American Skier Pics
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Category: General Correct Craft Discussion
Forum Name: Off Topic
Forum Discription: Anything non-Correct Craft
URL: http://www.CorrectCraftFan.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=5469
Printed Date: December-23-2024 at 1:40am
Topic: American Skier Pics
Posted By: backfoot100
Subject: American Skier Pics
Date Posted: January-06-2007 at 3:54pm
I hope this works. A new member here guys and although I'm not a CC owner, I have a sweet '86 American Skier Barefoot Skier(no not the CC model American Skier) that I thought you might like to see. I also have a huge appreciation for older cla$$ic boats no matter who makes them. I've put a lot of time, effort, sweat and tears into this and I'm extremely proud of her. After reading numerous posts over the last couple weeks, I thought that some of you old gearheads out there might appreciate this even if it's not a CC. I bought her 13 years ago and since then completely replaced the floors and carpet. Reconditioned the trailor. Put on World Products Torquer II heads, MSD dist. and ignition, Edelbrock Performer Air-Gap intake, and rebuilt the carb. It has an Indmar 350 and everything is stock except the adds that I've already mentioned. Yes, that includes the exhaust manifolds and the valve covers. I just did a little polishing of the manifolds. OK, it was a lot of polishing!!! The engine is a 300SP and according to Indmar, only about 50 units were produced per year for a three or four year run. It was supposedly pushing really close to 300HP from the factory and in the mid to late 80's this might have been the hottest small block produced by a factory as an optional motor. It runs even sweeter than it looks. She'll pull a 'footer at 44MPH and when you give her the coals, everybody else on the lake knows it (God, you just gotta love the sound of a cla$$ic). It now has 1200 hr's on it and I'm either in it or behind it weekly. Enjoy!
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Replies:
Posted By: eric lavine
Date Posted: January-06-2007 at 5:34pm
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Eddie, good thing its gotta bowtie in it, nice attention to detail, the jury's out on the thing wrapped around the bowtie....anyways these guys will welcome you with open arms to the site with all that shine.
just kidding about the boat too, nice job ------------- "the things you own will start to own you" |
Posted By: nates78ski
Date Posted: January-06-2007 at 6:44pm
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Not a CC but definitely a nice boat, Nice job man!! Welcome.
Nate ------------- Nathan http://correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=1463&sort=&pagenum=3&yrstart=1978&yrend=1978" rel="nofollow - My '78 Ski Nautique <a href="http://photobucket.com/Nates78ski" rel="nofoll |
Posted By: 75 Tique
Date Posted: January-06-2007 at 6:53pm
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Eddie, Welcome.
Good looking boat and engine. Don't worry about it not being a CC. The folks here appreciate nice boats, especially older ones and appreciate folks who are pa$$ionate about their boats (especially older ones). Feel free to stick around, lots of good stuff, both fun and useful goes on here. ------------- _____________ “So, how was your weekend?” “Well, let me see…sun burn, stiff neck, screwed up back, assorted aches and pains….yup, my weekend was great, thanks for asking.” |
Posted By: eric lavine
Date Posted: January-06-2007 at 7:35pm
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Boat doc, whats missing? ------------- "the things you own will start to own you" |
Posted By: MaddMarxx
Date Posted: January-06-2007 at 8:06pm
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Welcome, Eddie.
Boat and motor look nice, I like the manifolds. Maybe you can tell me what year this one is?? 
