Please help ID my model

Capt. Chaos

New Member
Jun 1, 2020
6
Boat Info
1983 ???
Engines
Mercruiser 260
Hi folks! I just bought a 1983 Sea Ray ???. Some of the paperwork says weekender, but the title says SRV 260. It is 26'3" a single merc260, you access the cabin via a door in the middle of the boat. Immediately to the right is a head, then moving toward the front is a stove, sink and fridge. Across from the kitchen is a table with bench seats. Continuing forward is a "bedroom". As far as living quarters are concerned that's it. I contacted a dealer with the hin# and he couldn't find anything. He said his sent an email to Sea Ray but their records did go past 1989, does that sound right? Anyways, the boat has some issues but since I don't actually know what model I have I'm not even real sure where to start. I appreciate any help I can get.
 
Hi folks! I just bought a 1983 Sea Ray ???. Some of the paperwork says weekender, but the title says SRV 260. It is 26'3" a single merc260, you access the cabin via a door in the middle of the boat. Immediately to the right is a head, then moving toward the front is a stove, sink and fridge. Across from the kitchen is a table with bench seats. Continuing forward is a "bedroom". As far as living quarters are concerned that's it. I contacted a dealer with the hin# and he couldn't find anything. He said his sent an email to Sea Ray but their records did go past 1989, does that sound right? Anyways, the boat has some issues but since I don't actually know what model I have I'm not even real sure where to start. I appreciate any help I can get.
First Welcome to CSR it's great site i'm sure someone will have some info for you. As far as parts that could be an issue i have an 86 and think i found the last rebuilding kit for the water pump on the gen. in the country. Good luck!
 
"SRV" simply means it's a Sea Ray. That part doesn't tell anything. Best thing to do is go to Sea Ray's website and look at the archived brochures. If you don't happen to see your specific model year (some got lost during a computer problem), look a year or two either way. But, yes, records of brochures go back much further than 1989.

It sounds like the dealer was simply looking at the Sea Ray/dealer "parts fiche" program. That's as far back as parts manuals goes. To be honest, I don't even know, personally, if there ever WAS parts diagrams/listings for earlier boats.

However, while knowing the exact model is "nice to know", it's not really going to help you with fixing issues - especially with a boat that is nearly 40 years old. All boat parts will no longer be available - many of the accessory items will be no longer available, either. But that doesn't mean that all hope is lost - you just have to be creative and look to newer sources and be ready to make some modifications, if necessary, to get the newer items to fit.

Point is... when it comes to fixing things, forget about the model of boat. Instead, focus on the actual issue.
 
"SRV" simply means it's a Sea Ray. That part doesn't tell anything. Best thing to do is go to Sea Ray's website and look at the archived brochures. If you don't happen to see your specific model year (some got lost during a computer problem), look a year or two either way. But, yes, records of brochures go back much further than 1989.

It sounds like the dealer was simply looking at the Sea Ray/dealer "parts fiche" program. That's as far back as parts manuals goes. To be honest, I don't even know, personally, if there ever WAS parts diagrams/listings for earlier boats.

However, while knowing the exact model is "nice to know", it's not really going to help you with fixing issues - especially with a boat that is nearly 40 years old. All boat parts will no longer be available - many of the accessory items will be no longer available, either. But that doesn't mean that all hope is lost - you just have to be creative and look to newer sources and be ready to make some modifications, if necessary, to get the newer items to fit.

Point is... when it comes to fixing things, forget about the model of boat. Instead, focus on the actual issue.
Thanks, I didn't realize those were on there. I figured that some stuff like the AC and a few other little things might be hard to come by. I feel like the first thing I need to attend to is my trailer. In trying to get a quote for a trailer everyone wants to know the model. Im not sure it's on an appropriate trailer. Knowing the model would help identify things like weight, proper prop size, speed expectations, and so on. I will definitely check out the brochures,
 
The specs you will need for a trailer are (all available in the SR brochure or by you physically measuring)...

