Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Opinions on Sea Ray 215
Hi,
I am about to purchase a Sea Ray 215 EC 1997 (I am in the UK) Here is an example: http://tinyurl.com/b2m2f I am interested to know if anyone has any experience with one of these and what you thought of it. Thanks zeebop |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
zeebop wrote in
: Hi, I am about to purchase a Sea Ray 215 EC 1997 (I am in the UK) Here is an example: http://tinyurl.com/b2m2f I am interested to know if anyone has any experience with one of these and what you thought of it. Thanks zeebop Piece of crap. See for yourself what's inside a Sea Ray boat: http://www.yachtsurvey.com/Fiberglass_Boats.htm It's made of "putty"??.... I had the jetboat. Light came through the hull. Seats mildewed because they were made of COTTON-BACKED plastic with cheap furniture foam by some furniture company in Tennesee. The side panel mildewed because the cotton- backed plastic was over a cotton pad all stapled to a piece of packing crate wood. It rotted out twice in 3 years. There was no way to get to the fuel tank INLET or INLET VENT because they were stuffed into the hull before the top was put on with no access hatch. You couldn't even check to see if the fuel tank inlet hoses had a clamp on them because you couldn't see it unless you tore the boat apart. The polyethelene (milk bottle plastic) tank was kept in place with two 1" long plastic angle brackets screwed into the stringer with one sheet metal screw. The two little brackets supported a 25 gallon gas tank! NOT! They were eating into the polyethelene, which is very soft, so I had to build some proper brackets to stop it. The Mercury Sport Jet, considered by CG as an inboard engine, has a 5/16" hose barb for the fuel hose. Sea Ray attached a 3/8" fuel hose because that's what the gas tank fitting had on it. They used two hose clamps to try to squeeze the hose over the smaller barb to keep it from leaking. Didn't work. The fuel hose from the tank to the engine, a 3/8" marine gas line, was supported and held to the engine compartment bulkhead with the same 3" diameter clamps used for the big inlet hose. This meant when the 3/8" hose fell off the 5/16" barb into the bilge, it pulled the hose through these huge clamps far enough the suction of the siphon effect overcame the anti-siphon valve, if it had one, and filled the enclosed up hull with about 6" of GASOLINE! The fumes were strong enough to roughly run the engine sucking its air supply from in the compartment. Why it didn't explode is simply a miracle. I won't admit to where I pumped 10 gallons of gasoline way up a river in the swamp. I was not amused. Sea Ray sent me a lifetime supply of 5/16" gas hose, proving they actually knew what 5/16" hose looked like. I still have a whole roll if you need it. I solved the problem with a proper fuel filter/water separator with 3/8" inlet and 5/16" outlet fittings the damned company should have used in the first place if they hadn't been so damned greedy. Sea Ray of Charleston, a bigshot marine dealer...... I didn't buy my boat from my local dealer because I bought it in Birmingham, Alabama for $3500 less money from a dealer there. OK, so I'm a bad boy getting it for wholesale from an overstocked dealer. I had the boat serviced a couple of times at the local dealer when someone noticed the dealer sticker from Dead Ahead Marine on the back of the boat. I was informed my Sea Ray boat was no longer welcome at my Sea Ray dealer for warranty service as the local dealer didn't sell this boat. I called Sea Ray and was told that was correct. The Sea Ray dealer didn't have to service my Sea Ray boat if he didn't sell it. Isn't that nice?! How supportive of the company.... Nope...no thanks. Sea Ray (or Brunswick's other boat companies) don't have to worry about selling me another boat. I'll pass. Just thought you should know..... England sure has some beautifully made boats. Why buy a piece of American made crap?? -- Larry You know you've had a rough night when you wake up and you're outlined in chalk. |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
"Larry W4CSC" wrote in message ... zeebop wrote in : Hi, I am about to purchase a Sea Ray 215 EC 1997 (I am in the UK) Here is an example: http://tinyurl.com/b2m2f I am interested to know if anyone has any experience with one of these and what you thought of it. Thanks zeebop Piece of crap. See for yourself what's inside a Sea Ray boat: http://www.yachtsurvey.com/Fiberglass_Boats.htm It's made of "putty"??.... I had the jetboat. Light came through the hull. Seats mildewed because they were made of COTTON-BACKED plastic with cheap furniture foam by some furniture company in Tennesee. The side panel mildewed because the cotton- backed plastic was over a cotton pad all stapled to a piece of packing crate wood. It rotted out twice in 3 years. There was no way to get to the fuel tank INLET or INLET VENT because they were stuffed into the hull before the top was put on with no access hatch. You couldn't even check to see if the fuel tank inlet hoses had a clamp on them because you couldn't see it unless you tore the boat apart. The polyethelene (milk bottle plastic) tank was kept in place with two 1" long plastic angle brackets screwed into the stringer with one sheet metal screw. The two little brackets supported a 25 gallon gas tank! NOT! They were eating into the polyethelene, which is very soft, so I had to build some proper brackets to stop it. The Mercury Sport Jet, considered