Post by secretchimp on May 30, 2015 1:35:47 GMT -6
I recently purchased a 1998 Sea Pro 210cc with a 150 HP Mercury Offshore with tandem wheel McClain trailer for $6600 here in Houston, TX.
The guy I bought from said it had been garaged kept, one owner boat, all original with everything working and at first glance and hearing the motor run, as I felt the boat was worth the price....man...was I wrong...I know a bunch of You out there will love to hear this story, as it unfolds, so hang on for this one, You may never buy a used boat again!
I brought the boat home and parked it on a slab behind my home, which is perfect to prepare it for sea worthiness...and since I have not owned a boat since 2000, as I was ready for some good fishing...bay and offshore...You know...The Fun Stuff!
I made the mistake of taking the boat without the proper title transfer papers signed by the guy who sold it to me, who told me everything was alright and the title's would be all that I needed to transfer the boat, motor and trailer....Wrong!.....I spent three weeks calling and chasing him down until finally I contacted the original owner of the boat, who had just got out of the hospital from a major heart attack, but agreed to sign all of the title transfer papers and give me a history of the boat, which he did...Charles, the original owner, bought the boat off the showroom floor at "The 1998 Houston Boat Show" from Louis DelHomme Marine. He told me that he wished he had bought a 200-225 HP motor instead of the 150 Mercury, as it really didn't plane out as fast as he liked, but that he rarely used the boat and really didn't put that many hours on the boat or motor when he owned it....he sold the boat to a woman who worked for him, as she wanted the boat ever since he bought it, so he finally relented after owning it for 12 years and he did not fish anymore....well I ask him if the motor had any problems, as I noticed that the lower unit and Mercury motor were in almost new condition and he told me that he let his son-in-law borrow the boat and the son-in-law tore the lower unit up and it had to completely be replaced with a new lower unit...his other son-in-law borrowed one of his other boats and it burned up while in storage and because of it being his wife's daughter's husband...well he never was reimbursed for a complete loss and it was not offered to him either...well let's move on to what the lady did for the boat in the meantime...she took it out 2-3 times and then parked it outside down by Matagorda Bay for 5 years without any cover and although the boat had been cleaned up dramatically by the scalper who bought it for $3000 from her and had never had the title transfered that is how I stumbled on to the original owner after realizing that the "Scalper" got me too.....His character was more than questionable, as he promised to give the fuel gauge and battery gauge that had been damaged by his kids supposedly and I don't believe that either, as now "WE' can move on to the "Real Problems" within this boat....I've had quite a few boats during my time here on earth, being mechanically inclined and cheap too...I have worked on those boats and have a good understanding of the majority of mechanical and electrical challenges faced by keeping those boats running, but when You get older...I mean I'm in my early 60's with bad knees, lockjaw and just really wanted to fix a few loose connections and add a few features to this otherwise clean speciman of fishing allureness and FISH!....But NO!...Life always gives You one more ridiculous challenge after another, if You are stupid enough to feel good about buying an older boat and trick it out, as You would like...Well..I'm the one who got tricked, so I'm the one who has to either give up or fix everything that I found wrong on this Sea Pro 210cc.
Here is what I found:
1. oil injection disabled and missing on the motor, pulled oil injection tanks out and removed all remnants of mercury's failed attempt at oil injection.
2. internal fuel filter on the 150 Merc was stopped up and replaced with a new clear glass filter, so I can see the fuel and the trash in it..sheese
3. the thermostats had to be pulled and replaced and then water leaks fixed by sanding down the thermostat sealing surfaces and adding high temp silicone and went ahead and cleaned the total inside of the engine with clorox cleaner using different screw drivers and paper towels to get every leaf, speck of grease and gumbed up dirt out of the engine.
4. replaced the the fuel line to the motor and hand pump assembly adding a water separating fuel filter system for obvious reasons
5. pulled lower unit and installed new complete water pump assembly as it was toast from sitting up so long or whatever
6. pulled spark plugs and cleaned them and were NGK plugs...seemed to be in good shape, but will probably change them, if I ever get out on the water....man....The Merc really runs strong and starts on the second choking and turn over, but needed the above work just to get in the ball park of making me feel secure about the aspects of this propulsion system...nice stainless prop..looks like it has never seen the water..probably hasn't with all the other things that I found inside the Sea Pro 210cc ...
and here "They are:
1. Main Control panel in operable with all 7 breakers rusted and inoperable...I replaced everyone of them with "Blue Sea Systems" circuit breakers
2. pulled Optima main (Only) battery (Really) mounted in the rear bilge area and found it not able to take a charge, as I wondered why the "Scalper" had a commercial battery charger in the boat when I showed up and had it on engine start most of the time!
