New guy, Newish Boat

Howdy,

Picked up a 2000 Pro Air Nautique last week to start a full resto.

Boat was/is in sad sad shape.

http://s256.photobucket.com/user/treybizttu/library/Nautique
Copy and paste in your browser for pictures

Story goes it was owned by a camp (so 492148098 hours on it probably) and they didn't winterize in 2012 or so. Had milky oil so they replaced head gaskets but found "the motor was bad". I haven't torn into the motor yet to see what's what but, it's all there with the exception of the FCC (which sucks since they are $$$). The distributor was out and laying on the floor and everything is disconnected including the driveshaft. So, the motor is a mystery currently. A buddy that I grew up with is coming by next week with his dad to help me inspect and tear down. Buddy runs a local race shop for legend cars and other stuff, His dad works for him but used to run a boat repair shop so I'm in good hands. Both of them have plenty of experience with 351s and inboards as well.

Well, when the motor was determined to be "bad" they brought it to Buxton as a trade that never materialized so it just sat in the back lot with no cover for the better part of 2 years. Gel coat is faded and seriously oxidized. Some of the interior is salvageable and cleaned up decent. Other parts like the back sun deck are toast.

Game Plan:

Get it cleaned up and pretty- It's pretty clean as of today after a week worth of late nights after the kiddo went to bed.. I just want it to look decent while I'm working so my neighbors don't murder me since it won't fit in the garage with my wife's ride + all our junk. I bought a cover that is supposed to deliver today.
Clean up as much as possible with the existing interior for now.
Remove all the decals.
Wet Sand, Buff, Glaze, Wax.

Next Step:
Motor and Electronics.
-I snagged a battery this morning so I can put some power to it and see what is working.. (At some point some of the stock failure prone gauges were replaced with Faria units.)
I'm pretty handy with 12v so I will make sure everything has juice.
-I think regardless of the extent of motor being good/bad it's going to come out. The ballast plumbing is falling apart and the floor of the motor compartment is filthy from the elements.
-Drain the gas. It's old and stinky and almost full

- Motor is going to be a big question mark. I will just have to update there as I can. Oddly enough the oil in it looks good.
-The transmission isn't black painted anymore so the guys at Buxton said it was probably rebuilt/replaced. It has fluid in it currently that doesn't look brand new but it's still nice and cherry red.
-The Prop has a bent blade. Shaft appears to spin straight and true but I can verify that.
-One of the Tower Bolts that joins the halves is stripped. Need to heli-coil or fill weld and drill/tap.


Once the mechanics are worked out:

-Get it on the water and see what the Wife Thinks.. We have an I/O currently that she loves but I've wanted a direct drive and a nautique for a while so I'm working on her. Once it's funcitional and pretty she will more than likely change her tune.
-Once I have her stamp of approval I will redo the interior, stereo, and spruce up the trailer. If the gel coat sand/buff doesn't satisfy me the same buddy that runs the race shop is partners in a wrap company.

Dreaming wrote: welcome to the club and congratulations on your purchase :)    lots of information here, so have fun getting it back on the water!

Thanks!

I've been reading everything I can with my limited spare time but decided I needed to register today. I'm sure I will have lots of questions going forward and this board seems to be a great wealth of knowledge.

Good things I've got going:
-We have a boat and a couple jet fleas currently so I don't have a deadline to get it "complete" to enjoy the water.
-I got into it very cheap so I have budgetary room to work.
- I like projects and "winter" (It's Texas, we don't have a real winter) is looming so I will have time to piddle.

TRBenj wrote: I would recommend troubleshooting the engine as much as possible while it's still in the boat. Having it hooked up to the battery, key, fuel pumps and full compliment of gauges is valuable. Definitely don't disassemble until you have done all the troubleshooting you can. Break down in minimal stages as required (I would not pull the engine if a compression test comes back good and the exh manifolds fail a pressure test, for instance). If it's not too late, make sure the battery you bought fits in the box (group 65 is what you want) and that it is NOT a (deep cycle) marine battery. A regular starting battery works well or a dual purpose if you're looking to spend $$.

Battery I bought is a regular starting battery and identical to what came out of the box.. Just not dead as a door nail.

I won't pull the motor until we test everything we can as it sits. I'd be happy as a clam if I didn't have to build/buy a short or long block. Only thing that really temps me to pull it regardless is that I have access to an over head hoist and every single thing is disconnected at this point. Wiring harness, fuel lines, you name it... Even the motor mounts are hand tight with just one bolt in each. Motor and trans are literally just sitting there.

