I am considering buying one of three available 36' Sea Ray boats; a
1980 sedan, a 1982 aft cabin, and a 1984 aft cabin. Any thoughts on
problems to look for before purchase (surveys are a given)? What is
the overall quality of this vintage of Sea Rays?

Thanks,

On 1 Mar 2005 17:19:19 -0800, wrote:

What is
the overall quality of this vintage of Sea Rays?

=====================================

No better than fair to average in my opinion. Only boats that were
exceedingly well made and/or exceedingly well cared for will make it
to 20 years old without some significant and expensive problems, and
that is true for even the best made boats.

If I were looking for a SeaRay I'd stick to boats less than 5 to 8
years old, and get a really thorough survey.

On 1 Mar 2005 17:19:19 -0800, wrote:

I am considering buying one of three available 36' Sea Ray boats; a
1980 sedan, a 1982 aft cabin, and a 1984 aft cabin. Any thoughts on
problems to look for before purchase (surveys are a given)? What is
the overall quality of this vintage of Sea Rays?

Thanks,


I have an '86 Weekender 300, which was evidently the last year that
Sea Ray made boats before Brunswick bought the company. My boat is
beautifully constructed, and I have absolutely no stress or spider
cracking anywhere on the boat.

My hull is 100% fiberglass, and while not the thickness of a Hatteras,
it's solid and doesn't flex or shudder. I just put the boat in the
water today after stripping the bottom to the gelcoat for a bottom
job, and I found not a single blister. Sea Ray evidently used some
very high quality resins and gelcoat, because my hull still shines
like a new boat. It's complimented quite frequently due to its
condition, but of course I keep on top of things.

The decks are cored, so look for soft spots, particularly on the
bridge where anything is screwed down. Also check around the windows
for leaks. My stringer system is rock solid, and seems to be
enscapsulated properly, but they of course can be an area of concern
if folks drilled holes without properly sealing them.

My fuel tanks are properly placed to avoid rusting through the bottom,
and there are other signs of higher than average quality. The only
issue my survey turned up was a lack of a fuel shut-off valve,
otherwise everything was structurally sound.

You can usually tell if someone is on top of their boat by the
condition of the bilge. That's where the true boater is set apart in
my opinion!! 8)

On 1 Mar 2005 17:19:19 -0800, wrote:

I am considering buying one of three available 36' Sea Ray boats; a
1980 sedan, a 1982 aft cabin, and a 1984 aft cabin.

Very good quality boats. And Im not just saying that, because I was on
the board of directors in the mid '80s.

I have a 1999 express cruiser. Good boat but I just had it surveyed for my insurance company. The surveyor said I had water around the forward hatch, the railing attach points and the thwart on both sides. When you do a survey make sure you do a thorough moisture check.. I am disappointed in Sea Ray because of this problem. Evidently the core is balsa wood and sucks up moisture.
Jack