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Rebuild of 1990 Sea Ray 230 cuddy

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ukcarnut44

Member
"Over the next 12 months I int

"Over the next 12 months I intend to completely rebuild a newly acquired 1990 Sea Ray 230 Cuddy. The boat was taken apart by its previous owner intending to do what I am going to do. He got impatient and purchase a 220 Sea Ray cruiser instead. I intend to return it to as close to original as possible with the exception, wait for it, I will be installing a completely rebuilt King Cobra 460 Engine Sterndrive unit. I know I am going to get howls from all you Mercruiser fans out there, but before you do I must warn you I have had 17 years of almost trouble free boating out of the Cobra I intend to install and it comes at the right price, free. I will be happy to share any of my dilemas and problems for those who are less fortunate than I with the facilities I have. Nevertheless watch this space for the ongoing sarga. Pictures to follow."
 
"Go Bill!!!<[img]"http://www.m

"Go Bill!!!
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"
 
"Ayuh,....

That makes Alot

"Ayuh,....

That makes Alot of sense to go thru All that Work,...
Just to install a driveline that you Can't buy Parts for,........"
 
"Thanks for your insight Bondo

"Thanks for your insight Bondo. What makes sense to one person may not make sense to another. I do not want walk in anybody elses shoes. Parts are not as difficult to obtain as you suggest, and if not available they can be made. The only reason I am posting this is to help those people with less resources than I have. To solve some of the problems they have faced with the demise of OMC and the product bashing that goes on. I am not rooky boater, I have over 45 years of mechanical experience with large and small boats and industrial equipment, I say this not out of ego but as a reference. I will be posting information references and suppliers as I go for information only. If there is anybody out there who has a suggestion I would welcome their positive insight. Thanks"
 
"You Go Bill! I have become

"You Go Bill! I have become very fond of this site because I don't have to put up with all the OMC bashing. Fact is, most people posting here are OMC owners who are doing our best to maintain our equipment. We don't need to hear all the negativity.
I am looking forward to updates on your project!
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"
 
"The remanufactured 460 arrive

"The remanufactured 460 arrived from Carolina Machine Engines ([email protected]) today, $1921 later it is a completely remanufactured unit. The original had a cracked block and destroyed crank. Not a problem for CME, the whole thing was completely returned to manufacturers specs, picked up and shipped back for this price. Includes a full gasket kit and timing chain. Watch for pictures next."
 
"I love Carolina Machine Engin

"I love Carolina Machine Engine. They are super folks. They rebuilt my OMC 3 Liter. Runs great and for $1,500. Can't beat them."
 
"[b]"Parts are not as diff

""Parts are not as difficult to obtain as you suggest, and if not available they can be made."

Ayuh,....

Where are you going to Find a set of exhaust Manifolds,..??..??

Good Luck,+ Have Fun...."
 
"I don't know why I am asn

"I don't know why I am asnswerring this but just to make things clear Bondo my King Cobra is complete. It is being transfered from a 1988 Stratus Cuddy I have owned since 1991. The boat is completely overpowered with this engine, the plan is to take the 350 Mercruiser out of the 23-0 Sea Ray rebuild ir and istall it in the Stratus. A much more sensible and saleable power plant. I will replace the Meruiser which needs a complete rebuild of the engine and stern drive with my 460 OMC unit. All the measurements I have taken tell me that short of a 1/4" SS transom plate to correct some minor Bolt misalignment this is a straight forward swap. I will post pictures of the rebuilt 460 this weekend. CME did a wonderful job, thankyou."
 
"Sorry no pictures yet. The 46

"Sorry no pictures yet. The 460 ran flawlessly over the weekend. Currently the OMC is installed in the Stratus not the Sea Ray. We had some issues getting oil pressure at first but after "READING THE MANUAL" and spinning the oil pump with a drill everything was fine. The motor and drive now have that characteristic OMC whine again at mid range RPM. Carolina Machine engines did a great job. We ran the motor at 2,800-3,000 rpm for about 5 hours and now plan an oil change this week. With the prop we have, 3,000 rpm represents about 40 mph. We have a couple of minor water leaks and a power steering oil leak. We will fix those this week. I promise pictures this week both of the Cobra and the Sea Ray in pieces. This is the first step in this engine swap process to fine tune the Cobra after the engine rebuild. This summer will be spent breaking in the motor and tuning. This fall we will make the swap to the Sea Ray after rebuilding the hull."
 
