78' SRV 190, What should I pay???

[Fordiesel69]

Looking at a 1978 SRV 190. Has a new (reman) L6 165HP engine, has newer front seats in it, nicely polished gel coat. Comes with legal trailer. Has some type of canvas but the guy has not had it up so we can guess it is incomplete or damaged. Not sure....

Guy states he had a new engine, bellows, shift cable, gimbal bearing, and then it has a fuel starvation issue. He is selling it because he thinks it needs a fuel pump. My guess is it is more serious like carb or fuel tube problem.

What is a good price? He is asking $1500 I really like this engine / boat combo and if the transom and floor are good, I think this would be an awsome boat.

Would this be a 40MPH boat?

 

[jason78]

Not taking in to consideration the fuel problem, it sounds like a fair price for the package. Hard to say without pictures but I would say you are definitely in the ballpark. Might want to get drilled down on the true cause of the fuel problem first though.

It sounds strange to me that he would sell the boat solely because it needed a fuel pump but who knows, maybe he is just fed up with it.

 

[jitts3]

I would never sell a boat for just a simple problem like a fuel pump. They are pretty cheap. But I could convince you that I was that stupid. Price wise that seems like a decent deal, but I'm a hustler by nature, bargan and get it for less. Use that fuel issue to lever him. In the end it would be a fairly easy problem to fix if you are a mechanic. Could be as simple as a kinked fuel hose to crap in the gas tank. Or actually just be a fuel pump. In the end it is worth what it is worth to you. As for the speed, I can't help you there. Dad had a 86 Arrow Glass 165, with an OMC 135 (chevy 4cly). Did about 30 with just him in it. 25 with the family. Was an underpowered dog. But still fun to me at the time. My two are not running and cannot base anything on them. But hope for way more than 40 on the 200 currently building the engine for.
Keep us posted on what you do.
Steve

 

[lawndoctor]

I had a 1971 SRV 190 with the 165 Merc for about 10 years. Bought it used (used badly, actually) and rebuilt the engine and much of the rest of it myself. Great boat. Had a blast on it. Don't have any idea about the price for the one you're looking at, but I can tell you mine topped out at just around 40 mph. I think I clocked it at 38 knots at WOT doing it the old-fashioned way back then, i.e., running it over the measured nautical mile on the paper chart with a stopwatch. Kept it slipped in salt water in New Jersey, so the marine growth may have slowed it down a bit. Good luck with it.

 

[Fordiesel69]

No dice. It is a SRV-187 open bow rider. Not for me unfortunatly. The bimini cover is original and in terrible condition. Carpet and interior is in need of complete refurbishing, but the good news is the transome and floor are amazingly solid. Makes my furious I asked if I needed to bring anything like a battery and he said the one he had was good. It was stone dead, not even a spark across the posts. Could not hear it run and too far away to try again. Oh well.

 

[DallasRich]

I kept a battery in the back of my truck when I was looking at boats. I assumed every battery was dead and every block was cracked on the boats I looked at. They very seldom disappointed.

 

[Arviking]

I recently bought a 1980 SRV 190 with a Merc 470 for $1150. The trailer is 1996 model, and looks nearly new. The engine did not run when I bought it (bad idea, I know) but we were able to crank it over. Over all the boat was in very good original condition, and the only thing missing was the toggle switch for the windshield wiper. I was able to get it running for very little money, and it topped out at 38 mph (by GPS) last weekend on my first test run. You can see a few pics on my photo album.

 

[1956olds]

$8oo.00 one dead cat and a monkey on a stick!Ok two dead cats.

 

[biggertoys]

Price for a Sea Ray classic can be all over the board. I have a 1970 SRV190 with a 165hp Mercruiser that has been in the family since new and always stored inside and is now only used on Lake George in New York. It is in remarkable condition but the motor has been redone including hardened valve seats to run unleaded fuels, outdrive has been rebuilt, new interior, new tandem axle trailer. Every year when we return to Lake George, we get offers with some slightly above $10K. Last year I clocked the boat at 46.5 MPH on a Garmin GPS, one on board with quarter fuel and calm water, tach was pegged at 4800 RPM turning a 14 X 21 prop with no cupping.

 

[Lee]

Price for a Sea Ray classic can be all over the board. I have a 1970 SRV190 with a 165hp Mercruiser that has been in the family since new and always stored inside and is now only used on Lake George in New York. It is in remarkable condition but the motor has been redone including hardened valve seats to run unleaded fuels, outdrive has been rebuilt, new interior, new tandem axle trailer. Every year when we return to Lake George, we get offers with some slightly above $10K. Last year I clocked the boat at 46.5 MPH on a Garmin GPS, one on board with quarter fuel and calm water, tach was pegged at 4800 RPM turning a 14 X 21 prop with no cupping.

You have a very nice boat!