-- Gross weight (boat, full gas, full water, batteries, options, gear).
-- Length of boat from bow eye to transom (not an extended platform... basically the garboard drain plug).

Prop size and speed... all of that is best verified by actually using the boat. RPM is a better judge of things than speed. If the RPM gets to about 4,500RPMs, you're doing good in terms of having the proper prop and engine health. The speed is secondary - it will be what it is. Probably upper 30's-ish... maybe 40 or so.
 
The specs you will need for a trailer are (all available in the SR brochure or by you physically measuring)...

-- Gross weight (boat, full gas, full water, batteries, options, gear).
-- Length of boat from bow eye to transom (not an extended platform... basically the garboard drain plug).

Prop size and speed... all of that is best verified by actually using the boat. RPM is a better judge of things than speed. If the RPM gets to about 4,500RPMs, you're doing good in terms of having the proper prop and engine health. The speed is secondary - it will be what it is. Probably upper 30's-ish... maybe 40 or so.
When I took it out the speedometer wasn't working,. So I used Google maps and the fastest I could get it to go was 19 mph with me and one other person. It felt slow but wasn't sure.
 
Pitot holes get clogged - can be cleared with drill bit (google for this and/or search on this site - lot's of info about that).

Yup, 19 is too slow. I would think at least mid-30's. Still need to know RPM's, though, as that tells us more. Too many variables here... engine health, hull/prop condition... even user error. :)
 
Pitot holes get clogged - can be cleared with drill bit (google for this and/or search on this site - lot's of info about that).

Yup, 19 is too slow. I would think at least mid-30's. Still need to know RPM's, though, as that tells us more. Too many variables here... engine health, hull/prop condition... even user error. :)
Could be a little or slot of all of them. I want to say the engine sounded comfortable between 3 and 4 thousand rpm's, but when I increased it to full throttle I want to say it was around 5 thousand headed toward 6, but the speed didn't change, so I kept it closer to 4. I was also having some overheating issues at idle speeds and full throttle but fine in the middle. The boat is back out of the water and I'm changing the impeller this week. But like I mentioned my trailer is sketchy so I'm not putting it back in the water till I have a plan to load it safely again.
 
With that info - increasing RPM's but speed does not - it leads towards a spun prop hub or coupler. Unless you have a newer style prop, you would have a pressed in, rubber hub. Match mark the rubber to the prop hub and then see if it moves (prop shops can rebuild it). Sometimes, it's obvious just by looking at. The coupler is harder to easily see - but rubber dust or a rubber burning smell in that area is tipoff. You won't be able to do any reliable on-water diagnosis till that is addressed.
 
With that info - increasing RPM's but speed does not - it leads towards a spun prop hub or coupler. Unless you have a newer style prop, you would have a pressed in, rubber hub. Match mark the rubber to the prop hub and then see if it moves (prop shops can rebuild it). Sometimes, it's obvious just by looking at. The coupler is harder to easily see - but rubber dust or a rubber burning smell in that area is tipoff. You won't be able to do any reliable on-water diagnosis till that is addressed.
Thanks, I will definitely check that out!
 
I checked out the brochures on the sea Ray sure and I'm positive it's a 260 express cruiser. I also found that they recommend a 16" x 13 prop and WOT of 4400 RPM. Checked the installed prop and the backup prop. The installed is a 11 pitch and the backup is a 13 pitch, so I swapped them. Changed the impeller and put it back in the water. This seems to have mostly resolved the overheating issue. It runs between 160 and 200 so I have a thermostat on order. Phone GPS clocked me doing 25 mph at WOT which ended up being 4000 RPM. It's a Michigan aluminum prop I don't know if those are good or not so I have a Mercury prop on order. I'm wondering if I should drop to a 15" diameter prop or go up to a 15 pitch. Any thoughts?
 

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