We had one for seven years. Used it from Lake Superior to Texas to Lake Powell. It was a great boat. Ours was the 250cc version.
We used a 4 bladed Mercruiser prop. A 3 bladed prop it would ventilate. The engine was in good shape and probably had a little more than the usual 260 hp. At...
Try a prop with more blade area. You may have to go custom, with the prop shop welding on some material to the edge and then grinding it down.
My 15 hp (2 stroke Johnson) on a 310 Airdeck had a cavitation/blowout problem and I went with a 4 blade prop and never looked back again.
Good Luck
Beautiful! You and your family did a very nice makeover. The nice thing about restoring a Sea Ray is that they have great lines and quality, when done you have something to be proud of.
Congratulations!
Rick
I have had both motors. The 4hp Yamaha did not work well at very high altitudes (11400 feet) it did work well at 3400 feet. The 5hp Mercury did work well but was sold because I need more engine for a spare kicker and went with a 15 Johnson 2 stroke, which which has been a fantastic motor...
All is not lost if there is a leak. You could try some of the various bike tube leak sealants.
You can buy just the floor. They go for about $300 to $400 on my last look.
You can put in a wood floor.
We have an air floor Quicksilver and so far so good.
Good luck.
Check the transom for rot. There is a detailed thread about a 230 on this forum.
Also, check this out for a camper top http://rochester.craigslist.org/boa/2911096251.html. Most boat canvas shops can make a frame $$$$$.
Good luck!
Make sure that both the positive and the negative are attached. Make sure they go to the right place. The Positive should go to the Perko Switch. The negative to the engine block or sometimes the head. If everything seems properly connected then check the quality of the connections.
With...
We are also looking around for a 230 Weekender.
A lot of what I write you may already know, but it also helps me to go through the thought process in anticipation of buying the boat.
We have owned three other Sea Rays including a 1987 250 cc and a 1988 268wk. We have owned Sea Ray for...
Our 268 with twin 4.3 (2bbl) used 15x17 ss. They worked up to 3900 feet at Lake Powell and well at lower elevations too. These were pretty much generic Mercruiser props. I was very satisfied with holeshot, top speed and mpg.
I tried some 15 x15 four bladed props and that did not work out-lost...
The problem is your Alpha I Drive. They can just take so much power then they give up. A strong 350 is about all they can handle. The 383 stroker is an alternative, if its not built with too much hp/tq. I believe that Mercury put it behind their 350 magnum and my understanding is that, that...
I have close to 50 years towing all kinds of trailers for recreational purposes only.
I have had a tri-axle boat trailer at 11,500. It was 3-3500# axles and 14 inch tires with a spring suspension. It was spec'd with Marathons and disk brakes on all axles. I used both surge and a...
We had a 268 Weekender for 8 years and it was a very nice boat. Twin V6 with Alpha drives. The not having had a 454 I cannot compare the speeds of the two. With minimal equipment but full fuel, ours was good for 42 at Lake Powell and a little faster on the Illinois River. As time went...
We owned a 268 Weekender with twin 4.3 for 7 years just sold it last October.
They are well designed and pretty well built boats.
On bellows, with the leak, your gimbal and related parts are going to go fast, get them checked by a good mechanic and replaced if necessary.
This is the perfect...