Bankruptcy on a Trailer

[ccoon520]

As of a week ago I am now the owner of a boat. Granted this is a project thread so let's get into the project.

Last weekend I came across a 1979 Sea Ray SRV-195 for sale on the old interwebs. It came with the outdrive detached, bell housing removed, bellows removed, trim switch and sender cut, interior paneling and seats needing reassembled, and battery cables needing rerun. However, the price was cheap so we went and took a look and she has solid floors and transom and the Ford V8 ran better than a lot of the cars I hear on the road today. Here are some pics:

 

[ccoon520]

First thing I did was reassemble the interior to look for any broken, needing rebuilt, or just missing components. So far the battery box was partially broken so I am adding new internal supports (not pressure treated because lumber is too expensive to buy on a boat that doesn't float yet), the engine cowl needs rebuilt, it is on its last legs but should hold for they year. Over the winter if all goes well we will drop it off at an upholsterer and have it rebuilt and reupholstered to bring her back to shine. The only thing missing is one piece of trim on the starboard stern. I will post pics of the interior after final install and securement of everything (so far everything around the engine is loose so I have better access to it and the wiring if needed.

 

[ccoon520]

Now onto the fun part. The boat had the outdrive removed and bell housing removed in order to replace the bellows. Luckily the person who owned it before me thought ahead because the gimbal bearing:

was pretty much toast and they included a new (in original packaging and everything) SEALED (WOOHOO) gimbal bearing came with the boat. So one trip to Autozone, a 120 dollar deposit, and loaned axle bearing puller later I had the crusty old one removed. Now I don't have $100 bucks lying around for a Mercury Marine Gimbal Bearing Seater. However, I do have some junk in my tiny "garage" that can't even fit a car wider than a jeep liberty in (see pic 1 on post 1). In said "garage" I have an old Warn winch that I dissembled for very good reasons and never reassembled or threw away for also very good reasons and found that the motor housing was almost the exact diameter of the middle of the outer bearing race. Add the cap that held the brushes and leads with a few wraps of duct tape and voila home made bearing driver:

 

[bird dogger]

That's a nice looking yacht you've found! Those Sea Rays were considered a luxury boat around this area when I was growing up! Will be fun to see it when you're done. It's always a challenge and a good feeling to bring an older boat back to its former glory. Cheers!

 

[ccoon520]

Now to current events. This being a boat from the 70's with a pre alpha mercury i/o it has some quirks that got ironed out in the next generations. One of them being the way the trim switch and sender are secured to the outside of the outdrive plate. Newer models only have 1 screw holding the clip (granted it is still in a spot that is near impossible to access if you have fingers but at least it is kind of accessible. My boat on the other hand has 2 bolts. One in the same location as the newer generations. The second buried up behind the gimbal ring about an inch higher than the first. This thing is impossible to access with a 1/4" drive socket wrench and near impossible to access with just a wrench. I also did not have the ability (or forethought) to remove the gimbal ring to access these bolts better. So after fighting with it for the better part of 6 hours I finally got the thing removed. Then pulled the new wires through the hull using some good ole twine and duct tape. Ironically it was easier to screw in the top bolt than it was to screw in the bottom bolt on reassembly. I couldn't tell you why. So that box is now checked off.

 

[NCL4701]

Looks like a blast when you get it reassembled into a functional boat. Nice!

 

[ccoon520]

This weeks plans are going to be exciting and hopefully less frustrating than the trim switches. I found out when removing the old adhesive from the bell housing that one of the drilled and tapped holes for the hinge pins had the threads galled out. Luckily, I have a friend in the area that has a drill press and years of experience fabricating and volunteered for beer and raw materials to install a Stainless Helicoil for me. I don't like the idea of stainless contacting aluminum but it it better than forking over the money for a new bell housing before I even know if the thing runs. Once that is done it is onto final assembly of the outdrive and throwing some muffs on the sucker and seeing her finally spin the prop.

My wife is also now accepting applications for what to name the boat. Her rules are keep it clean but she likes serious names, and clever funny names. I'll let you know if she picks one that you post and you'll win bragging rights .

I'll post more pictures as things progress and will definitely post final product pictures.

 

[cliffboyer]

BOAT...Bring Over Another Thousand

 

[ccoon520]

BOAT...Bring Over Another Thousand

Don't you put that evil on me Ricky Bobby!

 

[cliffboyer]

Re name ideas...any common interest, beliefs, something you hold dear, etc?

 

[ccoon520]

Re name ideas...any common interest, beliefs, something you hold dear, etc?

We are planning on just using it as a cruiser and maybe some light water sports (until a friend gets too cocky about their tubing prowess then all bets are off). You know just getting out on the water and procrastinating on actual responsibilities.

I'm not picky but she is having a hard time coming up with something. Some water pun, or some cute name will probably win out. I will say that she did not like the name Boaty McBoat Face. I don't know why.

 

[bird dogger]

I saw this one once: "MV Sea Men" (Motor Vessel Sea Men) Thought it was pretty clever!

 

[bird dogger]

We visited Costa Rica for a destination wedding and spent some extra time traveling around their country. The term "Pura Vida" is everywhere and literally translates to Pure Life but means a lot more in different situations. Google it for all the other meanings. Pretty cool name for a boat that might be a good conversation starter for anyone at the boat ramps when you're done pulling that pyramid of 10 people behind on skis!

 

[NCL4701]

Find someone that has one of those Chinese caligraphy tattoos, ask them what it means, pick some really pithy Chinese wisdom to put on the stern. It could be a good conversation starter and if you ever run across someone who can actually read it, that could be interesting, too. In case you prefer to avoid actually asking a bunch of people with Chinese writing on them (what with COVID and all), here are some suggestions: https://www.thesun.co.uk/living/209...ome-of-the-worst-translate-to-in-english/amp/

 

[JimmyJazz]

If you check eBay its surprising how little many boats sell for. Almost begging for offers in my opinion. I have thought hard about picking up a fixer upper for myself. If I had the experience wrenching on boats I would have. Good luck with your project, looks like fun.

 

[nbking]

Give the boat your wife's name. All my boats are named Jenny

 

[old and tired]

Depending on how the rebuild goes.... " Christine"

(1983 ‧ Horror movie)

 

[ccoon520]

Give the boat your wife's name. All my boats are named Jenny

She is the one naming it. I'll suggest it but I doubt she'll go for it.

 

[ccoon520]

If you check eBay its surprising how little many boats sell for. Almost begging for offers in my opinion. I have thought hard about picking up a fixer upper for myself. If I had the experience wrenching on boats I would have. Good luck with your project, looks like fun.

Believe it or not I got it for less than the cheap ebay ones. Only reason why we went to look at it was because it was dirt cheap and had a bunch of spare parts that came with it. So far (fingers crossed and knocking on wood) we have only needed to order a plug and trim sensors. I also have a couple buddies that have rebuilt boats before so I'm fairly confident that it will be together soon.

 

[cmorningstar01]

I have had some type of boat my whole life, from a little row boat to a nice V bow garvey for clamming to a 23" Sea Craft Center Console we used to blast in and out of Barnegat Inlet in to a nice Sea Ray Walk Around with a Mercruiser IO, aside from the row boat and clamming garvey they had one thing in common, they were a hole in the water which we poured money into, naming a boat in my mind is a jinx.

Nice looking boat you got there