1990 Sea Ray 160 Delema Help!

[cassadypaul]

I have a 1990 Sea Ray 160 that has been in the family for about 25 years. I have been the owner for the last three. This boat is very dear to my heart. I learned how to drive a boat in it. I remember it as a child on Great Pond in Maine. We brought it home to Cincinnati about three years ago and did not get to use it last year.

The good. The upholstery is in great condition for its age. Only one pulled seam! The engine and drive are in good condition but could use a bit of reconditioning. The trailer is on new tires and is structurally sound. The gel coat is also in good condition with light oxidation.

The bad. The entire boat is SOAKED. I have tried to dry it and have not had any luck. It is my belief that the transom, stringers, and most of the floor are rotten. And not to mention the foam is waterlogged. The bottom is also a bit of a mess as far as gel coat goes but I can repair that. (very shallow dock in Maine) It will be good practice for the few nicks on open areas on the boat. The engine idles a little rough but otherwise runs well.

At this point in time I have ZERO money in the boat other than engine maintenance which I do not count. I want to do a Friscoboater style restoration. I have good mechanical skills and know how to lay up fiberglass. My biggest questions are as follows. Is it worth it? How much cost in materials am I looking at? (Ballpark? Rough idea?)

Any help or general discussion will be very helpful.

 

[jbuote]

Hey There! :welcome: (Welcome Back that is... lol)

Saw you posted in 2016, but no luck then..

I'm not a pro here, and I've never done a restoration...
In fact, I'm quite new to boating in general.. lol

I have read a bunch, and the average seems to vary between 2k-5k (not counting any engine work) depending on what really needs doing..
I have NO doubt, those with better info on that part will be along shortly to help you out with better info than I can possibly give there..

On the "Is it worth it?" question.

Honestly, some will say "Nope, not at all, buy a different boat."
Some will say "Sure!"

Ultimately, (and I think most here would agree), the only one who can say if it's worth it, is you!

Do you want to restore this boat and keep it due to the sentiments attached?
Do you want to spend the time? Could take anywhere from 6 months to 1-3 years or more depending on your pace..)
If you do restore it, you'll probably end up rebuilding it better than it was from factory and it'll probably outlast you, so maybe you could pass it down etc...

On the other hand, you could find another boat that'll suit your purpose..

Neither choice is right, and neither choice is wrong..
Only you can make that call really based on what's right for you....

Probably not much help, but thought I'd at least say hello, and get this going for you! LOL

Will be following along to see how you make out!!

 

[cassadypaul]

Hey There! :welcome: (Welcome Back that is... lol)

Saw you posted in 2016, but no luck then..

I'm not a pro here, and I've never done a restoration...
In fact, I'm quite new to boating in general.. lol

I have read a bunch, and the average seems to vary between 2k-5k (not counting any engine work) depending on what really needs doing..
I have NO doubt, those with better info on that part will be along shortly to help you out with better info than I can possibly give there..

On the "Is it worth it?" question.

Honestly, some will say "Nope, not at all, buy a different boat."
Some will say "Sure!"

Ultimately, (and I think most here would agree), the only one who can say if it's worth it, is you!

Do you want to restore this boat and keep it due to the sentiments attached?
Do you want to spend the time? Could take anywhere from 6 months to 1-3 years or more depending on your pace..)
If you do restore it, you'll probably end up rebuilding it better than it was from factory and it'll probably outlast you, so maybe you could pass it down etc...

On the other hand, you could find another boat that'll suit your purpose..

Neither choice is right, and neither choice is wrong..
Only you can make that call really based on what's right for you....

Probably not much help, but thought I'd at least say hello, and get this going for you! LOL

Will be following along to see how you make out!!

Thanks for replying. I am new to posing on forums but I figured I would give it a try. I think I would regret ever selling the boat. Especially considering what it is worth in its current condition. I am sure one day I will out grow this boat and that will be a sad day. I am looking forward to seeing other replies.