KRoundy wrote: This post needs pictures...

My photo bucket URL is in the 1st post. I'll attach some when I'm back at my laptop.

Interior cleaned up decent after a lot of scrubbing... (Pictures make it look nicer than it is.. Lots of stains and little cuts).

Another of the interior:


The Mystery Motor:

And also a question... So my variable buffer is in vegas right now (long story) but I want to start wet sanding. Is there any harm in wet sanding from 1000/1500 to 3000/5000 grit and leaving the boat outside for a week or two before I get my buffer back and start compounding,glaze, wax?

Dreaming wrote: I think I would wait until your buffer was close by.   The point of polishing is to remove the oxidation, so if you remove the oxidation and then don't buff/protect the surface, you may cause more sanding for yourself.   that said, I am pretty OCD about shininess on my vehicles, and a week or 2 to oxidize is really probably nothing in the grand scheme of things. wax once you polish so that the fresh finish is not exposed to the elements

I'm pretty OCD myself so i will probably wait. I wish I could pull the stupid thing into the garage but our Monday through Friday house was built in the 80s so even with no swim platform and the tongue detached I'm touching the entry door to the house. Luckily once this thing is done I'll move it to the lakehouse. My barn down there is 35' long.

Treybizttu wrote: And also a question... So my variable buffer is in vegas right now (long story) but I want to start wet sanding. Is there any harm in wet sanding from 1000/1500 to 3000/5000 grit and leaving the boat outside for a week or two before I get my buffer back and start compounding,glaze, wax?

Gelcoat is extremely hart and it took years for it to oxidize to the point it's at now. A couple of weeks won't hurt it in the least.

Treybizttu wrote: Part of my business is vinyl so I can whip something up.

Be careful when you do, some people in the past have had problems with the curve of the hull. No part of that boat is flat, just keep in mind.

Treybizttu wrote: There are two "pitots" on the back of the boat.

I'm sure there are, but that doesn't mean they are hooked up to anything. I still have them on mine, I just didn't feel like filling the gel at the time I replaced them. Check the bottom of the hull, you should have a drain plug, a pickup for your water pump, and a seacock for your ballast, all relatively close to each other. If you see a paddle wheel too, that's connected to the speedos. Just check that its not in front of the pickup for the water pump.

Hello ..
Congratulation :)
I am new here and very happy to join such a group which is soo fond of boats.

Hollywood wrote: There are compounds that will remove 1000 grit scratches. I find buffing easier on the arms than sanding. No sense sanding much past 1200. Even 1500 is overkill.

Interesting,

The last boat I did I started with just a compound after 1000 and felt like I could never get it the way I wanted. Following a friend's advise I went all the way up to 3000 grit wet sanding and then just used a finishing compound followed by glaze and wax. It was much easier for me and the end result is still looking great a few seasons and waxes later. But, that's just my (very limited) experience so I could just be making more work for myself.



Did make some progress on other items last night. Sanded the swim platform and started putting a few coats of oil on it.

TRBenj wrote: Not every compound will remove 1000 grit scratches, but some will... It's all about using the right products and pads. I agree with HW, sanding sucks, ha.

I ordered some new 3M stuff and I'm just trying things in small sections at this point so I'll give 1000 and compound a whirl again too.

jbear wrote: pictures of your 'little helper'...very cool. pictures of the wife buffing the boat after dark......even cooler! I may be in the minority but I have always liked the swoosh graphics. john

Thanks!

The Wife is quickly taking a liking to it and that's just with it taking up space at the house. Once it's a runner she will be on board... The boy was sold from day one.... The wife called me at the office earlier today with him on speaker and he kept telling me, "boat clean please". Made me smile after a craptastic day at the office. He loves the lake and it's hard to peel him off of his seat in our I/O and he loves jet ski rides.

I like the swoosh personally.. I think the year correct "AIR" graphic wasn't all that great but one of my designers has some replacement ideas drawn up. I'll post those once I have a few I like in PDF form

Trey

So with no belts on and no spark plugs in the motor I can't spin it by hand at the crank pulley.

That was about all I did last night as my old lab decided he wanted to lose his dinner on the only carpet we have in the whole house....

Dreaming wrote:    I had to put some acetone/atf mix in mine, and it freed up after sitting for a couple of days. I had to use a 3' breaker bar on the front pulley nut to make it spin for the first several rounds.

Breaker bar was my next thought... I was curious what would work to pour in the cylinders. I thought about fogging oil.