I'm looking at buying a 1985 Sea Ray 260 Weekender. It seems to run
fine, however it has the original 260 HP Mercruiser engine. I've been
told that because it has been in salt water its entire existence, and
it is now 20 years old, I should assume that I will need to replace
the engine within a couple of years (manifolds and risers have been
recently replaced).

The boat is in great shape, includes a trailer, and is selling for
under $10k. At that price, it appears to be a great deal, but I
suppose I have to add in the price of an engine replacement to get a
truer picture.

I'm curious what anyone's take is on the life of a salt-water cooled
engine, and what the average cost to replace it might be.

Any input would be appreciated.

On 18 Oct 2004 20:57:41 -0700, wrote:
I'm looking at buying a 1985 Sea Ray 260 Weekender. It seems to run
fine, however it has the original 260 HP Mercruiser engine. I've been
told that because it has been in salt water its entire existence, and
it is now 20 years old, I should assume that I will need to replace
the engine within a couple of years (manifolds and risers have been
recently replaced).

The boat is in great shape, includes a trailer, and is selling for
under $10k. At that price, it appears to be a great deal, but I
suppose I have to add in the price of an engine replacement to get a
truer picture.

I'm curious what anyone's take is on the life of a salt-water cooled
engine, and what the average cost to replace it might be.
================================================== ===

Good question. I have a 1978 I/O cuddy with the same engine which is
still going strong although it requires regular maintenance and
replacement of key items. The biggest expense I've had so far was new
cylinder heads this year since they had rusted to the point where the
head gasket would no longer seat properly. In retrospect it probably
would have been a better investment to have gone with a rebuilt
engine. Repowering with a rebuilt would have been in the $4,000 to
$6,000 range including labor; new would have been well over $10K
depending on model. The problem you face is that the total value of
the boat is not that high so it doesn't make a lot of sense to put a
big investment into a new engine unless you really love the boat, it
has no other major issues (stringers, transom, floors), and you expect
to keep it awhile.