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Posted By: JMurph
Date Posted: January-06-2007 at 9:03pm
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Wow!!!! Nice job. That is a beautiful boat. Nice job on the polishing. ------------- |
Posted By: bkhallpass
Date Posted: January-07-2007 at 12:05am
Welcome Backfoot. That boat looks great. The American Skiers were my second favorite boat of during the 80s BKH------------- Livin' the Dream |
Posted By: jbear
Date Posted: January-07-2007 at 12:29am
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Welcome and great job. I am with BKH. In the 80's The American Skier brand was my second favorite. I have known 2 guys who've owed them, one still does, and they both loved them. Really liked the manifold job.
john ------------- "Loud pipes save lives" AdamT sez "I'm Canadian and a beaver lover myself"... |
Posted By: backfoot100
Date Posted: January-07-2007 at 7:41am
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Thanks for all the feedback guys. I really appreciate it. I actually do like CC's too. I toured the factory a few years back and met one of the Melloon's at a ski tournament. Their values and ethics are second to none and it certainly transfers to the boats they build. My brother-in-law and best friend back in WI both wanted to get an inboard after they spent time with mine and now each of them has a SN (one is a '92 and the other is a '97) that they refused to buy until I gave each of them my blessing.
MaddMarxx to answer your question about what year that Skier is, I would guess by the graphics and the decal an '82-'84. I haven't seen a lot of Skiers because they only produced about 400 boats per year but they are a very high quality built boat. I've never seen anything even close to that color scheme. That's cool!! If you could send more pics's preferably of the whole boat both inside and out, I could try to narrow it down for you. I have some info on them but not a huge amount. |
Posted By: Nautique2001
Date Posted: January-07-2007 at 5:32pm
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Very nice boat, Backfoot100. My buddy owned a 1987 American Skier Advance and had over 2,400 hours on the original PCM. I think their looks were ahead of their time. Welcome to CCF.com!
Ken ------------- http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=1052&sort=&pagenum=4&yrstart=1986&yrend=1990" rel="nofollow - Nautique 2001 |
Posted By: Nautique2001
Date Posted: January-07-2007 at 5:34pm
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By the way, what's the difference between the barefoot model and the American Skier model? The hulls look the same.
Ken ------------- http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=1052&sort=&pagenum=4&yrstart=1986&yrend=1990" rel="nofollow - Nautique 2001 |
Posted By: backfoot100
Date Posted: January-07-2007 at 6:28pm
| Nautique2001 the barefoot model has a barefoot plate on the transom from the factory(which was WAY ahead of it's time). I think that there may have been more engine options too and the third speedo which this doesn't have. Other than that, I don't think there was any differences. It's a basic Advance hull. This is the only barefoot model that I've ever seen and I've only seen the same engine in one other American Skier. |
Posted By: Riley
Date Posted: January-07-2007 at 7:29pm
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Really nice looking American Skier. They were great boats.
If we're going to come out of the closet...I've had this since 1992. It was imported from North Carolina. I think it was the first Malibu in Maine.It's got a PCM 240 and has been a great boat. 
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Posted By: Riley
Date Posted: January-21-2007 at 12:38pm
| No one likes cla$$ic Malibus? |
Posted By: 75 Tique
Date Posted: January-22-2007 at 9:55am
insert cricket sounds here. Just kidding Riley. They are a nice boat. I like the lines and graphics. I almost got one myself back in 1996, but ended up with an 89 Supra instead. The biggest reason was that the Malibu was a much longer trip to see and get. ------------- _____________ “So, how was your weekend?” “Well, let me see…sun burn, stiff neck, screwed up back, assorted aches and pains….yup, my weekend was great, thanks for asking.” |
Riley wrote:Posted By: backfoot100
Date Posted: January-22-2007 at 11:10am
| I've been in and behind a good number of 'Bu's both young and old. I like 'em. The posted photo is small and kinda hard to see but it looks similar in lines to a Euro F3. How about some more specifics about a the boat (year, model, etc.) and how you ended up getting that to the UK? There has to be a story behind that. Try posting a pic with photobucket to get a better look at it. |
Posted By: Riley
Date Posted: January-22-2007 at 12:25pm
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The cricket sound was deafening. LOL.