3. pulled wash down pump to clean and found the motor seized up from salt water in the bilge...replaced with new "ShurFlo Washdown Pump"
4. checked "Bait Pump"...runs, but won't know if it works until I get it in the water, if I ever do....
5. pulled rear interior lights to replace the bulbs and the whole inner plastic assemblies disintegrated in my hands with the wires falling back into the inner boat and had to be fished out with a 3 foot "Grabber Tool" that I finally got to use after 15 years...go figure! Replaced interior lights and added another one in front of the center console above the back rest and icebox seat that is being completely recovered and hinges replaced. I'm using all LED lights with new interior transom fixtures and they light the whole boat inside with just 3 lights...Thank You LED!
6. front running light glass broke and replaced with LED bow light
7. stern light lens missing and replaced lens with new and You got it... another LED light for the stern light!
8. horn defective and horn switch defective....replaced with new horn switch and new upgraded horn.
9. kill switch defective and without lanyard...replaced kill switch with new lanyard, but thought about just going on out without the kill switch and nail the Merc hoping for sure suicide...man....what else could be wrong...plenty...keep reading....if Your not
Your arse off at my expense...plenty of expense too then maybe there are some redeeming factors here....well maybe.....Nah! there's not!
10. Hummingbird depth finder "hummed it's last tune a long time ago, so replaced with new Ray Marine DragonFly 7 with MSD/NAV+NI Card and mounted transducer...that was fun....did You know that Sea Pro has a plastic conduit from the right rear bilge to underneath the center console where all wiring, cabling...You name it, if it's electrical it's in that 4 inch conduit except for the bow and stern lights!
11. designed a new 4 battery system for this boat with batteries mounted underneath console with new double battery trays, twin "Blue Sea Systems" 4 way battery switches mounted inside the glove box behind the smoke glass door that cannot be opened, if a beer is sitting in the 2 beverage holders, with output to 100 amp "Blue Seas Main Breaker" running 2 gauge welding wire to new terminal waterproof lugs mounted on right side of beneath floor bilge to connect the main motor connections, which were cutoff because they were corroded with barnacles and "ONE" bit me.... new copper terminals installed and mounted. I use to go out with just 2 batteries and a Perko 4 way switch, but with this boat...I made an exception based on what I'd found wrong so far...maybe I'm paranoid... not really...just very careful....
12. mounted new "Standard Horizon GX1700" VHF radio with GPS and mounted 8ft antenna, so the Coast Guard or Sea Tow can pull me back home!
13. flushed out all stopped up hull drains, especially the bow anchor drain, which was plugged with sand mud from long ago...there are 2 mid deck drains on this boat also that You can't see, so I filled them full of water from the outside to see where the water came out and, if You get any major water in the side boat rod holders, as I guess the water will escape through this unknown drainage system....since Sea Pro has such an extensive research library setup for this boat's mechanical and electrical features then "Why am I doing all of this Investigative Repair?" I'm Frikkin Stupid and Desperate!
By the way....the wiring diagram that was posted as a generality for Sea Pro Boats is wrong for this boat and probably ever other Sea Pro 210cc , but I will give You the setup of this Control Panel, so that some of You might not have to go through what I did figuring out what all the 2 way and single throw switches and breakers go too...
Starting from the left of the console at circuit breaker #1 is the horn switch, which is a momentary switch
#2 circuit breaker controls 2 way switch with running lights on at up position and anchor lights at down position
#3 circuit breaker controls 2 way switch with bait pump on at up position and wash down pump at down position
#4 circuit breaker controls 2 way switch with Bilge pump manual on at up position and Auto Bilge at down position
#5 circuit breaker controls 1 way switch with interior lights on in the up position
#6 circuit breaker controls 1 way switch for DragonFly 7 and Standard Horizon GX1700 VHF Radio, this is an accessory switch for electronics
#7 circuit breaker controls 12 volt cigarette lighter
and last but not least is the kill switch which does not have a breaker and fails to normally closed to stop motor with lanyard removed.
if You are worried about wire colors...forget it...just trace down each individual electrical part that is not working as the wire colors can change on You, but I will try to post the real wiring colors and show pictures of all the wiring, bilge, wash down & bait pumps, batteries with switching systems, main breaker and other pictures of the boat that may keep You from going through the headaches that I'm still going through, plus I just had knee surgery, so I can't crawl back into the boat for another 2 months and finish tie wrapping and installing other needed features!
If I didn't have so much in labor and money tied up in this boat...I'd buy a frikkin kayak with a 20 Horse Merc and pull skiers!
and if any of You "boatsman" have any other ideas that maybe I have missed...please feel free to chime in and "Tell Me What I Missed!"
because I'm sure that there is something....
