1982 Sea Ray Sedan Bridge 310 Possible Waterlogged, to repair or not, to buy or not

[neikoz]

Hey Guys pretty new to boats and inquiring to see if i can get some advice. So i'm working on purchasing a Sea Ray 310 , its definitely a fixer upper but the price seems right and it is what Im looking for, of course minus all the problems. So the story behind this boat is that the previous owner bought it at an insurance auction. It had previously sunk and was in water for four hours. it was a small hole after anchor breaking and boat getting loose. He fixed up the engines and got them to run but after moving from the florida to maine the boat sat for about 8 months without running so i'm working out all the engine problems from sitting. But one of my main concerns and also the reason why i'm posting is that i found a hole in the fiberglass on the floor and it seems that the boats foam is waterlogged. The good news or i hope good news is that its a small area, If i had to guess about a 1 or 2 foot by 6 foot foam that right underneath the cabin flooring. The boat does will well and its at its water line. So i guess the question is besides the added weight how bad the water in that foam is for the boat and if terrible how much you guys think it would cost to remove the foam and replace, and whats the steps to do so.

Also if anyone is familiar with the build of these sea rays and how much foam is under there. That would be awesome.

Thank you for the time
Boat Newbie

 

[rickryder]

I would suggest to read some of the restoration threads on boats that size or even smaller....if this is your first boat project hope you have a lot of time and money. You really don't know the truth about this boat just what the PO states....If you really want the boat hire someone to evaluate it's condition then figure repairs costs and price of boat....is it worth it? And about that small hole....I've seen numerous threads that start with just a soft spot turn into full blown restos...just my .02 Good luck!

 

[neikoz]

i'm having a shop estimate the engine work and can the fiberglass be cut and foam removed while in the water?

 

[neikoz]

Also i'm pretty sure that hole was drilled out to see if the foam was water logged because its really solid all around it and the piece of wood and fiberglass is still in the hole and feels solid.

 

[GA_Boater]

Welcome aboard, neikoz.

I can't figure out if you bought the boat or are still looking at buying it. If you haven't bought it, hire an independent marine surveyor to go over the boat. The money spent will be well worth it. Save the cash from the shop looking at the engine work until after you have a report from the surveyor.

 

[neikoz]

Transaction was done on ebay but since condition wasnt as stated trying to figure out a deal, basically a price that would be good for both of us. Shops estimate is taken care of, I'm basically trying to figure out what price point would be good for the boat to be a good deal for me and worth the investment

 

[GA_Boater]

I'm back to get a surveyor. Do you want to share the sellers price and your price?

 

[jbcurt00]

On a boat this big, getting a marine survey should be the default.

Is this a boat angel purchase? If not them or similar charity selller, i'd be very interested to know how you got the seller to back off holding you to your bid amount. For reference i have bought a boat from boat angels and it couldnt have gone better. I've also bought a boat via ebay and a different 'charity' that was a complete mess to deal with and Paypal refunded my money. After they did, ebay backed off and didnt ding me for not following thru w the purchase. It was similar, no where near advertised condition and 'charity' was unresponsive to emails and phone calls.

Hope it works out. Without pix, i couldnt comment on specifics of wet foam, esp in a 33yr old boat that big that sank.

Generally wet foam is a bad sign, and although adjacent foam 'seems' unaffected, it often is, quite extensively.

I strongly agree w GA and highly recommend a marine survey, if only to further Cover Your 'Stern Area'

If it sank, the exterior surface of most of the foam got wet...... How long ago was that, how and where was it stored post recovery?

 

[neikoz]

this was the description that he gave this very forum when he was getting help with the engines.

"Thanks for the reply "Fun Times". Here is a little more to the story. I purchased this boat from an insurance auction. The boat had broken loose from mooring and ran into a jetty. It punched a small hole in the hull, about the size of a half dollar. She submerged in about 60 inches for about 5 hours. She was hauled out and the engines were pickled and all fluids were replaced."


