1974 Sea Ray SRV 240 Weekender - complete rebuild, refit, and who knows what else...

[mickyryan]

well lets start with green stuff i believe that is a composite made by arjay that is for securing parts to hull,
stringers more often imho are for holding deck down not for strengthening some hulls if hull is thick and has wood or other support embedded it doesn't need stringers at all like multi chined hulls, unlike say a smooth flat hull thats basically a thin sheet of glass , the unsealed ones were just supports for floor as well , i know all this because i have several friends that work at a sea ray plant in my area and have told me such , however i see no reason they couldn't had been neet about the work lol,sale issue with a wellcraft i did the boat imho was junk compared to what we do but it lasted 30 yrs so who am i to judge .....

 

[CrazyFinn]

I’m quite itchy now. Went out and did some grinding for a half hour or so. Goes pretty quickly with my dad’s ancient “all steel” 7” grinder with 24 grit discs. That thing is heavy. But it will go right through the hull in seconds if I’m not careful!

Transom is cleaned up and ready for new wood. Started on cleaning up the old stringer tabbing, but then figured I wouldn’t bother the neighbours too late tonight with all the noise.

 

[chevymaher]

Transom is cleaned up and ready for new wood. Started on cleaning up the old stringer tabbing, but then figured I wouldn’t bother the neighbours too late tonight with all the noise.

I know my neighbors are sure glad I am done grinding all the time.

 

[mickyryan]

I have a old Milwaukee 7" that thing cuts like no ones bizness but i like the 4" with flappers because its easier to handle after a hour or so dont forget gold bond foot powder "blue botttle " or dollar store it has a cooling agent that helps close pores i slather myself with it before grinding and never have itches

 

[chevymaher]

dont forget gold bond foot powder "blue botttle " or dollar store it has a cooling agent that helps close pores i slather myself with it before grinding and never have itches

Little late with that tip to help me.

 

[CrazyFinn]

I know my neighbors are sure glad I am done grinding all the time.

Fortunately, I only have one neighbour I didn't want to bother - he's the closest to where my boat is, and gets home after 7:00 most evenings. Then again, his house is about 20' from the train tracks - so a bit of noise probably doesn't bother him much. Behind us, we have a small railroad maintenance yard. They make more noise than I do.

The other side, she's never home, and her house just got a Sold sign put up in the front yard. Met the buyer/new neighbour last week when I was doing the struts on my wife's car - he seemed to be quite happy moving into a neighbourhood where people actually work on stuff in the yard.

A friend of mine lives across the street from me, the guy next to him has a cabinet making shop in his yard, and the guy behind them rebuilds Ferrari and Lamborghini engines.

Somebody is always making some kind of noise!

 

[CrazyFinn]

Couple of hours of grinding done this morning. Supposed to be getting uncomfortably warm today, so wanted to get that done early!

Grinding of hull is done up to the cabin wall. Taking a bit of a break here, then going to go start measuring and cutting the new plywood for the transom.

 

[CrazyFinn]

Got the plywood cut and laminated for the transom on Friday afternoon. On my other boat, I laminated two layers of 3/4" plywood together - for a total wood thickness of 1 1/2". The outer Glass skin on these Sea Rays is around 1/4". So that meant that I had to add a few layers of extra glass on the inside to get it up to the minimum 2" thickness required for a Mercruiser.

On this boat, I decided to do it a bit differently (to avoid having to add layers of glass just to gain thickness). I used one layer of 3/4" plywood sandwiched between two layers of 1/2" plywood. Total wood thickness is 1 3/4", together with the 1/4" outer skin, it brings me right to the 2". A couple of layers of 18 oz on the inside, and it will still be well within the 2 1/4" maximum.



Had to work yesterday, so I left the plywood clamped until today (I also had some wood screws in it to clamp the centre areas - those were removed today).

I put a layer of 12 oz biax with mat on the side of the plywood that will go against the outer skin.



Once that was cured enough to flip it over, I put a layer of 18 oz biax with mat on the "inner" side of the transom wood.



