1983 Sea Ray Seville...to restore or not to restore?

I picked up this boat last summer for $1800.00 w/trailer. The engine is strong and runs like a champ and the out drive is in great shape. I knew the floor needed to be redone, but didnt think the rot was this bad! I'm torn now to either rebuild or scrap it and sell the parts?? We bought this as a first boat to see if the family enjoyed boating....and yes we do!!! I have no problem working on this but need to wait, as it is still in the triple digits where i live. Just curious what any thoughts are to this. I'm thinking maybe another $2000.00 in materials and some new captains chairs for the wife and I and turning the rear into a bench seat instead of the seats beside the motor cover. And then have a nice sun deck over the motor.

This is what I found with some light digging.....
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m220/Dogma70/restore project/kdk_0922.jpg
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m220/Dogma70/restore project/kdk_0895.jpg
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m220/Dogma70/restore project/kdk_0890.jpg
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m220/Dogma70/restore project/kdk_0887.jpg

Re: 1983 Sea Ray Seville...to restore or not to restore?

I'd go for the restore. You only paid $1800 for the boat. If you put even another $2500 in it, thats only $4300 total. If you guys enjoy boating, and were considering buying another used boat, you probally will not find one that has been redone with a good running engine for $4300.

Re: 1983 Sea Ray Seville...to restore or not to restore?

I really like the lines on that boat, looks sharp. What's it got for power?


Personally, I'd definitely put some time and money into it to fix it up. That deck and substructure is going to need some serious attention though.

Re: 1983 Sea Ray Seville...to restore or not to restore?

Lightnig said:

I really like the lines on that boat, looks sharp. What's it got for power?


Personally, I'd definitely put some time and money into it to fix it up. That deck and substructure is going to need some serious attention though.

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It has the GM 3.8L w/2bbl carb. and OMC Stringer 800 outdrive.

I just dug into the motor mounts and they are toast. Not potting soil consistency but well on there way!

Re: 1983 Sea Ray Seville...to restore or not to restore?

Obsolete motor and drive. Perhaps better to part it out to someone desperately looking for those parts. Save you restoration effort for a boat with a more supported engine/drive.

Re: 1983 Sea Ray Seville...to restore or not to restore?

ezmobee said:

Obsolete motor and drive. Perhaps better to part it out to someone desperately looking for those parts. Save you restoration effort for a boat with a more supported engine/drive.

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I do know the drive is obsolete, or better yet just expensive to repair and get parts for. But the motor?

Re: 1983 Sea Ray Seville...to restore or not to restore?

A soft spot on the deck usually translates to stringers and transom being shot.

I'd fix it, pull the engine and remove all the furniture til its done.

I'd do the transom too, its gone if the rest of the wood is that bad.

The PO knew this and priced it accordingly, the deck repairs he did are no good at all, no glass.

If you like the boat , get stuck in.
Chainsaw, sawzall,grinder, circular saw, wonder bar etc.

Re: 1983 Sea Ray Seville...to restore or not to restore?

Well, decided to restore the boat. After looking at other boats and the price for getting one that doesnt need repairs of some kind are far more than what i want or willing to pay. Even if I get only a few more seasons out of the motor and drive I am still ahead.

Just need to wait for the temps to drop. Went to cut out a bunch of rot and the temp was 113, so I decided to wait a bit.

I will be documenting this restore every step of the way when I start, so watch for it near the end of september. See you soon!!!

Re: 1983 Sea Ray Seville...to restore or not to restore?

ezmobee said:

Obsolete motor and drive. Perhaps better to part it out to someone desperately looking for those parts. Save you restoration effort for a boat with a more supported engine/drive.

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why not restore the boat and buy a new motor and drive.....will provide years and years of use!

Re: 1983 Sea Ray Seville...to restore or not to restore?

chadelliott said:

I do know the drive is obsolete, or better yet just expensive to repair and get parts for. But the motor?

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You don't often see the 3.8 in a marine applications (friggin' great motor though in autos anyway). I'm just concerned for you parts and service wise for that whole power package. 3.0, 4.3, 5.0, 5.7, 7.4 are all common marine engines with good parts support. I'm not trying to be a downer.

Re: 1983 Sea Ray Seville...to restore or not to restore?

ezmobee said:

You don't often see the 3.8 in a marine applications (friggin' great motor though in autos anyway). I'm just concerned for you parts and service wise for that whole power package. 3.0, 4.3, 5.0, 5.7, 7.4 are all common marine engines with good parts support. I'm not trying to be a downer.

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Parts have not been an issue to find. I put a new fuel pump on already, and was easy to find and comparable in price to any other V6. Belts, hoses are just in abundance as any other. There are only a few certain parts on this motor that are "marine specific". Motor work is nothing new for me, i have built or rebuilt several motors/cars, dirt bikes, quads and choppers from the frame up. They way i see it, if I cant work on it or fix it, I shouldn't own it!

This is more for the experience for me any how!