From what i've read a survey will run about 400 dollars and not sure if i want to drop money on it if the deal isn't going to go through. Basically the ebay seller stated that it was in great condition which was nowhere near the case. I think he did think that the engines were perfect and all the other stuff was covered up superficially. He was the first one to offer to cancel the ebay purchase and refund my payment. Last we talked about was a reduction on price as long as i take it as is. As it is were at about 10,000 for the boat so i'm trying to figure out the extent of the foam damage so i can do the numbers along with the engine work. I guess one of my biggest questions is seeing as the boat is well above the water line and i really do think the foam area is quite small, whats the worst case scenario price wise you guys think of ripping out the fiberglass and foam in that 3 by 6 feet area or if i leave it as is am i causing more serious damage?

 

[neikoz]

here are some more pictures, the foam area is below the flooring in that interior picture, anyone have any experience in how much foam is in these sedan bridge sea ray hulls?

 

[jbcurt00]

I'd make the sale contingent on the survey AND a repair estimate based on the survey.

Split it w the seller. $200 to save (you) or make (seller) $10K seems reasonable.

I dont recall, have you put your hands on the boat? If you have, you are in a much better place to judge it then we are remotely via the internet....

Could be a couple hundred bucks over a single weekend or lots, lots, lots more....

 

[neikoz]

Yea i've been on the boat fiberglass on the floor feels strong and everything else looks to be in good condition , what i'm worried about is how much foam is down here and if its rotting any structurally important wood.

 

[Bondo]

Yea i've been on the boat fiberglass on the floor feels strong and everything else looks to be in good condition , what i'm worried about is how much foam is down here and if its rotting any structurally important wood.

Ayuh,..... If it sunk 5' in saltwater, every tiny bit of Wirin' will need to be replaced,.....

'n bein' an '82, it ain't an investment, you'll ever see a pay-off from,.....

 

[jc55]

Heck, If you have access to the boat, you can drill down into that foam with a 3" piece of PVC pipe, with teeth cut into the end of it using a handheld jigsaw. Drill down to the bottom and you can see how much water there is. If you soak it up with a sponge and it just keeps coming and coming, I would suggest that the boat will never dry out in its current condition and that Maine winters will only compound the damage. It'll be like a black mold greenhouse below decks, IMO.

If the entire hull sunk, I'm curious to why there is only a 3' x 6' area of concern. Are the other areas below deck accessible? Are items in the cabin delaminating?

Isn't FLIR what the high end surveyors use to inspect the hull and stringers? We have one at work so they are attainable. I'd definitely get a survey. This thing could cost you tens of thousands in extra work.

 

[jc55]

Also i'm pretty sure that hole was drilled out to see if the foam was water logged because its really solid all around it and the piece of wood and fiberglass is still in the hole and feels solid.

It looks like you covered it. But as a prospective buyer, I would want more answers. Like core samples and going down through the foam all the way to the hull.

 

[hadaveha]

If the purchase price is low enough that you could part it out and recoup the bulk of the cost then what the heck go for it, but if the purchase price is up there and I could get out of this one I'd run.

 

[neikoz]

Thats what i was thinking i'm still waiting to hear about the engine work and i'll go form there. haha either way its bad timing but i guess with boats i'd better get used to it

 

[Skipper747]

Hey Guys pretty new to boats and inquiring to see if i can get some advice. So i'm working on purchasing a Sea Ray 310 , its definitely a fixer upper but the price seems right and it is what Im looking for, of course minus all the problems. So the story behind this boat is that the previous owner bought it at an insurance auction. It had previously sunk and was in water for four hours. it was a small hole after anchor breaking and boat getting loose. He fixed up the engines and got them to run but after moving from the florida to maine the boat sat for about 8 months without running so i'm working out all the engine problems from sitting. But one of my main concerns and also the reason why i'm posting is that i found a hole in the fiberglass on the floor and it seems that the boats foam is waterlogged. The good news or i hope good news is that its a small area, If i had to guess about a 1 or 2 foot by 6 foot foam that right underneath the cabin flooring. The boat does will well and its at its water line. So i guess the question is besides the added weight how bad the water in that foam is for the boat and if terrible how much you guys think it would cost to remove the foam and replace, and whats the steps to do so.

Also if anyone is familiar with the build of these sea rays and how much foam is under there. That would be awesome.

Thank you for the time
Boat Newbie

I own that boat for 10 years, got it completely overhauled. New mercruiser 8.1 engines and new Westrbeke generator. I build the hard top and had someone make to flybrige aluminum work. sold theboat after the restoration. after couple of years after the sale, I heard the boat sank on the dock in Homested Florida. There was more than 80,000 invested on it.