Buying a used Sea Ray (1987)

[joe_c]

Hello,
i went to check out an 1987 Sea Ray S19 (Sorrento). It has the 4.3 with alpha drive. It needs to have most of the seats re-upholstered. It has 400 hrs on it. Everything works though, engine and sterndrive (trims fine) are good. 600$ worth of repairs done in the last year, including gimbal bearing, sterndrive boots, ignition (cap, plugs, wires), alternator and starter. The only soft spot on the floor is with the piece over the gas tank, which seems to be a removable part and not integrated to the whole floor. I snapped some pictures for you to help me evaluate it and see if it's worth it for 2500$.
Comes with a galvanized EZ roller trailer with surge brakes.
Let the pictures speak for themselves...As you can see in the hull pics, it has some blisters...should I be worried as it's a problem on the inside, or a complete hull restoration will fix that ? Also in the ski trap, you can see some water there, probably from the rain...What do you guys think ?
Pictures: http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=495155
Thanks

 

[joe_c]

Re: Buying a used Sea Ray (1987)

bump, no help ?

 

[americaneagler77]

Re: Buying a used Sea Ray (1987)

well sea ray makes a good boat, hours are fair, motor and drive LOOK clean. if all the wood rot you can find is that removable lid, then its probably worth 2-2400 ish. barring a good sea trial and NO more rotten wood, if the wood is rotted behind the upholestery too you have a problem. that thing needs to be dried out well. then again thats my opinion and i can make any turd shine, i bought a boat once after i stepped through the floor while looking at it LOL. goodluck either way.

 

[gozierdt]

Re: Buying a used Sea Ray (1987)

I have an '88 20' Sea Ray Seville BR with the 4.3 4-barrel carb, and it's a great boat. I like the hull
design a lot, cuts through wakes and chop very well. Mine had 320 hours on it when I bought it last
year. That engine and the Alpha one drive are supposed to be a very reliable drive-train. The only
comment that worries me is that you mention hull blisters. If the first picture in the second post shows
those blisters (looks like small blisters all over the hull bottom every 2-3 inches, I would pass on that
boat. It's possible to fix those blisters, but with that many, you'd have to grind the gelcoat off the entire
boat, and you'd never get it looking like new.

West System Epoxy has an article on fixing blisters on their website. Here's a link:

http://www.westsystem.com/ss/repairing-individual-and-early-stage-gelcoat-blisters/

 

[joe_c]

Re: Buying a used Sea Ray (1987)

Yeah I was hoping you could see the blisters in the pictures, they're not very clear on a cellphone camera....Thanks for your inputs guys.