How are you. As these boats are either disliked or liked I still do not know as finding anything positive said about them other than on the Stingray website. I purchased recently a used but in great shape 98' Stingray 181rs, 18' 90hp Evinrude. I have taken this boat out once and I love this little boat. I need new seat backs and cushions as mine are deteriorating, and after doing numerous online salvage boat places, the chances of finding used replacements is slim and none, the local upolstery shop quoted me $1700.00, which is out of my league, I am glad to see there are other owners out there. Any info would be appreciated.
How are you. As these boats are either disliked or liked I still do not know as finding anything positive said about them other than on the Stingray website. I purchased recently a used but in great shape 98' Stingray 181rs, 18' 90hp Evinrude. I have taken this boat out once and I love this little boat. I need new seat backs and cushions as mine are deteriorating, and after doing numerous online salvage boat places, the chances of finding used replacements is slim and none, the local upolstery shop quoted me $1700.00, which is out of my league, I am glad to see there are other owners out there. Any info would be appreciated.
Go to the Stingray site and navigate to Forums -- there is a section for non-members to post questions. I think you will get lots of responses. good luck!
I have had mine (190LX) out four times since I bought it and love it! I was struggling to find a boat light enough to pull with my 3500 weight limit van, but that was 1- at least 18 ft, 2- could legally hold at least 8 people, and 3- had a V6. A local guy happened to be selling a barely used 19 ft stingray. Low and behold, its 2500 lbs with a 4.3. How do I know, they have a great website where you can research all their old models, right down to the weight of the hull, engine, pitch of the prop, etc. I wish other manufactures had this, as I kept seeing other potentially viable boats, but could not find the specs.
Why are there not a lot of stingray owners here? Likely because they have a sweet forum on their site. So far I see no heavy handed moderation from them. However, I think I need an additional non-Stingray owned forum, so this one seems great to complement it.
Cons of stingrays I seem to see over there are some are slow to plane, as they seem to be designed for top end speed. It seems like a consensus that you add smart tabs to counter this. Some people complain of a rougher ride. This has not been my experience, but then again my previous (pre-family) boats were malibu and mastercraft competition ski boats.
In terms of time to plane, mine does not have this problem. It came with a keel guard and se sport hydrofoil. It planes and hold speed at 18-19 mph, with a 23 pitch aluminum prop. The previous owner said he added the foil because he did not like having to hold at least 30 mph just to cruise across the lake. Thus, I guess if used to have this problem. I am yet to keep it WOT for too long, as I just got out of the break in period (previous owner just looked at it in his driveway), but so far I have made 48 with just a quick drop of the throttle, in rough water.
If you are looking for a little lighter boat with more room because of towing limitations, check out stingray.
Location: (Lewisberry, Pa.) lake Clarke on the Susquahanna river.
Posts: 378
Re: To all Stingray Boat owners
Im a first time boater. I have a 88 stingray svc 207 5.7. I like this boat alot. mine takes a little bit to get a good plane going and cant get above 35mph. but again im learning. alot of little things wrong with the boat but I will fix them one at a time with help from this site. I can't complain since it was a $3,300 boat with a tandem trailer.
I pull my boat with a 03 durango with a 4,700lb towing package. grunts up the hills but handles great.
I have a 1994 Stingray 19 foot bowrider V6 Mercruiser, got it about a month ago, it runs really good, I find it a smooth ride. A little hard to get to plane, I think a different prop would help but I don't find it that bad.
It does have a good top end about 55mph that I don't use that much.
I do have a hard time starting it sometimes, when I turn the key nothing happens, try it a couple more times and it kicks over.
I have not perfected the starting method yet of pumping the gas a couple of times and then starting it, it seems that I either flood it or I don't get enough gas to start it but it always starts.
Changed the cassette deck to a CD player. Bought a new pin stripe on Ebay and changed the old one, bit of a hard job getting the old one off.
hi i have a 1995 4.3 586zp i had same prob. behind the carb on the right side facing motor u will find a solinoid u need to change this this should correct the prob.as far as starting i give mine about 4-6 good pumps the she starts right up
Planning: The Stingray hulls are better on the top end than the low end, so yes, they can be slow to plane. The consensus at the stingray website is that smart tabs seem to significantly improve this. Definitely check these out before going to a lower pitch prop. Alternatively, a hydrofoil will help too. Mine has a SE Sport 300 hydrofoil and my 19 ft planes at 19 MPH, with a 23 pitch prop. I have no steering problems with this hydrofoil. The previous owner put the hydrofoil on, and said he did so because he got tired of having to go around 30 to plane.
Starting: My carb V6's directions are to start it cold by pushing the throttle all the way down, then returning it to 1/4th throttle position. This supposedly engages the choke.
Thanks for the advice guys, stingrayzp, I actually finally figured it out and changed the slave solenoid (right behind the carb) yesterday, works great now thanks.
sickwilly, I will try the starting idea next time, I'm not sure what smart tabs are but I will goggle it, do you have them and the hydrofoils? My speedometer does not work but the slowest rpm i can get when planeing is about 2700, is that about what you get?
Iwas looking for a 21 pitch prop as I have a 23 now but going to look into the tabs..thanks
Thats the main reason why I was getting a 21P for water sking and even tubing, my 23P is in just OK shape and is great for top end, I goggled the smart tabs they are pretty neat, just gas tubes, a fairly easy install and not much more than a prop but I think I will go with the 21 prop for now, I need a spare anyway.
I have a 1993 551zp with a 140 Evinrude (I know thay are rated for 130, same weight). Loaded with 6 kids and 2 adults the boat jumps on plane and the pulls arund 43 mph. I am using a 13x19 alu prop. The only thing that needs to be done is stringers and a new floor (winter project) Other than that I think it is an asome boat.
To all Stingray Boat owners
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