New to sport boats - Buying 2012 185 sport

Zach312

Zach312

Active Member
SILVER Sponsor
Jan 23, 2011
826
Nashville, TN
Boat Info
2008 Sea Ray 47 Sedan Bridge
Engines
Cummins QSC-600
Getting back into the runabout game again and frankly its been 14 years since I have owned one.

Have an offer in on a 2012 185 sport.

What are the watch outs on this model. It has the 220 hp engine. What are service intervals on the engine and drive?

Boat appears very clean, 297 hours, fresh water, kept undercover out of the water. Sea deck added a year ago and updated sound system.

Thoughts on hours for the age? Deferred maintenance to watch out for?
 
Congratulations. That's a great boat. Not much to go wrong. Just start with a fresh oil change, lower unit oil, and water pump so you have a baseline to work from. Then new impeller every three years unless you are in particularly sandy/dirty water. The hours seem ok. I have a 2009 with just over 300 hours but it didn't see water for the first 2 years of its life. That works out to be just about the same. Enjoy.
 
The hours, themselves, are virtually insignificant - although generally speaking that would be on the low side. But it's more about maintenance history and upkeep.

Service is once a year or 100 hours.

220HP on that particular boat... MORE than enough! :)
 
If you can get service records. The guy that I got my boat from was the second owner for 1 year. But the original owner kept records of everything. Even if he cleaned the windows or washed the boat. Every oil change every fresh water flush with salt away. Very good records
 
any watch outs on service of the drive. I have heard gimble bearings and bellows?

Thanks for the quick replies looking forward to seeing how we enjoy having a small boat to add to the fun for the summer
 
Any guidance on how to check them out?

What max RPM should this boat/engine combo turn?
 
Zach312 said:
Any guidance on how to check them out?

What max RPM should this boat/engine combo turn?
Click to expand...
It takes a trained eye, so maybe paying a mechanic is the cost effective choice.

3.0's had different specs at different times. Find out the year and SN and look on the Mercury Marine Web site. I could tell you what my 3.0 was, but it might be the wrong answer.
 
I had an 06' 185 Sport for a few years. It was a great boat/engine package, but check that the timing chain cover is not leaking.... It's made out of plastic and is known to crack over time on that engine.
Mine started to leak due to a crack and there is no room to drop the pan and replace the cover, so I had to pull the engine to replace the cover! The replacement cover wasn't expensive, but if you can't do it yourself I would imagine the labor a marina would charge to perform the work would be costly.
 
Zach312 said:
Any guidance on how to check them out?

What max RPM should this boat/engine combo turn?
Click to expand...
I think, as noted above, it's one of those things were "if you have to ask, you should seek professional help". Afterall, you want a TRAINED opinion. In this case, you could have a mechanical survey done by a local shop. YOU pay for this - not the seller. That's the smarter thing.

But very quickly... the bellows are rubber - so look for the difference between good and bad rubber. Gimbals start to growl when they go bad.

You have a 4.3L V6 MPI... 4,800.
 
Lazy Daze said:
I think, as noted above, it's one of those things were "if you have to ask, you should seek professional help". Afterall, you want a TRAINED opinion. In this case, you could have a mechanical survey done by a local shop. YOU pay for this - not the seller. That's the smarter thing.

But very quickly... the bellows are rubber - so look for the difference between good and bad rubber. Gimbals start to growl when they go bad.

You have a 4.3L V6 MPI... 4,800.
Click to expand...

Thanks, very helpful. Open to getting a mechanical inspection. Need to go see the boat and close on it or move on Friday. Its in the Lake Lanier, GA area. Asking all the questions as I know enough to be dangerous. Haven't been in the small boat market in a long time.
 
Zach312 said:
Thanks, very helpful. Open to getting a mechanical inspection. Need to go see the boat and close on it or move on Friday. Its in the Lake Lanier, GA area. Asking all the questions as I know enough to be dangerous. Haven't been in the small boat market in a long time.
Click to expand...
In the end, they're all basically the same. A boat like this is a whole lot simpler than what you're used to. A WHOLE LOT. It should only take a few hours to get a solid mechanical survey. If it sucks, bangs, blows and doesn't complain... you're good.

Some of you might think that last sentence is a bit crass... but it's actually science :)
 
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