1976 Sea Ray SRV-190

[stud_beefpiler]

Hi all. My boss was a really awesome guy and GAVE me his 1976 Sea Ray SRV-190 with the Mercruiser 888. It's in relatively great shape for the age and has been owned by respectable people who cared about their boat before it was handed to me. All I had to do was buy a new prop and install a new sea pump and corresponding seals.

It's my first boat, and I never thought I'd be into boats. I was able to run the ol' girl more in two months than he did in the two years he owned it. To top it off, I haven't trashed it and found out that giving it a wax job improved the top speed by ~6MPH. Near as I can tell, it hadn't been waxed by my boss in two years(shame on him!).

Anyhow, he gave it to me because it had flooded on him once and there is some rot in the bulkheads. That and he didn't want to deal with winterizing it. Something about costing $200? I can only assume that the rot is far worse than just the bulkheads, but I haven't had the ambition to dig deep and find out how bad it is(or the knowledge).

So I've been doing some research to see what I'm in for to get this thing in better condition so it can live another 40 years. I came across this thread http://forums.iboats.com/forum/boat...-repair/374839-1979-sea-ray-srv-190-deck-foam
and I was hoping I could find out from some experienced boaters if this is about what I can expect to deal with. It looks like the OP in the aforementioned thread did a really nice job, and I'm hoping to at least come close to that.

I don't have a lot to be proud of, but when I pull into the boat launch in the old '82 F-150 to put the '76 SRV-190 into the water, and get compliments on how nice the boat looks, it makes me feel pretty damn good. I'm not ready to let go of that and want to keep this thing in a respectable condition.

Any advice, pointers, suggestions, tips, or whatever you can spare, would be greatly appreciated. I will continue searching to see what I can find. I'd like to think that I'm capable of restoring this fine piece of engineering to its full glory, or at least get close.

 

[Woodonglass]

Welcome to iBoats!!! From your description it sounds as if you have a nice boat but... she may need some TLC below deck!!! Your first order of business will be to do a thorough inspection of the inner transom, motor mounts and all exposed areas below deck to attempt to discover the extent of the water damage caused by the flooding. You need to find out from your boss how long the boat was exposed to the water. How long it set with water in it. How much water was in it. Was the boat level? Bow up or Down? Plug in or out? You can take core samples of the exposed areas of the transom, motor mounts and stringers to determine their structural integrity. I'd recommend you open a Free Photobucket account an then use the IMG Code to copy and paste pics of your boat to your iBoats thread so the members can See what you're working with. It's sooooo much easier for us to help with meaningful answers when we can see what you're working on.

 

[stud_beefpiler]

Alright. I probably didn't get the pictures you were looking for, but with some guidance, I can provide what you need to see.

When you say "Take core samples of the exposed areas" I have an idea of what you mean, but if you don't mind, I'd like some more detail. I could certainly drill through the fiberglass, but if there's a better way, I'm all ears.

Boats are new to me, but I am handy with tools and whatnot. I can take anything apart and usually get it back together.

I'll hold off on making any holes before I hear back on some more specifics, or find something that someone else has done.

To answer your question on flooding, it happened when he took it out on the water. I guess the ??bellows??, some rubber tube between the outdrive and engine(I believe it houses the drive shaft) had cracked/ripped/broke, and it took on water. The boat didn't exactly sink, but it was sitting much lower in the water than it should have been.

He took it back to shore, drained it, and always parked it with the trailer jack fully extended(Bow up?). He did spray down the wood with ethylene glycol after he found the rot at the back of the ski locker(picture below).

Thanks for the advice!

 

[Woodonglass]

Ok, the pics of the rotted wood...Where exactly is this? Back off just a bit so we can get a better perspective. Does the boat have a ski locker? If so, open it up and inspect the inside of it really well. Take a pic of the back side of the transom where the outdrive mounts. You can use a 1/4" drill bit to drill about 1" into the transom down low on the INSIDE and inspect the shavings to see if they come out dry or damp. Same thing on the motor mounts and the longitudinal stringers. If the boats' been stored inside and bow up then she may not have to much damage towards the bow. It may all be localized towards the stern.

 

[stud_beefpiler]

The rotted wood is the back end of the ski locker. From tapping around, it goes about 2.5' or 3' up from aft toward the bow of the locker.

When the boat came to me, it wasn't stored inside. I had no choice but to store it outside as I received it in late November and was lucky to get it drained and put antifreeze in the block.

It's now living inside my garage, which will not drop below 40 degree Fahrenheit ever.

I'm sorry that I won't be providing new pics tonight. it's late and I've had a long day, so pictures aren't on my schedule right now. I will happily oblige and provide the images you asked for on Wednesday evening.

I'm absolutely 100% not certain where the stringers should be in this thing, but I will drill the transom and engine mount areas as specified. I plan to fill the holes with RTV or silicone unless instructed otherwise.

Thank you for your guidance.

 

[Woodonglass]

Don't use silicone. Buy some 3M 5200 sealant. That's what's used on boats. Either that or thickened resin. After we see some more pics and you get the core samples drilled, we'll be able to guide you better.

 

[DeepBlue2010]

Hey, WoodOnGlass got you on the right track. About the stringers location, go back to your second post in this thread (post #3) and take a look at pictures 3 and 4. Picture 3 showing the starboard stringer and picture 4 showing the port side stringers. Stringer are the vertical wood that goes from the back of the boat all the way forward.