"Thanks for the update Bill <[

"Thanks for the update Bill
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....sounds good but of course a picture is worth a thousand words!
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"
 
"I know Bob, I promise picture

"I know Bob, I promise pictures before the end of the week, at least of the engine and its install in the Stratus and of the Sea Ray in its virgin state.
The Sea Ray is a major rebuild including painting the hull and replacing some of the upholstery. I intend to have CME rebuild the engine and ITG supply the new stern drive. If anybody has any suggestions or a better idea.
I would welcome advice on painting the hull of the Sea Ray. I will also need decals, any ideas?"
 
"I reupholstered my '85 Cu

"I reupholstered my '85 Cuddy 23 footer.
Was not that big a deal, but I did have to replace some o the plywood sections. I recommend using marine plywood and even though its durable, next time I would prime it and paint with epoxy 2 part industrial paint, either Pittsburg or Sherwin-Williams.
Also, be sure to only use stainless steel staples.
As for other painting, the epoxy paint will do the trick. Both companies will custom mix virtually any color and the paint is nearly indestructable.
Bob Nisbet
Technology Protection Engineer
Supporting Army Aviation"
 
"Bob how did you apply the pai

"Bob how did you apply the paint too the hull, I am getting conflicting opinions as to spray or roll the paint. I also talked with a West Marine tech today who suggested not painting but using chemicals to reconstitute the finish of the existing gel coat. His comment was that the color oxidation and degredation can be reversed with modern chemicals."
 
"I wouldn't paint the gel

"I wouldn't paint the gel coat, especially below water line. Paint just doesn't have the durability of gel coat. As long as it's a solid color gel coat (no metal flake) it's normally pretty easy to restore. Light oxidation should buff out with a good polishing compound. If it's more severe I recommend wet sanding then buffing. My boat had serious oxidation when I got it. I started out with a 600 grit, then 1000, 1500, and finally 2000 grit. Keep a bucket of clean water handy to keep the paper flushed. Sand in stages. When you're done with the 2000 grit it will shine like new. Just takes lots of elbow grease.
Here's some pics.

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"
 
"Chuck, thanks for the insight

"Chuck, thanks for the insight you have set my mind at rest. The finish on your boat looks awesome, I'll post some of mine when done. Do you have any thoughts on anti fowl removal."
 
"Here goes with the pictures.

"Here goes with the pictures. The fisrt 2 are of the 460 Cobra and existing outdrive, installed and running in the Status 2000XLS.

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The engine picture is a little dark, I,ll try with more light later. The rest are of the current state of the Sea Ray and 350 and ALpha 1 outdrive. As you will see the sea ray has seen better days. My biggest issue though is with the Anti-foul, who ever did it did a very sloppy job.

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THe boat is complete but requires a lot of elbow grease. Apart from cleaning and elbow grease the hull is in good shape. The OMC motor and out drive are running flawlessly. Any suggestions on the anti-foul would be greatly appreciated."
 
"I'll try and organize the

"I'll try and organize the picture better.
OMC 460 Motor
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OMC outdrive
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Sea Ray Mercruiser 350 Chevy siezed
193393.jpg

Alpha 1 outdrive lots of barnacles
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Sea Ray on Shorelander trailer waiting for chocks
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Current state of the cockpit
193396.jpg

Bow rails and other associated parts
193397.jpg

Anti-foul condition as is need help here
I have more pictures but wanted to post a few just for information.
Anti-foul is the biggest concern at this point.
193398.jpg
"
 
"Need some assistance from you

"Need some assistance from you experts, I have run into an issue with the exhausts on the Sea Ray. On my Stratus as the pictures show they come out the transom in nice neat fiberglass outlets built into the hull. This configuration is not possible on the Sea Ray, steering gear etc gets in the way.
I am toying with the idea of going out the Port and Starboard sides of the hull. The exhaust will have diverters for through prop exhaust or straight out the transom. I have seen some boats with side exhausts but cannot find any OEM or aftermarket parts.
Anybody any ideas, I don't want to fabricate the outlets but will if I cannot find them any where else. Anybody any ideas.
Just an update on the 460 King Cobra the 460 is running great since the rebuild by the guys at North Carolina Machine, it really sings I will recommend them to anybody they were very helpful and on time.
Next week I will post some info on an amazing product for refurbishing fiberglass. We did a section of the topsides of the Sea Ray to see how it worked. the results are amazing it looked like new, results next week."
 
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