I'm in Maine, I don't know how that UK came up as my location, but I'll change it. That is a 1988 Malibu Skier. It has a 240 hp, PCM Ford. A buddy of mine who lives in NC, and I had been looking for a 2001 back in 1992. He calls me in Maine and said he found this nice boat, but it's not a CC. He says the boat is mint, has 150 hours on it, comes with eveything including skis, and is at a price that's too good to be true. Only thing is it has this ugly stripe. He bought it, brought it to Maine, and it turned out the stripe wasn't that bad. It's been a great boat. It came from Lake McLur, or something like that. |
Posted By: bkhallpass
Date Posted: January-22-2007 at 1:08pm
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Riley,
We probably have as many of those 80s model Malibus in my area as anywhere (they are made about 90 miles from my house). In my experience the boats are nimble, and a little faster than the CCs of the same era. I think they do tend to be pretty bouncy in rough water, and they don't have a very high freeboard. It's not that common to find the 80s models in good shape. At the time, the boats were sold as price point boats as Malibu entered the comp boat marketplace. They are notorious for rotting floors and stringers, and also for the "Malibu Lean." I don't find too many people who put a lot of time or money into them, because on the open market here, they only sell for 4-7K. Malibu also chose some wild color schemes, which I don't think have held up over time with collectors as have the more cla$$ic schemes of the CCs. Bu has come a long way in terms of quality and, of course, their prices have risen accordingly. On the other hand, my neighbor had an 85 which he put over 2800 hours on. Can't ask for much more than that. Looks like you've found a good boat, really well taken care of. Enjoy it. BKH ------------- Livin' the Dream |
Posted By: Riley
Date Posted: January-22-2007 at 3:53pm
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We've put almost 1000 hours on it with minimal problems. If the CC of that era are better in quality, it's the behind the scenes stuff. The engine, controls, gaugues, were all top of the line. The Gel coat is top notch. We moor the boat all summer and use it a lot. It's a wet boat. I've rebuilt all the seats, replaced the floor access panel and have been nursing a section in the floor by the gas tank with Git Rot for the past 10 years, so rot is a problem. I think they sold for $15k new versus $18k for a 2001. They definately don't bring the money CCs do.
Our colors are good, but many of them pretty hideous. |
Posted By: TRBenj
Date Posted: January-22-2007 at 4:28pm
Thats exactly where you can see the difference. For example, Malibu used to inject the foam after the floor was in place. The floors were made entirely of wood, rather than fibergla$$ over foam on the CC's. Here is an '86 Skier thats being restored: 
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Posted By: Riley
Date Posted: January-22-2007 at 4:36pm
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I hope I never get into mine like that. I've got a 2' x 2' spot on the starbord side by the gas tank and under the rear seat that is soft. So far Git Rot is keeping it pretty solid.
Seems like it would be better not to replace the foam, and drill channels so that all the water drains into the bilge. |
Posted By: Riley
Date Posted: January-28-2007 at 9:28am
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Posted By: backfoot100
Date Posted: January-28-2007 at 12:57pm
| Thanks Riley. Nice lookin' boat. I really like the lines of the older boats better than the new ones. Lower freeboard and straight lines with sharp corners. That's cool. And don't even get me started on the sound!!!! Congrats! |
Posted By: jbear
Date Posted: January-28-2007 at 10:14pm
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Eddie; Took another look at this thread. Boy I like the look of your motor. I have a set of Commanders laying in the garage that need to be buffed so I can replace the PCM's on my motor. What did you use on them? I am gonna be pretty embarresed when you look under my cover!
john ------------- "Loud pipes save lives" AdamT sez "I'm Canadian and a beaver lover myself"... |
Posted By: The Dude
Date Posted: January-28-2007 at 11:00pm
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jbear, no embarra$$ment. Just be proud. That 80 is solid. ------------- Mullet Free since 93 http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=717&sort=&pagenum=1&yrstart=1991&yrend=1995" rel="nofollow - 95 Sport 1978 Ski Nautique |
Posted By: reidp
Date Posted: January-28-2007 at 11:06pm
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Eddie, I also just noticed that you're a Telecom PM. I'm a telecom GC on the wireless side. Are you wireline or wireless and if so for whom and where? ------------- ReidP /diaries/details.asp?ID=231&yrstart=1971&yrend=1975 - 1973 Mustang |
Posted By: jbear
Date Posted: January-28-2007 at 11:50pm
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Eddie: Thanks to Reid I just noticed that you are a telecom guy. So was I. I am not sure what you guys mean bt "PM" or "GC". I was just a plain ole cable mtc splicer.
