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investigating a different boat with Mercruiser 888
I'm looking at the possibility of buying a Sea Ray 21 footer. with 350
chevy. and "888" outdrive.OK, I'm familiar with the Alpha 1 with is so popular, but I don't know
about the 888 can some one tell me the difference[s] between the two? and can the
parts interchange? Thanks! |
tschnautz
Oct 11
2006
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| The 888 should be a Ford 302 engine, a common installation in that
vintage SeaRay. Check up on what/when mods/changes were done to get a 350 & 888. Rob |
trainfan1
Oct 12
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| My alpha1 bellhousing has so many bolt holes I'm thinking it must fit a
whole variety of engine blocks. Does anyone know if the early mercs
that way too? |
jamesgangnc
Oct 12
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| The 888 is an old unit built in the 70s that uses a Mercruiser type 1 drive
which is the predecessor to the MR and Alpha 1. The innards are different
but the uppers and lowers of the different types will bolt together.
Jim |
Jim
Oct 12
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| Thanks Jim. I wasn't sure about the 888. I take it that the parts (if
needed) are still available, and also if necessary, a person could
interchange it with an Alpha 1? This boat is a 1975. its well kept . |
tschnautz
Oct 12
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| Of course anything could happen but you will be a lot better off with
that i/o than one of the other old brands of i/o's. The biggest problem in older fiberglass boat is wood rot. |
jamesgangnc
Oct 12
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| Understood. I've thought about hat. the hull doesn't have any nicks, or
blisters. and the floor is solid as a rock. I haen't found anything of wood rot yet. PLUS, it's cheap enough, if
there was some sort of damage to the hull etc, it's no great pocket
loss. same way with the outdrive. But I have a spare alph1 leg, and was
hoping they'd interchange. without great amounts of modifying . that is
if they'd interchange at all. Thanks! |
tschnautz
Oct 12
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| I would be surprised if a 35 yr old boat wouldn't need a lot of work to
have a safe and reliable boat. Even if it is a well maintained boat, it
is still 35 yrs old, wood rot, fiberglass blisters, transom rot, engine
and outdrive problems etc. are all expensive, or for the DYI'er very
time consuming problems. My first boat was a well maintained 20 yr old
runabout, I paid $1000 for the boat, and in the first 3 yrs. spent 3
times as much on repairs. Before I sold the boat, I had numerous repairs on the OB engine (which
can be very expensive), replace the seats and all upholster due to UV
degradation, do some electrical work, and had to replace sections of the
stringers and a section of the floor due to wood rot, and install new
carpeting. After all this work, I was able to sell the boat for $1500. Even if you have it surveyed, it is safe to assume you will encounter
some unexpected problems with a 35 yr old boat. |
Reginald
Oct 12
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| Reggie, I'm not expecting it to be trouble free. I agree with the idea
that after 35 years, it can have it's share of goofs. But this is just
a 20 foot runabout, and It's for sale in the 1200.00 range. To me
that's no great financial strain. If the boat does manifest serious
structure problems, then I'd strip it and save the drive and engine and
variously related parts for future projects. BTW, my Chris Craft 169 Scorpion, is an '83 model. I've had it for
two years, and with exception of maintenance, and replacing the lower
end because i hit a stump (wasn't the boats fault) I have been very
well pleased with it. it was and still is a good boat, that I bought
cheap. |
tschnautz
Oct 12
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| I felt the same way about my $1000 runabout. It was cheap, we had a
ball, and even with $1000 in annual expenses it was a great deal. Since
I used the boat for 5 months a year, $200/month was a great way to get
into boating. |
Reginald
Oct 12
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