Was just given 1988 Sea Ray Seville

That's likely a 2 stroke motor. I agree with what several have said here... check the grease on the hubs/bearings!

Best of luck and welcome to CSR!
 
Your biggest concern right now should be the trailer hubs/bearings and tires. If you lose a tire it's not going to be from a nail, it's going to shred so a "plug kit" isn't going to do you much good on the road. You might check the date on the tires and just replace them if they're more than 3 or 4 years. If the boat turns out to be a turd and not restorable then you can always sell the motor and trailer and be ahead.
 
Agreed. If nothing else, the engine and trailer are definitely worth a pretty penny. On the steering, I believe they're hydrostatic, so the wheel will free-wheel until hydraulic pressure is delivered from the engine. Someone else may know differently and will chime in to correct me.
Exactly. And I was nervous with the steering wheel at first, but I was thinking with hydraulics, it had to be on, for there to be resistance with the wheel.

I started with a seville many many years ago. Bot it at auction for 1500. It was a nice boat, but certainly had it's issues -- soft deck, etc. Sound the transom with a hammer and make sure it's not going to drop the engine off. Inside, you'll probably have a little rot -- so repair as best that you can. Then get out and have some fun. Oh, and stay in Florida -- don't bother going back to Michigan. :)
The soft spot is pretty small, but yeah, i'll have to check it out when i get home. It has been taken care of, minus the past year.... If there is some, i'll have to see if it is worth fixing, or patching.... Yeah, i'm warm blooded, this warm weather is even rough for me during these fall days.... haha But i'm blessed to work remotely, so we're here for 3 weeks this year, and were down here for a full month last year. Might visit more often if we buy an RV... :)

Hey Richie,

Heres the thing, your deck, stringers and transom are wood cored, and they usually rot from the bottom up, so if the deck is soft, most likely u will have issues with the stringers and transom. The best way to check is take a drill, mark the drill bit about 1/2 inches from the end with a piece of tape and drill into the stringers in several places, not all the way thru, just enough to touch the core. Do the same from the inside for the transom. If the shavings come out black and moist, you have structural issues. If they are blond, you got lucky, just fill the holes with 3m 5200 and enjoy. You can also stand on the outboard lower unit and see if the transom flexes.

I do these repairs all the time and trust me, its alot of work, but in the end, you will have a safe boat that will last you as long as the motor runs.
Great advice, thank you!!! I might just take the whole floor off and see, or keep the seats in, and put new 3/4" flooring around it. We'll see. The 3/4" will get me by for a few years! I didn't think about the transom, i'll lift up on the engine when I stop by after work today. I lifted up the seats and they look good and dry in the back, just the one floor area back left of the captains chair. No water pooling in the center, under the wood grate.

Wow, that is impressive!!! That is absolutely a big project!!!! If i had my pole barn already, i'd love to do that. I enjoy restoring things. Especially as my kids get older, i think that is a great thing to teach them; restore and repair stuff. Don't always need new!


Take the boat home. Enjoy it with your family and think of your grandparents every time you use it. That alone will make them happy.
I know my grandparents will love to see pictures of us on their old boat, enjoying it. And take them for a boat ride, when they come visit. Gutting it for parts is last on the list. So i figure money that I was going to pay them, i'll now put it into fixing it up. Plus, it isn't a HUGE boat! So we can still take it places to enjoy. I drive a 2012 Ford Flex AWD, without the tow package, so i'm a bit limited on what i can pull... This should be fine!


My son and I just fixed the stringers and deck in his boat. We drilled holes in the stringers every four or five inches and mixed the wood like it was in a blender. We vacuumed it out and then filled the fiberglass void with Arjay 6011. It wasn't that bad! Then we replaced the deck and carpet. It was kind of a fun project and the cost was ridiculous for the two sheets of marine plywood at over $100 a piece! Those were the big expenses. Carpet took FOREVER to get here, so order that early! Now, there is no wood in it and it won't rot again.
I just googled Arjay 6011. My first thought, was what if moisture gets under it, and causes more rot. But it looks like it is more for in walls and fiberglass only areas(under mounts/brackets), not against wood? Yeah, with todays pricing, i expect the plywood to be expensive!!! I looked at carpet and read to go with a lighter color, since the sun makes dark colors super uncomfortable. Maybe i'll stick with the same blue color... I'll look into ordering it early. I did see where someone put the floor boards in their yard, cut the carpet there, then it was super simple to put down inside the boat!

