chit chat thread
-
What kind of boat/motor? I'd fancy an old boat project someday
It's a 1988 Sea Ray Seville, 18ft bowrider. It has the 3.0L Mercruiser four banger/alpha one inboard/outboard combo, it's a pretty common setup for older pleasure/runabout boats. They're torquey and fast enough for what they are (35mph with a ski propeller with just me in it, still can break 30 with the boat loaded down). No hour meter, but guessing it's well below 500. It was used sparingly in the last two decades, and the first decade of its life it sat for awhile, so mechanically it's pretty fresh. There wasn't even detectable wear on the pushrods when we pulled them. Here's some pics:
It's a pretty tough and long-lived combo as long as maintenance was done, but from personal experience and observation of classified listings it usually isn't. Winterizing correctly is crucial, and it only takes one mistake to ruin a motor. Parts are dirt cheap though and they're stupid simple so for anyone handy with a wrench they're really cheap to run provided the basic stuff like the block and outdrive unit are good.
The boat itself that we have is a decent platform to start with, Sea Ray's are reasonably well made boats and have been around a long time, so finding specific parts for them is a little easier than for some of the other smaller manufacturers. They have wooden stringers and transoms though (structure of the boat), and this can cause obvious issues to the extent that if your boat has these parts rotted, you're better off throwing it away than trying to repair it generally.
If it was me, I'd look for a boat with fiberglass stringers and transom or one with known good wood ones that has been well-maintained and ideally stored inside. If you're looking for a project, something with a bad motor or drive is a much easier thing to tackle than anything else. Upholstery and carpet is ridiculously expensive to have done, so buying a "good" boat with a trashed interior is as much of a money pit or often more of one than one with a bad motor or drive.
I know this was way more long-winded than it needed to be haha, but that's the best top-level rundown I have. Finding the right project boat is a bit difficult sometimes but worth the wait and definitely worth the extra cost and time savings.
For what it's worth, the next boat I look at will be an inboard Mastercraft ski boat, either a 1983+ Stars & Stripes or a Prostar 190. All-fiberglass construction, Ford 351w power, no outdrive to worry about water intrusion into, and perfect for what I do, which is skiing. Not as practical for cruising or fishing, but it all depends on your intended use case. Being on a competitive water ski team, having an inboard ski boat to practice on is useful. This is what a Stars & Stripes looks like:
Early Prostar 190:
And a later Prostar 190:
-
Cool, I had a Bayliner with a Volvo 4cyl, it had coolant in the engine and a second water pump that cycled lake water through a heat exchanger so winterizing was easy. I think a 2 stage cooling system like that is uncommon though for freshwater boats.
Yeah, that sounds like something intended more for a saltwater environment. Pretty neat though, and a lot less risky if you don't winterize properly. I certainly would prefer it!
-
Didn't know you were a water skier. I've never done it but we would go watch the Mad-City ski team shows next to the Monona Terrace when I was little.
Yeah, I've been skiing since I was pretty little just with family and friends and joined Mad-City last summer at the urging of a good friend on the team. Had an absolute blast, and hoping we still get to do it this summer, although it isn't looking great.
-
-
In 35 years you will tell your grandkids what a torqueless wonder the bellowing bi-turbo V8 was as you rub the final coat of aluminum polish on your classic first gen. Telsa cyber truck and afterwards fall back on telling them for the seventh time about how cheaply you charged your truck for back in 2030 and how you “Shoulda invested in TikTok stock back when it was below $1000/share”
-
Here’s to another month of waiting for all the brine to be washed away
-
Here’s to another month of waiting for all the brine to be washed away
I’m hoping they don’t even bother with the salt down here, it’s friggin pouring right now. Anything they put down would get washed right off.
-
Here’s to another month of waiting for all the brine to be washed away
We only got a light dusting, hoping they don't overreact and pour another 2.5 million tons of salt everywhere... I'm ready for riding season dammit!
-
the hood on those always reminds me of the lid of a weber grill.
Dan
-
What powertrain setup is in that beast? With those wheel and tires on a stock engine it wouldn't have the power to move.
I had an old 65 Bug many many years ago. Carried an ice scraper in the car for "defrosting" the inside of the windshield. RWD plus engine over the rear was a blast to drive in the snow. Replaced an engine by putting cinder blocks under the original, unbolting things, and then lifting the car up and over the engine. Install was the reverse. Fun times.
-
Hah! Nadar's rant against Corvair.
The 60s era bugs were "safe" in Europe but not in the US with the behemoths on the road. I remember one night being in the middle lane on the interstate on a sweeping curve and getting passed by a semi on my right and getting blown over one lane into the lane to my left. Just lifted/shifted the car. Fun times.
-
What powertrain setup is in that beast? With those wheel and tires on a stock engine it wouldn't have the power to move.
Lightly modded 1.6L. I'm sure it's painfully slow.
-
My son and I are starting to make a BMX course in the backyard. I got my wife's scooter running for the season and decided tossing it around the yard for 30 mins or so was a good way to ensure it runs in tip top shape. Here's a quick video my son wanted me to make of the down hill section.
-
I built a screened in porch a couple weekends ago and have slowly put some finishing touches on it. Next weekend I'm swapping out the motion light for a normal outdoor light fixture with two GFCI outlets so my wife can continue to decorate as she sees fit. The roof was already existing so all I did was frame it, screen it, build the door and added some finishing trim. This is by far the largest wood project I've done and I'm pretty happy with it. It's not perfect by any means but it's functional. Operation fuck off mosquitos.
Hello! It looks like you're interested in this conversation, but you don't have an account yet.
Getting fed up of having to scroll through the same posts each visit? When you register for an account, you'll always come back to exactly where you were before, and choose to be notified of new replies (either via email, or push notification). You'll also be able to save bookmarks and upvote posts to show your appreciation to other community members.
With your input, this post could be even better 💗
Register Login