1981 SKi Nautique Restoration

What??
And miss out on jumping in with a safety pin to unclog the pitots?

Seriously, they look brilliant!

If you buffed the gel smooth then yes, sand where you are going to paint. I would tape then sand. Otherwise it will be tough to get your gel shiny right next to the paint. I’d go with 400 and see how that works in a test spot. Seems to have been enough for us but we haven’t put it to the test. You only have one color so sanding in between coats isn’t as important but the paint mfg say to lightly sand between coats. At the end, sand with 1500 or even 2000 and polish lightly. Then wax.

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

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?

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

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

Gonna look awesome.

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

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.

-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)

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.

Look'n great.

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

Lookin’ good!

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.

Thanks for the help.