1995 Sea Rayder F16 Mercury Sportjet 120hp.

[jrod24]

Hello fellow boaters,

I am posting here for the first time to see what kind of feedback I can get on my recent purchase. I just bought my first jet boat. A 1995 Sea Rayder F16 Mercury Sportjet 120hp. I am posting pictures and videos of for advice. I bought this as a project with little history of the boat. Below is what I know.



The boat was last used on a lake and apparently sucked up some weeds.
The boat starts and runs, but just wont really go anywhere. When the seller told me this, I'm thinking "Jet pump" I have experience with waaverunners :facepalm: So I get to the rear of the boat start tearing it down to see what damage has been done. Aside from it being old, impeller and wear ring look extremely clean. So I had the wear ring checked out and the measurements were fine and the clearance was fine with the impeller. So now I'm thinking, "compression." So I found this online



So I checked mine and came up with this...

1-120
2-150
3-150
4-135

Not the compression. So at this point I'm not real sure... So I get on the PC and look up other possible issues. Ride plate and "cavitation." Seems to be an pretty common issue, due to them being started out of the water. Sure enough I find this.

Sorry for the elementary terminology, I'm still learning.

So I pull the ride plate and asses the damage. its bent down over an inch. So i look for a part online, never found anything. Call the sea ray dealer they want $460 + tax + shipping!!!! I wasn't happy. So then I took the part up the road to a machinist to see about the possibility of it being bent back. Sure enough they were able to get it back. So I went home mounted this sucker and it's back flush the way it is supposed to be.

I'm waiting on some carb gaskets and pivot bolts (reverse plate) to come in before I put it out on the water.

So now that you are up to date on the progress... I'm wanting some advice on anything really but specifically the cosmetic issues. I'm going to do the seats myself, but when it comes to buffing vs painting over/ gel coat. I'm totally clueless. Should I have it painted? Could I do it myself? I have access to a paint sprayer and I have a compressor. Should I just buff it out? How should I go about it?

 

[aksor]

Re: 1995 Sea Rayder F16 Mercury Sportjet 120hp.

Sell it quick

Parts are barely available the motors are no longer in production the Ignition system is junk constant headaches, Steering control is almost none a low speed and you better own shares in the gas industry cause these suckers are sure thirsty 8+ gallons/hour , + you will spend more time fixing it then riding but that is just my luck maybe you will have better luck with yours.

But if you really want to keep it remove the jet pump fiberglass the hull reinforce the transom and get an outboard

 

[venxxxxx]

Re: 1995 Sea Rayder F16 Mercury Sportjet 120hp.

Sell it quick

Parts are barely available the motors are no longer in production the Ignition system is junk constant headaches, Steering control is almost none a low speed and you better own shares in the gas industry cause these suckers are sure thirsty 8+ gallons/hour , + you will spend more time fixing it then riding but that is just my luck maybe you will have better luck with yours.

But if you really want to keep it remove the jet pump fiberglass the hull reinforce the transom and get an outboard

Now take it easy there Aksor, let the boy play with this toy for a few times on water. I still got my hull from the thrown rod on the bottom cylinders and have been thinking of converting it to outboard. But it will be a project somwhere down the road...in a year or two.

As for engine parts, its not so rare with Ebay and craigslist. I say enjoy it while you are still in it, fix her up as much as you want, dine her then sale her...dont just dump her right away lol. Gluck

 

[jrod24]

Re: 1995 Sea Rayder F16 Mercury Sportjet 120hp.

Thanks venxxxxx,

I wasn't looking for insight on whether or not to sell it. I just got it. I just am looking for some tips on either painting it or having it re-gelcoated. Not sure how much work will be involved. or should i just buff it out?

 

[Daley]

Re: 1995 Sea Rayder F16 Mercury Sportjet 120hp.

I have the same motor on a similar boat, and *love* it. While it's getting too small for our family (kids want to bring friends, etc.), it sure is a blast with just myself and one or two other people. Damn near 50 mph and easy as heck to trailer.

That said, I ran into some issues when I first got mine, and 95% of the help I got was from here - mostly from an extremely helpful guy that goes by kend301. You've already found the problem with the ride plate, so you should be good there. I've learned that buying the cheap walmart brand of 2-stroke oil does nothing good and will have me tearing the carbs down in no time. Beyond that, heed the advice of not running it out of water and you should be good.

Sorry I can't speak to the cosmetics too much - I lucked out and all mine needed was some good elbow grease with some Simple Green.

 

[jdeboxtel]

Re: 1995 Sea Rayder F16 Mercury Sportjet 120hp.

I just purchased one of these as well. Had a little carburetor issue that is being resolved now. If you are looking for carpet, I found a place called "snap in carpet" that sells the replacement carpet for $185. Their address is http://www.snapincarpet.com. I got mine for $1800 and its in great shape. I think I did well. Its a '95 with the 120 Sport Jet.