Looking at buying a Sea Ray

dandy0735

New Member
Jul 21, 2016
2
Lake Ozark, MO
Boat Info
Boatless
Engines
Boatless
I'm new to forums so bear with me. I'm looking at buying a 2002 29' Sea Ray 290 select Ex. I will be using it in fresh water. The boat is from Florida and was used in salt water. It has twin Chevy 350s with alpha I, 504 hours. Bellows replaced, new sea pumps, new impellers, most of the gauges have been replaced along with the wire harness. It does have the raw water cooling system with a fresh water flush system. Marine mechanic who did the above work (marina does not own the boat) said the nuts & bolts were fairly easy to break free and with the outdrives off said they looked recently rebuilt. He also stated minimal corrosion on the motor mounts and starter. My question is with it being in the salt water is there something else I should look for or be aware of.
 
Get a survey!

Best of luck and welcome to CSR!
 
You could probably buy a fresh water version of that boat and save yourself some saltwater related headaches.
 
You could probably buy a fresh water version of that boat and save yourself some saltwater related headaches.


Everything is a function of price. (And condition)

The OP doesn't mention the price, but if it's a steal of a deal, and good condition, I wouldn't let it's salt water use scare me away. I shopped for boats for 7 months last year and saw PLENTY of "fresh water" boats that were simply TERRIBLE, (and some salt water boats that were terrible too), and many salt water boats that looked almost new and appeared to be meticulously maintained.

So, without knowing what the price of the boat is and what the condition is, I wouldn't want to steer him away based solely on a salt water history.

THAT ALL SAID......

Here's a caveat right from the get-go!

TWO engines means TWO sets of EVERYTHING, so for example, if the boat needs manifolds and risers, not uncommon for a boat of this age and ilk, that's a $5,000 job instead of a $2500 job. And so on and so on.

So there is every reason to be especially cautious in this case, yes!
 
On a Sea Ray there are 2 logical explanations for replacing the gauges and wiring harness. Be sure this isn't a boat that was submerged or burned. Sometimes buying a "value priced" boat is just the cost begins.

Just be careful.
 
On a Sea Ray there are 2 logical explanations for replacing the gauges and wiring harness. Be sure this isn't a boat that was submerged or burned. Sometimes buying a "value priced" boat is just the cost begins. Just be careful.
The price is $27,900. Thanks for the replies!
 
On a Sea Ray there are 2 logical explanations for replacing the gauges and wiring harness. Be sure this isn't a boat that was submerged or burned. Sometimes buying a "value priced" boat is just the cost begins.

Just be careful.

+1. My gauges on my 88 still work and are accurate to this day. Verified speedo to gps. Only thing that doesn't work is my trim gauge. Do some research on why they have been replaced.


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+1. My gauges on my 88 still work and are accurate to this day. Verified speedo to gps. Only thing that doesn't work is my trim gauge. Do some research on why they have been replaced.

Mine, too!
 

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