 

[Woodonglass]

You're looking at 2-3K for a budget and about 150-200 an hours of work. You'll need to remove the motor, cut out the deck stringers,motormounts, and transom and replace all the flotation foam. Repair all the chips and gouges in the hull and then gelcoat or paint. It's hot, itchy, stinky work. But ...In the end you'll have a boat thats better than it was from the factory. If you have the time, skills and willingness, the members of this forum WILL help you everystep of the way. The Links listed in my signature below will help a lot. This Materials list will give you a good start on what to buy.

View attachment WOG Material List.docx

 

[Scott Danforth]

Is it worth it....,in this case, yes. The sentimental value is huge..., that being said, assume $3k and 200+ hours of itchy work that WOG points out.

 

[cassadypaul]

Thanks for the pointers Woodonglass. I am going to look further into it and start with small steps. I dont car if it takes a year or two of tinkering to complete this restoration. This might be a stupid question but what do you guys think this boat will be worth when it is finished in tip top shape?

I downloaded the Fiberglass repair and maintenance manual from West system and they show bedding stringers and transom in thickened resin. I also see that Friscoboater used PL glue? Which is better?

Sorry in advance for all the questions. Thanks for everyone's help.

 

[kcassells]

This boat is very dear to my heart. I learned how to drive a boat in it. I remember it as a child on Great Pond in Maine. We brought it home to Cincinnati about three years ago and did not get to use it last year.

That alone noted above makes your efforts for this project worth every drop of sweat equity. Great guys here to walk you through it.
Sounds like a special boat. looking forward to your progress.
KC

 

[boedekerj]

Hello, kcassells! I am always waiting in the weeds for a post like this. I am one of the least experienced of the posters here, but I would hazard an opinion. I found myself in a similar situation than you are, minus the sentimental portion. I have a boat, with a very minimal investment, that was unbeknownst to me, in need of a full gut.

I bit the bullet and dug in. There is no way that I'll ever get my money back out of this thing. Frankly, I may not even get the enjoyment out of the boating in it. But I must say that after I started digging in, stripping and grinding, I really found myself enjoying the work. Something that is probably missing from the white-collar warrior culture I live in is just rolling up my sleeves up and DOING something with my hands. I found myself sneaking out back to "just grind that corner down", or fillet a few joints to prep for glass.

There are plenty of things, now that I'm re-assembling, that I would have done different during tear-down, but I wouldn't have changed the decision to start. Of course, looking at it from a financial perspective, you lose. Many of the most experienced boat builders,flippers and sailors here will give you absolutely superb advice on financial corners you don't want to be backed into. I think this is especially true if you plan to continue purchasing, fixing, rebuilding and flipping boats, always with the eye towards "the next one". But, IMO, if you just want a nice little boat for the family, you may very well enjoy the work, take pride in the finished product, and if you follow the old-timers advice, you'll have a product far superior, safer and longer-lived than the product that rolled out of the factory 28 years ago.

Best of luck, man!

 

[cassadypaul]

Boedekerj Thanks for the words!

It looks like that composites class and the technical drawing class I took in A&P school are gonna pay off! I am thinking of using the aft edge of the teak step just aft of the windshield as a datum to take all my measurements from. Anything aft will be referenced by a negative number and anything fore of that spot will be a positive number. That will help me place the engine mounts, seats, fuel tank bulkheads etc. Still need to figure out a way to record deck height as the top of the gunnels are not a straight plain. I might just use a straight edge spanning the boat and measuring down as pre-determined station numbers.

I am thinking this will also help estimate materials.

 

[boedekerj]

Sweet! Put up some pics of where you're starting. The folks here have seen it ALL and will be able to give you pointers during your tear-down that might save you time/effort during the rebuild. Measurements are important. I get where you're going with the "0" point. Whatever works for you and makes sense to you, go with. I did my measurements stern to bow, and used MS Paint to digitize them. (Not too fancy.) I put in angle data as well for seat/deck fixtures, just so that I could re-use the upholstered seats.

