My boat project

S

searayjoe

Member
Dec 4, 2010
68
olympia
Boat Info
1973 searay srv 240
sport
Engines
1973 ford 302 mercruiser
bravo drive
Hi, my name is Joe and I am very excited about this site.
I recently purchased my first boat, a 1973 searay srv 240 sport flybridge, and I cant wait to get her running. I love
boats and always will, its my dad's fault. He bought a 17' bayliner some years ago and we have been hooked ever since. I am married now and have been looking for a boat of my own. There are alot of nice boats out there, but with a baby on the way and wanting to build a house I could not spend much. I had been looking for a while and finally found this boat at the Everett Wa. boat auction. My wife and I made the drive one saturday, we live in Olympia Wa., and inspected the boat. I loved it right away, but my wife being
very practical wanted me to have a tech look at it first. (VERY SMART:grin:). Fortunately everything checked out OK, or so we thought. We have come to find that the transmission needs some work. I now know what B-O-A-T stands for.
So while the transmisson is away I am having fun doing the other odds and ends myself. I do not know much about boats of this size so I would greatly appreciate any help.
Thanks for reading.

Happy boating,
Joe
 

Attachments

  • DSCN2875.JPG
    DSCN2875.JPG
    76.6 KB · Views: 2,166
  • DSCN3006.JPG
    DSCN3006.JPG
    88.3 KB · Views: 2,073
  • DSCN2874.JPG
    DSCN2874.JPG
    93.2 KB · Views: 2,074
Welcome Joe.....:thumbsup:
 
Very nice! Have fun with her and ask good questions here and you will receive good answers. I have learned a ton on this forum about my boat (and my next one!).
 
Thanks guys.
I had already started working on the boat before I had found this site so I will show what I have already done.
 
First I had the engine removed. It is the original Ford 302 Mercruiser with Bravo drive.
 

Attachments

  • DSCN3138.jpg
    DSCN3138.jpg
    54.9 KB · Views: 1,973
  • DSCN2879.jpg
    DSCN2879.jpg
    49.5 KB · Views: 1,945
Hi Joe-
Great looking boat, and you certainly have some awesome cruising areas right close to home. We came up and launched at Oly last summer & spent 10 days in the Sound. It was spectacular!

Not completely positive, but I believe your drive is a TR or TRS, the Bravo wasn't on the market until the early 90's. Check this site for more info:

http://www.mercstuff.com/drive_id.htm

Good luck, and keep us posted on your progress!

-Brian
 
When we removed the engine there was some corroded wood dust on the bolts. My tech told me that is very bad news.
He said if the stringers are corroded then the boat is doomed.
I was very sad.:smt089. I did not even know what a stringer was.:huh: I thought it was what I kept my salmon and steelhead on while I was fishing. Nope. The stringer is the backbone of the boat. So I had a stringer repair tech come and take a look. He did a ping test on them (hitting them with a hammer) and said that they sounded solid, but the only way to know for sure was to drill into them and look. He also tested the transom and that was solid as well. I was still concerned. The idea of a corroded backbone while way out at sea gave me nightmares. So I got a hole saw and did some drilling. I drilled four holes. One in each stringer and one in each of the blocks sitting on the stringers. There was solid wood in all four holes.:thumbsup:. My tech said they will fill the bolt holes with epoxy, drill some new ones and we will be good to go. I still wondered about the stringers. Is it safe to assume that if the back of the stringer is solid that the rest of it under the floor is solid too? I have asked a few boat owners and techs and they all said yes, but I would still like any other opinions. It would really help me sleep better.
 
Thanks kbsunlovers. you are right. I believe it is an alpha
but am not sure. It is at my techs shop. I will find out tomorrow.
 
I would like to post more pics but it says I have reached my quota. Does anyone know how to post more?
 
Brian is correct that is a TR Drive, not a Bravo Drive. She appears to be in pretty good shape. Good luck with the transmission repair and enjoy.
 
searayjoe said:
I would like to post more pics but it says I have reached my quota. Does anyone know how to post more?
Click to expand...

Open an account at a picture hosting site like photobucket.

Paste the picture url using the image tag button (while making your post) and it should link the picture.

Doug
 
Good luck with your project!
 
Last edited:
Joe,
That boat is definitely not "doomed"! No boat is doomed, they can all be repaired and brought back to better than new condition.

It sounds like you did the right things in checking the transom/stringers. If they look pretty dry, fill those holes back up with West Systems epoxy, fill the engine mount holes with epoxy, bolt the motor back down and you are good to go.

Enjoy that rig. You won't find a better riding boat in that size range especially for the $$ you will have into it. I love that flybridge style.

I looked at one of those boats up here in Michigan but it was not cared for and needed more work than I wanted to put into it.

You have a great boat that will give you, your wife and your new child on the way some great memories.

Have fun!
 
Thanks guys. You are right, it is a TR drive. It is great to be able to talk to people who know more than me. I would be completely lost. My transmission came back today. Hooray.:smt038. It had an electric gear shift box on it but it was not working. I have done some research and apparently the common thought is that when those came out they did so with a death sentence on them. I have been told that they usually only lasted a year or so. I have had a manuel shift box put on.
Any thoughts on that?

I have completely stripped the interior, seats, stove, wood flooring,ladder etc.... When I removed the floor the gas tank looked very rusty. I had a preasure test done and it did not leak. I am going to remove it anyway, sand it and reprimer it. It seems like the best time since everything is out already. I have to go but I will be posting more pics later tonight.
 
Joe,

It might make more sense to purchase a new poly.....tank rather than trying to refurbish an old metal tank.
 
Thanks for the response SeaRide. I have been looking for a tank thats fits the area but have had no luck, poly or metal.
Plus I hear that there will be new laws in January that require all
new tanks to have some sort of special bag lining, but I do not know any specifics.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,112
Messages
1,426,299
Members
61,027
Latest member
NeilS
Back
Top