New to me '98 SN

[High altitude]

First post on this sight for me. I have to admit, I'm super excited to be back in a Nautique after a very long absence. (Sold my 2001 back in 1994 and have been sorry every since. My last boat was a Gekko GTS-20, and although it worked fine for slalom..it never gave me that same "feeling" of quality and pride like a Nautique)

I just bought this '98 Ski Nautique from a neighbor. The boat has been underused for the last several seasons and I was able to pick it up for $11.5K. It currently has the GT-40, a tuneable rudder, hot water shower and perfect pass. My plan for the boat is three-fold and I was looking for advice/comments to make the best decisions with limited time and money.

1. The boat needs to be thoroughly cleaned. The gent who owned this boat was getting a bit lazy and I must admit it shows on the interior/exterior. Over the winter I was planning on doing a full-wetsanding of the gelcoat followed by wax, polish. etc. I have downloaded several threads from this site already so I believe I'm pretty set on this one. The only question I have is..do you have to tape over all the lettering when wet sanding? That is going to make a lot more work but the decals are in pretty good shape and I don't want to ruin them. After that I plan to clean the carpet using a steam cleaner. After a few season I might replace the carpet but I want to prioritize my work and this can clearly wait. In addition, I need to clean the skins. I should probably replace them but again, I think I will wait. I didn't see as many threads on this subject. Is there any good advice out there? The skins are dirty and I have tried cleaning them using leather cleaner but to no avail. Can I use harsher cleaner products? Which ones? Once I get them clean I will use 303 to keep them protected from sun, but right now they just look old and dirty.

2. Mechanical upgrades. I already ordered a PP Stargazer upgrade. I think everything should go pretty easy on this but I also have to put in the multi-line display. I assume this is pretty straight forward, but any advice would be appreciated. I also need to tune the rudder to change to a right hand pull. The lake I live on is set up for right turns. It's a long story but I don't think I would feel safe having my driver (wife - and she is a good driver) drive the islands with a left turn. Will the boat work just fine tuning the rudder 'fins" to the left (for a right turn)? How do you ensure that the "fins" don't become loose or snap straight at a critical moment? I'm going to do these projects in the next week and then to a quick lake test. The water's down to 40 degrees so only one set for me and then time to re-winterize!

3. After I put her away for the season i plan on a few more mechanical upgrades. I want to install a heater system. I already ordered a three vent from SKIDIM. I know I plan on having one vent on the kick plate for the driver but what is the common set-up for the pull hoses? I thought I would have one close to the driver and one for the observer but I don't know where to put the piping. I did a little research and saw some installs on older boats but I'm looking for advice on somebody with a SN or 196. In addition, I have been thinking about adding a tower. I know some would consider that a total waste... but I and the kids like to wake surf when we can't ski. Luckily my other neighbor has a SAN that we can go out on, but I want my own capability to do it on a limited basis. Is the tower really needed for starts? Also, what kind of ballast should I use? Since I have my own private dock I was thinking of just picking up some dumbbells on Craigslist and keeping them in my shed. Is that a stupid approach? I could build a setup for a fat sack and add a 750 if that is a much better way to go. The last thing I want to do is get the prop cupped. Right now it's a 422 but I'm at 7000 ft and I can't get the 5000 RPMs like the book says. I know I need to re-prop eventually but ACME said they can recup for $45 and almost get the same effect. Any advice on new props when I finally recharge my boat supply money?

Thanks in advance for the replies. Sorry for so many questions but I'm very happy to have a winter's worth of projects on a boat I already love. -Marc (mods feel free to move to the maintenance section if this is not appropriate in the general discussion area)

[east tx skier]

Congratulations on your new boat. I have a nice low hour 98 SN as well. I can't answer all of your questions, but I can answer a few.

1. For the skins, get some mild laundry detergent no bleach (like Tide) and put it in a bucket with warm water. Use a soft bristled brush and work it into the seats. Rinse and see what you have left. Follow up with some vinyl protectant like 303 or Maguires. Another product, which I haven't used, is Babes Seat Soap. I have heard good things. Avoid bleach. It will eat up the thread in the seams. For stuff that will not come out otherwise, Magic Eraser will work, but it is abrasive, removes a layer of vinyl, and is not ideal for the long run. Stick with soap and water if you can.

2. On tuning the rudder, you are going to have a hard time getting a SN to pull right. I used to have a MC and was very accustomed to a right hand pull. My previous owner had ground my rudder neutral and I tried to take it the rest of the way to get a right hand pull. Long story short, I never got it to go right and replaced it with a tunable rudder and have a very nice left hand pull. This won't prevent you from going clockwise around a turn island. My advice would be to stick with the left hand rudder load. As far as "fins," I assume you are talking about the trim tab on the rudder and not the skegs under the boat. The tab on my rudder has never gone straight on me. As for the skegs, don't mess with them.

[Chexi]

Try the mild laundry detergent first. If that does not work, go to the Dollar General and get some Totally Awesome. Dilute it 50:50 in a spray bottle. Spray one piece of vinyl at a time, use a soft brush (quickly), wipe off, and rinse with water, then move to the next piece and repeat the process.

I have heard that it is possible to surf a SN of that vintage, but it is going to take some serios ballast, and a few dumbbells are not going to do it. You should go with some fat sacs in the rear and along the surf-side of the motor box cover. Measure the space and see what is the biggest that will fit and go with those. Buy a pump of course. Fat Sac Pro X's are the best sacs. Check the blemished section on Wakemakers.com periodically for deals.

You don't need a tower to surf. The only thing a tower gives you with respect to surfing is a place to store boards.

For wakeboarding and wakeskating, a tower helps, but still is not necessary, especially if these are only occassional activities. A tower is also likely to lower the value of your SN. Towers (and specfically the OEM FCT's and ND towers) enhance the value of Sports and Super Sports, but generally hurt the value of the pure ski boats.

[swc5150]

Let's see some pics:-)

[High altitude]

Thanks for the info everybody. Pics to follow.... hopefully this weekend. I'm actually a little ashamed at how she looks right now but it should make for a good comparison when I re-launch in the Spring after all my cleanup/upgrades. I got the PP Stargazer and upgraded display in last night. Need to replace the starter tonight. Hopefully, if the ice melts on the lake, I will take it out Saturday to get the STABIL thru the fuel system. After that, I'm done for the season and I need to do the full winterization. I'm going to try put the trim tabs to the left and see what happens but after reading East TX's post, I'm not super hopeful.
Thanks for the advice on the tower as well. I wasn't sure if it was necessary for the start but that hasn't been too challenging anyway. I think I will just keep the bimini and call it good. As for the fat sacs, I'll keep on the lookout for some used ones. I don't want to spend a ton of money but it seems like the way to go if I'm going to occasionally get some quality surfing in. -Marc