 

[cassadypaul]

Looks nice! I am going to try to get out and take a lot pf pictures of the current state. I may even do an engine refresh over the winter, or find a donor boat with a 4.3 :joyous:

 

[boedekerj]

Something to consider; I used SeaCast to rebuild my stringers and transom, so I used the "channels" of the old stringers as the mold for the new pour in stringers. After removing the deck fixtures and floor, I cut two slices (from the top->down) 1" apart, the entire length of the stringer to get front to back access to the rotten stringer. I was able to pry the stringers out (straight up), which left me with a nice, perfect height stringer channel in which to pour the seacast. Because you're not removing the glass all the way down to the hull, you have the perfect height for your floor already. If you plan to use this method, let me know, and I'll tell you all of the ways that I waay overthought the process. I could have done the seacast pouring in a couple weeks, but I took months to perfect something that needed no perfection.

 

[cassadypaul]

Something to consider; I used SeaCast to rebuild my stringers and transom, so I used the "channels" of the old stringers as the mold for the new pour in stringers. After removing the deck fixtures and floor, I cut two slices (from the top->down) 1" apart, the entire length of the stringer to get front to back access to the rotten stringer. I was able to pry the stringers out (straight up), which left me with a nice, perfect height stringer channel in which to pour the seacast. Because you're not removing the glass all the way down to the hull, you have the perfect height for your floor already. If you plan to use this method, let me know, and I'll tell you all of the ways that I waay overthought the process. I could have done the seacast pouring in a couple weeks, but I took months to perfect something that needed no perfection.

I’m interested in hearing about it. Unfortunately there is no way for me to extract my transom wothout decapping the boat.

 

[boedekerj]

I had to de-cap mine too. I’ll shoot you a vid about what mine looked like just pre pour.

 

[boedekerj]

https://youtu.be/b_9SXzXLiIY pre seacast pour...

 

[cassadypaul]

Interesting... I wonder which is less expensive. I could always de skin my transom and make a mold to pour it without decapping.

 

[boedekerj]

Just looking at the stringers and transom, SeaCast is more expensive.

The traditional (and admittedly, time proven method) with the materials being; Wood for stringers, bracing and transom, resin, cabosil, chopped fibers and fabric might be $200-300. (Woody probably knows off the top of his head.) As for time; between tear down, grind down, measuring, cutting, filleting, gluing, glassing, etc, if you've never done it before, I'd bet it'd be 2-3 months of weekends to get it perfect, the way you want it for the floor to sit right. (I have young kids, so FYI; my idea of weekends is probably not as full of "free time" as others.)

As for SeaCast, 2-5 gallon kits will be ~$450. If you peel her apart with the idea of preserving the skins where ever you can so that you can get the bad wood completely out, and with a minimum, get the skins re-set for your pour, I could do it in 2-3 weekends, and a complete first-timer should be able to get it done in 4 or 5 weekends. (If you're handy, less.)

So, IMO and not having seen "what lies beneath" on your boat; SeaCast is more costly, but will last longer. It will take about half the DIY time.

Many others here have a great deal of faith in the traditional method, and for good reason. If done the way that they factory should have, but usually didn't, a redone wood-glass skeleton should last indefinitely. I was foolish enough to think that I could get this turned around in time for a late summer "splash", which is why I opted for the quicker SeaCast method. I didn't hit that goal. So, you may want to factor in your project timeline.

Questions you might ask yourself:
How long do I want this to last? SeaCast is stronger than wood, and will never rot. BUT, if a properly laid-up wood stringer/transom lasts 20-30 years, is that ok?

How long will I stay motivated to work on this pig? If the answer to the above is "Either is fine", and saving 1-2 months in total on the project is the equivalent to a drop in the bucket, perhaps wood/glass is the way to go.

 

[cassadypaul]

Had some time to get out to the garage this evening. I have been having voltage problems. Specifically very low voltage at any power setting above 1000RPM. Took the alternator apart and found a melted rectifier bridge. The field and stator both tested within limits. Desoldered the diodes and found no cont. in one direction and something like 150,000 ohms in the other. Time to find a new rectifier!