DaveKamp
Active Member
- Jun 9, 2021
- 189
- Boat Info
- 1970 SRV180, '77SRV220CC, 76 SRV-240FB, another SRV180
- Engines
- Mostly MerCruisers with R-MR-Alpha drives
Hi All!
Dave, in Iowa here... right on the Mississippi River, not far from Interstate 80.
I've got a few SeaRays... I am in no way 'new' to boats, my Dad has had boats since long before I discovered this water-covered earth, and the first Sea Ray exposure was a '76 SRV-220CC. He contracted a classic case of TwoFootItis, and sold it in lieu of a 25' Wellcraft, but the SRV's robust build and wonderful workmanship never left my mind. I bought MY first from it's original owner in a well-used condition... ran it for one season with it's original MerCruiser 120 (153ci GM) four. It had well over 4000 hours on the clock, and never a rebuild. It'd been in storage for seven years when I got it, and part way into the second season, the upper gearcase seal failed, and emptied the drive's lubricant into the bellows, resulting in a nice 'friction-welding' of the upper gearset. Happened that there was a substantial flood mid-summer, so I pulled the four, and the worn out back-to-back seats... and the jammed-up steering cable... and inoperative gauges, and threadbare carpet... and...
Made a whole new interior... extended the bilge by 9 inches, rebuilt a MerCruiser 165 from a houseboat... using a PLETHORA (yes, I have a plethora) of 'non-original-spec' parts... and fitted a 1.34:1 gearset into the 120/140 upper... and a 24p cleaver.
Yes, that's a remote lubricant reservoir line... Rev limiter is set at 5100... yes, it needs a drive shower... yes, it WILL melt it's gears if I'm not careful.
It has plenty of power. Obscene power. Laugh-Yourself-To-Incontinence power.
And very sweet, simple interior, and a classic retro exterior.
Dave, in Iowa here... right on the Mississippi River, not far from Interstate 80.
I've got a few SeaRays... I am in no way 'new' to boats, my Dad has had boats since long before I discovered this water-covered earth, and the first Sea Ray exposure was a '76 SRV-220CC. He contracted a classic case of TwoFootItis, and sold it in lieu of a 25' Wellcraft, but the SRV's robust build and wonderful workmanship never left my mind. I bought MY first from it's original owner in a well-used condition... ran it for one season with it's original MerCruiser 120 (153ci GM) four. It had well over 4000 hours on the clock, and never a rebuild. It'd been in storage for seven years when I got it, and part way into the second season, the upper gearcase seal failed, and emptied the drive's lubricant into the bellows, resulting in a nice 'friction-welding' of the upper gearset. Happened that there was a substantial flood mid-summer, so I pulled the four, and the worn out back-to-back seats... and the jammed-up steering cable... and inoperative gauges, and threadbare carpet... and...
Made a whole new interior... extended the bilge by 9 inches, rebuilt a MerCruiser 165 from a houseboat... using a PLETHORA (yes, I have a plethora) of 'non-original-spec' parts... and fitted a 1.34:1 gearset into the 120/140 upper... and a 24p cleaver.
Yes, that's a remote lubricant reservoir line... Rev limiter is set at 5100... yes, it needs a drive shower... yes, it WILL melt it's gears if I'm not careful.
It has plenty of power. Obscene power. Laugh-Yourself-To-Incontinence power.
And very sweet, simple interior, and a classic retro exterior.