That's likely a 2 stroke motor. I agree with what several have said here... check the grease on the hubs/bearings!

Best of luck and welcome to CSR!
I read good things about the 2 stroke, over the 4 stroke. Cool! There is an oil cap on the top, so my mind automatically assumed 4 stroke. Unless this just has a revivor for oil, and mixes it on its own? I'll definitely only use recreation only gas, so the corn syrup doesn't gum it up!

Your biggest concern right now should be the trailer hubs/bearings and tires. If you lose a tire it's not going to be from a nail, it's going to shred so a "plug kit" isn't going to do you much good on the road. You might check the date on the tires and just replace them if they're more than 3 or 4 years. If the boat turns out to be a turd and not restorable then you can always sell the motor and trailer and be ahead.
That is true. As soon as I typed it, it dawned on me, i've never seen a boat trailer with a simple flat tire. And it is so small, it would be shot by the time I pulled over.... I'm going over after work to look at it again. The tires don't look like they have lost any air, and there are no cracks in the tires. But i'll definitely double check them tonight. I'll check the grease as well! I brought some tools with me, but i don't know if I brought enough take our the bearings and have them repacked...... Plus, I leave Friday morning at 4am for NC, so I need to hurry with this!! I can't imagine that it would cost too much to take the trailer to a local shop to do this. I'm Dutch and Polish to the bone, I HATE spending money, especially on things that I can do myself.... haha But since the boat was free, it might be best to bite the bullet and be safe!!! I'll definitely convert the trailer to a pontoon trailer and buy a project pontoon back home. They are for sale all over! They usually don't have a trailer or motor, though....
 
Once you are safely home...

The Teleflex hydraulic steering in my '94 does not rely on any powered pumps or the motor running. For my model, the 115 did not have hydraulic steering standard, but was an add on option but also came standard on the 135 and 150 merc O/B. On the trailer/motor vertical, the wheel moves lock to lock with little resistance and you can see the outboard moving with the wheel. For my boat, fully bled and ready to go is 7 turns lock to lock per the manual but is just under that in practice. If you can spin the wheel freely without the outboard moving you have a leak somewhere or very low on hydraulic fluid (more air than fluid). There should be a plug on top of the helm and once removed you should see the fluid looking straight down. check that the bleed valves are closed on both side of the ram mounted under the outboard, check the fittings and hoses from fore to aft for physical damage or decay. You'll want that resolved and working before you take it out. Personal experience on that one...
 
Once you are safely home...

The Teleflex hydraulic steering in my '94 does not rely on any powered pumps or the motor running. For my model, the 115 did not have hydraulic steering standard, but was an add on option but also came standard on the 135 and 150 merc O/B. On the trailer/motor vertical, the wheel moves lock to lock with little resistance and you can see the outboard moving with the wheel. For my boat, fully bled and ready to go is 7 turns lock to lock per the manual but is just under that in practice. If you can spin the wheel freely without the outboard moving you have a leak somewhere or very low on hydraulic fluid (more air than fluid). There should be a plug on top of the helm and once removed you should see the fluid looking straight down. check that the bleed valves are closed on both side of the ram mounted under the outboard, check the fittings and hoses from fore to aft for physical damage or decay. You'll want that resolved and working before you take it out. Personal experience on that one...
Thanks for the correction. I was unsure (obviously).
 
Once you are safely home...

The Teleflex hydraulic steering in my '94 does not rely on any powered pumps or the motor running. For my model, the 115 did not have hydraulic steering standard, but was an add on option but also came standard on the 135 and 150 merc O/B. On the trailer/motor vertical, the wheel moves lock to lock with little resistance and you can see the outboard moving with the wheel. For my boat, fully bled and ready to go is 7 turns lock to lock per the manual but is just under that in practice. If you can spin the wheel freely without the outboard moving you have a leak somewhere or very low on hydraulic fluid (more air than fluid). There should be a plug on top of the helm and once removed you should see the fluid looking straight down. check that the bleed valves are closed on both side of the ram mounted under the outboard, check the fittings and hoses from fore to aft for physical damage or decay. You'll want that resolved and working before you take it out. Personal experience on that one...
Good to know! It spins as if it is a toy steering wheel on a play structure, zero resistance... So that seems a bit odd. But i'll absolutely check it out when I get home. I hope it is something simple. It obviously isn't stock. I posted pics of the left and right side of the motor, as well as under the steering column, if that helps. Everything exposed, looks fine to me. On the left side, there is an exposed wire, that is partially wrapped in tape, the OCD in me has to fix that, even if the wire still works good! ha
 
