Searay, to buy or not?

[Narcosis]

Hi! I'm considering purchasing a motor cruiser between 24-26' and viewed a Searay 250 Sundancer today. The boat is 1996 with the 5.7 Mercruiser EFi / Bravo 3. 300 hrs. The hull appears in good enough shape, with the usual dings and scratches I would expect for the age. Water was connected and the engine appears in good shape too. A couple of things concern me: 1) the carpet in the cabin was wet and was generally damp inside. The seller said this was a build up of condensation dripping down from the ceiling hatch. I doubt that. What could be the cause? 2) The instrument panel is badly weathered and the gauges are virtually impossible to read due to condensation on the inside of the glass. Big cost to replace?
Should I spend the money on a survey or just walk away?

I've looked at another Sundancer with 5.7 carb engine with Bravo 2. It's got 600 hrs but in better overall condition and not wet inside!

Also is there much difference in reliability / efficiency between the carb and EFi Mercruiser 5.7 engines?

Confusion reigns!

 

[rafiki_]

Welcome to the forum.

Sea Rays are generally well built boats, but for something of this age, your focus should be on ensuring the engine and outdrive are in the best possible condition. Pretty much everything else can be fixed relatively cheaply or with a lot of your own elbow grease.
It is perfectly possible for the to be a lot of condensation in the cabin, and the hatch will be the focus for this as you have the biggest temp difference inside and out. Water on the soft furnishings means musty smells which can be very hard to eliminate. Three should be dessicant dehumidifiers in the saloon or an electric one. I had a 33 ft sports cruiser till last summer, and kept her dry inside with dessicant filters. Other reasons for water inside will be window or hatch leaks, and these are not always easy to spot.

Good luck.

 

[Sheppy]

I wouldn't have thought you'd get enough condensation to make the floor actually wet. I get a few drops of water on the inside of the hatch but nothing more. I have however had a previous boat with a leaking hatch and this did get the carpet wet, along with the inside of the headlining too. All fixable however, so assuming the price is right, I wouldn't let this put you off too much.
Mixed reviews on the carb v EFI/SPI/MPI. The latter generally offers better fuel efficiency and more power, but if things do go wrong it can be very hard and expensive to fix. The former is a simpler system that offers robust reliability, cheaper servicing and cheaper spares/repairs.

 

[[2068]]

The former is a simpler system that offers harder cold starting, and increased fuel consumption compared to the vastly more desirable 5.7 EFi with turnkey starting and better fuel consumption.

Fixed

 

[MapisM]

Fixed

LOL, there are some shades of grey between black and white, you know...?
A 1996 vintage 5.7 EFI has TBI, not MPI.
And the efficiency of those old(ish) injection sytems was just a tad better than carb, nowhere near the more modern MPIs.

Re. the outdrive, Narcosis, the "other" boat probably has a B1, not a B2, right?
If it wasnt't a typo, you'd better check that, because the B2 is a rather unusual animal, strictly meant to fit larger props, for heavier/slower workboats.
Fwiw, I don't like duoprops, hence I'd rather have a B1 than a B3.
Less things that can go wrong, and the trade off of a slightly better holeshot with the B3 is a lower top performance and higher fuel burn, compared to the B1.

Anyway, none of the things you mention would make me rule out either one or the other boat.
It's down to actual specific conditions and price, mainly.
For the first, it might be worth checking if the EFI engine was already compatible with the Mercury Smartcraft system.
By heart, I would actually say it wasn't. But if it is, replacing the instruments is just a matter of fitting a multipurpose LCD display - which means less than 200 quids.

Best of luck for your choice!

 

[[2068]]

LOL, there are some shades of grey between black and white, you know...?

Really?
How Many?
Forty-nine?

If it's a Bravo 3 drive, have it and the shield checked carefully for corrosion if left in salt water: some early drives had bearing carriers that fizzed away.
Bravo 2 drive is much more solid, at the cost of some performance.

.

 

[jamiepyoung]

You aren't near Brighton by chance......http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4DI2oAgi_E

I guess that ones a bit damp inside.

 

[abraxus]

How wet were the carpets and to what extent? All over or just one area? Lots of areas that could leak and allow water in, so look for signs.

A defrosted fridge/freezer can also soak a carpet, as I once found out when someone disconnected my shore power.

 

[Double Vision]

I had a 250 for 3 years and only sold it 18 months ago ( I have a 290 now). They are great boats. My 5.7/ bravo 3 had 1200 hours on the clock and still performed beautifully with 40 mph with a clean bum. Its not the hours in my experience but the way its been maintained. At 1200 hours the compressions were as per manufacturers new spec. You have to remember these are big lazy American engines that given the correct tlc will do 100s of thousands of miles in a car with no problems. Ok a marine environment is different but if you make sure it keeps cool and has regular oil changes your ok.
As for the boat, These 90s Searays do suffer from cabin leaks. Mine, and the 290 I have now both leaked like a sieve when first purchased. The wet carpet I had in my 25 turned out to be leaking port holes. The SS surround on the port hole is easily removed by unscrewing 4 screws and you will find the mastic originally used to seal the port has shrunk and gone hard. I dug mine out and re sealed with white Sealastic. Never a problem after that. As for the dash. I re covered mine in Walnut Formica.
I conclusion I would say they are good performance sound boats but you have to be prepared to do a bit of work to make and keep them looking good which i think goes for all 20ish year old boats.

 

[Narcosis]

Thanks for the quick responses guys, great forum! The other Sundancer definitely has a Bravo Two MapisM. I see the carb/injector question is a sore point! Thanks to these comments I'm feeling more confident than I was. Think if I go ahead I'll re-seal the portholes The 250 I've set my heart on has a serial number that indicates it was made in Cork, Ireland (not too far from where it is now) though there is absolutely no paperwork with the boat. I know if this was a car I'd be concerned, should I be just as concerned?

 

[Narcosis]

Just another question. There's a very fresh looking Stingray 240cs that I've just seen for slightly more money. Would I be wiser going for this???

 

[rafiki_]

Narcosis, pretty much all boats look great when you are buying them.

Sea Ray is known as probably the best quality US Sports Boat manufacturer, and yes they did build some in the ROI. However, at 20 odd years old, if it hasn't been lovingly maintained, you are taking a bit of a risk. There are plenty of sports boats out there at 25 ft length, so you will not be limited in choice, especially if you travel to England.

As I said earlier, the most expensive bits to fix in this sort of boat are the engines and outdrives. Buy the very best maintained boat you can find.

 

[Double Vision]

I would walk away from the one with no paper work. It can get you into all sorts of problems when you want to sell it again, especially if you sell through a broker but most of all you have no way of proving the VAT status of the boat if you have not got at least the original purchase receipt from new. Most buyers like to see a paper trail of previous owners bills of sale and at least a potted service history or at best a full one. There are many on the market right now so a bit more hunting will pay dividends.