Updating larger cruisers

In that last set of pics you can also notice the cheap gold hardware and cabin lights change to brushed nickel, black chrome, and stainless.
 
Great pictures.

Photobucket allows you to size pictures for the web very easily. I do it when downloading mine. In the area where you place your URL for downloading right under the words "Images from my PC" you will see the size that of the picture that Photobucket will create along with the word "options" in blue. Click on "options" and select the "message board" size. All pictures downloaded from that point will be the right size. On pictures already downloaded you will see the word "edit" above each picture. Clicking on that word will also allow you to resize any picture you have downloaded.

I finally found that button. the next batch should come through the correct size. I wonder if it re-sized the existing ones.. Maybe... I wish it would fix my typos! :)

Thanks Dave!
 
Re: Rejuvinating a Galley Floor - 48 Sedan Bridge

The galley floor on our 1999 48DB was an ugly mahogany like muddy stained wood floor which never did go with the cherry interior. We were going to replace it with granite or new wood but first decided to grind it down to see what was underneath. It was 3/4 inch solid oak. We test stained a section with a cherry stain and then did the whole floor, covering with 6 coats of outdoor polyurathane.

Here is the result:




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That is a really good looking boat too!
 
someone asked about prices. quick internet search revealed this place...
http://www.oakwoodveneer.com/prices/prices4_8_ce.html

just as an example, it seems a 4'x8' sheet of brazilian cherry would run about $170. geriksen may be using better stuff than this, but you can be sure his people know what they're doing - mistakes and re-do's can get PRETTY EXPENSIVE!:wow:

absolutely magnificent work. i wish i had the know-how to do this stuff myself. to have someone do it to my boat, as old as she is, is not realistic (unless i first repowered with yanmars!:smt038)
 
Here is the floor of the 580 in progress.
Since this boat has birdseye maple cabinets already, I thought a dark maple floor was in order. This flooring is also rough and distressed, which I think is kind of cool.
The dark floor really wakes up that cabinetry. Fortunately this boat has stainless frames around the hatches which makes for a Sunseeker looking finished product. Notice how the flooring guy even matched the planking pattern through the steps. He really does nice work.
The basic floor is in but still needs to be trimmed out.
Here are pics of this process.


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In the cockpit we replaced every cockpit and hard top light. Also, both sides of the cockpit are lined with cabinet doors. They all had these cheap plastic latches that were yellowed, cracked and broken. These same latches are available in stainless so we replaced them all with stainless. Amazing what a difference that made in the appearance fo the cockpit.
In the first pic you can see the white plastic latches on the cabinet doors. The second pic is the doors right next to those after replacing the latches.

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Nice work! The 340 is a great boat and perfect for what I am talking about.
One of the best things you can do to those is to paint the dash.
I had a '89 460 that had the already had the dash painted and new panels made. Then I updated it some more. Here are two pics. Not too shabby for 1989.
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You are right. That dash does look much better. But are you talking about the whole area that's burgandy or just the insturment section.
 
Great job on that dash. Tell me about your switch lables, where did did you get them and are they back lit for nighttime identification? Also I am curious on how you use that Raytheon radar display, I would think the viewing angle would be pretty tough.
 
The whole area would need to be painted.

To answer the other question, those were stick on labels. The painted dash and wood inserts were already done when I bought that boat. The radar angle was fine for me since I mainly used that in crowded areas and at that point I would be driving standing up so it was actually better that way.
 
Great thread! Brings some sanity to the new boat vs a used boat thought process.
 
This is a fascinating and entertaining thread to read. It’s not unlike watching “This Old House” – only for boats! The talent you have been able to find is impressive. My guess is that level of workmanship, in the marine industry, is not available everywhere.
 
VERY nice work! This sounds like my dream job. I agree that updating an older Sea Ray is a way better financial option than purchasing a new one. Although I do like the new enclosed helms on the new sundancers I still love the lines of the late 90's-early 00's Sea Rays. You can buy WAY more boat if you buy a used one and the money you spend updating still brings you in under the cost of a new one of similar size.

P.S. Get rid of that acrylic towel rail on the kitchen counter!! ;) A nice stainless rail would look good there, and not just an ordinary round stainless bar. Something with design!
Nice work man!
 
