Motor runs great, hull is in great shape. Dash needs repair, it is cracked, some gauges are not working, rewiring needed for towing lights, drivers seat fiberglass is cracked on both sides at the curve, prolly could use breaks, new tires and those sacrificial pieces of aluminum on the lower drive (what are they called?) need to be replaced, need a cover and there is no canvas. I did not check the stove or the sink.
Went out to the East coast on Sunday, Melbourne, blew a hose wich caused the lower exhast bellow to burst and teh sterndrive bellow, engine runs and does not knock so hopefully no perminent damage done. any suggestions on what to look out for?
Carl.
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If it lasts more than 4 hours, seek imediate medical advise
I was happy to see others out there with Searay 220. I just sold my Sweetwater pontoon boat last Friday and bought an '89 Searay 220DA a day later. Recent riser/exhaust/outdrive work, and the boat looks like it was really taken care of properly. I'd say "mint" condition, but until I get it in my backyard to do a more close inspection, for now I'll just say "great" condition.
I'm picking it up next week, and it's going straight to the canvas shop for new canvas. I had money left over from the sale of the '03 pontoon boat, and that will fund the canvas work.
Anyway, going from a boat with seating for 12 or more people, I'm a little concerned about the lack of seating on the 220. If anyone has done custom seating on your 220 I'd appreciate a link to the photos of the mods, or a direct email.
Funny, when I first saw the boat I thought that rear seat was a bit low, and now I see others have modified it to raise it up a few inches. That will be my first modification.
I added a seat, that doubled as a storage cabinet, on my pontoon boat, so I'm ready to start tinkering on the new boat when it gets here. We don't do much fishing, so closing up some of the deck area with seating is not a problem.
BTW, I'm getting a 5-blade stainless (High-Five I think) prop with the boat (along with two other 3-blade aluminum spares). Has anyone had experience with the 5-blade? I have the 5.7L fuel-injected engine. I believe it's 220 hp.
I built a box section to raise the back seat with a slot in back rest. also a bench on the front for the driver so the flip seat is perminently facing teh stern, works ok but could do with a back rest for the front drivers bench.
Carl.
__________________
If it lasts more than 4 hours, seek imediate medical advise
Yes, I was thinking along those lines also. I was in Walmart yesterday, and saw a padded seat and pedestals of different heights to mount it on. The pedestal sizes I believe were too short, but I suppose you can order a larger size online. The seat looked comfortable enough, but wasn't exactly a perfect color match. Good to know that the bench can be permanently flipped without obstructing access to the engine. Were you able to drill through the floor and get a nut on the other side with messing with the ceiling in the aft bed area?
BTW, I'm stopping at four different canvas shops today to get the sticker shock on adding a camper enclosure to the boat. The boat only came with a new cockpit cover, so I'll need all new canvas. The nearest place to where I dock the boat (Candlewood Lake, CT) wants over 3k, and that's for aluminum, not stainless!!! I'll try and attach a photo of the boat as it is now.
I think the reason why people have trouble posting photos is that the file size is too large. I just had that problem and I had to go into my photo editing program to knock down the file size to less than 97kbs.
Thanks for the compliment. Yes, it is very clean. Probably in better condition than the 2003 boat I just sold! The downside is it's on land and hasn't been in the water in over a year. The last time I bought a cruiser without taking it for a test drive, turned out to be a big mistake. The seller will be at least starting the engine so I can see how it runs, before I actually hand over that check.
The boat is in amazingly great condition. All seats are still like new. No rips or tears, and not even a stain on them. Carpeting excellent. Gelcoat great, and not even one scratch that I could find. He was meticulous in it's care, and I'm hoping he was the same with the engine care.
BTW Carl, let me know if you want me to post any of your photos.
Carl, got the photos. Very nice job. Man, those seats look so comfortable I'm ready to take a nap! If you really needed it, for extra storage you could have put a couple of doors in the boxed area. I guess you could still do it, but it would damage the covering, and would probably require recovering. I like how the covering matches you flooring. Very nice.
I'm about to order a winter cover for the boat and I'm a little confused as to which size to go with. Would a cover made for boats 21' to 23' with cuddys and 102" beam max work for this boat? I know the swim platform accounts for almost 2 feet of the overall length, so I'm thinking this cover should work.
Carl, got the photos. Very nice job. Man, those seats look so comfortable I'm ready to take a nap! If you really needed it, for extra storage you could have put a couple of doors in the boxed area. I guess you could still do it, but it would damage the covering, and would probably require recovering. I like how the covering matches you flooring. Very nice.
Danny
Thanks Danny
Yes I was going to make it storage, my dilema is if I have to get to the Engine, lots to move to do it, but it does work ok.
Carl.
__________________
If it lasts more than 4 hours, seek imediate medical advise
I'm about to order a winter cover for the boat and I'm a little confused as to which size to go with. Would a cover made for boats 21' to 23' with cuddys and 102" beam max work for this boat? I know the swim platform accounts for almost 2 feet of the overall length, so I'm thinking this cover should work.
These boats are nearer 24 feet than 22, you are better being oversized than undersized.
Carl.
Yes, I found that out the hard way. I ordered a cover from Cabela's, and it was too small. The cover was for a 23' 6" boat. The 220 is 23' 8". The real problem is that it's considered a "high profile" cruiser, and the standard cruiser cover won't cover enough of the sides. I bit the bullet and ordered from a different source, and spent 100.00 more, but now I should have a cover that will fit this boat.
I finished my helm seat modification. I bought a seat originally made to be used in a pontoon boat from http://veada.com/index.html
Came out to about 250.00. I was able to mount the seat-back to the original flipped helm seat. It was easy, once the four screws were removed to release the rear facing seat-back. The new seat is a bit of a tight fit, and I'll decide if I will move the entire assembly rearward an inch or two. On problem is that if the seat is moved as little as an inch, it will prevent the engine hatch from openning from the front. Of couse you can still flip the hatch and open it from the rear.
Thanks Carl. I also raised the rear seat a bit, and hopefully it will feel safe enough when underway. If not it will be easy enough to cut the PVC legs down until it does. I actually keep the PVC adapter screwed into the galvanized fitting, and just push in the leg when I'm using the seat. Quick and easy! I had to sand down the inside of the PVC adapter so the leg would fit snugly, but not so tight that it couldn't be easily pulled out when folding the seat. Hopefully, you understand that explanation.
BTW, the legs are actually longer than the left leg in the photo. That was what the prior owner had installed. That was more or less the original leg height. I supposed the original legs were damaged, so he replaced them with PVC. (got everything from Home Depot)
Well, believe it or not, the prior owner bought an extra set of vinyl for the seats, thinking he would use them when the old became worn. He even visited the factory in TN to see his boat being built. I was lucky to find such a seller. Now, my job is to see that they remain in good condition, cause I'm not about to recover these seats. I already spent over 3k in upgrades for the boat, and it hasn't hit the water yet (just added a camper canvas for 2k+).
Re: 1990 searay 220 DA 5.7L
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