1980 Ski Nautique Total Restoration

I was wondering if anyone can tell me how the ski pylon comes out? I have the four big bolts loose and the one on the bottom removed. What else needs to be done?

Pete, thanks for the quick reply. I will definitely have time for the lumber to dry. This is part of the reason for buying it early in the restoration and I do plan to start a new thread on the restoration as soon as the weather will allow me to get started. My question is what dimension lumber should I buy for the mains on an 80 model? My options are: 2x8's, 2x10x24"s, and 2x12x24"s. Thanks for any input.

Watauga, I know that this post has lain dormant since 2015 but, it's a wonderful guide for my application. I am about to begin my stringer rebuild experience on a 1980 Ski Nautique. I was wondering what the dimensions were on the Douglas Fir that you bought for the main stringers? I have located a supplier locally but want to make sure I purchase large enough lumber. I haven't began to tear any of the floor out but, want to get this DF purchased while they have it in stock.

Thanks for any help!

Yes I agree that the seller was fully aware and actually stated primary stringers were "decent" and that the secondary's were "not as good". I explained to him that he and I have a differing opinion of what decent and not as good means when it comes to ROT! But at the end of the day, I'm still not mad. He has to live with the deception and I fully believe in karma.

I certainly do appreciate you taking the time out of your morning to send the message regarding the restoration and costs. As my wife and kids and I were at the table I read your message to her which she responded that it was very nice of you to have written.

I still believe that there is value in the boat and my father and I have had similar discussions that you stated regarding not having the ability to afford a brand new Nautique.

My thoughts are the same where I think I can get one to two years in current condition as long as I take it easy with it. Stay up on maintenance that it will require and see where we stand at that time. My thoughts are telling me now that this boat will probably stay in the family and can take the time and money and do the restoration it will require.

It sounds like the previous owner probably knew the boat had issues but decided to recarpet and market the boat? If the secondaries and one primary have issues you can safely wager that the boat has many more issues. My opinion is that every single one of these-era boats needs a total restoration. I have heard of some exceptions, e.g., a boat with 50 hours that was always stored in a climate controlled garage under a ceiling fan with a dehumidifier placed in the boat after each use, but those are very rare.

You will need to decide if you can use it for another year or two before you begin the restoration, or sell it. My guess is that the summer is nearing the end in NH, so if you are thinking you may jump into the restoration business the timing is good.

If you are thinking restoration, you should honestly count the cost, commitment, time, skill level, and availability of space to undertake the job, before you jump in. The time needed could be 250-500 hours depending on your skill, help available, and if you also are doing the trailer, upholstery and the engine. There may be contractors around that you could hire to do the work, but I highly doubt they would be able to do it to your satisfaction or within your budget. The cost of the materials to do a stringer job and floor might be around $2,500. Carpet $300-400. Upholstery $1,500-2,000 depending on if you have the deluxe interior and coming pads, more if you need to rebuild the seat bases, etc.. Engine $2,000 or more. Trailer $200-600. Hope that gives you some beginning budgetary figures, your cost could be way higher or much less. Starting on one of these boats is like opening up the proverbial can of worms (since I went this this far shouldn't I also rebuild the carb. or fix that non-working speedometer, or put a new sending unit in the fuel cell, or refinish the boarding platform, or replace the steering cable and control cables). Those cost add up rather quickly. I am not trying to discourage you at all, just saying you should be honest with yourself before you begin.

Yes. My boat is missing that piece that runs the whole length of the port side. At some point in my boats life a (donkey) replaced the carpet with something that is not even remotely close to original. My boat's interior is blue and I do understand that the color is very unique with the blue and black in the carpet, but the material they used is not even the same shade of blue. My boat also does have the ski tray on the starboard side, but is way past rotten and will need to be replaced.
I unfortunately am finding out quickly this boat is not in the condition it was stated to have been and will probably have to go thru the reconstruction your boat had to. Secondary stringers are worse than the primary are but have found at least one bad spot in the primary starboard side.

Also, where did you find the rubber transition pieces for the flooring?

a0128 wrote: skinaut wrote: Wenches are an unnecessary PITA . . . This is true, unless you want to ski and all your buddies are busy. Then you need to have the Wench drive the boat.

I re-read this and understand now. I digress ,Wenches can be a handy PITA,

Other trailers may need one but the 80's era CC trailers and boats are designed to do this. I have launched and retrieved my 86 many times by myself. Sure its easier to have some help but not necessary.. Please tell us how to ski alone, I am very interested.

Scotty O ,
if you have the CC trailer with the bow stops on it you really don't need a winch. That trailer is designed to be a drive on. There is a big eye bolt on the tongue and a turnbuckle with hooks on both ends is used to secure the boat to the trailer. You put the trailer in until the stern starts to float a little, unhook the turnbuckle from the bow eye and power off the trailer. To retrieve the boat put the trailer in till the water is just at the top of the fenders and genitally drive the boat till you make contact with the bunks get the boat straight with steering at idle then power it just enough to make contact with the bow stops. shut it off , hook the turnbuckle back up and do not tighten it yet. If you tighten it before chances are the stern will not settle down on the bunks and will be up in the air putting a lot of stress on the bow eye and turnbuckle. Once off the ramp stab your brakes to stop and the boat will shift forward onto the bow stops again, now hand tighten the turn buckle and your good to go. It really is easy to do and eliminates the all the stress of dragging the boat up with a wench. Wenches are an unnecessary PITA with the CC trailer. Hope this helps!

Scotty O wrote: Great! Thank you so much for the advice! What did you do on the trailer regarding a chain or winch? I was told by the previous owner that originally it came with a chain that you just latched the bow of the boat, I have seen that people have made modifications where they put a winch on.

If you decide to use a winch get one with a strap, mine currently has a steel cable and its lethal!!

Scotty,
You wont have any problems removing it when you need to. Just go to Home Depot or Lowes, they have it and sometimes they have the quick set version as well. Sometimes they have the small squeeze tubes as well as the caulking-gun size cartridges.

In the overall scheme of things related to a rebuild of one of these boats, fiddling with mounting a bilge pump is pretty insignificant. =)

Here is the area where my pump was originally mounted. You can see that I ground the mounting block out . The area is forward of the drain and aft of the pylon. I assume CC gelcoated the hull, then installed the mounting block, then more gelcoat over the top.

Hi guys new to the forum and new to Ski Nautique with a 1980 as well. Question about the placement of your bilge pump in the boat. Wondering where the location is at? Mine is currently floating around in the bilge area and I don't see a specific point of where I am supposed to mount it too. Any help would be greatly appreciated!