Good to know! It spins as if it is a toy steering wheel on a play structure, zero resistance... So that seems a bit odd. But i'll absolutely check it out when I get home. I hope it is something simple. It obviously isn't stock. I posted pics of the left and right side of the motor, as well as under the steering column, if that helps. Everything exposed, looks fine to me. On the left side, there is an exposed wire, that is partially wrapped in tape, the OCD in me has to fix that, even if the wire still works good! ha

In your pictures, under the front of the outboard, the chromed rod is your steering, two hoses go to the cylinder that run through gunnel to the helm. SeaStar hydraulic steering fluid into the system is aircraft grade as a substitute not automotive fluid compatible. I can point you to where to get the gland rebuilt kit with tool for the cylinder, as well as the one person bleed kit I used that was inexpensive and far less frustrating. There is also a helm rebuild kit that can’t hurt to do for its age. I spent less than $150 for everything to rebuild mine helm to outboard (pre-COVID pricing). Rebuild services I looked at were several hundred dollars and a core charge and shipping to inspect rod (resurfacing extra) and replace glands only. Replacement cost for new was over a boat buck.
 
I'm sure its worth every penny you paid for it (maybe even more). The most pressing thing to watch out for is rot in the stringers, transom or hull. Pretty much everything else can be DYI'ed
 
So... I made the drive from Florida to Michigan, safely. Even though google maps decided to take me through where the movie Deliverance was filmed....... LOL "5 mph curve and watch for falling rocks".... I think i white knuckled this drive more, than when i'm on pure ice! haha

The battery is TOAST!!! So i couldn't get it to turn over more than once, even while hooked to jumper cables, although, i was able to raise and lower the engine. Not with the control on the throttle handle, but with the up/down switch on the motor.

So where do i start, for restoring this????
There is a spot behind the captains chair that is bubbled up, and my buddy said within a half second of looking at it, "Someone already repaired that spot". He knows boats pretty well! But it was when i took the boat to him to winterize it, and we found the out batter was toast, so i drove it back home in a snow storm... Is there a special way to just cut the current floor, once i pull all of the carpet up? I assume that I can use my multi-tool? Then when putting down a new floor, I can use screws, into the stringers? I'll likely just use marine plywood, 1/2 or 3/4 thick. Can i just put the wood over top of the current floor? Assuming the bubble will push down? I'm scared to look under it, that seems like a can of worms will be opened. It is nice, but i really only planned to get a few years out of it. Maybe 5 years?

There are a lot of newer boats available for pretty cheap, that don't have a trailer or motor. At what point do I go that route? The transom and hull look fine. I don't know about the stringers....
 
So... I made the drive from Florida to Michigan, safely. Even though google maps decided to take me through where the movie Deliverance was filmed....... LOL "5 mph curve and watch for falling rocks".... I think i white knuckled this drive more, than when i'm on pure ice! haha

The battery is TOAST!!! So i couldn't get it to turn over more than once, even while hooked to jumper cables, although, i was able to raise and lower the engine. Not with the control on the throttle handle, but with the up/down switch on the motor.

So where do i start, for restoring this????
There is a spot behind the captains chair that is bubbled up, and my buddy said within a half second of looking at it, "Someone already repaired that spot". He knows boats pretty well! But it was when i took the boat to him to winterize it, and we found the out batter was toast, so i drove it back home in a snow storm... Is there a special way to just cut the current floor, once i pull all of the carpet up? I assume that I can use my multi-tool? Then when putting down a new floor, I can use screws, into the stringers? I'll likely just use marine plywood, 1/2 or 3/4 thick. Can i just put the wood over top of the current floor? Assuming the bubble will push down? I'm scared to look under it, that seems like a can of worms will be opened. It is nice, but i really only planned to get a few years out of it. Maybe 5 years?

There are a lot of newer boats available for pretty cheap, that don't have a trailer or motor. At what point do I go that route? The transom and hull look fine. I don't know about the stringers....
A couple of things. Spend some time watching Frisco boater on you tube. He does an entire rebuild of a 1990s sea ray.

