Soft Spot on 1989 Sea Ray 180 Bowrider with OB

[mwmax77]

I just bought a 1989 Sea Ray. Nice shape, Transom, hull and engine are great (308 hours) There are a few soft spots. I will try to post pictures, how bad do some of you experts think this is. I paid $3400 for the boat...hoping it is ok. Bought from a dealer who is pretty reputable and was upfront about deck. Please advise.

 

[tschmidty]

Re: Soft Spot on 1989 Sea Ray 180 Bowrider with OB

I am going to have to say ouch. It looks like the original floor was torn out and repaired pretty badly. To do it right you are probably looking at a pretty complete deck rebuild, with probably bad stringers and I would doubt the transom is great either. There is a lot of wood to rot on boats from that era. Can't say from pictures whether it is safe to run it (most likely is) so you can probably get by for the season, but from those pictures it looks like you are in for a deck rebuild at some point. The good news is it is not a super expensive or difficult job if you do it yourself, just lots of time. But then again, that's what those long winters are for.

 

[SDSeville]

Re: Soft Spot on 1989 Sea Ray 180 Bowrider with OB

+1 on what tschmidty said "Ouch".. I bought my 1986 Sea Ray 19' bow rider with 1 soft spot about 6" in diameter. ...and, well, had to replace the deck and stringers, and still have to do the transom.

At least you are in the right place. These guys really know their stuff and will help you along the way. Just thinking, $3400 for an 18' BR that likely needs extensive work? May have paid a little too much...but so do a lot of us.

Welcome!!!

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Soft Spot on 1989 Sea Ray 180 Bowrider with OB

If it were me, I would be going back to that "Reputable Dealer" and be asking for a little bit of a refund to recoup some of my re-building costs. 22 year old boat and you are looking at a minimum of $1,000 bucks and 100 hrs of work to make it safe to operate. Even though he was "Up front" about the deck, I too, seriously doubt that your transom will check out to be good. You need to do some drill tests on it to confirm it is solid. Is this an inboard? What engine does it have? If the transom is bad you should definitely protest. Not sure it will do any good but the worst that can happen is they say To Bad Get Lost

 

[oops!]

Re: Soft Spot on 1989 Sea Ray 180 Bowrider with OB

i dont think the dealer will be any help here but you can ask.

while you are in there....check the foam...not the top...but the bottom....search core sample...if its wet....it must come out.

as far as the deck....start making your choice on the plywood now...buy it and get it drying.....

search deck replacement....lots of info here

cheers
oops

 

[mwmax77]

Re: Soft Spot on 1989 Sea Ray 180 Bowrider with OB

Motor is 135 HP merc Outboard. I am pissed and brought this to the dealers attention.

 

[mwmax77]

Re: Soft Spot on 1989 Sea Ray 180 Bowrider with OB

I will Peel back entire carpet this weekend. and send pictures.

 

[Stratohammer]

Re: Soft Spot on 1989 Sea Ray 180 Bowrider with OB

mwmax77-

Man, that sure looks familiar! I'm in the midst of reworking my '89 160BR. In my case the stringers were mush aft of the storage locker bulkhead and all the foam in the area was soggy. I agree with Woodonglass's assessment. Take heart, there's plenty of good advice and encouragement on this board.

Here's a link to my project http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=447198&pagenumber=

Mike

 

[joarsh]

Re: Soft Spot on 1989 Sea Ray 180 Bowrider with OB

I will Peel back entire carpet this weekend. and send pictures.

I am just about to buy a 1989 Sea Ray 180 Bowrider with 135hp OB. The floor has already been torn out in the back and the seats are all gone. The owner got started into the project and never had the time to finish it. It has been inside a garage since the project was started a year or so ago. The OB appears to be in good shape on the outside but we are going to fire it up next weekend. I was going to try starting it up in the driveway, but didn't want to burn up the impeller or the exhaust hoses....do I just hook up a motor flusher so that there is water running through it when its on? Any tips on what not to do?

Also, any other tips on what I should be looking for with the engine before I buy? Its a good price...

 

[tinkeringwackyone]

Re: Soft Spot on 1989 Sea Ray 180 Bowrider with OB

Welcome to Iboats, you have found probably the greatest bunch of guys around to help with your project. I too have a Sea Ray, 1987 Seville, I/O same thing had a soft spot, now has new stringers,deck,transom. roughly 1500 into it, but will be worth every penny. Not hard work but a lot of it. I have worked on mine on/ off for 1 1/2 years.

Love the Rays looks, its definitely a boat worth rebuilding if you like it. 4 1/2 grinder, sawzall, skill saw, tyvek suit, mask......let er rip.

Keep us posted.

Sail on.....tink

 

[mwmax77]

Re: Soft Spot on 1989 Sea Ray 180 Bowrider with OB

Any one know what the two metal things are on the stern in this picture? on either side of the motor...i am puzzled

 

[Friscoboater]

Re: Soft Spot on 1989 Sea Ray 180 Bowrider with OB

Probably some sort of bimini or top of some kind.