Sea Ray Maintenance

[Fouremco]

After many years of sea kayaking and canoeing, my wife and I are now looking to purchase our first motor boat. After much research, and taking into consideration the limited towing capacity of our Honda Pilot, we've narrowed our choice to a Regal 1900, a Sea Ray 195 or a Crownline 19SS, all 2008 models. We are leaning towards the Merc 4.3 TKS, but haven't ruled outgoing to an MPI or even the 5.0L.

The dealers vary from one to two hours drive away, longer if towing a boat. Consequently, when weighing the many, many factors that will lead to our final choice, the distance and frequency of visits to the dealer has to be considered.

The first question, then, is how often can we expect to need to take the boat in for maintenance? Oil changes and other minor routine work I can handle myself, but I don't work on my car and don't expect to start with the boat. As the boat will need to be winterized and put up and the end of each season, would an annual checkup in the spring suffice, or can I expect to take it in several times over the course of the year? I expect that, on average, we would probably put about fifty hours a month on the motor from late May through mid-October.

Any and all comments would be appreciated.

 

[Manipulator]

Re: Sea Ray Maintenance

Learn to work on the boat or if you have the money, have it serviced. If you can handle oil changes it's not too complicated. You will probably need an oil hand pump to suck the oil out. I have an older boat so I am not sure what the maintenance intervals are on newer boats. If you are running synthetic oil you can wait longer between seasons. Typically oil changes are every 50-100 hours. You will have to get the boat manual to see what is recommended. I change my oil after every fifty hours and change the outdrive oil every season. Winterising is very important, you want to get all the water out so none freezes and cracks anything. Winterising varies, depends on if the boat has an open or closed system.

http://www.lakeconroemarine.net/Boat_Services/Mercruiser_Maintenance/mercruiser_maintenance.html

 

[JuanRiosBR190]

Re: Sea Ray Maintenance

As a sea ray owner, I'd recommend the sea ray. You'll find very good fit & finish & very good resale value when you decide to sell it & upgrade. Also, you'll never regret getting the bigger engine. Ultimately, you need to test drive each one to really see the difference.

In colder climates, you could take it in for a winterization & a spring commission service. These can cost $250- $550 each, depending on where & what list of services they are offering. During the season you should have it serviced every 100 hrs. Winterizing on a typical I/O can include oil change & oil filter, fuel filter, fill gas tank & add stabilizer, getting any moisture out of the boat. Spring commissioning can include all of the aforementioned plus lubricating moving parts, replacing zincs, changing outdrive oil, charging batteries & several other items depending on your drivetrain.

You can buy a service manual & do alot of the service yourself. If you can change the oil & outdrive lube yourself, plus winterize, you wont have to take more than 1 trip per year to your dealership.

Here in Arizona you are ok with a "full service" once per year, unless you put more than 100 hrs on your boat during the season. We have the advantage of running our boats 12 months of the year & not worrying about freezing.

For maintenence, I'd also opt for fuel injection instead of a carb setup.

 

[Fouremco]

Re: Sea Ray Maintenance

Thanks, JuanRiosBR190.

Sure would be nice to boat 12 months a year... without an icebreaker!

 

[98LSWON]

Re: Sea Ray Maintenance

I have a 1993 Sea Ray 180. Unless something breaks, or you use it a ton during your season, a yearly visit to the dealer to winterise it should suffice. Always give it thourough look over before you take it out, catch things before they become a problem in the water.