1984 Ski Nautique project

Hi everyone,
I recently bought a 1984 (edited the post... at first I thought it was an 85) Ski Nautique and have been working on cleaning it up over the last few weeks. I've been reading the forums a lot and I have a friend who has gone through stringer replacement and pretty much everything else I want to do already.

Mechanically it seems fine but it needs a lot of TLC. This is not my first Nautique… I had a 1992 Sport Nautique from 1996-2001. I loved that boat and just recently started looking for another, really wanting an open bow. But, I found this one and knew of its potential for a nice wake and it was at a price I couldn’t refuse… so here I am.

The upholstery is in horrible shape. My plan is to do stringers, floor, carpeting, upholstery starting in February. Until then, I will make do with the seats as they are. I have cleaned up the hull the best I can with On & off and it really is a lot nicer.

I have some questions specifically for what I plan on doing the next few weeks:
•     How can I strip the blue accent paint from the hull? I want to get down to the gel coat (this is the version with the light blue gel coat).
•     How can I remove the stubborn registration stickers? I’ve been using a heat gun for the other stickers and pin striping but these are very tough. Same for the USA flag and Correct Craft stickers.
•     Suggestions on the best place to get a replacement rub rail.
•     Is this teak swim platform restorable? I’ve seen the threads with others that have redone theirs but mine seems to be worse. It just seems to have some really deep wear and a lot of cracked wood. Also missing one small piece.
•     Looking for suggestions on what color-matching gel coat patch to use.
•     I’m repainting the trailer also. Is there a specific color anyone has used to match that factory original blue?
•     Using the 3M marine rubbing compound, it really does shine up nice. But there are a few small cracks in the gel coat. What can I do to handle those… or do I just live with them?

Thanks in advance!
Jeff

Here it is before bringing it home. First thing was to get a new hub for the trailer:






In my garage, on the trailer. I have since taken it off the trailer and taken the swim platform off and it just fits.

Jeff,
First I'd like to welcome you to CCfan and next, is wow, you sure have a "project" boat on your hands!!

That Teak really looks bad. The ends even look like they are rotted. I've never seen one in that bad of shape - it's gone from the usual black mold to green!!! Pressure wash it (not too close or you'll chew up the wood) and see how it comes out. Then move on the the teak restoring kit if you feel it can be saved. Replacing just a few bad boards isn't the answer. They will never match the old.

Nice boat! Definitely and '84. No side vents and striped graphic, that would have been the only year like that. I believe the '85 had solid color graphics? The '83 had side vents.

What did you pay for that set? It will be a great boat once you clean it up. How long did it sit? I would suggest cleaning the gas tank and replacing the fuel/water separator and rebuilding the carb, (ask me how I know this :o( )

Tim

wow thats a great price for a running boat, congrats man, you will have fun with it especially when you get it all fixed up. On mine (86) it has the numbers 86 in the Hull ID so I think if they are all that way it will tell you for sure.
What I have noticed about boat registration at least in ohio, is they know nothing about it and it could be definitely wrong. For example my title has "ski nautique" as make and model as blank. Even though I told the woman at the title agency what to put she still just stared at me and said well, I will just leave it blank. OK. Then when I told her the engine was a ford PCM 351 she just stared at me. Then I said, "Just put what I said". Yikes.

I'll have to check mine. I think it should drain into the bilge. What is the hull ID, this will tell you what year it is for sure.

Are you going to put the stripes back on?

Wanting to get working on this soon so still hoping for tips on removing the paint stripes (to be redone over the winter) and what to use to wet sand with. Any suggestions? Thanks!

[QUOTE=ny_nautique] Here's a quick drawing I did to explain that "drain to nowhere".

The water drains into the foam and then is absorbed !!!

I used a festool random orbital sander with a 500 grit wetsand foam pad. This was the easiest way but you need to locate a sander capable of wetsanding. Alot of guys on here use the old wood block method which works, but also works your arm, especially if your gelcoat is as bad as mine was. My charcoal was more like light gray. My shoulder was almost shot after that and the buffing, had to take it easy for a week or I wouldnt be able to ski.

Is there a wet/dry paper for DA's? Or do the people who use DA's just not use water?

I just got some hook & loop wet/dry I ordered it from McMaster-Carr

http://www.mcmaster.com/#aluminum-oxide-sanding-discs/=cqx837

Pete and all,
What are your recommended stages for sanding/buffing?
I started with 500 wetsand.
What's next and when do I get to the 3M marine compound and glaze?

Jeff,

I confirm that the cooler drain comes out in the bilge beside the battery drain along the bottom of the bulkhead. Looking at the bulkhead the cooler drain is on the left and the battery drain is on the right.

This in on an '83

One more of the gouges. No idea how they got there but they stick up above the height of the rub rail.

Joe has the same idea that I do. A bolt or a pretty big nail sticking out from the dock. No bumpers and large wave action took out the rub rail and the bolt/nail went after the hull gel. Some people just don't care!!! That is reflected with the dry wall screw "repair" as well!

Jeff,
For smaller quantities of gel, patch kits are available from almost any marne supply. They come with tints to match your color of gel - that's the tricky part!!!

Also, check out Mini-craft of florida for smaller quantities. They also have a color matching service (for a fee) but you need to send them a quarter size or bigger sample of your gel.