by CG as an inboard engine, has a 5/16" hose barb for the fuel hose. Sea Ray attached a 3/8" fuel hose because that's what the gas tank fitting had on it. They used two hose clamps to try to squeeze the hose over the smaller barb to keep it from leaking. Didn't work. The fuel hose from the tank to the engine, a 3/8" marine gas line, was supported and held to the engine compartment bulkhead with the same 3" diameter clamps used for the big inlet hose. This meant when the 3/8" hose fell off the 5/16" barb into the bilge, it pulled the hose through these huge clamps far enough the suction of the siphon effect overcame the anti-siphon valve, if it had one, and filled the enclosed up hull with about 6" of GASOLINE! The fumes were strong enough to roughly run the engine sucking its air supply from in the compartment. Why it didn't explode is simply a miracle. I won't admit to where I pumped 10 gallons of gasoline way up a river in the swamp. I was not amused. Sea Ray sent me a lifetime supply of 5/16" gas hose, proving they actually knew what 5/16" hose looked like. I still have a whole roll if you need it. I solved the problem with a proper fuel filter/water separator with 3/8" inlet and 5/16" outlet fittings the damned company should have used in the first place if they hadn't been so damned greedy. Sea Ray of Charleston, a bigshot marine dealer...... I didn't buy my boat from my local dealer because I bought it in Birmingham, Alabama for $3500 less money from a dealer there. OK, so I'm a bad boy getting it for wholesale from an overstocked dealer. I had the boat serviced a couple of times at the local dealer when someone noticed the dealer sticker from Dead Ahead Marine on the back of the boat. I was informed my Sea Ray boat was no longer welcome at my Sea Ray dealer for warranty service as the local dealer didn't sell this boat. I called Sea Ray and was told that was correct. The Sea Ray dealer didn't have to service my Sea Ray boat if he didn't sell it. Isn't that nice?! How supportive of the company.... Nope...no thanks. Sea Ray (or Brunswick's other boat companies) don't have to worry about selling me another boat. I'll pass. Just thought you should know..... England sure has some beautifully made boats. Why buy a piece of American made crap?? -- Larry You know you've had a rough night when you wake up and you're outlined in chalk. SeaRay? Are we talking abot the same SeaRay? My dad has had two SeaRays. A 19.5 enclosed front and 24 ft enclosed front with fly bridge. Both are built like tanks. Incredible seaworthiness. Handled 6-10 ft (2-3 meter) short period waves on Lake Powell with no flex, and no water over the bow on more than one occassion. Never had any problems with the hulls. Both are older boats, with I/Os. One is power by a V-8 Ford 302 and the other is power by twin 4 cylinder Chevrolets. We have had to do engine maintenance on them, and the carb on the Ford needs to be dissassembled and reassembled every other year for cleaning, but the boats are rock solid. You are talking about the SeaRays made in Phoenix, Az aren't you? -- Bob La Londe http://www.YumaBassMan.com |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Bob,
SeaRay was bought by Brunswick around 1989. They make a good bowling ball I'm told. :-) Paul Bob La Londe wrote: "Larry W4CSC" wrote in message ... zeebop wrote in m: Hi, I am about to purchase a Sea Ray 215 EC 1997 (I am in the UK) Here is an example: http://tinyurl.com/b2m2f I am interested to know if anyone has any experience with one of these and what you thought of it. Thanks zeebop Piece of crap. See for yourself what's inside a Sea Ray boat: http://www.yachtsurvey.com/Fiberglass_Boats.htm It's made of "putty"??.... I had the jetboat. Light came through the hull. Seats mildewed because they were made of COTTON-BACKED plastic with cheap furniture foam by some furniture company in Tennesee. The side panel mildewed because the cotton- backed plastic was over a cotton pad all stapled to a piece of packing crate wood. It rotted out twice in 3 years. There was no way to get to the fuel tank INLET or INLET VENT because they were stuffed into the hull before the top was put on with no access hatch. You couldn't even check to see if the fuel tank inlet hoses had a clamp on them because you couldn't see it unless you tore the boat apart. The polyethelene (milk bottle plastic) tank was kept in place with two 1" long plastic angle brackets screwed into the stringer with one sheet metal screw. The two little brackets supported a 25 gallon gas tank! NOT! They were eating into the polyethelene, which is very soft, so I had to build some proper brackets to stop it. The Mercury Sport Jet, considered by CG as an inboard engine, has a 5/16" hose barb for the fuel hose. Sea Ray attached a 3/8" fuel hose because that's what the gas tank fitting had on it. They used two hose clamps to try to squeeze the hose over the smaller barb to keep it from leaking. Didn't work. The fuel hose from the tank to the engine, a 3/8" marine gas line, was supported and held to the engine compartment bulkhead with the same 3" diameter clamps used for the big inlet hose. This meant when the 3/8" hose fell off the 5/16" barb into the bilge, it pulled the hose through these huge clamps far enough the suction of the siphon effect overcame the anti-siphon valve, if it had one, and filled the enclosed up hull with about 6" of GASOLINE! The fumes were strong enough to roughly run the engine sucking its air supply from in the compartment. Why it didn't