Re: 1983 Sea Ray Seville...to restore or not to restore?

chadelliott said:

Well, decided to restore the boat. After looking at other boats and the price for getting one that doesnt need repairs of some kind are far more than what i want or willing to pay. Even if I get only a few more seasons out of the motor and drive I am still ahead.

Just need to wait for the temps to drop. Went to cut out a bunch of rot and the temp was 113, so I decided to wait a bit.

I will be documenting this restore every step of the way when I start, so watch for it near the end of september. See you soon!!!

Click to expand...

I'm glad you decided to restore the boat. It looks newer then 1983 on the outside.

Re: 1983 Sea Ray Seville...to restore or not to restore?

chadelliott said:

This is more for the experience for me any how!

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You'll gain a whole new appreciation for boat making and fiberglass.

Re: 1983 Sea Ray Seville...to restore or not to restore?

I'm just wondering about the restore. I just had one given to me and have the same problem. I was wondering how much you thought it would cost to restore ( take the wood out and replace all of it). The one I have is in great running condition, the boat is sound, but the wood is horrible. I wonder if this was a constant problem with all of these boats.

Re: 1983 Sea Ray Seville...to restore or not to restore?

Great to hear you are going for the rubuild, I am currently in the process of an 87 searay seville. I love the lines of these rays of this era. The new ones just don't do any justice. You'll have a great time doing plus you'll have a greater knowledge base when you're done. good luck.....tink

Re: 1983 Sea Ray Seville...to restore or not to restore?

Boat is to its bare hull now. Sorry no pics. lost them when the camera took a dump and wont turn on. Have new camera now so I can document the build up.

I consider myself extremely lucky. I work with another Captain on our Fire Dept. and he is retired from Sea Ray in Phx. He has been an endless well of knowledge on how these where put together. Just from listening to his stories, back then the boats where not quite as precisesly put together as we might think they are or what they advertised to be......

Re: 1983 Sea Ray Seville...to restore or not to restore?

Hello... and welcome to the boating forum. This forum is great for a lot of information about how to do restorations. As I have read, you have decided to restore the boat. Good for you! Sea Ray's are worth the effort and aways a solid boat. Please feel free to view my pics on my forum post as I have a 92 Sea Ray 180 with the seating you desire. I have some engine compartment pics to give you an idea of what that area looks like before I torn into it and it will also give you an idea of what to expect. I prefer the two captain chairs with back bench vs the jump seats, which is the reason I purchased the boat. I grew up on the Mississippi River, so water and boating is not new to me, but repair a floor in a runabout is a whole new experience.

I would recommend a few key tools to assist with your repair: hand saw, saw-zaw, skill saw (if possible a 3" saw) and the multi-tool from Harbor Freight mentioned in my forum.

I would also recommend you start this project when you have a minimum of 4 weeks to work on the project. At a minimum it will take at least that long to complete and you might as well add an additional week or two if you plan on pulling the motor and outdrive to repair the transom. I have not pulled the motor in my repair because the transom did seem fairly solid and I'm not experiencing any leakage around the transom area.

I would also recommend using the pour in foam from Aero-Marine and you should be about to use the 2# product. I've poured my foam in and it worked great. You may also want to consider using some pink foam from Home Depot as filler. One other item to consider is what type of wood to use when you replace the floor. Read up on all the types of wood. I'd stay away from pressure treated wood and look into using some other method of flooring. Some like to use plywood, cut it to fit, then fiberglass the wood and then put in place. Others, like myself, use a MDO (medium density overlay) 5 - 7 ply sheets of plywood because it is outdoor rated and can handle the elements. As you know... all wood, fiberglassed or not will rot and will need to be replaced again at some point in time... which could be another 10 to 30 years down the road.

Once you get to the floor put back together you will want to consider your options for what type of products you want to cover the floor. Some people like to put carpet back in, others prefer using some sort of seal or rubberized product then carpet laid on top, some use a combination of above with snap in carpet and finally some just fiberglass the floor, sand it to make it smooth and call it good. I've decided to use a rubberized no-slick roll on product called Durabak. Many others on the forum have used the product and you may want to read up on the forum by FriscoJarretts. He also has a couple of videos to assist with this product as well as the pourable foam product.

Hopefully this helps and good luck!

Jerry

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=415184

Re: 1983 Sea Ray Seville...to restore or not to restore?

Hello, hope the restoration is going well. That 3.8 is a good engine, plenty of parts still around since GM didn't stop using until just recently. If you want to kick up the power fairly easily think about adding a supercharger. I had a 99' Regal GS with the 3.8 supercharger and it ran very strong. Gave many a V-8 a run for their money, if not beat them. It should bolt right up and you'll have power right from the git go, no spool up. You should be able to get one fairly cheap from the junk yard.

Just suggestion if you want more power. Should bring you to about 240hp. That's what my Regal was.

Just a suggestion.

Re: 1983 Sea Ray Seville...to restore or not to restore?

Not to be rude but everything posted above is pretty much incorrect. ^^^^

Re: 1983 Sea Ray Seville...to restore or not to restore?

Please do tell....... Yes the engine would have to be fuel injected of course, vice carb but other than that the engine is generally the same.