Be easy on me please. Total newbie.

[hondaslave1342]

I, too, am a slave to the almighty Honda, reside in Chatt, TN, and am named Matt. Weird. I would do as Stress point suggested.

Crazy. Thanks

 

[hondaslave1342]

start by chucking a new or known good battery in the boat.

get some fresh fuel to the carb , drain the tank or hook an external tank to the where the hose from the tank locates.

put some muffs on the intake and turn the water on.

crank it up and see if it fires.

if it fires up take a video with good sound of the clunking .

post vid here so as the guys can take a listen.

you can evaluate if its viable to keep going with it once it is a runner.
yea, the hull might be wasted or it may not be , some simple tests will soon decipher how good or bad the hull is.

Thanks. Will post this weekend. Appreciate your input

 

[Scott06]

Nothing wrong with the hull. Boat is in pristine condition for it's age.
View attachment 376095

NIce photo my wife always complains when i do the same…

we had a 91 Sea Ray 170 same color for 20 years. The boat also held up very well, was 25 years old still very nice looking when i sold it.

if you already are aware of this or have checked tell me to shut up… what danforth was talking about is transom and stringer wood rot. Hull can look great like that but transom can be structurally unsound due to wood rotting.

if you havent drill a couple small holes into the wood down low in transom and stringers if dry sold wood comes out you are good. If not at least you know what u are getting into before spending money.

Look at the restoration forums on here as see some of the rot people come across. My sea ray looked great like yours had a couple soft spots in floor where you came out of water via swim ladder and between consoles by ski locker. These areas were always wet when out on lake swimming. I sold it because i didnt want to get into it. Guy who bought it had done floors on previous boats so he knew what it would entail

 

[hondaslave1342]

NIce photo my wife always complains when i do the same…

we had a 91 Sea Ray 170 same color for 20 years. The boat also held up very well, was 25 years old still very nice looking when i sold it.

if you already are aware of this or have checked tell me to shut up… what danforth was talking about is transom and stringer wood rot. Hull can look great like that but transom can be structurally unsound due to wood rotting.

if you havent drill a couple small holes into the wood down low in transom and stringers if dry sold wood comes out you are good. If not at least you know what u are getting into before spending money.

Look at the restoration forums on here as see some of the rot people come across. My sea ray looked great like yours had a couple soft spots in floor where you came out of water via swim ladder and between consoles by ski locker. These areas were always wet when out on lake swimming. I sold it because i didnt want to get into it. Guy who bought it had done floors on previous boats so he knew what it would entail

Appreciate it thanks

 

[hondaslave1342]

being a 1990 searay that sat. I would seriously do some test drills on the transom and stringers prior to worrying about the motor. my guess is that the boat will need about $5k worth of hull restoration long before you have to worry about the motor.

Will do. Thanks for your advice

 

[tpenfield]

Just picked up a free 1990 searay 180 4.3 for free from neighbor. . . . . Any help is greatly appreciated.
Matt Chattanooga Tennessee

As time goes on, hopefully you will find a way to forgive your neighbor.

 

[flashback]

Something similar happened to me year before last. My neighbor sold his house, gave me his searay and moved back to England. Now he wants to come visit me so he can use his old boat! LOL

 

[hondaslave1342]

As time goes on, hopefully you will find a way to forgive your neighbor.

What are you talking about? I can turn free into 2k in 2 seconds. Thanks again for your support

 

[Scott06]

What are you talking about? I can turn free into 2k in 2 seconds. Thanks again for your support

He is talking about 95% of the folks who post someone gave me a boat, inherited a boat, got a boat for $100 etc end up putting a lot of money into them. Hence the comments here about checking out structure etc.

bottom line usually a reason it was sitting, if it was so easily turned into a couple $K your neighbor would have.

If you are handy automotive wise you are leg up on most folks. Hopefully it works out well, just would not be so quick to dismiss info. There is a reason someone invented the phrase boat = break out another thousand…

 

[Scott Danforth]

Automotive background helps only if you understand that boats are different than cars. What makes a car go thru the traps in 10 seconds would kill a boat motor.

Working on boat restoration, a background in fiberglass, cabinet making and upholstery are more important than the mechanical items.

The most expensive hobby is boating, the most expensive boat is a free one

 

[jimmbo]

A Boat is a Hole in the Water that you will be continuously pouring Money into

Also, if you do need replace any Fuel or Electric Parts on this engine, you just can't go down to O'Reilly's and buy an Automotive Part.

 

[havoc_squad]

There is a reason why rot in boats with wood in them is called cancer, because it is cancer. It grows worse the longer it goes untreated.

Boats just like people can look young and healthy with this threat looming until it reaches the point of no return, then it goes badly very fast.