New Old Sea Ray!

[Yannih]

Hi All,
New member here.

I have always wanted to own a Sea Ray.
Now I do albeit an smaller older model.

Just bought an immaculate low hour 2000 Sea Ray 190 Cuddy Cabin with a Mercruiser 5.0l Thunderbolt 5 Ignition engine with Alpha 1 drive.

Have to admit I'm pretty wrapped and the quality and condition of this Sea Ray far surpasses our old 1998 Four Winns H190 Bow Rider (though that was still a great boat).

Any advise from all the experienced heads here of what is good / not so good about this model, things that might be considered as mandatory upgrades, non standard maintenance tips that make a difference, things to watch out for, etc?

P.S.
The boat only has an aluminium prop and I would like to sort a stainless steel replacement so diameter and pitch recommendations for this boat / engine / leg would be great.

I know many of these models came with the 4.3l engines but did any come with larger than the 5.0’s as in my boat?

Lastly are the rumours true that Sea Ray quality has dropped a touch over the years and if so which years are desirable and which years aren’t?

Anyway, thanks and good to be a fellow Sea Ray owner.

 

[Pirate Lady]

Congrats, nice looking boat. I used to repair aluminum twice a year. Went stainless years ago and haven’t repaired one. The upfront cost is a lot cheaper than constant aluminum repair.

 

[Steve S]

Propeller charts are located here under “Owners Resources”.

https://owners-resources.searayweb..../2000 Sport Boat Sport Cruiser Prop Chart.pdf

 

[Yannih]

Thanks so much for that.

Looks like I'm after a 14 1/4 X 21 at WOT @ 4800rpm...

 

[Angus]

Hi All,
New member here.

I have always wanted to own a Sea Ray.
Now I do albeit an smaller older model.

Just bought an immaculate low hour 2000 Sea Ray 190 Cuddy Cabin with a Mercruiser 5.0l Thunderbolt 5 Ignition engine with Alpha 1 drive.

Have to admit I'm pretty wrapped and the quality and condition of this Sea Ray far surpasses our old 1998 Four Winns H190 Bow Rider (though that was still a great boat).

Any advise from all the experienced heads here of what is good / not so good about this model, things that might be considered as mandatory upgrades, non standard maintenance tips that make a difference, things to watch out for, etc?

P.S.
The boat only has an aluminium prop and I would like to sort a stainless steel replacement so diameter and pitch recommendations for this boat / engine / leg would be great.

I know many of these models came with the 4.3l engines but did any come with larger than the 5.0’s as in my boat?

Lastly are the rumours true that Sea Ray quality has dropped a touch over the years and if so which years are desirable and which years aren’t?

Anyway, thanks and good to be a fellow Sea Ray owner.
View attachment 146276 View attachment 146277 View attachment 146278 View attachment 146279View attachment 146281

Looks like a nice boat, real clean. The beauty of boats that size is easy to put in and take out by yourself.

 

[Scott215]

Very nice boat can you pm me and let me know what you paid. Have a brother in law looking for similar, thank you . If you don't mind

 

[Yannih]

Done Scott...

 

[Christo]

Hi All,
New member here.

I have always wanted to own a Sea Ray.
Now I do albeit an smaller older model.

Just bought an immaculate low hour 2000 Sea Ray 190 Cuddy Cabin with a Mercruiser 5.0l Thunderbolt 5 Ignition engine with Alpha 1 drive.

Have to admit I'm pretty wrapped and the quality and condition of this Sea Ray far surpasses our old 1998 Four Winns H190 Bow Rider (though that was still a great boat).

Any advise from all the experienced heads here of what is good / not so good about this model, things that might be considered as mandatory upgrades, non standard maintenance tips that make a difference, things to watch out for, etc?

P.S.
The boat only has an aluminium prop and I would like to sort a stainless steel replacement so diameter and pitch recommendations for this boat / engine / leg would be great.

I know many of these models came with the 4.3l engines but did any come with larger than the 5.0’s as in my boat?

Lastly are the rumours true that Sea Ray quality has dropped a touch over the years and if so which years are desirable and which years aren’t?

Anyway, thanks and good to be a fellow Sea Ray owner.
View attachment 146276 View attachment 146277 View attachment 146278 View attachment 146279View attachment 146281

Very nice condition! Congrats

 

[Christo]

Hi All,
New member here.

I have always wanted to own a Sea Ray.
Now I do albeit an smaller older model.

Just bought an immaculate low hour 2000 Sea Ray 190 Cuddy Cabin with a Mercruiser 5.0l Thunderbolt 5 Ignition engine with Alpha 1 drive.

Have to admit I'm pretty wrapped and the quality and condition of this Sea Ray far surpasses our old 1998 Four Winns H190 Bow Rider (though that was still a great boat).

Any advise from all the experienced heads here of what is good / not so good about this model, things that might be considered as mandatory upgrades, non standard maintenance tips that make a difference, things to watch out for, etc?

P.S.
The boat only has an aluminium prop and I would like to sort a stainless steel replacement so diameter and pitch recommendations for this boat / engine / leg would be great.

I know many of these models came with the 4.3l engines but did any come with larger than the 5.0’s as in my boat?

Lastly are the rumours true that Sea Ray quality has dropped a touch over the years and if so which years are desirable and which years aren’t?

Anyway, thanks and good to be a fellow Sea Ray owner.
View attachment 146276 View attachment 146277 View attachment 146278 View attachment 146279View attachment 146281

Very nice condition! Congrats

 

[royalpiper]

Wow...sharp and clean boat, best of luck and welcome to the club. This is a great resource here.

 

[Yannih]

Well, the boat is a cracker and I am now giving it a major make over to get everything absolutely sparkling and right.
However I have noticed the horn, window wiper and stereo are not working when the switches are pressed.
Where would be the first place to start to get these sorted again?
Any help would be much appreciated...

