New member : first boat, what do I have here

[YachtRocker]

New member here, new to boating. I've been on boats before and piloted a few of them.

I was recently given as a gift (hopefully not a money pit) a 1995 Sunbird Corsair 200 w/ OMC Cobra 5.0 FL.

I haven't had much time to study it well, but so far the only thing I know is the Make, model, engine and it floats.

Aside from the grime buildup on the hull, the hull seems to be okay for its age. I was told it ran fine up until it stopped running due to fuel running out on its last run. It ran out of gas, stalled and has not been able to run since. Visibly the engine bay looks in decent shape.

The upholstery on the other hand is in terrible condition and I plan refresh it myself in the coming months.

I've been searching the internet and have little luck finding any info on this boat.

What I'm trying to figure out at this moment is where I can find a repair manual w/ electrical info, as well as info on the drive train. Anything to help me find parts later on.

Also, how can Identify the brand of the Stern Drive?

Any helpful advice on this project is welcome.

Looking forward to chatting and learning from you all.

thanks,

 

[racerone]

Cobra / OMC sterndrives are not in the top 10 on the hit parade.-------Look this boat over carefully before spending any hard earned coins on it.

 

[YachtRocker]

Cobra / OMC sterndrives are not in the top 10 on the hit parade.-------Look this boat over carefully before spending any hard earned coins on it.

Thanks, that's what I plan to do. Make sure its mechanically sound before going any further. First step is to make sure the engine runs. I plan on recharging the battery, checking fluids etc.

I just have no idea how things are laid out on a boat. I'm used to wrenching on Cars and motorcycles, this is new to me. But I'm good at learning quickly.

 

[roscoe]

First question, how much $ can you afford to spend on this boat, and then throw it away, junk it, if need be?

 

[roscoe]

Please post a few more times, then you will be able to put a few photos up, so we can see what you are working with.

Is it a "cobra" engine?
Or a "cobra" outdrive? This is the most important thing right now.


Second, is the transom, floor, and stringers below.. solid and rot free?

Appearance means little to nothing.
Solid and rot free means everything.

If it was stored outdoors, exposed to the elements, give it back to whoever gave it to you.

 

[Sprig]

Thanks, that's what I plan to do. Make sure its mechanically sound before going any further. First step is to make sure the engine runs. I plan on recharging the battery, checking fluids etc.

I just have no idea how things are laid out on a boat. I'm used to wrenching on Cars and motorcycles, this is new to me. But I'm good at learning quickly.

The engine and out drive is only the beginning of what you need to closely check out on a 25 year old boat. Especially if you don’t know it’s history and maintenance. Every single other thing needs close scrutiny including the hull, any soft spots in the hull or floor (rotted wooden stringers), the trailer also needs close inspection. Usually an older free boat or a cheap boat is actually a very very expensive boat.

 

[Scott Danforth]

I was recently given as a gift (hopefully not a money pit) a 1995 Sunbird Corsair 200 w/ OMC Cobra 5.0 FL.



Aside from the grime buildup on the hull, the hull seems to be okay for its age. I was told it ran fine up until it stopped running due to fuel running out on its last run. It ran out of gas, stalled and has not been able to run since. Visibly the engine bay looks in decent shape.

The upholstery on the other hand is in terrible condition and I plan refresh it myself in the coming months.



What I'm trying to figure out at this moment is where I can find a repair manual w/ electrical info, as well as info on the drive train.

First, welcome aboard.

second, often a free boat is the most expensive boat, costing many many many many thousands of dollars and hours to make safe.