Once it's hard, I'll clean up the edges with the grinder and glue it in the boat. Maybe tomorrow night.

 

[CrazyFinn]

Got the new transom glued in, tabbed in last weekend. Then got distracted by issues with my other boat... Bit of progress on this one, but long story short, now looking for a new engine for my other boat (I'll explain that in my other thread...)

Ah the joy of old boats!

 

[mickyryan]

sux about other boat but eh its all about the tinker'in

 

[SailorJT]

I just picked up a 74 Sea Ray weekender and am in the process of completing the same restoration as you. I love seeing your progress. Makes me excited for what I have in store.

 

[sheboyganjohn]

I just picked up a 74 Sea Ray weekender and am in the process of completing the same restoration as you. I love seeing your progress. Makes me excited for what I have in store.

Good luck and start a thread on it so I can follow along. Just remember that excitement when you are waist deep in fiberglass dust and still have more grinding to go.

 

[CrazyFinn]

I just picked up a 74 Sea Ray weekender and am in the process of completing the same restoration as you. I love seeing your progress. Makes me excited for what I have in store.

Thanks for the encouragement!

My progress seems to have come to a screeching halt over the past few weeks. With the failing health of my in-laws, I have been installing wheelchair ramps, modifying bathrooms, replacing carpeted floors with laminate to increase accessibility in their house, so haven't had any time to do anything on the boat.

I am taking next week off work, so hoping to get going on the new stringers and floor. I'll post some pics once something new happens on the boat!

 

[sheboyganjohn]

That is the one thing with boat projects, life always seems to get in the way at one point or another. The key is to take it all in stride.

 

[CrazyFinn]

Finally a bit more progress (although the beginning of my "week off" was interrupted by having to take a 3 day trip to a family funeral - my aunt unexpectedly passed away).

Started with the "outer" stringers and a bulkhead just ahead of the engine compartment.





Got those made and tabbed in. Then today I started on the main stringers (from the rear bulkhead forward). I got those test fit and the bulkheads for both ends of the fuel tank location ready for glassing and tabbing in.



The new stringers extend just into the cabin, still have some foam and old junk to remove in the cabin ahead of the new stringers. I also did some measuring in the cabin. Figured out where I will relocate the wall for the new bathroom (test fit the new toilet, etc.).

 

[CrazyFinn]

I just picked up a 74 Sea Ray weekender and am in the process of completing the same restoration as you. I love seeing your progress. Makes me excited for what I have in store.

Which engine/drive setup is in your boat?

 

[SailorJT]

Which engine/drive setup is in your boat?

I have the OMC 350 engine with a OMC outdrive. Both are in very bad shape and will need to be replaced. What do you have??

 

[CrazyFinn]

I have the OMC 350 engine with a OMC outdrive. Both are in very bad shape and will need to be replaced. What do you have??

Mercruiser/Ford 302 (225 hp) running through a MercTrans II and TR drive. Big huge beast of a drive, but seems to be in good shape (I hope). The engine looked pretty good, but I pulled it apart and re-ringed it, new gaskets, etc. Need to finish putting it back together one of these days...

Since you're re-doing the whole hull, probably best to pick up a newer Mercruiser setup and rebuild the transom to fit that.

 

[sheboyganjohn]

I second that. Getting away from the OMC stuff would be a smart move. Parts are not the easiest to come by, and if your stuff is in good shape you should be able to sell it and get what you need to swap over to a mercruiser drive.

 

[SailorJT]

Mercruiser/Ford 302 (225 hp) running through a MercTrans II and TR drive. Big huge beast of a drive, but seems to be in good shape (I hope). The engine looked pretty good, but I pulled it apart and re-ringed it, new gaskets, etc. Need to finish putting it back together one of these days...

Since you're re-doing the whole hull, probably best to pick up a newer Mercruiser setup and rebuild the transom to fit that.

I was looking at a few different engines. Chevy 350 with marine parts and alphaone drive. If I can find a mercruiser for cheap I will pick one up but I haven’t seen any for sale recently.