling the boat gave me a spare that seemed somewhat better than the tires on the trailer - so we started rolling. Made it two blocks before the right side trailer tire blew. Put the spare on and slowly drove to the first place I could find a new tire on a Sunday (a Canadian Tire store). Swapped the other tire in the parking lot before I hit the highway. We made it home with no issues after that.

Here is the boat on the trailer on the way home:

 

[Scott Danforth]

Welcome aboard

 

[CrazyFinn]

Bit of background on the boat: the seller was an elderly gentleman who had bought the boat as a project. When he got it, the Volvo Penta the previous owners had installed was seized up solid, so he had sourced a good running Mercruiser 120 with a pre-alpha drive and had that "installed" in the boat. The previous owners (an undetermined number of years ago) had already replaced the stringers and the floor. The old guy selling me the boat said the engine would be ready to go - once the wiring, fuel lines, and hydraulics were all connected. I just said "ok", but was determined to take everything apart, and re-assemble it myself before I even tried to start it. With any of my vehicles, I can never really trust them unless I have re-built enough of it myself.

Bit of background on me: I am one of those crazy DIY guys who NEVER calls anybody to fix anything. My dad taught me well, and he now lives upstairs in our house. Over the years, I have had a home renovation business, worked in a number of other fields, have worked part time as a mechanic. Between my dad and I, we have restored a number of vehicles (cars, trucks, Jeeps). I also was a crew chief/mechanic on our small boat racing team for a number of years until we packed that up... So, although this is the first boat I have personally owned, I do have a fair bit of experience with all kinds of repairs.

I fully expected that once I started into the boat, I would find that things were not quite as simple as the seller thought. He told me he was selling the boat as his health was failing - and it was rather obvious that he wasn't in great shape.

 

[kcassells]

I'll second that! Looking forward to how the boat is.

 

[CrazyFinn]

Got the boat home, cleaned all of the branches and leaves out of it, and gave it a bath.

Here is what the deck looked like when I got it:


Part way through the bath...

 

[CrazyFinn]

The interior was... rough. It had grey cheap carpeting, an engine cover that didn't fit properly (and weighed almost as much as the boat), and two cheap folding fishing seats installed oddly far back from the dash.



The wood/stainless steering wheel looks salvageable - I kinda like it!

 

[kcassells]

I'll bet the wheel is teakor another good wood. So yes goof around with it. The floor is carpeted. Any soft spots yet?

 

[CrazyFinn]

Eventually, got the garage cleared out (I had a parts car in there being disassembled), and got the boat in before it snowed.

I had noticed that, in switching from the Penta drive to the Mercruiser, they had simply filled in the extra holes with silicone, and then put some glass mesh over top - right on top of the rear gelcoat. It was already peeling... So the entire drive has to come off to see how to solve this issue. The rest of the transom seems solid, and in better condition than I expected.

Pulled the lower part of the gear case off. Prop shaft seems fine, forward and reverse seem to work, and the impeller "feels" good. It will be checked more thoroughly (and probably replaced) before I re-install it.

The upper half of the drive was ridiculously difficult to pull out. Once I got it out, I saw why - the alignment was WAY off. The front of the engine was at least 2" too high. Not sure how they got it in like that (but sure glad the old guy never got to trying to run it like that). Also, the gimbal bearing is seized solid.

I have a new seal kit coming for the upper gear case. I also have new bellows, bearing, and lower shift cable on the way. Before I remove the gimbal assembly (or engine) a new front engine mount needs to be fabricated. Front engine mount, as it turns out, was sitting on a length of untreated 2x3 held in by deck screws.

Next - I removed the floor. It was unfinished plywood with carpeting glued to it. It was also starting to rot. It is now in my construction trailer waiting for my next trip to the dump.

The stringers actually seem to be fine. Definitely replaced, definitely not a pretty job, but seem solid and dry. Oddly, although they glassed in the stringers, the wood attached between the stringers is not glassed in. Even more oddly, it also appears to be weathered, but dry. The vertical pieces of wood at the sides (not sure what to call those) are quite rotted in places, and have to go.

 

[mickyryan]

looks like it will be a fun project for you welcome and imma tag along , love these old boats!

 

[CrazyFinn]

At this point, I'm just pulling things apart to see what I need to order (I have a couple weeks off work after this coming weekend - and this boat is going to keep me occupied when my wife is at work - I have a heated garage, and it's too cold outside to do anything out there).

Crawled under the front deck yesterday, and "pruned" out all of the old wiring. It was a mess, so I will do it all from scratch. Pulled out the gauges and steering so I can make a new panel for the gauges. The gas tank came out as well - appears to be a newer 24 gallon unit in good condition.


I also removed dozens of rusty snaps from the original roof. Planning to fill in the holes with gel coat and then sand/buff/polish the entire boat.

 

[CrazyFinn]

Mickyryan - thanks. I've read much of your project thread. Awesome job!

 

[mickyryan]

thanks my next feat will be a boat from scratch or one I don't have to change as much but then hell I always love a challenge so who knows lol

 

[CrazyFinn]

And methinks I figured out why the Volvo had seized up for the previous owners (or at least contributed to it) - I found a through hull water pickup that had been capped for the Mercruiser install. I just removed the hole thing (planning to just plug the hole in the hull properly). The water intake was almost entirely clogged with all kinds of crud - not a chance of enough water going through there to cool anything!

 

[CrazyFinn]

My plan is to get the structural stuff sorted out (transom, floor, etc.). Then I'll deal with all of the electrical, fuel, venting, bilge pumps, etc.

Once that is sorted out, I'll start on the interior. Since all of the original seats are long gone, I won't even try to make it original. I've never been a fan of back to back seats anyway. I've already found a used bucket seat from a ski boat - complete with adjustable swivel base - for the drivers seat. For the rest, my plan is to build wraparound seating (my wife sews, and has several sewing machines - so she has already volunteered to take care of the upholstery).

 

[mickyryan]

well get crackin we watchin

 

[shaw520]

looks like some decent bones to start with,.. stringers and bulks look dry,...not to tickled about how they cut the transom to fit the inline 6 though,..

 

[proshadetree]

Transome replacement would be on my list as well. Dont think just gelling up the screw holes will work either. But she is a good looking float. Cant wait to see what you do to it to make it yours.

 

[CrazyFinn]

Transome replacement would be on my list as well. Dont think just gelling up the screw holes will work either. But she is a good looking float. Cant wait to see what you do to it to make it yours.

After some more digging around this morning, yes the transom is being replaced. Removed the engine and drive, and found that they had butchered the hole for the drive. The wood around that is solid though, but not so much at the far port side of the transom - about 18" in from the sides of the boat is pretty soft.

Started cutting out the old transom already, and went and bought a gallon of resin to get started. Will have more time on Monday to dig in a bit more. The fun begins...

 

[CrazyFinn]

After pulling the drive, this is what I was left with. Wood is solid around the mess of a hole. Hilarious part is that with the silicone smeared all over it, they had then tried to get fibreglass/resin to stick to it. It all fell off with the drive...



Unfortunately, the upper corners of the transom aren't as solid as I thought, so it's all coming out and being replaced.

This is what I found when I started unbolting hardware from the transom:

 

[shaw520]

Remove material from the inside and keep outer skin is tact.