Next, the worst combination of engine and drive are the Ford motors and OMC drives. OMC went out of business shortly after that boat was new. and there are many of the Ford parts that are NLA...... like the whole EFI system

Sunbird was an OMC brand at the time (like Chris Craft and Four Winns, etc.) they all came with OMC drives back then.

there is no "repair manual" for your boat. never existed. boats are not like cars. at best, the motor and drive have a repair manual. do not consider Seloc or Haynes manuals. not worth the paper they used to print them.

factory OMC manuals can be had at https://outboardbooks.com/

wiring colors are standard, so its easy to understand how things are wired. see the stickies at the top of the electrical forum.

the good news, the key-hole in the transom is somewhat standard. so throwing all the OMC/Ford stuff away from pulleys to prop and installing Mercruiser or VP is a possibility (assuming the hull is worth it). a good motor/drive can be had for about $3-5k

a dirty boat is a neglected boat. Indicating it was stored outside, and improperly opened to the elements.

bad upholstery is a neglected boat. Indicating it was stored outside, and improperly opened to the elements.

boats that are stored outside and improperly covered are going to have rotten hulls and other issues.

to restore a hull, plan on $3k+
to restore an interior, plan on $2k+

prior to sinking any money in the motor and drive. check the stringers and transom for rot. this will require you to make some test drills into the stringers and the transom, from inside the bilge. about 1" above the bottom of the hull, drill about 3/4" deep holes and look at the shavings. if the shavings are dark, wet, and smell like rotting mulch. simply throw the boat away as your looking at $3k just to restore the hull

if the shavings are light, dry, and smell like freshly cut lumber, then seal them up with marine tex epoxy or 5200 and move on to the albatross of a motor/drive

 

[YachtRocker]

Thanks for all the responses. My goal is to spend less than the price of a similar boat in better condition. So at the moment, I'm trying to assess where I need to invest money.

The boat has been sitting on fresh water for some time, the hull is covered in grime and 'barnacles'. I'm prepared to spend some money to have the hull professionally cleaned and inspected. Also pay to have a professional inspect the engine and sterndrive. If results are good, I plan to repair the interior myself and service any engine/stern components within reach.

I'm pretty handy with wood and have tools to re-upholster properly. I'm also planning on replacing the floor boards and any piece of wood and vinyl within sight.

I'm heading back to the storage lot today to pull the battery, I believe its dead or may need charging. I will take a closer look at the stern, but my feeling suggest its a Cobra / Volvo combo. I will take more pictures and post here as soon as possible.

The trailer is decent shape, the tires are a bit dry, but I think they can hang on while I trailer the boat to and from service shops.

So at this point I'm willing to lose money on the cleaning of the hull, hull inspection and engine/stern inspection.

 

[YachtRocker]

So I can confirm its a OMC motor and OMC stern drive based on the serial number tags. I know there are mixed feelings about this combo, but unless there are major issues I'm not going to write it off based on that.

I did take a look under the floor and stringers looked in decent shape, although I was only able to see 2 of them. If I had to guess, they may have been replaced in the recent past, they looked fairly new. I took some pics of them as well. There was a panel down there towards the rear that was definitely rotted though, not sure if that is serious or not. The floorboard definitely has rott as it appears to be sinking in certain spots.

I took a look towards the Transom, but did not see anything of concern, however I do know it needs closer inspection.

I pulled the hull drain plug and there was a few gallons of water in there, I left open and draining.

I pulled the battery and took it to a local parts store, they said it was completely drained, so I have it home now on a trickle charger. We'll see what happens.

Next step is to wait for the battery to charge, plug it back in and try and get the motor to run. If that works, then I'll tow it to a shop to get the hull cleaned and have the whole vessel inspected. Once that is done, I will decide how much further to take this project.

 

[YachtRocker]

by the way, how many posts before I can post pics?

 

[Scott Danforth]

I'm also planning on replacing the floor boards

Stop. this is a giant red flag with a siren. boats rot from the inside up. the last thing to rot is the floor. the floor is part of the structure and is fiberglassed in place unless someone did a "deck-over"

The floorboard definitely has rott as it appears to be sinking in certain spots.

I took a look towards the Transom, but did not see anything of concern, however I do know it needs closer inspection.

