Abandoned Mustang Project - Need Advice

Just like Star Wars:

You can use 'the force' and keep the boat all original; or you can go to the 'dark side' and install a tower.

I went to the dark side

The boat does a pretty good job on tracking. I know slalom skiing or kneeboarding with a 225 lb. person has no problem. The fiberglass keel that runs from the front to the rear does a good job except at real slow speeds. The nose doesnt want to stay put.

Fins? Yes it can be done...After you take it out on the lake and ski behind it ,you can make that call.
I agree with jeff...my mustang tracks well enough too...and besides, without the fins you can spin a wirlybird like a crazy MoFo!
When it's up and runnin...try this....Go about 40 mph , quickly drop it in nuetral and turn hard! You should spin and dip the bow to the windshield!!!
Scares the snot out of ya the first time.After that...ask yourself "Do I really want to add fins?"

Think twice before adding tracking fins (skegs) for the following reasons:

1) The keel does not have a recess to accept the base plate of the fins and thus the fins will create drag and disrupt the smooth flow of water under the boat.
2) The keel is not reinforced to handle the added stress that the fins will put on the keel.

What you will notice by not having the fins is that the boat slides in turns. My Martinique does not have the fins and it has never really been a problem with skiing.

Great buy on the boat! Have fun fixing it up and I agree...replace the pylon. You might want to reinforce the floor area prior to replacing since you will be adding an extension.

I have a Ski Nautique 2001 and I can tell you that, with a tower, a rider can easily roll the boat over a lot. Even when it's rolled over, however, as long as the rudder is straight, the boat goes straight. This was absolutely not true of the considerably larger I/O that I used to have. If the boat rolled, I had to make steering corrections. I have assumed that the three tracking fins account for this directional stability.

Note: the tower is not even very tall. It's a CC Flight Control Tower that was narrowed to fit the boat. It's still super easy to roll the boat over and while I don't know this for a fact, I believe that significant steering corrections would be required if the fins weren't there.

Anyway, that said, I still wouldn't add tracking fins to the Mustang. In fact, I probably wouldn't even add a tower. That old 17-footer is just too cool as is. If it were me and I wanted a better wakeboarding boat, I'd probably either flip it now or fix it up a bit and sell it for even more. Then, I'd take the profits and buy a slightly larger boat with fins (like a 2001) and throw a tower on there.

Of course, this line of thought could go on and on. Maybe you skip the 2001 and go straight for a Sport. Or maybe skip ahead more and go for a Super Sport... I guess you have to decide where you want to stop but I know that sometimes people get carried away with modifications when they should have just started with a different boat (or car) in the first place (not implying that this is true of your situation).

Yeah a 2001 is a nice boat, but I bet when you get the mustang in, all shined up, you will be hesitant on selling it. Its a head turner! What A deal, I still cant believe you pulled that off that good. Maybe I need to get some pointers from you!!

I've got lots of pictures, etc at my web site. Don't worry, I'll still be updating this site with questions, etc.

I took it out to the lake this afternoon, after I got it running (had the spark plug wires in reverse order). It was an awesome ride. And the wake was great. Crisp and tall, no washout. Best toy I ever had!