1988 Sea Ray Seville Deck & Stringers

[ShellBack89]

I just bought a 1988 Sea Ray Seville. When I was having the motor and outdrive worked on I found a soft spot in the aft section starboard side. Today I was poking around and found that the port side is even worse. I'm draining the gas out of the tank but where do I go from here? I know that Friscoboater had a great thread and I'll re-watch that several times but just a quick where do I go from here? What is the best way to cut the deck out? I've posted some pictures to help describe the area that is rotted. Thanks in advance.

By the way, I love the duck tape the previous owner used to "protect" the stringers from getting wet after they replaced the deck over the fuel tank. They didn't seal it in, they just used duck tape.:facepalm:

shellback89's's Library | Photobucket

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Where Do I Begin? - 1988 Sea Ray Seville Deck & Stringers

Re: Where Do I Begin? - 1988 Sea Ray Seville Deck & Stringers

Welcome to iBoats!

Circular Saw set just Slightly deeper than the thickness of your deck. Sawzall, Prybars, chisels etc.. You will be amazed at what you are going to find under there. Not trying to be a "Downer" but just like Frisco you're prolly looking at a total "Gut Job"
Hint: Use the IMG tag in photobucket to paste your pics directly into your iBoats thread.


I like the "Duct Tape"

 

[ShellBack89]

1988 Sea Ray Seville Deck & Stringers - SPLASHED

1988 Sea Ray Seville Deck & Stringers - SPLASHED

Woodonglass

Thanks for the tips (tools & pics). I'll get cracking tomorrow. Don't worry about being a "Downer" I figured as much but I'm a hunter and we are the biggest optimist, especially in CA (the ducks will come), so if it's a total job then she'll be stronger and safer than when she was new (of course I'm saying that now ). The motor and outdrive are solid so at least I've got that.

I'll post more pics as I go with more and more questions. This is my first boat so I'm all in. Thanks again!

 

[ShellBack89]

Re: Where Do I Begin? - 1988 Sea Ray Seville Deck & Stringers

Re: Where Do I Begin? - 1988 Sea Ray Seville Deck & Stringers

So now the questions begin......Today I was able to get the fuel tank out and removed one of the back-to-back seats (stbd side). My question is I found a drop off under the seats near the hull. It looks like the deck was separating???? Is it that or something else? I posted pics. Thanks, little by little....

FYI....I'm trying to figure the picture thing out to make it easy but I'm having some issues :facepalm:

http://s1170.photobucket.com/albums/r538/shellback89/

 

[Cadwelder]

Re: Where Do I Begin? - 1988 Sea Ray Seville Deck & Stringers

Re: Where Do I Begin? - 1988 Sea Ray Seville Deck & Stringers

Wow, that is rotten for sure, with that much rot, you're going to be going all the way down to the hull and starting back up. Plenty of help here to get you thru whatever comes up....

Takes lots of pictures and measurements as you go...it's really easy to say "Ah, I'll remember how that goes" , but when you start back you find yourself saying "Hmmmm, how did that go?"

Good luck

CW

 

[kmarine]

Re: Where Do I Begin? - 1988 Sea Ray Seville Deck & Stringers

Re: Where Do I Begin? - 1988 Sea Ray Seville Deck & Stringers

One quick suggestion is to make templates of the pannels as you cut out the rotten ones. This save time and guesswork as toy make your new ones . I like to use 4 mil plastic because I can see through it. I use a sharpie permenent marker and trace all shapes and relief cut outs. cardboard works well too, however I like the transperanc of the plastic.

 

[ShellBack89]

Re: Where Do I Begin? - 1988 Sea Ray Seville Deck & Stringers

Re: Where Do I Begin? - 1988 Sea Ray Seville Deck & Stringers

Gentlemen....Thank you for the support and suggestions. All are appreciated as this is my first boat, which means first restoration. I'm a disabled vet so it will be a little slower than I like but I'm shooting for July 4th splash date! If that pans out I've got a great name for her.

So does everyone think that dip is the stringers collapsing on themselves and the deck giving away??? The hull seems to be intact, so dips or other signs that it is sagging. The motor is real strong with compression on all 6 cyl of 185 or greater and the outdrive rocks. It's the only year that Sea Ray made a white outdrive and everything is original. I just had the trim tabs resealed along with a number of other preventable maintenance work done on the motor.

