sea ray sorrento help

[ccustomrides]

Hello.

1988 sea ray sorrento 25. any of you guys here own one. Any good or bad with this boat. this one has 5.7 alpha for engine and drive. anythinh to look for on these boats. also what is the difference between sundancer and sorrento models.thanks

 

[dubs283]

Re: sea ray sorrento help

sea ray has historically made some the best quality boats ever, including the sorrento

that being said, even mercedes get neglected

if you are serious about buying this boat have it inspected by a professional reputable shop, cost you or the seller about $300 american

sundancers have aft cabins (below the cockpit/helm area)

 

[ccustomrides]

Re: sea ray sorrento help

Hmmm. This one has aft cabin.

 

[dubs283]

Re: sea ray sorrento help

not to say the sorrento does not have an aft cabin, maybe some did - i have never seen one, really haven't seen a lot of sorrentos

i dont think they made as many of em as other models from that era, or there may not be many in my area - the ones i have seen seem to be well taken care of and reflect owners properly maintaining them

 

[DaNinja]

Re: sea ray sorrento help

...that being said, even mercedes get neglected...

True statement. SeaRays are great but they can be neglected. You only have to venture into Frisco's resto thread to see what can happen and the work required to make it right.

Frisco Boater's resto thread

 

[lkbum]

Re: sea ray sorrento help

If you go to the Searay website, click on models and then past models, youi will find scanned brochures and specs of almost every boat they made, see link.
http://www.searay.com/Page.aspx/pageId/10250/Past-Models.aspx

 

[Silly Seville]

Re: sea ray sorrento help

It's all in the nomenclature. The "real" Sorrento was a high end Monaco, and was a bow rider. The boat you have is a rebadged Sundancer. If the boat spent it's life outdoors without cover, first place to check are the portlights. Also, check your bowrail stanchions. And most importantly, your transom. Get your hands on a quality moisture meter, and use it. While these hulls were solid fiberglass, there is a ton of plywood in the interior compartments, bulkheads and transom. Not to mention the obvious...stringers. Sea Ray was obnoxious about not sealing certain areas of the bilge. Do your research and due diligence on a boat from this era!

 

[ccustomrides]

Re: sea ray sorrento help

It looks solid. i checked the transom and didnt see any cracks or spider webs. i even removed the transom drain insert with the plug and gell arpund that was firm. he did have water in bilge so buttom of the wood was little wet but i stuck a screw drive in there and it didnt really budge. that would be the wetest part of the transom anyway. its not like transom had give to it or anything.

 

[Silly Seville]

Re: sea ray sorrento help

...its not like transom had give to it or anything.

Were you checking the inside of the transom? Putting pressure on the outside (gelcoat) of the transom will tell you nothing. You must do the rubber mallet test on the inside, where there is no gelcoat to give a false sense of strength to the underlying wood/fiberglass structure. I will repeat my earlier suggestion. Buy a moisture meter or pay someone to do it for you. (surveyor or marine mechanic)
And lastly; that is a self-bailing cockpit. There is no reason for there to be water in the bilge, unless there is a pre-existing problem. I would ask seller why there is water present. If he says "I don't know" or "That's normal" I would be very suspicious.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: sea ray sorrento help

It looks solid. i checked the transom and didnt see any cracks or spider webs. i even removed the transom drain insert with the plug and gel around that was firm. he did have water in bilge so bottom of the wood was little wet but i stuck a screw drive in there and it didn't really budge. that would be the wetest part of the transom anyway. its not like transom had give to it or anything.

Sea Ray are good boats . . . their model lines are confusing, it seems. The Sundancers are more the 'cruiser' than the runabout/cuddy, but that is not always the case.

A buddy of mine had a Sea Ray of similar vintage and one thing I noticed was cracking on top of the stringers, indicating water penetration into the wood core of the stringer. So in addition to the transom, check the stringers for similar soft spots or other weakness. If it all looks good and solid and the boat checks out mechanically, then you are in good shape.

 

[ccustomrides]

1988 sea ray sorrento water system help

1988 sea ray sorrento water system help

Hello. so i have a 1988 sea ray sorrento 25. can someone explain how the water system works on this boat. i mean shower.sinks.etc.
I know ot has a porta poty with pump out and hot water tank. i do have three lights in fuse panel that show full.half and e. those are for? also where does all the water drain from sinks and shower drain. bilge or side of boat. i have some water on the bathroom floor. next to drain. is tjere a pump that pumps it out or is it self draining.thanks.

 

[Silly Seville]

Re: 1988 sea ray sorrento water system help

Re: 1988 sea ray sorrento water system help

Water system is very simple. Fresh water tank is in bow under cushion. Water pump is low level pressure activated (when your master switch is on.) The plumbing is exactly as you would find it in any residence. You may have a hot water heater/engine exchanger as an option on the boat. Very nice upgrade if so. The engine's hot water flows thru the water heater and warms it without electricity. Your galley and head sinks gravity drain overboard via thru-hulls. Your head floor drain gravity feeds to a sump box at the entrance to your midberth. From there it is sent overboard via a float activated pump, or manually via a helm master switch. If you have standing water on the floor in head, you have standing water in the sump box. If that pump doesn't clear the water upon next use of shower, you will have a wet cabin floor.

 

[ccustomrides]

Re: 1988 sea ray sorrento water system help

Re: 1988 sea ray sorrento water system help

Ok thanks for info. so where is the sump and how do i get to it. also how do i activate the pump.thanks

 

[JOz99]

Re: sea ray sorrento help

The best advice I ever got on here was to get a survey before buying.

Last summer I almost bought a 1989 250 Sundancer. I inspected everything that I knew how. The floor and transom seemed as solid as could be, the boat ran great in the sea trial, we negotiated an agreed upon price, and besides a few cosmetic issues, everything seemed great.

The final step was the survey, which unfortunately found the stringers and bulkheads rotted out. Without that survey, I would have never known until it was too late. $300 or so (for the survey) was alot for a boat I didn't end up buying - but it saved me a ton of $$$ and headaches in the long run!

 

[oops!]

Re: sea ray sorrento help

i merged your two threads.

try not to post the same question twice on the whole forum please....

it is really confusing to follow the posts so we can help you

thanks for your cooperation

your friendly neighbourhood modulation team !

 

[oops!]

Re: sea ray sorrento help

by the way.....good post silly