180 Bow Rider Thread... Questions & Answers or just chat!

thank you!

ok ill have to think about that. i guess i could put the existing seat on a swivel pedistal? didn't plan on replacing carpet but i guess i would since there would be a large hole.
 
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What kind of bimini top do you have on your boat? I have a 1994 180 Signature Bow Rider and have been thinking of getting one. Did you put it on yourself?

Thanks
 
MY 1999 180BR is in need of an engine rebuild. Being 16 years old, all the serial numbers are gone. How can I know what engine I have or are all the 3.0 motors the same?
 
Well, after seven years of ownership, I sold my 2009 175 Sport today. I simply wasn't using it anymore except to roll it out of the garage, put muffs on it, then roll it back in. It was a joy to own. Easy maintenance, plenty of power with the 3.0l and nice styling. I would have preferred a few grand more for it. But, it's a saltwater boat and I had a buyer, and sometimes that's a tough combination to make happen.
 
No sense keeping something you don't use. I'm sure you enjoy the big boat enough to make up for it. That 175 sport wasn't that salty, I'm sure it showed well.

Now you can invest the proceeds into the big boat.
 
anyone using a Solas Amita 4, this is an aluminum 4-blade. Im thinking of getting a 14.5 x 17" pitch. I currently have 19" SS getting 4100 rpm wot.
 
hi all, i am new to boating and just purchased a 1989 sea ray open bow....can anyone tell me where the hour meter is located? thanks...hoping to learne more about this boat from folks on here...thanks!
 
hi all, i am new to boating and just purchased a 1989 sea ray open bow....can anyone tell me where the hour meter is located? thanks...hoping to learne more about this boat from folks on here...thanks!

It's likely that your boat doesn't have an hour meter. They weren't standard when your boat was made. A compression test will give you a good idea as to the health of the motor.
 
Hi all. First post. First time Sea Ray owner. My dad bought a 260 sundancer when I was young, had great times on her. Been around friends boats my whole life.So just bought my own Sea Ray, a 180 sport. Was looking for a newer boat (none in or region for the last 6m or so due to a huge local storage fire which has sucked up all the good local for sale boats), but ran across this low hour beauty, couldnt pass it up. Anyway, need to buy a storage or mooring cover. I believe, most times, you get what you pay for. But...Anybody had any luck on Eevelle covers for their boats? A good quality cover seems to be 400ish, but found this on Amazon for around 180 ish shipped. Gets great reviews, but not sure. Wont be trailering with it on, only for storage at home. Anyone bought this cover or know of someone who bought this cover? It claims to fit a 17'6'' boat exactly. Seems hard to pay 600 for the Great Lakes cover. Again, it sometimes feels like you get what you pay for, but not always, sometimes you can find a great deal at a lower price. Just like my friends Mercedes which is always at the dealer...Has anyone else found a great deal on a cover and if so, please let me know. Thanks.
 
Try your local Costco store. They have a nice outdoor cover in the $100 range. Mind you my boat usually sits in the garage, I use this cover when ever it has to spend the night outdoors. I throw it over the whole boat when the canvas is snapped on. Really good for rain.
My buddy has the same cover but stores his boat outside. After 3 years, it's a bit faded, but still holds all the water out.
The cover has a 5 year warranty, and Costco seems to be really good for product returns if it fails.

Oh and welcome to the club. :smt038
 
My 180 BR has the OEM bimini. I just ordered the side curtains and aft curtain from RNR Marine....about $500...nice fit
 
HI all, did a search, didn't find my answers. Anyone know the differences between the 2006 through 2011 or so 185 sports? I am looking for a low hour one for sale, and just curious what is different between the years. I don't need to know things like interior colors, stripe kits, hull colors, etc, I am really looking for more important things, like 6 cleats vs 4, depth gauges, or things like that. It would be nice also if I could find the same info on the 175 sports also.
 