I'm thinking of ditching the back-to-back seats and replacing them with two captains chairs (1 each of port/Stbd) and then maybe a bench behind the Stbd Captains seat. If anyone has other suggestions that would be great or pics you can refer me to.

The only saving grace is that the transom and motor mounts seem to be solid but we'll see once I get in there. I'll get more done this weekend. I'm shooting for port side seats and then the deck from there I will start to process of taking out all that foam......

The nice thing is it is 80 degrees in SOCAL so I'll be comfortable this weekend working. For you all in the midwest, God bless you all. Keep your heads down and we'll be saying a prayer for you all tonight!

MJR

 

[GT1000000]

Re: Where Do I Begin? - 1988 Sea Ray Seville Deck & Stringers

Re: Where Do I Begin? - 1988 Sea Ray Seville Deck & Stringers

Hello and Welcome ShellBack89,

Just wanted to come aboard and check out your resto, help and cheer you on whenever I can, and THANK YOU for your Service! You do us proud.

If it is any help, you just left click on the IMG tag in Photobucket, right click your mouse, left click COPY, then when you post a reply here, "Go Advanced", left click your mouse where you want to put the picture, right click PASTE, and the image will show up like this...

By the way, these are from YOUR photobucket...

Hope this helps and best of luck!

GT1M

 

[ShellBack89]

Re: Where Do I Begin? - 1988 Sea Ray Seville Deck & Stringers

Re: Where Do I Begin? - 1988 Sea Ray Seville Deck & Stringers

Right on thank you & it was my pleasure serve. Any and all advise is appreciated.

 

[ShellBack89]

Re: Where Do I Begin? - 1988 Sea Ray Seville Deck & Stringers

Re: Where Do I Begin? - 1988 Sea Ray Seville Deck & Stringers

Today was a good day! I was able to get both front-back facing seats out and their pedestal. I also got all of the deck out on the port side and started taking some of the foam out. The nice thing, although I'm a charger fan so I shouldn't count my chickens before they are hatched, is that it appears that the damage is localized to the fuel tank area. There is good wood, no moisture or signs of rot forward of the fuel tank.

So if this holds looking at the pictures that I took today (we'll see if I can get them on the page or not) it looks like I only have to replace the bulkhead that is aft of the fuel tank (closest to the bilge) which runs stud/port and the stringers which contain the fuel tank and those just outboard of the fuel tank.

This is my thought, so please give me your thoughts, I was going to extend the bulkhead near the bilge on both sides to the hull (giving the rear some strength). Put a bulk head in near the kick plate forward and one just forward of the fuel tank. This way it will provide the deck with extra strength, I can make sure that new foam makes it way throughout if there are more enclosures. Finally, depending on how back the deck is which holds the fuel tank replace that. What are everyone's thoughts??? Overkill, not enough, its your boat do what you want????

Thanks again for everyone's input. It is appreciated.

MJR

 

[ShellBack89]

Re: Where Do I Begin? - 1988 Sea Ray Seville Deck & Stringers

Re: Where Do I Begin? - 1988 Sea Ray Seville Deck & Stringers

Sorry, I should have added that everything aft of the fuel bulkhead is squared away. The transom and motor mounts are solid so I'm not going to mess around with them. I have the fiberglass forearm itch so I was distracted and left that part out. Thanks again!

MJR

 

[vincechig1975]

Re: Where Do I Begin? - 1988 Sea Ray Seville Deck & Stringers

Re: Where Do I Begin? - 1988 Sea Ray Seville Deck & Stringers

Wow looks like ours after I found a similar situation, now it's ripped apart engine out and still runnin into more issues....then I wanted to puke and then saw friscoboater's youtube blog, and now I have a better outlook.....and thanks to all of the guys here for the help it's been very valuable for me, especially when it's gotten tough. Listen ask questions and read read measure read and measure again, and most of all take photos lots of then keep on keepin on,
Hey Wood ....wife goin for surgery on Monday ...pretty serious ....Say prayers.

 

[ShellBack89]

Re: Where Do I Begin? - 1988 Sea Ray Seville Deck & Stringers

Re: Where Do I Begin? - 1988 Sea Ray Seville Deck & Stringers

Wow looks like ours after I found a similar situation, now it's ripped apart engine out and still runnin into more issues....then I wanted to puke and then saw friscoboater's youtube blog, and now I have a better outlook.....and thanks to all of the guys here for the help it's been very valuable for me, especially when it's gotten tough. Listen ask questions and read read measure read and measure again, and most of all take photos lots of then keep on keepin on,
Hey Wood ....wife goin for surgery on Monday ...pretty serious ....Say prayers.