All the Best!
All Aboard!
Nah........
nen aka SecretChimp (SecretChump to Most)
The guy I bought from said it had been garaged kept, one owner boat, all original with everything working and at first glance and hearing the motor run, as I felt the boat was worth the price....man...was I wrong...I know a bunch of You out there will love to hear this story, as it unfolds, so hang on for this one, You may never buy a used boat again!
I brought the boat home and parked it on a slab behind my home, which is perfect to prepare it for sea worthiness...and since I have not owned a boat since 2000, as I was ready for some good fishing...bay and offshore...You know...The Fun Stuff!
I made the mistake of taking the boat without the proper title transfer papers signed by the guy who sold it to me, who told me everything was alright and the title's would be all that I needed to transfer the boat, motor and trailer....Wrong!.....I spent three weeks calling and chasing him down until finally I contacted the original owner of the boat, who had just got out of the hospital from a major heart attack, but agreed to sign all of the title transfer papers and give me a history of the boat, which he did...Charles, the original owner, bought the boat off the showroom floor at "The 1998 Houston Boat Show" from Louis DelHomme Marine. He told me that he wished he had bought a 200-225 HP motor instead of the 150 Mercury, as it really didn't plane out as fast as he liked, but that he rarely used the boat and really didn't put that many hours on the boat or motor when he owned it....he sold the boat to a woman who worked for him, as she wanted the boat ever since he bought it, so he finally relented after owning it for 12 years and he did not fish anymore....well I ask him if the motor had any problems, as I noticed that the lower unit and Mercury motor were in almost new condition and he told me that he let his son-in-law borrow the boat and the son-in-law tore the lower unit up and it had to completely be replaced with a new lower unit...his other son-in-law borrowed one of his other boats and it burned up while in storage and because of it being his wife's daughter's husband...well he never was reimbursed for a complete loss and it was not offered to him either...well let's move on to what the lady did for the boat in the meantime...she took it out 2-3 times and then parked it outside down by Matagorda Bay for 5 years without any cover and although the boat had been cleaned up dramatically by the scalper who bought it for $3000 from her and had never had the title transfered that is how I stumbled on to the original owner after realizing that the "Scalper" got me too.....His character was more than questionable, as he promised to give the fuel gauge and battery gauge that had been damaged by his kids supposedly and I don't believe that either, as now "WE' can move on to the "Real Problems" within this boat....I've had quite a few boats during my time here on earth, being mechanically inclined and cheap too...I have worked on those boats and have a good understanding of the majority of mechanical and electrical challenges faced by keeping those boats running, but when You get older...I mean I'm in my early 60's with bad knees, lockjaw and just really wanted to fix a few loose connections and add a few features to this otherwise clean speciman of fishing allureness and FISH!....But NO!...Life always gives You one more ridiculous challenge after another, if You are stupid enough to feel good about buying an older boat and trick it out, as You would like...Well..I'm the one who got tricked, so I'm the one who has to either give up or fix everything that I found wrong on this Sea Pro 210cc.
Here is what I found:
1. oil injection disabled and missing on the motor, pulled oil injection tanks out and removed all remnants of mercury's failed attempt at oil injection.
2. internal fuel filter on the 150 Merc was stopped up and replaced with a new clear glass filter, so I can see the fuel and the trash in it..sheese
3. the thermostats had to be pulled and replaced and then water leaks fixed by sanding down the thermostat sealing surfaces and adding high temp silicone and went ahead and cleaned the total inside of the engine with clorox cleaner using different screw drivers and paper towels to get every leaf, speck of grease and gumbed up dirt out of the engine.
4. replaced the the fuel line to the motor and hand pump assembly adding a water separating fuel filter system for obvious reasons
5. pulled lower unit and installed new complete water pump assembly as it was toast from sitting up so long or whatever
6. pulled spark plugs and cleaned them and were NGK plugs...seemed to be in good shape, but will probably change them, if I ever get out on the water....man....The Merc really runs strong and starts on the second choking and turn over, but needed the above work just to get in the ball park of making me feel secure about the aspects of this propulsion system...nice stainless prop..looks like it has never seen the water..probably hasn't with all the other things that I found inside the Sea Pro 210cc ...
and here "They are:
1. Main Control panel in operable with all 7 breakers rusted and inoperable...I replaced everyone of them with "Blue Sea Systems" circuit breakers
2. pulled Optima main (Only) battery (Really) mounted in the rear bilge area and found it not able to take a charge, as I wondered why the "Scalper" had a commercial battery charger in the boat when I showed up and had it on engine start most of the time!
