1981 SKi Nautique Restoration

Today we did some engine work, installed a new cutlass bearing and reinstalled the strut.   This is a picture of the alignment, I think it came out pretty good.

[

Now I have to get the new coupling on the shaft.   Do you guys think a gas grill will work to bring the coupling up to temp or is an oven a better option?   Also am I shooting for a temp of 400 degrees or 500 degrees?   I would have went with an double taper shaft but the shaft we had was straight so I thought I should just use it.   I am not looking forward to this step of the process.

We got the carpet installed last weekend and finished some odds and ends on Friday night. I still need to install the piece that the pylon goes through but besides that the carpet work is complete.

[

[

Thanks for the help.

Jacob,
I would allow the CPES to partially cure before running the lags in but, make it all soaked into the wood and there isn't a puddle at the bottom. If there is, you'll need to redrill the pilot hole.

Yes on the 4200 to completely seal the holes.

Replacing the cutlass will be easier with the strut removed.

Lookin’ good!

I had an 81 like that and bought it somewhat molested....yours looks great!

Look'n great.

Painting the stripe turned out pretty good.   



I have a few spots that I need to touch up where the paint bleed through the tape and also still have to add the black accent line on the top and bottom of the stripe.

-pulled a crisper paint line.
-turned corners much better
-didn't adhere as much making removal easier (I had to tape over cured paint when doing my black outline)

I didn't use the graphics from the reference section but they are a great resource.   I had enough ghosting from the old paint in the gel coat that I was able to use it as a guide.

Gonna look awesome.

Did you use the graphics file in the Reference section for the "Ski Nautique"?

FYI. We never sanded the side before we painted. And we used rustoleum paint.

The 81 is prepped for paint and will be joining Team Red.

]

Thanks for the advice on sanding.   I think I will tape all the areas that need to be sanded and then re tape before I paint to make sure I get a nice clean line.

There are not any additional GPS antenna with the Faria GPS system, everything is self contained in the Speedo.   I dont think the will compensate for river current like a paddle wheel will. They probably are not as high quality as the Nauti logic kits but they are a lot cheaper.   I think I picked them up on sale from Cabelas for about $70.00 each vs. $375.00 from Nauti logic.   This will probably be a case of you get what you pay for but I wanted to put the cost savings toward a new prop.

Tim, is the acme 540 the correct prop to run with this boat?

For anyone reading this that is also considering a gps speedometer conversion, be aware that Nauticlogic makes a retrofit kit that converts the original Airguides and maintains the original look 100%. A number of us have been running them for years- they are excellent.

http://www.nauticlaugic.com/airglide.html