chortle
New Member
- Sep 8, 2020
- 10
- Boat Info
- Sea Ray 215 Express Cruiser 1998
- Engines
- 5.0l Mercruiser EFI w/Alpha One Gen II
Hi all
I picked up a 98 215 Express Cruiser in good operating condition mid-season this year. She is now berthed in brackish water on the south coast of England and I have just had her lifted (originally for service and antifoul before being returned to her slip). With lockdown in force in England now, she will be kept at the yard for some time and I am going to take the opportunity to have some work done on her. I wanted to run some of that past the experts on this board to make sure that there are no gotchas! She has the original 1998 Mercruiser 5.0L EFI and Alpha One Gen 2 and was dry stacked for many years previously and well maintained. The engine starts and runs well and doesn't seem to burn or lose oil.
1. She has had manifolds and risers replaced in 2018 (and was not used in 2019) so I guess all is well there
2. The leg was removed this summer to rebuild water pump and so new gear oil etc. Bellow are in good condition
3. So for the engine, she will be serviced and winterised (and I will get the hours checked - no hour meter that I can see!). I wasn't going to do anything further with the outdrive given work a few months ago
4. It may not be practical to have the batteries removed and/or charged. I will need to check with the yard on that. Is it reasonable to ask them to do that?
5. I noticed occasional stalls when moving in and out of gear. May need shift cable adjustment or new cable, so I have asked them to look at that
6. At some point before returning to water, the hull will get fresh antifoul (and the outdrive) although they were done in June/July and should be in decent shape
Did I miss anything on the maintenance front?
Here are the"improvements" I am planning
1. The tonneau cover has shrunk and is pooling water at the back. I got a quote for a new one from Great Lakes in the US - seems like the best bet? Would it solve the pool of water at the transom end?
2. I am going to follow what @CliffA did and get a bow roller fitted (leaving the central nav light in place and tying off the anchor to one of the front cleats). I have gone for a Windline AR-2 which I hope will do the job. Does that look about right? Really hard to keep chain and anchor off the rub rail right now (maybe too much chain and anchor - about 20m chain and 10kg Danforth for anchoring in up to 5m).
3. It doesn't have the camper top and I don't really want the extra frame. But very hot with all the white GRP in the summer.! Am thinking instead of fitting two rod holders on the aft gunwales and investing in black sticks and a shade to extend the bimini to the aft at anchor/slow running. Good idea? The rod holders have caps but no bottom drains (I can get those but not sure if you can easily run drains from the gunwale storage to the bilge anyway)
4. Get the bilge pump hotwired to the leisure battery (it doesn't work with batteries isolated right now which is a slight worry. I have to come once a month and check it/run it.
5. The cabin door is so stiff! The track looks ok and I can see someone has got at it with some heavy grease before. Is degreasing and silicone-based lubricant enough?
6. One of the fixed portlights has a weeping leak (after a broken outer frame was replaced. Guess the frame needs to come off and sealant applied
7. Anchor light not working (could be fuse/electrics I guess or maybe the light itself)
8. The speedo doesn't work - will get the tube cleared if possible. Thinking of changing out for a Faria 4" GPS speedo - anyone had experience?
9. I managed to snap one of the latches on the Dometic 962 chemical loo just yesterday (actually older Sealand version). They are not easy/expensive to get hold of but actually, even as a chemical loo, it's not great. Was thinking of getting the newer version (which means fitting the new fixing kit to hold it to floor). The size is about the same. Is it a big deal to screw new fixings in (I doubt it but wanted to ask)?
An MSD "pump out" kit is available and we do have pump out facilities at the marina. Not sure I can face getting the vent and pump out fittings done this year (or even how well that would work). Advice welcome on that
10. Getting the DIN FM/CD radio changed for a new Sony one with Bluetooth (finally something easy).
11 I noticed a very small drip from the hatch no wet carpet or headline - maybe condensation?
So that's the list. Nothing individually huge but it will all add up and I just wanted to lean on those with more experience to see if it makes sense.
On another note. I guess it needs a wax/cleaner and waxing. I think it had a recent polish before coming to me. So shouldn't be necessary to do that again. Is that sufficient?