 

[dmorris800]

start with the breakers most likely under the wheel. The horn and windshield wiper may be burnt out / need to be replaced at 23 years old. Looks like someone gave it a lot of love over the years. If you don’t mind me asking, where are you located? The background looks beautiful.

Well, the boat is a cracker and I am now giving it a major make over to get everything absolutely sparkling and right.
However I have noticed the horn, window wiper and stereo are not working when the switches are pressed.
Where would be the first place to start to get these sorted again?
Any help would be much appreciated...

 

[Yannih]

G'Day dmorris,
Thanks for the advise.

I'm in Bobs Cove, Queenstown, New Zealand.
Not the worst place to reside...

 

[copb8tx]

Congrats. Boat looks great.

You're area looks 'greater'!

 

[Yannih]

Yeah copb8tx, it's a beautiful part of the world.
Here's a pic or two of the surrounds and the old Four Winns we had before the Sea Ray replaced it.
And the real beauty?
All fresh water as it's a huge lake!
The little Sea Ray will fit in nicely here...

 

[Yannih]

GDay again.

So what are the chances of reconditioning the horn and wiper motor as these spares are not readily available here and freight makes it completely untenable to source from the already limited supplies in the States?
On such a clean boat I hate things that are not right and not working so I am on a mission to get sorted...

 

[dmorris800]

My guess poor, I know there is a plastic membrane that breaks usually goes in the horn and destroys it. I think rusted internals would be your biggest issue, sorry

 

[Yannih]

Thanks dmorris.

I can report that I removed the horn and windshield wiper motor assemblies today to see what I could do.
The news is good.

First thing I did after both units were removed was check the boat wiring and switches with a multimeter.
Happily all was good here.

I then connected both units seperately to 12v to test.
The horn was completely dead.
The wiper motor was seized but had signs of trying internally.

The non working horn is a sealed unit and had corrosion all over and through it. Not worth trying to fix as by luck this particular unit is a fairly standard Fiamm model and I found it new locally for $55NZ (it will fit straight back onto the Sea Ray mount).
One win from one!

When I removed the interior plastic wiper motor cover from inside the cabin it was full of water!
And when I removed the actual wiper motor assembly itself it was also dripping a fair bit of water from the internals as well.
Plus the rear underside of the unit was riddled with heavy corrosion.
I thought thats that and here comes some big bucks to get a replacement from the States but I decided to have a go at reconditioning it as there was nothing to lose.
I won't bore you with all the details but after a fair amount of effort, work and luck she's back in business and going strong so very happy days!
Two wins from two!

Here's the funny thing.
I will almost never use the wiper or horn (New Zealand does not require boat registration under a certain size so the horn is not mandatory).
But I can't stand when things are not right and switches and accessories that should work don't.
So we are back in business.

The last thing that I did mention above was the stereo also does not work.
It's an old JVC unit thats seen better days and apart from not working did not have Bluetooth capability which is mandatory for me so replacing was going to happen anyway.
I have now ordered a much later JVC model head unit that has Bluetooth, has exactly the same dimensions so will fit straight into the existing mount, and takes the same wiring connectors at the rear so all very good there.

The boat was used previously between salt and fresh water and so there is some corrosion as mentioned.
Apart from the above and some minor corrosion on the bottom of the engine pan, I cannot see any more anywhere so it's really pretty minor.
I will be using in fresh water only from here on so I am doing a fair bit of work to the boat to get it virtually as new again (starting with very good bones) and when finished will make sure it stays that way with a serious maintenance program.
And when the boats done the trailer will be next!

Hmmm, started writing a short note and got a little carried away there.
Anyway, some great wins today and am really excited we picked this boat up as it's in such amazing condition (touch wood) and will hopefully be with us for a long time...

 

[Yannih]

Me again.
I have worked out how to use the port back to back seat (sliding forward and rear + folding out into a sun bed) with no issue but for the life of me I cannot find anything on how to use the starboard captains seat adjustments.
I have the seating type and configuration in the pic's below.

I know that one port under seat lever is for raising/lowering the seat (impressive vertical range).
I know that one starboard under seat lever is for sliding the seat forward and back.
But there is another starboard under seat lever next to the sliding lever that doesn't appear to be working and so I don't know what it does?
Also there is a port screw in/screw out knob that I assumed would allow the seat to rotate to face rearward when loosened but it doesn't seem to allow this.

Can anyone please advise, or does anyone have the captains seat instructions?

Thanks again...

 

[Yannih]

Latest Update.
Right hand seat issue is now resolved.
Removed the handle that locks the swivel function to find a seized swivel locking pin. RP7/WD40 applied and after some serious prompting it released.
Handle replaced and now a fully functioning Captains chair with swivel, height, and fore and aft adjustments working as they should.
The new stereo arrived and although anything but a simple instalment due to unforeseen issues, all is now working perfectly for entertaining tunes. Have now also ordered some new speakers to replace the original Clarions as although they are still working they have seen better days.
Another big win was adding 2 brass adapters instead of the 2 drain bolts in the block that allow the blue plastic drain plugs to be utilised instead. This now allows infinitely easier drain access as getting a spanner into that limited space for the original drain bolts was painful. It's now all extremely easy to access the 5 x blue plastic drain plugs.
Also all 5 blue plastic drain plugs have been replaced to safeguard against unknown brittleness due to age.
Lastly, much carpet de-staining and cleaning in the cabin walls / ceilings and cockpit floor and side storage area's has made a big difference.
Next, repairing a few gelcoat damages and then a whole boat/hull sand, cut, polish and wax.
When done the boat will be pretty close to as new.
Not bad for a 2000 model...