potential Sea Ray owner this week

boatman37

boatman37

Well-Known Member
Jun 6, 2015
4,250
pittsburgh
Boat Info
2006 Crownline 250CR. 5.7 Merc BIII
Previous: 1986 Sea Ray 250 Sundancer. 260 Merc Alpha 1 Gen 1
Engines
5.7 Merc BIII
hello. new here. looking at a 1986 Sea Ray 250 Sundancer. looked at it yesterday and going out on it this tuesday. original owner boat. 5.7 merc. about 600 hours on it. good condition overall. asking price is $9000 with a tri-axle trailer with 7 new tires. he is also throwing in the 2 5/16 load distributing hitch. has all covers and tops and vinyl was all recovered about 2 years ago. gimbal bearing and water pump were also replaced 2 years ago. motor has never been touched. if all goes well tuesday and we agree on a price i will likely be bringing it home with me.

suggestions? i would like to get it for $8000 if possible.
 
wow 1 owner, sounds very nice, in your excitement try to get a feel for the owner while talking to him and whether or not he is thorough or whether he hodge-podges things together. I'm sure you've checked the price on the internet, if you can, get it surveyed by a professional ............... good luck
 
Last edited:
Congrats. Just keep in mind that being a 1986, this boat will probably require some work/maintenance. We bought a similar boat in November-88 Sorrento 25 DA with 200 fresh water hours. I have since put over 125 hours on it and really enjoy the boat. That being said, check all the zincs, and the lower bolts that go through the transom. Also make sure fuel is fresh-ours came with 100 gallons of 3 yr old fuel. I don't know the condition of your boat, but expect some leaks around the window-especially the mid cabin-the gaskets shrink and come apart with age. Interior wood may be rotted. Also, if your top snap directly to the windshield you will hate it-unusable while driving. I like this era boats, but just know they come with issues-as we all do with age.
 
thanks guys. the owner seemed pretty meticulous. his garage was spotless and organized too. that is a pretty good indicator to me. but the wood strips along the rail were replaced with trek decking that he cut and shaped perfectly. i couldn't tell until he mentioned it. also the cupholders on the front dash were remade with trek decking. as far as the windows, i did glance at them. everything looked good from what i could see but i didn't inspect them that closely. i did grab the outdrive and try to move it up or down and it was pretty solid. no flex or anything. the fuel is 2 years old but he said there isn't much in it. he is going to put fuel in it for our trip tuesday. the camper top isn't on it currently. he has the mooring cover and it does snap to the top of the windshield. we took it off while we were in it. its not a full cover, only to the windshield. that cover is new.

here is the link:
https://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/boa/5033693258.html
 
also, the owner said the gimbal bearing and impeller were replaced a couple years ago. i am going to ask for paperwork/receipts for these repairs but would it be likely the bellows were replaced at this time? i am unfamiliar with these engines and outdrives. i used to build my own race engines when i raced but this is a different animal
 
Get it surveyed! A meticulous owner can't foresee water intrusion or other hidden issues. The main advice here is to not get too excited. A professional surveyor could save you thousands. In fact, what you want to do is make him an offer, in writing, subject to a sea trial (test drive) and a satisfactory survey.

Its going to be really hard but don't let emotions get in the way. Please trust us....we on this forum have all been where you are and our advice is truly founded.

Good Luck
Shawn
 
Way over priced by $4500.00 check for rotten stringers and plywood in and around transon. You will need a new engine very soon about 10 years over due.
 
i have been looking for a couple of months. i can't find anything decent around here under $8000. of the 4 or 5 i have looked at this one is in the best condition (visibly at least) and all were over $8000. the closest i found was a 1988 wellcraft aruba 23' for $8000 that ran great but needed some cosmetic work and had the one seat frame rebuilt with new 2x4's. i talked to the local shop that rebuilt the motor in it a few years ago and said that was a good deal on that boat. could it be this area (pittsburgh) that has inflated prices?

BTW-i ran this boat on nada boats and it comes up at about $8200. how accurate are they?
 
i will be towing this with my ram 1500 hemi. tow rating is 9200lbs. the seller said its about 8000 with trailer. i will be docking at the marina so only pulling it a couple of times a year on relatively flat ground. if i were pulling it every weekend then i agree. but then i would have just got a smaller boat...lol
 
I live in Pittsburgh and recently sold my 28 foot express cruiser. It was much newer than this one. Took 2 years to sell, and I had to let it go below book value to get any action.

The Pittsburgh market has high list prices for used boats because the inventory is not high, but push come to shove, low prices can be negotiated. Friend had a 29 foot Chap cruiser, took 4 years to sell at $20k below "book" value, and $30k below his initial asking price.
 
