"Day Dreamin"

[Short Stroke]

Well I finally did it. I've dreamed of owning a cuddy / cabin cruiser since I was 8 years old. I was amazed at the beauty of those big luxurious boats when I was out on the lakes or rivers with my dad.
I followed a lot of posts about restoration projects on this forum, particularly the one who had restored a Sea Sprite CC.
I had been looking at a 1988 Sea Sprite SSB 225 here in my area for several years now. Well, she finally followed me home today for $500.00.
This boat will need a lot of TLC but it's time to make my dream a reality.
I would love any advice any of you have to offer during this process. I will be posting pictures tomorrow of what I have to start with.

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,.... Welcome Aboard,.... We Love pictures,....

 

[gm280]

:welcome: aboard Short Stroke. Nice to have you join us here on iboats...

I see you have found a boat of your dreams. And that is the good news. However, $500 dollars tells me it is really going to be needing most everything refurbished. So you have a good project ahead of you for sure. The very first thing you have to do is make sure you have all the paperwork correct and the titles and whatever signed so it is your legal boat and trailer. After that is accomplished without any lingering questions, then you are ready to start your project.

Next thing is to take tons of pictures from inside, outside and every angle you can think of. Not only will those pictures help us see what you are dealing with, they will absolutely come in very handy later on in the refurbishing efforts.

So post your initial pictures for everybody to see and then we can offer suggestions, help and ideas. :thumb:

 

[Bayou Dave]

I'll follow along and see what a $500 cabin cruiser looks like. opcorn:

 

[Short Stroke]

Thanks for the warm welcome guys.
I'm still trying to get my pictures to upload. Apparently my phone takes pictures that are too big even on the smallest setting lol......
In the meantime. .......
The story of the acquisition of the $500 CC is actually quite funny mixed with a little poetic justice. Lol.
This boat has sat in the same place, that I know of, for 8 years. 6 months ago, I finally decided to stop and really check it out, instead of just driving by. The interior is shot, and the floor was soft around the engine compartment. I knew it was rotten. It has a very clean looking 5.0L mercruiser Alpha one, and the lower end seemed to turn freely and smooth, and felt like it engaged as its supposed to when put in gear. So I decided to to contact the owner.
When I finally got a hold of him, and asked for his price, he told me to make an offer. Reluctantly, I offered $400. He laughed at me and stated that the trailer was worth $2500 by itself, and that he'd have to have $2000. A little irritated, I let him know the trailer was worthless to me without a boat and the most I would go was $1500. He said if he didn't get $2000 out of it, he would just put it in the auction. AND that's what he did.
This is the good part. .....
You see, he owns an auction service. He holds an annual 3 day farmers consignment auction. Hundreds of people show up for it.
Tuesday was the day for boats and RVs. A lot of buyers knew I wanted this boat and some even knew the story, and few even knew what I was willing to give for it.
The owner really tried to talk up the boat, on the water 5 years ago, runs great, new material in the cabin for the upolstry and a couple new seats. Boat was winterized when it was parked, and there's no reserve on it. With that, the auctioneer tried to open the bidding at $2000. I offered $500. And even though he tried to keep talking it up, nobody would bid against me. Lol.
So I still got his boat, and he still didn't get what he wanted for it. Lol. A couple patrons even called me a thief. Lmao!
But just to clarify, the trailer, 1988 road master tandem Axle with Atwood hydraulic brakes ..... with a clear title. ...... lmao!

 

[Short Stroke]

No Title

 

[Bayou Dave]

The trailer alone is possibly worth $500. If you are even luckier the engine is salvagable. Not too sure about the boat being salvagable without pouring tons of money into it. Tear her apart and see what you find. Now that you have posting pics mastered keep them coming as the tear down progresses.

 

[gm280]

SS, interesting story about your acquisition of your dream boat. Some times owners think their boats are worth way more then the general public. With that said, you will be spending a lot more then $2500 dollars to fix it up in my opinion. And a lot of labor as well. But I think you already knew that too. Keep posting your efforts and take tons of pictures of everything before the demolish work begins. You honestly won't believe how useful those pictures will come in handy down the road in this restoration. Also take a lot of quality measurement as well. Your memory will not hold up over the course of this rebuild. But you have come to the best place ever for help, ideas, and quality suggestions. JMHO!

