I'm Officially a Boat Owner!

LFwakeboardDiva · Outlaw Joined: 29 Jul 2008 Posts: 106

Well, like the title says...I'm now a proud boat owner. Very Happy

I went with the 1988 Sea Ray Seville 180 that I mentioned in my other post. I went up to PA to buy it today and drop it off at my PA house. Still have to get the trailer registered in NJ and get insurance.

I'm so excited and I cant wait to get started working on it and getting it ready to hit up the lake and wakeboard.

I've already got a list of misc. thing to work on, like loose screws, good cleaning/wax/, paint the stern drive black possibly, just little things...if you guys have any ideas or suggestions...let me know.

Also, as far as the floor, the carpet definitly will need to be replaced. it is very thin and coming up in several places. The floor right in front of the engine cover is very soft. I believe the gas tank is right under that floor board, so i could start out just replacing that piece of wood. I figure if im going to replace the carpet, i might as well look at the floor boards real good and if need be replace them before i put down nice new carpet.

My uncle has owned 5 sea rays and he says they are a quality boat. Im very pleased with the condition that the boat is in for being 20 years old. I knew going into this that I would need to do some work and TLC. As long as the engine was sound and running strong when I got the boat, that is what made my decision on this boat much easier over the chris craft.

The best part about this boat was it was about $2,200 out the door which included the trailer, tax, and registration.

so let me hear your thoughts and suggestions...i'm just cant believe i actually own a boat now and Im only 18!! Very Happy

here are all the pictures of the boat for those who havent seen it.
http://s96.photobucket.com/albums/l189/Suprbean/1988%20Sea%20Ray%20Boat/

Broccoli B · Posted: May 12, 2009 11:03 am Post subject:

Congrats, I bought my first boat at 21.

5280Hawk · Criminal Joined: 22 Sep 2008 Posts: 90 City: Denver, CO

Nice work man,

Looks like a great boat!

LFwakeboardDiva · Outlaw Joined: 29 Jul 2008 Posts: 106

thanks!

ps...i'm a girl Very Happy

anyone have any suggestions for things to do to it? or things that may need work.

SilverMustang35 · Posted: May 12, 2009 11:26 am Post subject:

Congrats, good lookin boat....little work like you said and its good to go...I suggest wrap around seating Laughing

I think we've talked about this on another thread...I still havent started mine, trying to figure out the steps to get to it...
Enjoy it though...once I start building my wrap around ill post it back up, until then, enjoy and be safe!

pet575 · Posted: May 12, 2009 11:38 am Post subject:

Magic Eraser to the entire interior. Then 303 (or some other good UV protectant) over everything. Definitely a thorough wash and wax of the outside. Make sure you've got a good anchor and lots of good ropes and bumpers/fenders for tying up and docking. None of that stuff is any good without good ropes, so don't skimp on ropes-buy good ones.

Be proud and have FUN!!!

Chad H · Posted: May 12, 2009 12:14 pm Post subject:

LFwakeboardDiva,
that prop looks pretty beat up. If it's as beat up as it looks in pictures, I'd start looking for a replacement.

SilverMustang35 · Posted: May 12, 2009 12:16 pm Post subject:

Agreed with Chad H...Look at getting a 4 blade prop...I got a 4 blade 18 pitch aluminum for 140 on iboats.com....
Made a world of difference, even from my 3 blade 19 pitch...

5280Hawk · Criminal Joined: 22 Sep 2008 Posts: 90 City: Denver, CO

Lol sorry should have looked more closely at your username Very Happy

a 18 year old girl who owns her own boat! you'll have to fight the boys off w. a stick! Wink

Okie Boarder · Ladies Man Joined: 03 Mar 2008 Posts: 10056 City: Edmond

Congrats. Definitely work on getting it cleaned up and ready and get all the stuff you need like we talked about in the other thread. I would definitely agree on the prop. I had a 19 or 21 pitch prop (can't remember for sure) on my Bayliner with the 135 hp Mercruiser. It was a real dog getting up and the lower pitch prop would certainly help that.

LFwakeboardDiva · Outlaw Joined: 29 Jul 2008 Posts: 106

yea i figured the prop will need to be chaged soon. for now it will do.

i'm definitly going to get like a box of magic erasers and get all the vinyl and stuff looking clean.
ill be getting the standard orange life vests at walmart since they were like 7 bucks each.
i get a 15% discount at the marina store next time i go, so maybe i could look into seeing how much a prop would cost me there.

the carpet definitly needs to be changed out and possibly the floor, at least the board that is above the gas tank, that is all soft. and the passenger seating is a little torn up, so i may do like a bench style seat with storage underneath.

Is it possible to use like an indoor/outdoor carpet from lowes or homedepot?
I know my cousin did that with his 85 wellcraft. I dont know how it holds up since he hasnt had it in the water.

JeffreyCH · Posted: May 12, 2009 5:07 pm Post subject:

I used some indoor/outdoor carpet from home depot on my trailer fenders at the beginning of last year. No problems with it so far, and my trailer goes in the water an average of 2 times a week. So as for it working inside the boat I think it would be fine.

Defiantly replace any soft flooring, and with that inspect the stringers in the hull while you have the floor up. If it didn't come with one, invest in a good cover if you don't have a garage to store it in.

Welcome to the wonderful world of boat ownership, get out and have some fun. Very Happy

LFwakeboardDiva · Outlaw Joined: 29 Jul 2008 Posts: 106

the cover on this boat is in much better condition than the one on the chris craft. no holes like the other one had. i will probably get some sort of universal cover to put on over the main cover when i store it for a while.

when i want to replace the floor, does it have to been marine plywood, or can I buy like a treated outdoor plywood?

thanks for the warm welcomes...so excited!

browneye253 · Outlaw Joined: 07 Jul 2008 Posts: 115 City: Tulsa

Nice looking boat. I grew up riding behind a 1980 Sea Ray Seville almost identical setup as that one and never once had a complaint about it... at least I was on the water.

