Newbie 1988 Sea Ray Seville 21 cuddy cabin

In a moment of weakness and stupidity I purchased a boat and trailer for $350 at an auction yesterday. I just cold not bear to see it go to the great junkyard in the sky. I will pick it up next week. The hull appears to be ok, the interior needs work, (first I need to get rid of the 25 florescent bulbs stored inside), shopvac out all the leaves and see why the motor (4.3L) will not turn. Have looked at some of the threads, looks like I have my work cut out for me. Any suggestions on where to start?

Re: Newbie 1988 Sea Ray Seville 21 cuddy cabin

and see why the motor (4.3L) will not turn. Have looked at some of the threads, looks like I have my work cut out for me. Any suggestions on where to start?

Click to expand...

Ayuh,... Welcome Aboard,....

Pull the Drive....
That way you'll know whether it's a Motor problem, or a Drive problem...

Re: Newbie 1988 Sea Ray Seville 21 cuddy cabin

bondo is correct....

hi welcome to iboats by the way.

the first thing to do ....is get the motor evaluated...find out why it wont turn......by doing what bondo said.....you will save a lot of headache. its only 6 bolts.

the mercruiser forums here are the best any where......our guys will have you in the right direction in no time .

after you determine the condition of the motor drive.....you will be in a better position to determine your course of action.

Re: Newbie 1988 Sea Ray Seville 21 cuddy cabin

I need to see pictures...... Then we will go from there.......

WZ

Re: Newbie 1988 Sea Ray Seville 21 cuddy cabin

Well it is not a cuddy cabin it is a Seville 21 mid cabin. I cleaned out the interior of the boat today. Removed all the 8 foot long light bulbs that were stored inside, the leaves, the trash, and the water, About 5 gallons. Cleaned out the drains. The rear drain plug is no where to be found. The batteries were removed and none of the wires were tagged will need a wiring class just to get started. I was a good guess that the motor needed to be replaced when I bought it but this is reinforced by finding a freeze plug in the bottom and seeing that none of the drain plugs have been removed. The floor feels solid and there is no smell or sight of mold. The trailer needs lots of work. I will need to aquire a title first before I start repairs. I angled the boat back so water will run off and I covered the open area of the boat with a tarp.

Re: Newbie 1988 Sea Ray Seville 21 cuddy cabin

Re: Newbie 1988 Sea Ray Seville 21 cuddy cabin

Ayuh..... Nice lookin' boat.....

Re: Newbie 1988 Sea Ray Seville 21 cuddy cabin

if a frost plus is pushed out.....you may have got lucky....

but i suspect the manifolds are toast..

again.....have a look in the mercrusier forums.....and they can get you on track...you may not have to replace the motor.

as far as the rest of the hull....it looks really good.....and at the price you got it....with the trailer....you scored bud.

cheers
oops

Re: Newbie 1988 Sea Ray Seville 21 cuddy cabin

GREAT looking boat (But I may be a little biased) - Post up some more pictures so we can see what you are working with. interior, engine, outdrive.

LK

Here is my baby.

Re: Newbie 1988 Sea Ray Seville 21 cuddy cabin

Re: Newbie 1988 Sea Ray Seville 21 cuddy cabin

Re: Newbie 1988 Sea Ray Seville 21 cuddy cabin

That is a good looking boat!!

I hope that it works out for you Caddy!!

Re: Newbie 1988 Sea Ray Seville 21 cuddy cabin

Post up some better pictures of the stern, Where are the rust streaks comming from in the last pic? Interior actually looks pretty good. Did you do any investigating on the engine yet?

LK

Re: Newbie 1988 Sea Ray Seville 21 cuddy cabin

All I did this weekend was clean it out, de-water the rain water out of the interior, take a couple of pictures and cover it to keep out the undesirables. It is parked in a industrial park at a trailer parts and repair facility about 25 miles from home and on Saturday they close at 3PM. (I work for a package delivery company and I deliver to them) I am waiting on the paperwork for the boat title and I will need to get a title for the trailer before I put any money into it. I can park it near my home to make it easier to work on but with out plates for the trailer it is traffic ticket city. ( Crazy homeowners association lady) I went by the auction Saturday to see about the title, but the title was not available yet. They told me up to 30 days and it has been 14. They auctioned 2 bayliner boats Saturday, both rotting messes with trailers, each sold for $5.00 yes 5 dollars. Someone picked up 2 decent trailers for $10. I live in Northern Virginia. I picked up a 1963 Cadillac series 62 6 window sedan for $1000 at this auction in march. It was a police impound, abandoned, parking tickets etc. It said bad starter, frozen motor, and it had a shattered passenger door window. Had it running in 4 hours, bad wire to the starter, good carb cleaning, new gas, new rear window. Now I drive it to work and around town.

Re: Newbie 1988 Sea Ray Seville 21 cuddy cabin

Caddy

I understand the moment of weakness. I just picked up a 1988 Seville. Older couple with medical problems couldn't use it anymore. Nice looking but needs the same TLC all boats require. Dropped it of at marine shop & am waiting to hear about motor & out drive. Everything worked when i bought it but still want it checked out. I've got some deck repairs to do but feel more comfortble after reading the forums & watching the videos. Looking forward to taking family out. Can't wait to see your progress.

Re: Newbie 1988 Sea Ray Seville 21 cuddy cabin

Last weekend sent off the paperwork to title the seville boat. Went back to the auction looking for a better trailer that will hold my boat and found one. Cost $22 dollars for a dual axle trailer. Only problem is the dilapidated boat sitting on top of it. It is a sea ray 210BR boat. My land fill does not take boats so it looks like my sawzall and I have a real chore ahead of us to cut it all up. Have started the process to get a title for the trailer. What parts if any are in demand off an old boat? Lights? Glass? Hardware? Instrument cluster? The windshield has curved glass. The engine and outdrive are already gone. How do I determine the year off the vin? If not all the pieces go to the dumpster.

Re: Newbie 1988 Sea Ray Seville 21 cuddy cabin

Have a look at my demolition thread listed in my signature. It should give you some ideas.

As far as what to keep - Windshields are absolutely worth trying to sell, as are instrument clusters. See if the shifter mechanism is good too, and maybe the steering, if it's there.

Pretty sure the VIN does tell you the year - it should be the last 2 digits.