1987 Sea Ray Sorrento 24 project

K

kamlooper2

New Member
Aug 6, 2010
7
Hancock
Boat Info
1987 Sorrento 24
Engines
350 Mercruiser w/Alpha I Drive
I purchased this sea ray 3 years ago; I absolutely love this boat. Unfortunately last winter the roof failed in the building it was stored in and the boat ended up flooded out. I was lucky that none of the structure was ruined, and remained dry. Since then, I have rebuilt the engine adding in a few extra horsepower (the boat tops out at 54 mph on the gps with 2 people and half a tank of gas) outdrive, and I am working on reupholstering the interior and exterior of the boat. Pictures will come in the near future. Anyone have any advice from experience in working on these boats, particularly in redoing the cuddy cabin or side panels?

Pictures soon to come of the project.
 
I owned one of these for 5 years. I'm not quite sure I understand what you are asking. Could you be a bit more specific?

Shawn
 
Now that I visited the boat today I can! I am in the process of reupholstering the entire boat (quite an experience because I've never touched a sewing machine in my life up until now, but fun none the less!) I managed to get the port side panel off of the boat without too much hassle, but looking at the starboard side it looks like I might have to take the dash off to remove it. Have you managed to take that panel off without the hassle of removing the dash?

In the cabin, I need to strip everything out of there and replace it due to the flooding. I haven't looked too closely at the headliner yet, but I imagine it is just glued in there. I did notice that I have a board with different fabric running along the sides above the windows that don't have obvious fixture to the boat. Are they just glued in there, or am I missing something? I can try to find a picture of the cabin to point out the pieces that I am talking about if that would help... Any help would be appreciated!
 
Its been a few years and a few boats since I owned the Sorrento. It was in OK shape and my wife and I did a lot of work to her. I had to go back and look at some old pics to refresh my memory regarding some of your questions.

I believe you are correct about removing the dash to get the STBD side panel off. Mine were in pretty good shape so I never had to remove them but if I recall the shift/throttle control (recessed) was the main thing that kept it from coming off.

The overhead is glued on and should just pull off with some effort. The real hassle is getting the glue all of before applying the new material. I do recall the shelf that goes around. It is held on by screws that are under the carpet and in between the folds/creases in that upholstery panel. Below are several old pics of what we did to ours if it is any help.









The faucet in the little sink was one that would fold down so I could put the lid on. The lid was a cutting board I cut down and shaped to fit and added a finger hole. I also remember removing all of the teak on the boat and refinishing it. We also cut new foam re-covered all of the cushions in the cuddy.

I'm not sure how flooded your boat was but there is something that gets overlooked when recovering a sunken or flooded boat and that is the wiring. All of that wiring that was soaked will wick moisture back into the wire from the crimped connections. Even if they were dried out the corrosion has begun. It could take several years for those connections to fail but it will most likely happen at some point. I know this is a big job but if you haven't already, you should cut off every connection back a couple of inches and crimp, or solder, on new ones. This advice came to me from a surveyor/marine repair shop. I was looking at a 400db that sunk at the dock and was submerged for about a week. It was back to running condition but my surveyor urged me to run just due to the wiring issue.

Looking forward to some pics of your boat and I hope this info has helped.

Shawn
 
Thanks for the info! The next time I visit my boat (2-3 weeks) I will have a better sense of what to do. In the meantime, I will try to get some more pictures up of the pieces I brought home as I redo them. Your old Sorrento looks pretty amazing in those pictures. Hopefully mine will turn out somewhere near as nice when all is said and done.
 
Looks fabulous. I have the same boat. I got it this past July 2020. My cockpit latch is broken. Do you know where I can get the same fixture. It’s so tiny. And can I ask, do you have a salt water wash down. I’m using a portable one so I can clean the boat after i go fishing. Lastly, the water from the ice box and faucet are draining in no in the front part of the boat. I’m using a bulge pump to drain it. I can’t imagine it was engineered that way.Is there a pump that evacuates the water as it goes down the plumbing and not settle in that forward area?
 
It’s not doing that unfortunately. I checked the the drain goes directly to the front Part of the bot where the front bilge pump is located. If you have a searay like mine, can you take a pic so I can see in there. Or would u like to see mine. I can take a pic
 
Frank, my boat is in florida and i live in new jersey. Take a pic for me. I dont have a pump in the front
 
I had an 86 and sink drained through hull. I now have an 88 and it drains into forward bilge. I was surprised by this also but maybe the thinking was one less hole in the hull.
 
I have the 1988 s240. Can any of you please measure the floor for me. The boats in florida and when o go back want to get rid of the carpet and go with the stick down foam style flooring. Just need width and length so i can order. Thanks
 
Boat is docked at the lake. I will do it Saturday. Do you want measurement of what the original carpet covers or up the foot rest to wall. I think I also have different seating than you with sunpad at back and bench seat. I will measure all the way back.
 
I just need length. From the bench seat to the foot rest, and gunnel to gunnel. Stuff only comes so long and wide and not sure how much i need. Thats. Huge help
 
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