bkdude
New Member
Hello All, My name is Brian. I got the boat itch at the begining of the summer. I started reading and learning and decided in June I would start keeping an eye out for a boat that would fit me and my family. You see, Everyone in my extened family has a camper and I didn't want to be like everyone else and that a Boat could work like a camper but we could go to places that no one else could go. I wanted something that was big enough that the family could sleep on in but not so big that we would have to leave it in one place. I discovered that I needed to find a boat that had a beam smaller than 8'6" (After I learned what a beam was! and why it had to be less than that size) but If I wanted to take it out on the Great Lakes, It needed to be at least 24 feet. I started trolling ebay looking for different brands. I found out the Sea Rays are great boats and becuase I didn't have a lot of money to invest, The 80's was the decade I was looking for. I came across a 1984 Sea Ray Sundancer SRV-245 The listing peaked my interest so I called the guy who was listing it. He told me he didn't own the boat, He was a boat mechanic selling it for someone else as part of a deal for another boat the guy wanted. The block is craked because they didn't winterize it and I asked him how much it would cost to make it sea-worthy and he told me $1,800 assuming he could find a block that didn't need to be bored out. I talked to my wife about it and "got her on board" with the idea and in Mid July I dove up to Port Huron and put down a deposit! The boat looks NASTY! but it is structurally sound and so I negotiated a price of $1,500 for the boat and I would pay the person listing it to get it running
Fate seemed to be on our side. A week after I put down the deposit, I Came across this listing. It was a block that was stored in a garage and was reported to be in good shape and it was an EXACT match for the engine that was already in the boat AND IT WAS LOCAL! The Mechanic I bought the boat from took a look on it and decided it was woth the $100 risk to buy it so he drove down and picked it up.
I have 3 children. An 17 year old boy, an 15 year old girl and a 2 year old baby girl. She is talking now and one of the cutest things she says it "Oh My Doodness" and I figured that was an appropriate name for the boat because that what she would say about the way the boat looks now! So I mailed my last payment for the boat itself a couple of days ago and became the proud owner of the "My Doodness" I figured it was time for me to become a member of Club Sea Ray! so here I am!
I look forward to becoming an active member on the forums and getting to know all of you. I also look forward to maybe meeting up with some of you out on the waters of Michgan some time!
Fate seemed to be on our side. A week after I put down the deposit, I Came across this listing. It was a block that was stored in a garage and was reported to be in good shape and it was an EXACT match for the engine that was already in the boat AND IT WAS LOCAL! The Mechanic I bought the boat from took a look on it and decided it was woth the $100 risk to buy it so he drove down and picked it up.
I have 3 children. An 17 year old boy, an 15 year old girl and a 2 year old baby girl. She is talking now and one of the cutest things she says it "Oh My Doodness" and I figured that was an appropriate name for the boat because that what she would say about the way the boat looks now! So I mailed my last payment for the boat itself a couple of days ago and became the proud owner of the "My Doodness" I figured it was time for me to become a member of Club Sea Ray! so here I am!
I look forward to becoming an active member on the forums and getting to know all of you. I also look forward to maybe meeting up with some of you out on the waters of Michgan some time!
maybe some day when I'm a seasoned boater we will boat around Michigan. One can Dream!