We had to replace our floors like you're talking about doing. When you do it make sure you cut all the way until you get nice solid wood, if you don't get to solid wood it'll just start rotting out again quick. We also put a bunch of resin and waterproof sealer on the replacement wood.

Congrats again!

flyingcajun13 · Criminal Joined: 14 Jul 2008 Posts: 57 City: Lake Charles

congrats on the new purchase. i know how it was for me when i went and picked up the boat after i signed the paperwork. i was bouncing around for days with ideas and dreams, and being 18 makes it that much cooler. i just wish i had a real job with a salary where i could pay for things right then and there instead of wating around, or just buy a really nice boat like some of yall on here. finally got to take my baby out for the past three days straight and it has been sweet. congrats again and be safe out there

Chattwake · Posted: May 13, 2009 4:38 am Post subject:

LFwakeboardDiva · Outlaw Joined: 29 Jul 2008 Posts: 106

Chattwake · Posted: May 13, 2009 4:44 am Post subject:

You need to add a profile picture...

Chattwake · Posted: May 13, 2009 4:45 am Post subject:

pet575 · Posted: May 13, 2009 6:52 am Post subject:

pet575 · Posted: May 13, 2009 6:55 am Post subject:

I can't speak to what plywood to use. I've always just used treated plywood on my little aluminum fishing boat that gets LOTS of weather exposure and then used indoor/outdoor carpeting from Lowe's/Home Depot. One thing I learned about the carpeting: don't try to glue it. Use stainless steel screws with large stainless steel washers around the edges of the interior to hold the carpeting in place. The glue just won't hold up that well for anything longer than a season.

+1 to the thought of using some type of coating over your repair. A light coat of epoxy would do well.

Commodore · Ladies Man Joined: 20 Jun 2005 Posts: 11636

JeffreyCH · Posted: May 13, 2009 7:32 am Post subject:

pet575 · Posted: May 13, 2009 8:18 am Post subject:

I tried the same. Did not work well. Maybe the difference is the carpeting just hangs there and dries out on the trailer v. getting foot traffic on the boat floor? Who knows?

Chattwake · Posted: May 13, 2009 9:01 am Post subject:

Wait, let me get this straight... This chick's going to be tearing up the carpet, nailing some wood, AND beating guys off with both hands on her new boat. Who's got a webcam?

LFwakeboardDiva · Outlaw Joined: 29 Jul 2008 Posts: 106

Okie Boarder · Ladies Man Joined: 03 Mar 2008 Posts: 10056 City: Edmond

Man this thread changed direction pretty quick Laughing

If it was me, I'd go with the marine plywood. Your other option, like pet575 said, is just get treated and then put a thin coat of epoxy over it. Look at the thickness of the original and match it or better. I'd be more inclined to go marine carpet, but I'm sure the I/O would work fine. It may not last "quite" as long, but I'd bet you'd get a few years out of it anyway.

LFwakeboardDiva · Outlaw Joined: 29 Jul 2008 Posts: 106

yea i figured i would need some sort of epoxy over the treated wood.

lets get this thread back on point...lol

any other suggestions?

Okie Boarder · Ladies Man Joined: 03 Mar 2008 Posts: 10056 City: Edmond

Put a picture in your profile?

pet575 · Posted: May 13, 2009 10:26 am Post subject:

Suggestions re: the floor:

1. When you tear out the "bad" part of the floor, tear out beyond what you can see is bad so that you are actually cutting out "good" floor. Sometimes you can't always see what is starting to rot internally. It is not time to measure the floor's thickness to determine what size you'll need for replacement wood UNTIL you get to this point. Wood that is exposed to water expands too much and it will fool you into thinking you need a larger thickness than you really need. All this will do is make the floor uneven at the seams, which you won't want if some of the seams are in the middle of the walking area.

2. Don't do ANY epoxying until you have seen what the stringers look like under the floor. Once you do put down some epoxy, make sure you do it BEFORE you attach the replacement wood. I know it sounds simple, but I learned the hard way about putting screws in the floor and THEN putting epoxy down. I learned when I had to go back in and pull the floorboards for unrelated work. Not fun to dig enough cured epoxy out of a Phillips screw head so that you can turn in with a screwdriver. Especially when it is 20 screws. Evil or Very Mad

3. Don't rush any of the major projects like the floor. Read up as much as you can on it before jumping into it. By the way you've gone about this so far, I seriously doubt this is going to be a problem for you. Just a reminder, though.

4. Take before, during, and after pics of your major projects. It is fun to appreciate all the work you put into stuff like this through photos. I was dumb not to do that on my little aluminum fishing boat. We gutted it to the metal floor, and then built new flooring, decks for swivel seats, installed a livewell and rod lockers and everything and I never took a single pic. So, only me and my dad know what it was like when we bought it v. what it is like now. Plus, we all like seeing pics of stuff like that to appreciate it along with you.

Good luck with everything, and continue asking questions even if you think they might be dumb. There are lots of people on here who are pretty experienced with this kind of stuff.

Chattwake · Posted: May 13, 2009 10:46 am Post subject:

Still waiting on that picture...

Would be awsome if it looked more like this...

and less like this...

LFwakeboardDiva · Outlaw Joined: 29 Jul 2008 Posts: 106

yea enough with the picture asking.

pet575, thanks for the info. sounds like some very good information that will help me with the process.

Chattwake · Posted: May 13, 2009 11:28 am Post subject:

Ugh oh.