john ps: I guess Reid means general contractor. Boy am I slow. ------------- "Loud pipes save lives" AdamT sez "I'm Canadian and a beaver lover myself"... |
Posted By: backfoot100
Date Posted: January-29-2007 at 9:35am
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John/ReidP;
I worked for an interconnect in WI for 24 yr's. I installed PBX's as a lead tech for 14, then became the install dept. Supr. for 5 years. Missed getting my hands dirty but liked management so I became a project manager (hence the PM John) for the last 5 years there. Job got eliminated due to downsizing. Relocated to FL (so I could ski year round) and currently working for a place in Tampa rebuilding used PBX's through Siemens. I actually tried getting into the wireless side because I did PM a couple of microwave installs and also got into the in-house wireless scenario's that integrated with PBX's. I thought it would be really cool to PM cell tower installs, but evidently, nobody else did. I worked systems as small as 6 phones to extremely complex 5000+ station location systems that were distributed to several sites across country. Telecom guys rule!!!! John, as far as the polishing of the manifolds goes. I just used Flitz with combinations of terry cloth towels, wool buffing wheels (the kind that you put in a drill) and newspaper to get it to the point that it's at now. Also used a dremel tool to get the hard to reach spots. The manifolds were somewhat polished already from the factory but they did turn out very nice. If you have the same type Commander manifolds that are in the pic that TRBenj sent with the Malibu floor rebuild, they should polish up very nicely. Just might take some time. Cost is minimal, but I did use a number of tubes of Flitz. Seeing as you're retired, what else do you have to do? By the way, you don't have to be embara$$ed about anything with that boat. The pic's that I've seen are awesome and it's an honor to be able to able to see something like that, not to mention the guys that will even make it more impressive!!!! |
Posted By: jbear
Date Posted: January-29-2007 at 9:35pm
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Eddie: Telecom guys rule. Yeah. I retired after 33 years in Ohio. Started as a station repairman, then went to Installation, res and small biz. Never did PBX work. Was a "Centrex" tech for schools and cities for about 10 years. Nice work. Multiple locations but simple on site work, all the features came from the CO. Then went to Cable Mtc where I spent the last 15 years. Great job. Was a "temp forman" a couple times but never took the job for good as I just didn't want to be tied down. Loved the job the whole way. Great times, pay, benefits, friends.
Can I a$$ume that one picks up Flitz at an auto parts store? Actually I got lots to do. Me and Patti both work at the Care Center in Lake Wales. I used to drive a Polk County school bus (cool job) and Patti worked at Cypress. I could never really be retired. john ------------- "Loud pipes save lives" AdamT sez "I'm Canadian and a beaver lover myself"... |
Posted By: The Dude
Date Posted: January-29-2007 at 11:01pm
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also jbear, check out the way Randy polishes his knob. It would probably work on manifolds and heads as well. ------------- Mullet Free since 93 http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=717&sort=&pagenum=1&yrstart=1991&yrend=1995" rel="nofollow - 95 Sport 1978 Ski Nautique |
Posted By: jbear
Date Posted: January-30-2007 at 12:01am
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Randy is the knob polish expert of this here website.
john ------------- "Loud pipes save lives" AdamT sez "I'm Canadian and a beaver lover myself"... |
Posted By: backfoot100
Date Posted: January-30-2007 at 8:43am
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John, glad to hear that you're staying busy anyway. There's only so many coats of wax you can put on your boat before it doesn't add to the finish.