I have a 2007 185 sport and I don't believe there were all that many changes throughout the production cycle. Most differences are just in what options were ordered on the boat, such as the depth finder, stereo upgrade, wakeboard tower, two tone gelcoat, graphics packages (changed often), battery switch, snap in carpet, ect. The three big things I can think of that did change is the fishing package, which I think was only available for the first year or two, a center bow seat/cushion was added around '08 or '09, and in 2007 they introduced the flip up bolster seats as an option (which is really nice btw). I believe the engine choices were: 3.0L TKS, 4.3L TKS, and 4.3L MPI. (TKS = carbed...MPI = fuel injected). Oh, and I just remembered, the first couple of years also included an outboard power option. Hope that helps.
 
I have a 2007 185 sport and I don't believe there were all that many changes throughout the production cycle. Most differences are just in what options were ordered on the boat, such as the depth finder, stereo upgrade, wakeboard tower, two tone gelcoat, graphics packages (changed often), battery switch, snap in carpet, ect. The three big things I can think of that did change is the fishing package, which I think was only available for the first year or two, a center bow seat/cushion was added around '08 or '09, and in 2007 they introduced the flip up bolster seats as an option (which is really nice btw). I believe the engine choices were: 3.0L TKS, 4.3L TKS, and 4.3L MPI. (TKS = carbed...MPI = fuel injected). Oh, and I just remembered, the first couple of years also included an outboard power option. Hope that helps.

great, thank you for your help.
 
Hi, FNG here. Long time boater but downsizing now. I just took possession of a 2004 SR 185 Sport, 4.3L (190 HP). As far as I can tell this boat is all original including the 14X23 Black Max aluminum prop. Very low hours (88). The specs say I should see 4400-4800 RPM at WOT. Running the boat in flat water (brackish), full fuel load, one person (240 lbs) and no extra gear I'm only seeing about 4000 RPM at WOT (39 MPH vis gps). The boat is bottom painted but I don't think that would cut my RPMs so much. Could the throttle cable be out of adjustment due to stretch?? I have a 14x19 3 blade SS wheel in my "boat stuff locker" that I'm thinking of hanging on this boat just to see what it does. Any thoughts on all this?
Thanks in advance!
 
Welcome aboard! That's a great boat, and it definitely should be moving better than that. A couple things. You stated it's bottom is painted. I assume you are keeping it in the water? Have you physically checked for growth on the bottom? Even with paint growth may accumulate, which may affect performance.

If it's clean and fresh, you can try and see how you do with the other prop.

Do you have any maintenance history for this boat? If not, parts may be original, and 12 years old. Might need a tune up. Things may look fine on the outside but if their old, and your having performance issues, I'd look there.

Another thought, are you trimmed out when you go full throttle?

Hope it's an easy fix, and you get all the power out of that thing, so you can enjoy it.
 
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MikeeH (same MikeeH from Boater Ed?) -

I have the same boat (1999) and have both a 14.5 x 21 and a 14 x 23. About the most RPM I can get out of the 23P is 4500-4600, but a pretty good top end, 48-50mph. The 21P is 4800-4900 WOT and a top speed of 45-46mph, it will even bump the rev limiter at 4950rpm sometimes. I generally use the 21P, better all around performance. I bought the boat used and it came with a 19P which was way to "flat", they dealer swapped it for a 21P and I bought the 23P later. I think you are over propped, I would try the 19P you have and go from there. I do think it should turn a little more than 4000 with the 23P, so could also have some tune up items on it.
 
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Thanks for your input. I have recent maintenance history from the yard where the previous owner had it "High & Dry" stored. Not much in the report beyond routine winterize and re-commission. I'm certain a tune-up is warranted. The bottom paint is in lousy shape (ablative). I figure the previous owned stopped maintaining the paint when he went to rack storage. I'm keeping it on my jet dock so I wasn't planning to do anything with the paint other than keep wearing it down. So, I guess I'll go the tune-up route first and also look at the throttle linkage to see if there's some adjustment that's needed there. Although I'm not a fan of aluminum props (lots of shallow mud/sand bottoms where we boat) I really want to try to stay with the stock prop until I can get this RPM issue worked out.
 

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