'79 Sea Ray SRV260 Express Cruiser full restoration

[CollegeCaptain]

Hey iBoaters! My name is Jack, and this thread is a journey through restoring my first boat. I grew up boating and later remodeling houses with my Dad, so I really wanted to learn everything about rebuilding these things. I bought this project '79 Sea Ray last summer from a family who lived in a floating home, then got a Cheezy Loader from Craigslist and hauled it out a few months later. I'm definitely not sponsored by H*rbor F*eight or any other cheap Chinese importers

This is primarily a river boat. The moss and grime you see is river moss that grows in cold water (usually 38-50*F) and is nowhere near as nasty as the salt water science experiments I'd looked at when choosing a boat to buy. The hull paint was still decent enough that any amount of speed blasted most of that off before my pressure washer took care of the rest.

The pre-Alpha Merc drive is bad, as suspected (this heavy boat needs a Bravo anyways!) and it's covered in deposits from corrosion. I asked about the one-finned whale fin which the previous owner had a story about - he says he went over a wave, came down hard, and it broke. I took a closer look - there's Bondo at the front of the hull and the side of the lower unit has a decent size crack running forward from the prop shaft and parallel to the anti-cavitation plate. Theory now is that he'd hit a log at decent speed.

Some of the progress I've made so far:
- Pull drive and engine
- Thoroughly clean everything
- Replace batteries and install deep cycle charger
- Fix fridge
- Fix fresh water pumps, hoses, and unplug sinks
- Heavy-duty pressure washing

I don't think, based on the YouTube "Tap Test", that my stringers are bad. I'm not holding out any hope for the transom or pour in foam though because there's a soft spot in the lowest part of the cabin floor. I'm also not opposed to replacing them, but I really don't know much about fiberglass yet.

More things it needs:
- Engine: carb rebuild, piston rings, gaskets, possibly bearings. Only has 1475 hours and apparently had a rebuild at 1000.
- Ceiling and floor carpet need replacement
- New hand-made tables and kitchen counter
- New sink
- Gut and rebuild bathroom with better toilet
- Re-wire hull to get rid of messy 40 year old junk wires
- Shore power isolator/converter (currently a switch and Chinese inverter)

Expect project updates every weekend, or at the very least, every other!

 

[Woodonglass]

Welcome Aboard!!!
You've come to the BEST forum on the net for restoring your boat. Pics and Questions will yield answers from some of the most knowledgeable and experienced boat restorers in the world.
Stringer TAP test is worthless. Use a drill and drill into the core. If shavings are light colored and dry A-OK Dark and Damp they'll need to be replaced. Same for the Transom and Motor Mounts. Core sample them and go from there. I'd highly recommend you determine the condition of all the above and get the Motor in Top Shape before doing any other work. Without a sound hull structure and good running motor all you have is a floating Island. Check the 2nd link in my signature lines below. It has some good info for the Boat Restoration Novice.

 

[CrazyFinn]

Welcome aboard. I'll be very interested to see what you find when you dig a bit deeper.

I have a '74 SRV240 that I'll be tackling with a full rebuild (new stringers, transom, and everything above them). When I got the boat, a previous owner had already gutted it with presumably the intention of redoing the interior, until they discovered that it really was rotten under the carpet.

Just be prepared to discover the same thing on your boat. Unless it spent all it's life indoors, my guess is that water has gotten into the foam and the stringers at some point over the past 39 years.