3. pulled wash down pump to clean and found the motor seized up from salt water in the bilge...replaced with new "ShurFlo Washdown Pump"
4. checked "Bait Pump"...runs, but won't know if it works until I get it in the water, if I ever do....
5. pulled rear interior lights to replace the bulbs and the whole inner plastic assemblies disintegrated in my hands with the wires falling back into the inner boat and had to be fished out with a 3 foot "Grabber Tool" that I finally got to use after 15 years...go figure! Replaced interior lights and added another one in front of the center console above the back rest and icebox seat that is being completely recovered and hinges replaced. I'm using all LED lights with new interior transom fixtures and they light the whole boat inside with just 3 lights...Thank You LED!
6. front running light glass broke and replaced with LED bow light
7. stern light lens missing and replaced lens with new and You got it... another LED light for the stern light!
8. horn defective and horn switch defective....replaced with new horn switch and new upgraded horn.
9. kill switch defective and without lanyard...replaced kill switch with new lanyard, but thought about just going on out without the kill switch and nail the Merc hoping for sure suicide...man....what else could be wrong...plenty...keep reading....if Your not
Your arse off at my expense...plenty of expense too then maybe there are some redeeming factors here....well maybe.....Nah! there's not!10. Hummingbird depth finder "hummed it's last tune a long time ago, so replaced with new Ray Marine DragonFly 7 with MSD/NAV+NI Card and mounted transducer...that was fun....did You know that Sea Pro has a plastic conduit from the right rear bilge to underneath the center console where all wiring, cabling...You name it, if it's electrical it's in that 4 inch conduit except for the bow and stern lights!
11. designed a new 4 battery system for this boat with batteries mounted underneath console with new double battery trays, twin "Blue Sea Systems" 4 way battery switches mounted inside the glove box behind the smoke glass door that cannot be opened, if a beer is sitting in the 2 beverage holders, with output to 100 amp "Blue Seas Main Breaker" running 2 gauge welding wire to new terminal waterproof lugs mounted on right side of beneath floor bilge to connect the main motor connections, which were cutoff because they were corroded with barnacles and "ONE" bit me.... new copper terminals installed and mounted. I use to go out with just 2 batteries and a Perko 4 way switch, but with this boat...I made an exception based on what I'd found wrong so far...maybe I'm paranoid... not really...just very careful....
12. mounted new "Standard Horizon GX1700" VHF radio with GPS and mounted 8ft antenna, so the Coast Guard or Sea Tow can pull me back home!
13. flushed out all stopped up hull drains, especially the bow anchor drain, which was plugged with sand mud from long ago...there are 2 mid deck drains on this boat also that You can't see, so I filled them full of water from the outside to see where the water came out and, if You get any major water in the side boat rod holders, as I guess the water will escape through this unknown drainage system....since Sea Pro has such an extensive research library setup for this boat's mechanical and electrical features then "Why am I doing all of this Investigative Repair?" I'm Frikkin Stupid and Desperate!
By the way....the wiring diagram that was posted as a generality for Sea Pro Boats is wrong for this boat and probably ever other Sea Pro 210cc , but I will give You the setup of this Control Panel, so that some of You might not have to go through what I did figuring out what all the 2 way and single throw switches and breakers go too...
Starting from the left of the console at circuit breaker #1 is the horn switch, which is a momentary switch
#2 circuit breaker controls 2 way switch with running lights on at up position and anchor lights at down position
#3 circuit breaker controls 2 way switch with bait pump on at up position and wash down pump at down position
#4 circuit breaker controls 2 way switch with Bilge pump manual on at up position and Auto Bilge at down position
#5 circuit breaker controls 1 way switch with interior lights on in the up position
#6 circuit breaker controls 1 way switch for DragonFly 7 and Standard Horizon GX1700 VHF Radio, this is an accessory switch for electronics
#7 circuit breaker controls 12 volt cigarette lighter
and last but not least is the kill switch which does not have a breaker and fails to normally closed to stop motor with lanyard removed.
if You are worried about wire colors...forget it...just trace down each individual electrical part that is not working as the wire colors can change on You, but I will try to post the real wiring colors and show pictures of all the wiring, bilge, wash down & bait pumps, batteries with switching systems, main breaker and other pictures of the boat that may keep You from going through the headaches that I'm still going through, plus I just had knee surgery, so I can't crawl back into the boat for another 2 months and finish tie wrapping and installing other needed features!
If I didn't have so much in labor and money tied up in this boat...I'd buy a frikkin kayak with a 20 Horse Merc and pull skiers!
and if any of You "boatsman" have any other ideas that maybe I have missed...please feel free to chime in and "Tell Me What I Missed!"
because I'm sure that there is something....
All the Best!
All Aboard!
Nah........
nen aka SecretChimp (SecretChump to Most)