Owning a boat for the first time feels like a lot of work right now! But I guess this is par for the course. Advice welcomed.
Regard to all
Eddie
I picked up a 98 215 Express Cruiser in good operating condition mid-season this year. She is now berthed in brackish water on the south coast of England and I have just had her lifted (originally for service and antifoul before being returned to her slip). With lockdown in force in England now, she will be kept at the yard for some time and I am going to take the opportunity to have some work done on her. I wanted to run some of that past the experts on this board to make sure that there are no gotchas! She has the original 1998 Mercruiser 5.0L EFI and Alpha One Gen 2 and was dry stacked for many years previously and well maintained. The engine starts and runs well and doesn't seem to burn or lose oil.
1. She has had manifolds and risers replaced in 2018 (and was not used in 2019) so I guess all is well there
2. The leg was removed this summer to rebuild water pump and so new gear oil etc. Bellow are in good condition
3. So for the engine, she will be serviced and winterised (and I will get the hours checked - no hour meter that I can see!). I wasn't going to do anything further with the outdrive given work a few months ago
4. It may not be practical to have the batteries removed and/or charged. I will need to check with the yard on that. Is it reasonable to ask them to do that?
5. I noticed occasional stalls when moving in and out of gear. May need shift cable adjustment or new cable, so I have asked them to look at that
6. At some point before returning to water, the hull will get fresh antifoul (and the outdrive) although they were done in June/July and should be in decent shape
Did I miss anything on the maintenance front?
Here are the"improvements" I am planning
1. The tonneau cover has shrunk and is pooling water at the back. I got a quote for a new one from Great Lakes in the US - seems like the best bet? Would it solve the pool of water at the transom end?
2. I am going to follow what @CliffA did and get a bow roller fitted (leaving the central nav light in place and tying off the anchor to one of the front cleats). I have gone for a Windline AR-2 which I hope will do the job. Does that look about right? Really hard to keep chain and anchor off the rub rail right now (maybe too much chain and anchor - about 20m chain and 10kg Danforth for anchoring in up to 5m).
3. It doesn't have the camper top and I don't really want the extra frame. But very hot with all the white GRP in the summer.! Am thinking instead of fitting two rod holders on the aft gunwales and investing in black sticks and a shade to extend the bimini to the aft at anchor/slow running. Good idea? The rod holders have caps but no bottom drains (I can get those but not sure if you can easily run drains from the gunwale storage to the bilge anyway)
4. Get the bilge pump hotwired to the leisure battery (it doesn't work with batteries isolated right now which is a slight worry. I have to come once a month and check it/run it.
5. The cabin door is so stiff! The track looks ok and I can see someone has got at it with some heavy grease before. Is degreasing and silicone-based lubricant enough?
6. One of the fixed portlights has a weeping leak (after a broken outer frame was replaced. Guess the frame needs to come off and sealant applied
7. Anchor light not working (could be fuse/electrics I guess or maybe the light itself)
8. The speedo doesn't work - will get the tube cleared if possible. Thinking of changing out for a Faria 4" GPS speedo - anyone had experience?
9. I managed to snap one of the latches on the Dometic 962 chemical loo just yesterday (actually older Sealand version). They are not easy/expensive to get hold of but actually, even as a chemical loo, it's not great. Was thinking of getting the newer version (which means fitting the new fixing kit to hold it to floor). The size is about the same. Is it a big deal to screw new fixings in (I doubt it but wanted to ask)?
An MSD "pump out" kit is available and we do have pump out facilities at the marina. Not sure I can face getting the vent and pump out fittings done this year (or even how well that would work). Advice welcome on that
10. Getting the DIN FM/CD radio changed for a new Sony one with Bluetooth (finally something easy).
11 I noticed a very small drip from the hatch no wet carpet or headline - maybe condensation?
So that's the list. Nothing individually huge but it will all add up and I just wanted to lean on those with more experience to see if it makes sense.
On another note. I guess it needs a wax/cleaner and waxing. I think it had a recent polish before coming to me. So shouldn't be necessary to do that again. Is that sufficient?
Owning a boat for the first time feels like a lot of work right now! But I guess this is par for the course. Advice welcomed.
Regard to all
Eddie