Thanks for the words of support. I've got Friscoboater's thread on my favorites webpages. I watch his videos daily. Hope you wife does well. I'm a nurse and medic so if you have any questions please sent me an PM and I'll answer the best I can. God bless you and your wife and we'll say a prayer at church tonight.

MJR

 

[ShellBack89]

Re: Where Do I Begin? - 1988 Sea Ray Seville Deck & Stringers

Re: Where Do I Begin? - 1988 Sea Ray Seville Deck & Stringers

Taking a break to catch my breath. It's 80 hot and dry today in SOCAL. I was able to get most of the foam out on the port side. There was only one little (quarter size) area of water. Everything else was dry. The only damage to the stringers appears to be at the top closest to the deck. There must have been standing water which was causing the problem. I think I can splice (not sure if that is correct term) into the good stringers and replace the area that is bad. I still plan on adding a couple of bulkheads for support. Here are a couple of pictures from this morning. Never mind the good looking guy in full battle rattle.

 

[ShellBack89]

Re: Where Do I Begin? - 1988 Sea Ray Seville Deck & Stringers

Re: Where Do I Begin? - 1988 Sea Ray Seville Deck & Stringers

ahhhh, things were going so good!!!! What's worse than thinking damn I hope I'm not cutting a hole in the hull??? Looking down and seeing light coming up through the hull and looking down to see the street. Now, I know I'm not the first rookie to do this but please point me in the direction of a hull repair please??? I'm freaking out now!!!!! Needless to say I'm cleaning up, calling it a day, watching the rest of NASCAR with a nice cold beer!

MJR

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Where Do I Begin? - 1988 Sea Ray Seville Deck & Stringers

Re: Where Do I Begin? - 1988 Sea Ray Seville Deck & Stringers

No problemo!!!! this will be one of the Easiest things you will do on your restoration. It will be a great learning experience for you on how to lay glass. Don't worry about it now. Get the rest of the demo done and the hull all cleaned out and then we'll address the cut. Are you going to Paint the hull or are you wanting to keep the gelcoat?

You really need to get a respirator and not a mask. when you start grinding glass that little mask is NOT gunna cut it.

 

[ShellBack89]

Re: Where Do I Begin? - 1988 Sea Ray Seville Deck & Stringers

Re: Where Do I Begin? - 1988 Sea Ray Seville Deck & Stringers

I was wanting to keep the gelcoat. My heart just sank.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Where Do I Begin? - 1988 Sea Ray Seville Deck & Stringers

Re: Where Do I Begin? - 1988 Sea Ray Seville Deck & Stringers

Not an issue. We'll be using poly to do the repairs and then gelcoat paste on the outside. You'll be the ONLY one that will ever know it happened. You'll see...It is really not an issue. NOw if that was a TIN boat, oh Boy then we would have a problem.

 

[ShellBack89]

Re: Where Do I Begin? - 1988 Sea Ray Seville Deck & Stringers

Re: Where Do I Begin? - 1988 Sea Ray Seville Deck & Stringers

Thanks for the support and words of encouragement. I'm sure I'll be laughing about this........sometime..... I'll start up again on Tuesday or Wednesday getting the rest of the foam out. The area that I cut was the area that I posted the other day that I wasn't sure why there was a ripple. Still don't know. It appears that the deck wasn't even there it was just fiberglass on top of hull??? I'll need to grind that out to get to the area that I cut but I'll post more pictures when I get the rest of the foam out. Aside from this area of the boat every where else seems sold. Took core samples and have found no sign of rot. Think I was lucky there. I'll need to take out the are where the fuel tank is but I don't want to cut too far or I'll be doing another repair:facepalm: Should I start with measuring the stringers that are showing and then cut them out and see if the fuel tank deck is wet or needs to be pulled out? Could just be the shell that holds the fuel tank that is the only problem.....Thanks again!

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Where Do I Begin? - 1988 Sea Ray Seville Deck & Stringers

Re: Where Do I Begin? - 1988 Sea Ray Seville Deck & Stringers

Yep, measure and core sample so you'll know what needs to be done.