I pulled the hull drain plug and there was a few gallons of water in there, I left open and draining.

your boat was neglected and stored with the drain plug in it. that lead to water being in areas where water isnt supposed to be. so your transom, stringers and now floor are rotten. drain plugs are to be pulled every time the boat is pulled from the water, and replace only just prior to backing in.

before you do anything further. go here https://forums.iboats.com/forum/boa...r/295740-how-to-s-and-other-great-information , and go thru link 14 in its entirety and watch every video. go thru link 15 in its entirety, and 18, then circle back to link 2, 3, 4a, and 4b.

you have a complete hull restoration ahead of you. that is $3k in materials (more if you have to buy tools)

add to that your interior ($1000 if you can sew, $2000 + if you hire out the sewing, etc.)

your into $5k plus at least a year of restoration

by the way, how many posts before I can post pics?

you can start posting pics on post #4. read the tutorial in the rules and guidlines forum.

 

[Old Ironmaker]

Congrats as far as you getting into boating. The above posts are probably not what you wanted to hear about your boat and drive train. The guys that posted know their stuff. What's the old saying? "Never look a gift horse in the mouth." Well that doesn't include 25 year old boats. Look closely. The person that gifted you the boat is saving big bucks tearing it appart and taking it to landfill. You sound like you know to take baby steps and that's a good thing. Go to the NADA site, which is the Blue Book of boating, and it will tell you what the value of that boat is after you fill in all the blanks. That boat around we are, smack dab in the middle of the Great Lakes, in good running condition, good cosmetics and a good trailer is worth $around 4000.00 to $5500.00 CDN, 3 to 4K USD. You could dump much more than that into it based on what you describe. That is if you can find OMC parts which I have learned here are few and far between. Good luck to you.

edit: I did a very quick survey of your Sunbird. The latest Sunbird they list is a 1993 2200. No listing for a Sunray Corsair 200. Without knowing what options such as sonar etc and the specs of the trailer it tells me a 22' I/O Sunray in good condition is anywhere from $3300.00 to $4200.00 USD. Man I guessed close to that, must be learning something. It gives you a quick idea of worth. Do the survey.

 

[YachtRocker]

Okay, here we go some pictures, I have some others I need to resize, will post here soon.

 

[roscoe]

Holy carp Bat Man
Seriously, give it back, then punch the guy for unloading his scrap onto you.
Registration stick says 2004. So its been sitting, I mean rotting a long time.
Probably been through a few hurricanes.

Junk the boat, sell the trailer.

Take the money you plan on spending on repairs, and buy a working vessel.

SC is a titling state, so if you don't have the title with the sellers
name on it, you probably can't even take it to a junk yard. Of course, then you would have to spend money to get it titled in your name, before you could sell it or junk it.

 

[racerone]

Turn around and take " big steps in rapid succession "-----Nothing but junk.------There are numerous better projects available.

 

[Scott Danforth]

you have a windshield that is worth $100 - $300 to the right person and a $500 trailer. it will cost you about $200 to dispose of the hull after you cut it up the stringers are rotten (you can see it in the photos). the floor long ago rotted and who ever gave you the boat used dimensional lumber to prop the rotten floor up.


it would seriously take about $9k+ and two years to restore that.

here is my updated estimate
$4k for the hull (you have exterior work to do as well) and about 18 months of time
$2k for the interior and 2 months of time
$1500 for the motor and drive and 3 months of time
$1500 for the miscellaneous broken bits and about 1 month of time.

seriously give the boat back

 

[YachtRocker]

I'm taking all this info in and thank you.

I can confirm the floor is plywood, is that normal for this make / model boat? Or was it fiberglass originally replaced by wood?

If I'm reading some of this correctly, IF i where to decide to dispose of this, I would have to cut the hull up and pay to dump it?

 

[racerone]

Depends or your local rules.------But yes in many places you have to pay to get rid of a fiberglass boat.

 

[YachtRocker]

Is there a used market for the engine and stern or should I write that off too?

 

[The Force power]

Is there a used market for the engine and stern or should I write that off too?

sorry to add but, Let go of the dream and as said earlier; give it back