Updating larger cruisers

gerickson,

while you've done an excellent job updating these big boats. they look absolutely amazing! and have given many great ideas for the CSR members that have cruisers.

My question is what kind of mods can you suggest for some of us that have an older, small cuddy cabin, and would like to add some mods/upgrades? Is it even worth pursuing in your opinion?

I don't mean to hijak the thread...

Thanks for your replies!

Gregg
 
Actually, I think those early 80's SR runabouts are pretty good looking as is.
If I had one, I would take the big tape stripes off, remove all the fake wood grain from the interior and replace the instrumentation. If you really wanted to get crazy, you could chrome the windshield frame.
Those are good solid boats. You have to watch the floors on them though. They have a tendancy to rot out. Try to keep the bilge of that boat as dry as you can.

We have a 1978 198 Sea Ray as a work boat. We have a Shamrock also but our guys prefer running the sea ray because it is faster and takes the waves better.
 
what would you use in place of the fake wood grain? How would you reorganize the instrumentation?

I would like to "convert" the fish box at the stern into an actual cooler. Is there any type of foam that can be used to fill in the cavity around the insert that is there?

Thank you,

Gregg
 
I think you can get thin brushed aluminum sheets that have a sticky backing. I'm not sure when you get those but I have seen them before.
As far as the foam goes, I am pretty sure Home Depot has the cans of spray foam insulation. Go easy on the amount when you spray it. That stuff gets big when it foams up.
 
Do you have the teak railings on yours?
I would keep those. You hardly see teak anymore. It looks really nice and lasts forever.
TEKA cleaner and teak oil once a year.....
 
tobnpr said:
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 :)
Click to expand...

Those were 375hp 3208's. They had good throttle repsonse but the top end on that boat was around 22kts. Not a speed demon but still fun to drive.

Speaking of restorations and Chris Crafts. Here is a real project! This Sea Ray stuff I have been showing you is the easy stuff. This is one of my three year projects. There are two large updates in progress on this site so you might want to come back to this link in a couple days. Sorry for the non-Sea Ray content but you can see now that 460 came into the picture.

http://eriksenmarine.com/projects/project_cris_craft_42.htm
 
Here is the boat from that link on it's first sea trail. Yes, it can be done. But.....
The time and money that went into this one are both staggering....
Sure made for a nice boat though.
He will have over 200K in it, but price one of these new!

DSC06713.jpg
 
gericksen,

Yes, I do have some teak, and have spent part of my off season refurbishing some of it (the stuff that was easily removed). The rest will get finished when we get access to the boat (april). I do love the look of teak also.

Are you talking brushed aluminum for the dash/gauges?

I've thought about using that foam, but was unsure if it would hold up or not. they make both a fast expanding and a slow expanding. Any preference?

Gregg
 
geriksen said:
Those were 375hp 3208's. They had good throttle repsonse but the top end on that boat was around 22kts. Not a speed demon but still fun to drive.

Speaking of restorations and Chris Crafts. Here is a real project! This Sea Ray stuff I have been showing you is the easy stuff. This is one of my three year projects. There are two large updates in progress on this site so you might want to come back to this link in a couple days. Sorry for the non-Sea Ray content but you can see now that 460 came into the picture.

http://eriksenmarine.com/projects/project_cris_craft_42.htm
Click to expand...

Wow! That is an awesome project! What did you end up selling that beast for? How do you even price work like that?

Doug
 
It was my personal boat but I got so tired of waiting to have a boat that I sold it for 40K less than I had in it. We been finishing it for the buyer.
I actually bought that 89 460 just to have a boat to use and flip while I was finishing the Chris Craft but I ended up liking that 460 Sea Ray so much I sold the Chris Craft instead!

We have also completely redone a 2001 Formula 400 SS. The entire boat. Sorry for the non Sea Ray content but it is relevant to the original post. There are sucessful complete re-do's but I reccommend not doing this. Find a good solid, running Sea Ray and just update it. There is a point where a boat can be fixed but shouldn't be, due to the amount of time and money it takes. I am very experienced in these things and both of these took more than I thought they would.

Here are before and after pics.

DSC01301.jpg

DSC05827.jpg
 
geriksen said:
It was my personal boat but I got so tired of waiting to have a boat that I sold it for 40K less than I had in it. We been finishing it for the buyer.
I actually bought that 89 460 just to have a boat to use and flip while I was finishing the Chris Craft but I ended up liking that 460 Sea Ray so much I sold the Chris Craft instead!