Second once you open it up, it will be a can of worms with no stopping point. You goal is to make it safe and sea worthy, doesn't have to be perfect. You just won't know how much work until you start. Good luck.
 
Yeah, Jay's (Frisco) videos are very detailed. You will also want to take a ton of pictures and measurements before and while you demo. Leave a few inch lip around the entire deck, where you will add cleats later to reattach the new deck. A circular saw set to 3/4" blade depth usually does most of the cutting, a multi or jig will get the corners.

Don't forget the PPE.
 
Look up Arjay 6011 as a replacement for the stringers. I drilled holes in my son's ski boat every 4 or 5 inches and then used the drilled to mix the wood so we could vacuum it out. Then we poured in the Arjay 6011. We even left the motor in place when we did it although we did pull the bolts out of the stringer so we could drill and screw them in later. Then we put back the 3/4 deck and fiberglassed it in. It was a lot easier than grinding the stringers down to the hull!! It was very easy and you can do the same with the transom which is what the Arjay was designed for! It's stronger than the original wood and will NEVER rot!
 
When I removed the carpet out of the runabout, I didn't replace it. I cleaned the deck really good and used Herculiner and sprayed it in. Works like a charm. No having gunk or fish blood get dried in. And when we get home it's really easy to just hose out. Just like having a gelcoated deck. Just don't get the black. Everybody complains their feet burn on it in the sun. I tell them to put their sandles back on.:D
 
.... I'll likely just use marine plywood, 1/2 or 3/4 thick. Can i just put the wood over top of the current floor? Assuming the bubble will push down? I'm scared to look under it, that seems like a can of worms will be opened. It is nice, but i really only planned to get a few years out of it. Maybe 5 years?

There are a lot of newer boats available for pretty cheap, that don't have a trailer or motor. At what point do I go that route? The transom and hull look fine. I don't know about the stringers....

I probably wouldn't use marine ply... most production line facilities didn't when they made their boats. Just a good exterior plywood would be fine for the floor. You can also coat it with some resin to make it more tolerable to staying outside. I would not just screw it in over the old floor either. I'd survey the existing floor some more to see if there is just a bad area (like where the bubble is) or if most of it's bad. If it's just an area, I'd concentrate on repairing that rather than replacing the whole floor. If the whole floor is bad, I'd rip it out and put a new section in.

Also - Just curious what you did (if anything) to the trailer tires and bearings before you started the trip, and what your average speed was while on the expressway.
 
My son's first boat was a ,daresay, 20' Bayliner....project.
Deck was shot, we cut the entire deck out, replaced with exterior plywood, glassed, and laid indoor/outdoor carpet. I don't particularly enjoy working with mat and resin, so when we got done I said not another one like this and he strongly agreed.
Bad thing was, when he was putting everything together for the splash, he reversed polarity on the batt connection (was in a rush-18yo) and fried the motor electronics. So he sold and actually broke even.
But it was a good, solid job that went pretty smooth after we got enough courage up to start cutting
The osscilating tools work good for that in detail areas. Rotary disc cutter (ziz wheel)for the rest should work fine. Wear PPE and tyvek suit for dust/fiber mitigation. You'll be fine.

We did wind up doing one more resto a few years ago on a small block powered Mastercraft, electrical and interior (seamat) upgrades and hull paint, no hull/deck work needed. He actually made money on that one, a wonder for sure.

Good luck, don't over think it. Get it right and enjoy it for a few years.

I bought an '08 23' Procraft Bay last summer as an upgrade to my 19' flats boat (but kept it). Deck and hull were good, nice motor with 300hrs, Honda BF225A 4 stroke.
But,
Antennae on the T top broke - $50
Fishbox macerator pump shot- $100
Bilge pump shot-$50
Penta trim tabs not working, control cables-$180
Strainer housing broke-$40
Added two dual bank chargers, two additional batts.and minnkota terrova trolling motor-$2000
Powerpole shot, replaced-$1700

Does have a brand new Garmim echomap, which I really like.

I still want to replace the VHF radio, radio, and add a box in the T top.

I have had it out 20 times or so in the last few months, salt and fresh and it runs out great.

Took me about two weeks to get it all sorted out. Did it all myself, just over $4100. I used all that as leverage to get the owner down 9K under an already good price for a Proline.

I have already been offered over 10K more than I have in it more than once, but keeping. Will be 60 this year and between it and the 440CV, that's all I'll ever need.

Good luck!
 

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