You can get Flitz at any auto parts store, Lowe's, Home Depot etc. Probably even Wal Mart. Just wanted to verify that those manifolds are somewhat smooth already. Like an AL skin water jacket over the top of a cast unit. That's what mine were like. Not a solid cast AL piece. A solid cast piece would probably be pretty rough to start with and you might have to start with something else to get them smoother before using the Flitz. Hope that desciption makes sense. |
Posted By: 87BFN owner
Date Posted: February-02-2007 at 5:33pm
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backfoot do you a MSD distributor on that motor to go along with the ignition box? Which box you running, 6A or 7A? How did you mount it to the motor box with out the screws going through the other side? ------------- |
Posted By: backfoot100
Date Posted: February-02-2007 at 9:16pm
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87BFN,
I do have a MSD dist. The ignition box is a 6AL. I know, not the marine version, but I was running out of funds. Still works flawlessly. The bottom circumference of my motor box has a 1" x 1" wood strip that the upholstery is stapled to. I took a small piece of 1/2" marine plywood that I had left over from my floor replacement and treated it with epoxy so it doesn't rot and just screwed it to that furring strip. Then I attached the ignition box to that and dressed everything off. You should be able to see that from the engine pic on the first page of this thread. If you want a better pic, I can get that for you too. Just let me know. I wired it up with waterproof quick disconnects (from MSD) so I can remove the engine cover if I need to and the ignition box stays with it without having to remove it. It's kinda slick. |
Posted By: 87BFN owner
Date Posted: February-02-2007 at 9:24pm
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backfoot it looks great. was wondering because I am considering one for next year, but I know your not supposed to get it to far from the coil, closer the better within reason of course. Did you use the MSD coil to complete the package. The 6AL should be good for vibes anyway. WE use a 6AL in are truck and we take it off road and there is plenty of vibes once you put her up on 38's. Very nice set up you have there. ------------- |
Posted By: backfoot100
Date Posted: February-02-2007 at 9:42pm
| Thanks for the props. Actually, I did end up getting the MSD coil. I started without it, but my existing coil only lasted about a week. Scared the piss out of me after all that work. I was worried about the 6AL lasting with the wet environment and the vibes like you say, not to mention the heat. Not even a hint of a problem so far (knock on wood). I did make sure that I used the marine distributor though. |
Posted By: jbear
Date Posted: February-02-2007 at 10:05pm
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Eddie: Got my new manifold 2 nites ago. Was on the phone with ReidP last nite and we expect to have a couple of more tricks for our big motor day. Hope you are still in. I'll show ya my manifolds that day. Hopefully I can make 'em look as good as yours.
john ------------- "Loud pipes save lives" AdamT sez "I'm Canadian and a beaver lover myself"... |
Posted By: 87BFN owner
Date Posted: February-02-2007 at 10:24pm
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backfoot, yeah marine dist. onlyway to go. Thought about a regular auto as the motor turns that way but, no sense paying all that money and having crap out on you. ------------- |
Posted By: backfoot100
Date Posted: February-03-2007 at 4:54pm
John, I'm definitely in. I'll get in touch with ya as we get closer and figure out the time to meet. Have you started with the manifolds yet? Just wondering how they're coming along. It would definitely be easier to polish them before you put them on. If you need any more help on that, let me know and I can arrange come over before the big day and see if there is anything we can do to speed up that process if that's what you're referring to or are there other things we're gonna be doing to that day????? Just let me know.
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Posted By: jbear
Date Posted: February-03-2007 at 9:42pm
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Meant to call you today but somehow the day got away from me.
Ain't started on the Commanders yet. Won't be puttin' them on just yet, need some elbows and the polishing. Reid and I are talkin' GT-40 heads. He has a good line on some. john ------------- "Loud pipes save lives" AdamT sez "I'm Canadian and a beaver lover myself"... |
Posted By: backfoot100
Date Posted: February-05-2007 at 9:52am
| I somehow figured that there was more work we would be doing before all this is over. Carry on good man!!!!! |