'80 Sea Ray 270 Sedan Bridge

[Tiwaz]

So after spending most of the summer looking at potential projects I found one to drag home

Its a 1980 Sea Ray 270SDB with a single 260 Mercruiser. So now for the project side. The engine is seized solid and the drive is shot.

After a 4 hour drive I now have it into the shop. Where I pressure washed the salt and other"stuff" off the hull and drive. Now I can start tearing it apart.
The drive

Finally out I couldn't believe the about of salt inside this thing.

Almost ready to come out

and lifted free, thanks to a 5ton overhead crane.

Out and empty. time to clean this mess up.

So that wraps up week one. Next week I hope to get the engine stripped down and get it into the machine shop. As well I hope to find out why it seized in the first place. I also need to find a whole new drive from the transom back. I didn't realise how badly corroded it was until I started working on it.

Thanks for looking in.

 

[jcsercsa]

Re: '80 Sea Ray 270 Sedan Bridge

OOOOOOHHHH MAN when you want a project you go big !!! HAHAH

Ohh yea welcome !!!

How are the motor mounts and the stringer, and transom ??

Looks like a great ride , and i want your garage !!! hahah

Pertty good job for the frist week cant wait for more , keep the pics comming !! and again welcome !! John

 

[oops!]

Re: '80 Sea Ray 270 Sedan Bridge

welcome to i boats......hull of a proj.....

lots of i boaters in your neck of the woods.....so lots of close help.

i take it youve done this kind of thing before.as your first project is a big one....

love the boat.......if you have questions...just ask here

cheers
oops

 

[oops!]

Re: '80 Sea Ray 270 Sedan Bridge

btw....i boats sells the alpha one cheep.....

 

[Tiwaz]

Re: '80 Sea Ray 270 Sedan Bridge

Well believe it or not this is my first boat ...ever. I do tend to jump in with both feet But I have built 4x4's and street cars before. I have also built a few small block Chevy's in the past so the engine part doesn't scare me at all, but I have no experience with out drives etc. But hey how hard can it be? right.

I was told that the transom and stringers (the last 5 feet) around the engine mounts were done in '05 and so far tearing into this that has all been solid.

The "garage" is a 6000 square foot welding, fabricating shop that I run. So I can work on indoors over the weekends and move it into the yard during the week.

I have my eye on those drives here on iBoats. So I will still need to find a gimbal housing, gimbal ring and bell housing. Oh ya then I guess you can all new bellows a trim cylinders and trim position switches and so on and so forth.

My goal is to have it mechanically sound and seaworthy by June use it next summer and then deal with cosmetics next winter.

Thanks

 

[oops!]

Re: '80 Sea Ray 270 Sedan Bridge

before you replace the motor and the t plate.....you need to do a lot of reading...and searching here...

search core sample and check the integrity of the stringers (all) and transom first....then the deck.....from there you can concentrate on the re power.

there is no use putting a new motor and drive in a boat that has bad strings....it doess not matter what the previous owner said about the condition of the transom....you have to know for sure.

if its good....the rest is just time and wrenching

 

[jcsercsa]

Re: '80 Sea Ray 270 Sedan Bridge

sounds like you got a good handle on her !! Keep use posted on how its going !! John

 

[Tiwaz]

Re: '80 Sea Ray 270 Sedan Bridge

OK so week two and three share one update because life interfered with progress.

I finally got the rest of the drive out, and with some trepidation I drilled some core samples........the shavings were dry.
So now I have some holes to fill. But all was not good as I was checking the foam all good on the Port side but on the Starboard side there was one section without any foam , but it did have 2 inches of water in it. So now i will have to find where it was coming in from and also what havoc it reeked.

I have also found that some of the deck inside the cabin to be soft, so that will come out as well. I have to say that some of the construction techniques really leave me scratching my head. Such as placing the bulkhead next to the cabin door on top of the carpet. Carpet gets wet and the wall wicks it up.

I have some more pics but I left my camera at work, with the boat.

 

[mooregm5]

Re: '80 Sea Ray 270 Sedan Bridge

Wow, someone is as crazy as I am!

I just bought ($500) the same exact boat a few months back and am doing a similar restoration. I have twin 305s/pre-alpha(?) outdrives in there now and am unsure if they are worth even trying to get to run, 1100hrs and used in salt water. I am seriously considering converting it into a single engine to save on fuel. Plus I have a good newer 350/Alpha 1 donor out of a ski boat that will fit nicely.

As far as the core samples, I'm not sure exactly where you took them, but the shower is on the right side, and I found no foam under it. Also I had water there too, I took the shower drain apart, and lifted the little black cup that the pump sits out. It was only held in by silicone, just don't over do it and break it. I then pumped all the water I could out through the hole.

My center floor what shot from where you step into the cabin back to the engine compartment. Its a simple fix, just pull up the carpet carefully and put a new 3/4" piece down.

If you get a chance, can you take a picture of your cockpit (back deck) with the engine covers in place. A previous owner just put plywood over it and it looks awful. I want to make new covers similar to what your smaller hatch looks like.

I have ripped most of my boat apart, so if you have any questions that I may be able to help with, let me know. Also, check your bow rail fittings, they seem to be a flaw of this boat, they may look awful, but worse mine would not hold up to even a good shake. I just wouldn't want you to lean on one and take a fall down to the hard ground.

One more question, does your boat have a black water tank? or just a porta-potti? I want to add a black water tank so that I can spend 10+ days on the boat without needing a pump-out. I was thinking of putting it under floor where the helm is, but I'm not sure what is under there, I used a hole saw to take a look, but its filled with foam. I'm not sure if there are any cross braces, etc. that would get in the way.

