Help / Information request - 180BR HIN / Hull ID

B

BarraSpalding

New Member
Mar 4, 2019
6
Boat Info
Sea Ray 180BR
Engines
3.0 Mercruiser
Howdy,

I have a 'roughly' 2001 Sea Ray 180BR that is in need of a new Bimini cover and also a bow cover.
I'd requested a quote from 'Great Lakes Boat Top Co' in the US but they are having issues with the HIN number I located on the transom. They advised the number should begin with SER, but all I've found a NZ RAEL0364A303.

Am I looking at the wrong place for the HIN?

My basic understanding is this boat is a grey import from the USA to Australia - don't really have much more information on the boat; other than the person who originally bought this boat skimped out on options!

Pictures for any interested people :)

SeaRay2.jpg


SeaRay1.jpg


20190226-175408.jpg
 
Welcome to CSR. Great looking boat.

You are looking at the correct place for the HIN.

I’m sure others will chime in with answers.
 
Good find. I expect the truth lies somewhere in the middle fwebster. I got a call from a local Sea Ray retailer who said that HIN indicates it is a NZ manufactured boat. It is 100% "Sea Ray" labeled everywhere.
This boat was a grey import from America so maybe that same builder did 'Rae Line' for local market, and the Sea Ray for export. No idea just throwing ideas out there.

I'll get Great Lakes to give me a quote on a like-for-like 180BR that would exist in America and if it looks good i'll get the measuring tape out :)
 
BarraSpalding said:
Good find. I expect the truth lies somewhere in the middle fwebster. I got a call from a local Sea Ray retailer who said that HIN indicates it is a NZ manufactured boat. It is 100% "Sea Ray" labeled everywhere.
This boat was a grey import from America so maybe that same builder did 'Rae Line' for local market, and the Sea Ray for export. No idea just throwing ideas out there.

I'll get Great Lakes to give me a quote on a like-for-like 180BR that would exist in America and if it looks good i'll get the measuring tape out :)
Click to expand...

The problem you will run into is that Great Lakes will tell you that they will not guarantee the fit for the boat and that it is a non-refundable purchase. It then becomes your call. There is also no guarantee that Great Lakes actually produced that bimini that is on your boat. Does the cover have any tags that reference Great Lakes?

We are a distributor for Great Lakes (and a CSR sponsor: www.covemarine.com) and deal with this on a regular basis for boats produced in their now closed Arizona, US plant. While many may fit they just do not have the records to match it up.

If you are really interested in going this route I can work up a quote for you. Keep in mind the shipping will be quite high. If you PM me your info (name, email, etc) and I can work on that tomorrow.

-Kevin
 
Hadn't really thought about it much prior but given the very different material colour between the bimini and the bow cover; the bimini is likely an aftermarket purchase by a previous owner.

Good on em going for the low-height version. Can't stand up to maneuver the boat but it really helps with sun protection.

Local marine upholsterer has quoted AUD$700 to fabricate the bimini and around AUD$250 for the bow cover. I expect when you factor is shipping and exchange rates i'll be no better off going the import route.
 
If you were a little handy with a sewing machine and have a fabric supplier you can make your own. Sailrite had a video on how to do it, not that big a deal. You can also purchase them off of Ebay. Either way it is alot cheaper than buying them from your Aussie supplier as long as you have the frame.
 
I know nothing about how the HIN for foreign built boats works, but it looks like you might have a 2003. The last 2 digits in the HIN number typically indicates the year produced.
I have prior experience with Great Lakes Boat Top Co. I used to own a 2003 Sea Ray 182 BR and purchased replacement canvas from them. It was fantastic and fit perfectly. One thing to note is, they do not install the snaps. That will be up to you to do when the canvas arrives. Do yourself a favor and purchase a good snap tool. There are a lot of snaps to install and your hands will be screaming if you "cheap out" on the tool. You will always have a need for it again as snaps commonly come loose or off over the years.
 
The boat "looks" like a '98-'01 Sea Ray 180BR with some minor tweaks to the fiberglass, along with missing things like the glovebox. It is definitely NOT a Sea Ray. Maybe somewhere along the line, someone put Sea Ray branding on it to spiff it up. Not that this really matters, but that bimini is also not what would have come on a Sea Ray - it's a slightly different design - sort of half way between a convertible top and bimini.

I don't know if Rae Line somehow "acquired" the old molds once Sea Ray moved on to newer molds/boat designs, or what, but it definitely isn't a Sea Ray and was not built in the US. Sea Ray did build boats outside of the US, but I can't remember them ever having a factory in NZ... and, besides, it would still carry the "SER" prefix, not "RAE".

Whatever it is, it looks nice - have fun and go boating! It's quite possible that a bow cover for a '98-'01 SR 180BR would fit, but the bimini top material would be a different story. Chances are, your best bet is to have someone local make them for you.

Is the canvas actually bad? From the pictures it looks pretty good.

FYI... Google "Nauticus Smart Tabs"...
 
Its wearing thin at both ends - mostly due to being in contract with a big tarp that is covering the boat 90% of its life. Once we get new material i'll look at a different method of covering the tarp over the boat whilst still being taught enough so rain runs off instead of pooling.

The Rae Line theory looks spot on based on the ID number - i'd never even heard of them prior to coming on here. No idea why its all Sea Ray marked up - including the seat embroidery, steering wheel and pretty sure gauges (maybe... can't be stuffed pulling the tarp off to look right now). Its definitely been in America at some point given the stickers inside the boat referencing US coast guard.

Anyways I'll start squirreling funds away to throw into this.
 
Maybe invest in a good, nice fitting, full cover, instead of the bow cover? As you found out, often when two covers are used, even though the owner has good intentions, they wear upon each other. It also diminishes the ability of the covers to let the boat breathe.

Those Smart Tabs will be a night and day difference in terms of hole shot - given the picture you posted of the pole, I figured it might be something you could use. I used to have the US version of your boat - a '99 180BR. Great little boat. When that model was made here in America, it was the best selling boat of it's style amongst all manufacturers.
 
Will the trim tabs negate the effect the trim has on the wake created behind the boat?

At current we trim right down to get on plane when pulling a wakeboard or kneeboard, and when the boat is on plane and the skier is settled we trim up a quarter or so to create a nice shape to the wake/wash for them to jump/faceplant.
 
I've never really taken the wake shape into account when using those. Maybe it altered it so little that I never noticed? I do know what you mean regarding "trimming up" to get a little steeper wake and I do the same thing. However, since the tabs will always be trying to keep the boat relatively level, I would have to guess that it would alter the wake - I would think that it won't alter it much, but I honestly don't know. The way those tabs are designed, though, they will have less impact at speed than they will for the hole shot. You could play with the settings if needed/wanted to allow even less impact at speed, but that would also equal less hole shot. But you really would be amazed at how quickly/easily the boat gets onto plane with them.

If you want to get crazy, you could install "controllable" tabs (Bennett hyrdraulic, for example). But they do cost quite a bit more and the install time is longer, as well. But then you can pull them up and out of the way once on plane... and/or adjust side to side (listing).
 
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