New Owner 1995 200 Signature OV - Should I Paint?

Hi guys.

I bought a 1995 200 Signature OV 5.0 Mercruiser 190 hp with 156 hours on it. I paid 5750 for the boat, trailer and accessories such as ropes, bumpers, lifejackets and a tube.

I was wondering if you guys think thats a good deal.

I am having it put in at marina and water tested but anything you guys think I should pay close attention to?

Also wondering thoughts on painting the sides where the 1995 aqua marine color has faded. I am wondering if I can replace that with a dark blue or black, or worst off restore original color. (the 90s had some funky colors) I have heard various opinions on what to do.

Cleaning the seats to get them nice and white again...any recommendations?

Lastly, how hard is it to replace steering wheel? The current one is a bit faded and I want a new sportier one.

Looking forward to becoming part of the forum.

Thanks

JMax207

Congrats on your "new to you " boat. I would try to restore the faded gelcoat first before I went the paint route.

Try compounding the original gelcoat. Try 303 Vinyl cleaner diluted with a little water for the seats.
Hopefully it's in better shape than this '95 220OV Searay. Frisco Jarretts has done a great job restoring this boat, but again I hope your's is in better shape.[video=youtube;kopF4muvF0c]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kopF4muvF0c[/video]

I would take a really good look at the floor for any soft spots. Sea Ray boats this age are built to rot. I am in the middle of restoring a '93 200 BR and can tell you first hand that the quality of worksmanship under the floor is junk. Sea Ray used nothing more than a chopper gun to put it together. None of the wood is sealed. All of the screws that are in the floor are places where water can get under the floor and saturate the foam. I don't mean to scare you, but this is what I ran into along with Jay (friscoboater) on his 220. I would also take a good look at the wood around the outdrive (keyhole). It is probably rotten also. Thanks, Steven

I bought a 1994 Signature 200OV with 118 hours two summers ago at approx the same price so I think it's a great deal. I was fortunate the previous owner took pretty good care of the gel coat and with some rubbing and fresh wax the teal blue color looks pretty good. The stripes on my hull were aged and cracked so I pulled a lot of them off and honestly like it with less striping. I scrubbed the seats and used a magic eraser to clean and followed with 303 Aerospace Vinyl Protectant and the interior looks like new. I haven't noticed any soft spots in my floor and the 5.0L with low hours runs like a champ. I replaced plugs, distributor, bellows and water pump to insure everything was fresh and it's (knock on wood) been a very enjoyable trouble free boat.