Good luck,
Greg

PS. Nice shop! I wish I could fit this into our garage, its cold up here in upstate NY!

 

[Tiwaz]

Re: '80 Sea Ray 270 Sedan Bridge

mooregm5, Here is a picture of the cockpit for ya,

Work has been a little slow on it the last week. I did get the interior out this weekend and started checking the deck in the cabin. Found some more rot. I also found where the water is leaking in, so at least I can now try to stop it.

 

[boatruptcy]

Re: '80 Sea Ray 270 Sedan Bridge

great proj, keep the pics rolling in

 

[mooregm5]

Re: '80 Sea Ray 270 Sedan Bridge

Thanks for posting the photo, I now have something to base the new panels off.

Keep up the good work.
-Greg

 

[Tiwaz]

Re: '80 Sea Ray 270 Sedan Bridge

The last few weeks have been a slow go. Lots of time at work and other family time little work done on the boat.
To re cap when I first drilled some samples of the transom and deck it all looked pretty good

So I then tackled the rotten bulkhead inside the cabin and proceeded to find a soft spot in the deck in the same area.

That has now led to this

The strangest thing that I have found so far is that the stringers if that what you would call weren't glassed into the boat. They were held in place with construction adhesive to the hull and staples thru the deck above . The deck did have a lave of glass over it though. Is this normal on a boat like this?
When I replace it do I need to glass the stringers in or can I just repeat what the factory did? It has lasted 28 years doing it their way.

So now I will begin to gather materials to begin the repair.As an side note there was new wood in the transom and the first six inches or so of the stringers , so I guess I wasn't competely lied to when I was told that they had been done.

 

[Tiwaz]

Re: '80 Sea Ray 270 Sedan Bridge

This project isn't dead just haven't posted much lately.This past weekend I finished pulling the interior of the boat out(well as much as Iam going to), cleaned the adhesive from the old carpet out and steam cleaned the carpet that is staying.

I also picked up a lightly used merc/alpha package for it. Which I didn't take any pictures of.
I am hoping to start construction this weekend. Which leads me to my next question. How can I tell what fiberglass products will be compatible with the original construction?

Thanks,

 

[colobiker]

Re: '80 Sea Ray 270 Sedan Bridge

tiwaz,

thats a cool looking boat.

I have been kinda looking for one of those for my next boat.

i just love the look.. and with the flying bridge.

it kinda reminds me of the gilligans island boat.


you have your work cut out for you.. thats for sure.
I too am a car guy, and thought oh engines.. same..
not so much.. boats are a whole new world.

have a kick a** time on that one..

where did you finde that beauty??

 

[Tiwaz]

Re: '80 Sea Ray 270 Sedan Bridge

Here are some more pics of the interior
Port side

Starboard

And some of the engine

Misc parts

Gilligan Island Yeah the guys at work call it the SS Minnow

I found it in Tacoma WA back in Sept/08

As for the engine Iam not saying that there no difference between cars and boats but the principles are the same. Fuel, Air and Spark it will run. After that its just the details that get in the way

 

[mooregm5]

Re: '80 Sea Ray 270 Sedan Bridge

Hi Tiwaz,

I did not realize you were doing a total remodel. I thought you were just going to fix the soft spots as needed and repower it. Are you reinstalling the same interior, or making your own?

Thanks for the pictures and keep them coming, it is really helping me find out how the boat is constructed. What is the pipe that runs under the helm on the starboard side? It seems like it may be a deck fill to the gas tank. Mine is in the rear, and runs up back stbd side and then mounts/fills the tank under the step in the cockpit. Is this another fill? Vent? I'm trying to figure out how feasible putting a black water tank under the helm area is.

Thanks again and keep up the good work! I thought my boat was a project, but you took it to a whole new level. I have my seats redone, am finding a new carpet this week hopefully and thats the largest of the interior work, besides the black water tank someday. Putting in the the new (used) engine and redoing the canvas in the spring when its warmer and uncovered and then need to redo all the railing fittings.

-Greg

 

[Tiwaz]

Re: '80 Sea Ray 270 Sedan Bridge

HA ha I thought was just going to do the soft spot as well. The pipe under the floor is the fuel fill and the tank vent.
I am planing to strip and refinish the wood from the original interior, Replace the cushions and maybe replace the helm seat. The carpets came out for a few reasons I hated the colour, I need acsess to the deck on the port side to check the stringers there and there were several damaged (worn thru) sections. I'm not quite sure what I will replace the carpet with yet. I was looking at some nice teak and holly plywood but at $200 a sheet it is outside my budget at this time. This season may just see some outdoor carpet thrown in.

I have also had to pull off all of the rail fittings as they were all loose and leaking

Oh well I keep telling myself that when I'm out on the water, beverage in hand lines in the water it will be worth it.

 

[25thmustang]

Re: '80 Sea Ray 270 Sedan Bridge

Keep up the good posts and progress. I have a 27' cabin cruiser I am repowering and doing a remodel on, and love seeing progress threads on "larger" boats!

 

[Tiwaz]

Re: '80 Sea Ray 270 Sedan Bridge

Spent a long day at the shop working on the boat.

Once again my Dad came out to help. I don't think I could tackle this without him.

Here he is cutting one of the stringer pieces.

Stringer is in.

Deck is down.

Inside the engine compartment.

Looking back from the helm.

This represents about 10 hours of work. It sure feels good to be building instead of taking apart. Next week I willl get this wood covered in glass. But at 10:30 last night I was just too tired to start cutting cloth.