We have also completely redone a 2001 Formula 400 SS. The entire boat. Sorry for the non Sea Ray content but it is relevant to the original post. There are sucessful complete re-do's but I reccommend not doing this. Find a good solid, running Sea Ray and just update it. There is a point where a boat can be fixed but shouldn't be, due to the amount of time and money it takes. I am very experienced in these things and both of these took more than I thought they would.

Here are before and after pics.

DSC01301.jpg

DSC05827.jpg
Click to expand...

You guys do some awesome work! Simply awesome! What happened to the formula? Accident?

Doug
 
The chris craft is still my favorite. G - you need updated pictures of the interior of that boat. It will blow folks away. It really does rival the bests customs on the inside. The CC42 has some serious offshore attitude. Its wild to see that on a lake! I keep telling him to buy the Bertram 54 he always wanted but he keeps buying Sea Rays and flipping them!

I've been toying with the idea of getting a Bertram 33 with diesels and solid mechanicals for $60-70K and just having his shop help me redo the interior. New cabinets, wood flooring, granite counters, a nice leather sofa from ikea, etc. Would make a great economical lake cruiser (2.0mpg!) and eventually a nice fishing/cruising boat for the coast when we get down there full time. Probably would cost me about what I have in the 280DA.

If you guys want to see woodwork, let me dig up another thread from another forum....

Here.... Its a Rybovich (custom carolina sport fishing yachts) reunion.

http://www.thehulltruth.com/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=188436&start=1

-Dave
 
God, I love the Commanders!!
What a sportfish! Enough to make any Bert or Hatt owner envious...
There was a late '80's 380 in Miami when I was buying (06), but she was out of my price range.
I signed a contract on a 1986 360 Commander (gas), but during the sea trial both her Crusaders overheated badly, and would not turn up. I was brokenhearted but had to reject the boat. It was for the best, though- 'cause that's when I ended up with the Sea Ray.
Older boats like that have reached the bottom of their depreciation curve, and provided they're structurally sound make a wonderful opportunity, and make even more financial sense if the owner can do much of the work himself.
If I boated in freshwater, I'd have an old woodie Chris for sure. You can own a fully-restored, show quality (classic) boat for the same as a new fiberglass one, and guess what- it will continue to APPRECIATE. Now that's a word you don't hear much around boats :)

Please- keep up the pics.
 
douglee25 said:
You guys do some awesome work! Simply awesome! What happened to the formula? Accident?

Doug
Click to expand...

I have to also admit, part of the reason these two boats too so much time and money is that we made them both nicer than the were new. If we had just "fixed 'em" it wouldn't have been so bad.
 
geriksen said:
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.


DSC06933.jpg
Click to expand...

You reminded me I was going to do this last year, the only place I could find them was West Marine, since I won't buy anything from there that is were it ended..............do you have another source???

John
 
We should have a general carpentry area on the board so guys like geriksen can offer some advice on techniques and tools for some of these projects. I am so impressed by the work I'm seeing in this thread. I'm sure most people on this board would love to try some mods but don't have the carpentry skills. It makes me want to go back to 7th grade wood shop! Anyway keep up the good work and show off some more pics.
 
I have to admit, I don't have those skills either. I just found a guy who does and I keep him busy.
Hiring the wrong guy to do this sort of work can turn into a nightmare. I saw that happen on one. Almost all the woodwork had to be re-done.

The trick is to find someone who is honest and knows what they are doing.
You also have to have a lot of patience. My 580 has looked like a construction site for three months now. It probably still has another month to go.

It's worth the wait though. But don't try to do something like this in the middle of summer. You will get frustrated.
 
I used to think I liked my 40 DA interior...but what a difference some laminate and flooring makes?
I guess you make the interior laminate pattern first and then apply with contact cement...is the process like making laminate tops other than no room for error? Do you spray the finish coats? My boat is ready for new carpeting, but maybe wood flooring would be in order....how was the flooring attached? And thinkness used...this does't look at hard as the cabinetry work.
Do you think you could post some of your supply sources for lights, hardware, flooring, laminates if I'm not asking too much?

Maybe you can send you guy up North during the hot summer months and we can keep him busy?

Thanks for all of the postings and photos...you work is really inspirational.
Ed
 
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