explode is simply a miracle. I won't admit to where I pumped 10 gallons of gasoline way up a river in the swamp. I was not amused. Sea Ray sent me a lifetime supply of 5/16" gas hose, proving they actually knew what 5/16" hose looked like. I still have a whole roll if you need it. I solved the problem with a proper fuel filter/water separator with 3/8" inlet and 5/16" outlet fittings the damned company should have used in the first place if they hadn't been so damned greedy. Sea Ray of Charleston, a bigshot marine dealer...... I didn't buy my boat from my local dealer because I bought it in Birmingham, Alabama for $3500 less money from a dealer there. OK, so I'm a bad boy getting it for wholesale from an overstocked dealer. I had the boat serviced a couple of times at the local dealer when someone noticed the dealer sticker from Dead Ahead Marine on the back of the boat. I was informed my Sea Ray boat was no longer welcome at my Sea Ray dealer for warranty service as the local dealer didn't sell this boat. I called Sea Ray and was told that was correct. The Sea Ray dealer didn't have to service my Sea Ray boat if he didn't sell it. Isn't that nice?! How supportive of the company.... Nope...no thanks. Sea Ray (or Brunswick's other boat companies) don't have to worry about selling me another boat. I'll pass. Just thought you should know..... England sure has some beautifully made boats. Why buy a piece of American made crap?? -- Larry You know you've had a rough night when you wake up and you're outlined in chalk. SeaRay? Are we talking abot the same SeaRay? My dad has had two SeaRays. A 19.5 enclosed front and 24 ft enclosed front with fly bridge. Both are built like tanks. Incredible seaworthiness. Handled 6-10 ft (2-3 meter) short period waves on Lake Powell with no flex, and no water over the bow on more than one occassion. Never had any problems with the hulls. Both are older boats, with I/Os. One is power by a V-8 Ford 302 and the other is power by twin 4 cylinder Chevrolets. We have had to do engine maintenance on them, and the carb on the Ford needs to be dissassembled and reassembled every other year for cleaning, but the boats are rock solid. You are talking about the SeaRays made in Phoenix, Az aren't you? |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
Larry W4SC wrote:
Piece of crap. See for yourself what's inside a Sea Ray boat: http://www.yachtsurvey.com/Fib=ADerglass_Boats.htm It's made of "putty"??.... *************************** If you're going to slam a brand, please try to use information that is up to date. That chunk of Sea Ray hull is probably at least 15 years old, and does not represent the way the boats are currently built. Using that as an example is like telling people to stay away from Ford Motor Company vehicles because the Pinto isn't much of a car. Here's a factual look at the modern manufacturing process used by Sea Ray, rather than one basher quoting another and using a 15-year old hull as evidence. http://www.netcomposites.com/downloads/RTMaut04.pdf Are you going to disclose to the group that your "Sea Ray boat" was a glorified jet ski, offered for only a year or two, (and quite possibly built by some outside company and rebadged as a Sea Ray), or not? While you're at it, are you willing to admit that the shocking photo on David Pascoe's site actually represents a failed repair, and not OEM construction? Every time somebody brings up that David Pascoe link to slam Sea Ray, they fail to point out that there are hull chunks from a wide variety of very "high end" boats. Very few runabout boats are built with a cored hull these days. Larger cruisers often use Divynicell or other cores (hardly putty) but normally only above the waterline. |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Bob,
SeaRay was bought by Brunswick around 1989. They make a good bowling ball I'm told. :-) Paul ********* .........as well as some highly respected boating trademarks. Examples like Hatteras and Boston Whaler come quickly to mind. |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
"Bob La Londe" wrote in
: older boats Before Brunswick bought the company and turned them into Bayliners.... -- Larry You know you've had a rough night when you wake up and you're outlined in chalk. |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
|
#9
|
|||
|
|||
"Larry W4CSC" wrote in message ... wrote in oups.com: While you're at it, are you willing to admit that the shocking photo on David Pascoe's site actually represents a failed repair, and not OEM construction? Notice how that website is STILL, after all these years, ONLINE? If it were false, Brunswick's lawyer clan would be on David Pascoe so fast his hat would have sailed off. They haven't and it's STILL ONLINE! Being in denial the Sea Ray name isn't the Sea Ray of old isn't going to change the slipshod workmanship and lousy, cheap designs. Yacht standards, my ass. Sue me. -- Larry You know you've had a rough night when you wake up and you're outlined in chalk. Chuck just did a fluff review of a SeaRay and found absolutely no problems with it. His final impression was that you need one to "look good and go fast", or something to that effect. He has to defend them.......SeaRay paid him to do so. |
Reply |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
sailing sim; need opinions | General | |||
Orion 27 Opinions? | Cruising | |||
Opinions on P&H Orca??? | Touring | |||
GPS/Sounder; Garmin or Lowrance - Opinions? | Electronics | |||
sailing sim; need opinions | ASA |