Im from Erie..about 2 hrs north of Pitts and right on the lake. Ive been following this thread and imo this is a 5k deal maximum. And, in 2 years you will be looking for a 27-30ft boat :)


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well we took it out for a test today. everything went well. we negotiated and i ended up buying it. i got him down a little and got him to throw in a bunch of extras. towed it home with my truck about 60 miles. i could barely tell there was anything behind me. stopping was great. it has brakes on 2 axles. the truck had plenty of power to spare and my temps hardly increased. going to try to get the local boat shop to change oil and gear oil and tune up and look it over (the seller said he would pay for that too). hope to have it in the water this weekend. i'll let you know how it goes.
 
So here is yet another case on Club Sea Ray of a newbie that post questions, gets a lot of advice and does what he wants.

Price: $9000 We all say that its too high offer much less. Boatman, "....I got him down a little and he threw in some extras." Well Boatman, you got screwed. He was going to give you the extras anyway. What was he going to do with them? Worth a hundred bucks on craigslist.

Survey? Nope. "....took it out for a test and everything went well." Really Boatman? Did you do a moisture test on the hull, did you have the hull tapped? Did you check the stringers? Do you know if the limber holes are sealed? Do you even know what limber holes are? You just bought a 29 year-old boat and if I'm the seller I'm laughing.

Why did you even come on this site and waste everyone's time. For me, I'm finished offering advice to new members. No one listens anyway.
 
Hey, advice is just that. It's not mandatory. If you choose to ignore it, fine, good luck. No need to get upset. We're not talking about a $500,000 boat here, it's $8-9k. So he paid a couple grand too much I'm sure I've had more expensive mistakes many many times in my life. If he gets lucky and got a good boat then what's the problem with enjoying a $5k boat that you paid $8k for? He might get $20k worth of enjoyment and family time over the next ten years. Some people shop with their heart and not their head. I know I've done it many times and probably will again in the future.

Remember there is a LOT of bad advice on the Internet also. There are a lot of very experienced users on CSR, but to the newbie all I see is your screen name and a tidbit of advice. I don't know what your knowledge level is and experience with boats. At the end of the day I read the replies, digest them to the best of my ability and then make my own decisions. Maybe I'm a fool for ignoring the "expert" advice, but maybe I'm a fool for listening to the "expert" advice. How many times have you laughed at "Hey, I read it on the Internet so it must be true"?

Did he pay too much? It "sounds like" he certainly did.
Should he have had a survey done? Probably, but 100's of boats are sold every day without one I'm sure.

So boatman37, congratulations! If you got a good boat and paid a little too much then good for you. If you got a lemon, well you just lost a few grand and maybe learned a lesson.

Either way, let's see the pictures!


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......Then there are the folks that will buy a boat that has seen better times, saw the guts out of them and turn them into near new classics. I respect and admire these folks. I'd like to think I'm one of them (1994 C-4 corvette, 1990 270 DA ) that I replace parts on and do my best within reason to keep in as good operating and cosmetic shape as I can. I guess I just like the older models of Sea Ray boats and love to see the pictures and read the stories of the restorations. As far as advise goes here on this forum, I haven't been able to find another forum with folks willing to share their experience with others as I have here. Good bad or neither the threads here offering advise and instruction on almost every aspect of boating are valuable at some level to everyone, whether they ask a question and just read the resulting posts, or are trying to get info to aid in a decision which is ultimately theirs. What they do with the information is their prerogative, and I wish them luck. I see where potentially dangerous situations surface and advise is given, and it seems that the folks aren't heeding it, that is troubling and I understand the reaction. Again hopefully the advise and suggestions are taken to heart and the situation is safely mitigated. Still this is a great site for info and I hope it continues to be, Lord know I can use it.
 
NorCal Boater said:
So here is yet another case on Club Sea Ray of a newbie that post questions, gets a lot of advice and does what he wants.

Price: $9000 We all say that its too high offer much less. Boatman, "....I got him down a little and he threw in some extras." Well Boatman, you got screwed. He was going to give you the extras anyway. What was he going to do with them? Worth a hundred bucks on craigslist.

Survey? Nope. "....took it out for a test and everything went well." Really Boatman? Did you do a moisture test on the hull, did you have the hull tapped? Did you check the stringers? Do you know if the limber holes are sealed? Do you even know what limber holes are? You just bought a 29 year-old boat and if I'm the seller I'm laughing.

Why did you even come on this site and waste everyone's time. For me, I'm finished offering advice to new members. No one listens anyway.
Click to expand...

Here's the thing if you are going to give advice understand that people still get to decide whether to take your advice. If you can't live with that maybe you shouldn't give it anymore. I remember you complaining about me not heeding your advice too.
 
NorCal almost always has advice that is right on the money. Ive learned quite a bit from his posts over the last 2 years. But, true, nobody is obligated to listen to any internet post. I hope this one works out for Boatman. But, buying a 30yr old boat with no survey is straight up Kenny Rogers. Lets hope he has time enough for counting, when this deal is done.


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