 

[kcassells]

Welcome aboard! Time to start breaking her down. Then rebuild her. Lots of good guys here to help out. You have to start somewhere, demo is the first thing we all do then go thru withdrawl and the shakes at the hugeness of the job to complete.
Losts here giterdone though. Take lots of pics and measures, ask lots of questions. You'll see then how and if you want to tackle it.

 

[harleyman1975]

A new project is always exciting! I look forward to following your progress and I will be happy to share my experience (both good and bad) with you.

 

[nurseman]

I will tag along if you don't mind, I like a lost cause project, and if this is a labor of love, then the price is worth it. But you will spend more than 2500 for sure. The good(?) part of that is it usually gets spread out over several years, so it hurts less. I'm afraid to go through my stack of receipts...

 

[Short Stroke]

I don't mind anyone fallowing along, and you're right Nurseman it will definitely be a labor of love. I planned to have to put a lot in it to get it the way I want it. And it's definitely going to take a lot of time. I want to do it right, not fast. But I'm kinda like the guys I've known who do car restorations, you know, the guys who spend $2000 or more for wheels and tires just to put them on a rolling chassis. Lol, what should be the final touch becomes the beginning inspiration for the project. I'm going to start tomorrow with giving her a bath and cleaning it up real good, and then seeing if I can get the engine to run. I want to hear the motor and lower end to see what I have to work with.
Gotta polish up the terd and see if it still stinks! lol

 

[Short Stroke]

Well she won't start, can't even turn over. It seems the starter is locked up. To make matters worse, I can't get it off without pulling the engine. But it is what it is, I had planned to pull it anyway. More to come

 

[52FordF2]

Pull the spark plugs, starter, and belt, and manually turn her with a socket and wrench. If she don't turn it either a rebuild or replacement.

Good luck

 

[52FordF2]

Squirt some oil into the spark plug holes also

 

[Short Stroke]

Ok so I haven't done much with her for a few days. Just been stripping her down. Haven't pulled the engine yet wanted to try the suggestions y'all been giving.
But I have another question. I know the max HP should be on the capacity plate, but it's not. Just the capacity limit and the manufacturer and model.
I'm not concerned with getting more power although it would be great, my question is, how can I find out if my boat is big enough to handle 2 engines. I'm aware of the cost in doing it but since I'm totally rebuilding the boat anyway, it would be the time to do it.
Btw the cap. Limit is 9 people or 1200 lbs. The boat is a 22' with a deep V and an 8' beam.

 

[kcassells]

transom rebuild thread;
http://forums.iboats.com/forum/boat-...ansom-re-build

NadaGuide references; http://www.nadaguides.com/Boats/1988/SEA-SPRITE-BOATS

Looks like 200 hp, check out the website for nada and perhaps reference other build threads, sales, etc and you'll get a better feel for what powered the boat.

1988 Sea Sprite Boats 225 CC
LINER Prices and Specs

 

[nurseman]

If you know the beam and the length, you can go to the coast guard website and use their hp calculator. That will tell you what the max hp is for your craft.

 

[jbcurt00]

If you know the beam and the length, you can go to the coast guard website and use their hp calculator. That will tell you what the max hp is for your craft.

IIRC, thats for an OB boat. Not the same for I/O.

Stroke: Twin I/Os or OBs?

 

[Woodonglass]

Yeah, my question too!!! You considering putting 2 Inboard motors into this boat!!!! I REALLY would discourage this thinking!!!! I would also discourage converting her to twin outboard motors. I'd just concentrate on getting the One Motor working in Tip Top shape. If and When you do. She'll perform up to and probably better than your expectations. Also If you haven't started putting together a budget yet, you should start. From experience, I can tell you this... If you want her to look GOOD, here's what I see...
Interior Re-Do- $2,500
Motor (IF- BIG IF) it runs and only needs basic Tune up and Seals $500. If Major Re-Do $2,500
Structural. If the Deck, Stringers and Transom All turn out to be A-Ok (I have serious doubts on all 3) then OK, if not this could cost another $2,000.
Miscellaneous for Restoration materials $500.

Total Restoration Costs $7,500

Now having said all this. IF you do the work and do it right, you'll have a Like New boat that will last for Decades for $8,000 bucks. A new Boat of this type is Well over $30,000. So if you have the Time, Money and Sticktoitiveness to Giterdun then...