You're all dead on about the helm. Vinyl sucks, and on the 390 it needs to be throughly sealed to the large flat area under the windshield or it leaks right into the cabin. Ripped out the old one and replaced it with this. The gauges have been replaced (except the Aetna tachs) with Faria dress white. The burgundy had to go- the entire helm/cockpit is now a black/white theme.

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Geriksen:
Awesome work. Now that I've replaced the cockpit, I'm thinking about re-doing the interior. It's all in great shape and I've already done some work, but the teak-look veneer is awfully dark and dated. I like the look of the cherry veneer, but do they make a hardwood trim that would match the veneer (like outside corners)? There's a mile of teak trim inside.

Did you like the 460? I'm already getting foot-itis...and I love the old EC's.
 
VERY nice work! This sounds like my dream job. I agree that updating an older Sea Ray is a way better financial option than purchasing a new one. Although I do like the new enclosed helms on the new sundancers I still love the lines of the late 90's-early 00's Sea Rays. You can buy WAY more boat if you buy a used one and the money you spend updating still brings you in under the cost of a new one of similar size.

P.S. Get rid of that acrylic towel rail on the kitchen counter!! ;) A nice stainless rail would look good there, and not just an ordinary round stainless bar. Something with design!
Nice work man!

You are right about the towel rail. ;-p . It was even worse before we pulled the shiny gold plastic trim that was in the middle of it. The 500 had gold coated stainless rails, we were able to sand, buff, and polish the gold off of those.
We are going to experiment with some wood inlay on these and see what that looks like. I would prefer stainless rails but those might be made of pure "unobtainium". :)
 
You're all dead on about the helm. Vinyl sucks, and on the 390 it needs to be throughly sealed to the large flat area under the windshield or it leaks right into the cabin. Ripped out the old one and replaced it with this. The gauges have been replaced (except the Aetna tachs) with Faria dress white. The burgundy had to go- the entire helm/cockpit is now a black/white theme.

DSCF0871.jpg


Geriksen:
Awesome work. Now that I've replaced the cockpit, I'm thinking about re-doing the interior. It's all in great shape and I've already done some work, but the teak-look veneer is awfully dark and dated. I like the look of the cherry veneer, but do they make a hardwood trim that would match the veneer (like outside corners)? There's a mile of teak trim inside.

Did you like the 460? I'm already getting foot-itis...and I love the old EC's.


Yep, it looks like you are already on the path. Looks good! I could be wrong but I think you can stain the teak trip to match the cherry veneer. We did that with the oak on the 500.

That old 460 was an awsome boat! I would reccommend that boat to anyone. It had a huge beam and even witht the old styling I thought it was a good looking boat.

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That 460 had a really clean engine compartment. Not bad for 1989! The CAT's ran great but one was a bit smokey when cold. Most 460's that age have Detroits and are a bit faster than mine was.
I did have to replace the generator in that one. Someone had bypassed the oil pressure shut down switch to make it run and it had a rod knock. I replaced it with a used 13KW Kohler we had re-furbed from a freshwater sinker. It was very quiet, smooth, and never had to work hard. In Texas we run the A/C units almost all the time.

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The 460 was a great boat. Many times there would be 25 people congregating on it in the cove (the stereo was awesome). Ran good too and was very fuel efficient with the straight inboards. He had a really nice new top (sorta like the 320/340 do now with an alum frame) installed as well.

Probably will come up for sale sooner or later when the 580SSS is done as there seems to be a "geriksen pre-owned upgrade path" for the guys who buy his updated boats :)

-Dave
'04 280DA
'07 Sea Hunt 220
 
Thanks for the pics- I was wondering about the performance with the Cats as my cruise is 22-23 kts in the 390. Is that a redundant Racor setup- where you can switch over to the other filter if you have a problem?
That boat has great lines- I looked on YW and only saw single stateroom (fwd) layouts- was this ever available with two staterooms like the 390?

Thanks again for the pics. I'm a Chris-Craft fan too- still have my 1972 28' Catalina :)
 
Yes, it's funny. The guy who bought my 460 loves it but has a standing offer in the to the guy who bought my 500. The guy who bought my 500 loves it but hasn't seen the 580 yet. ;-)
 

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