Questions about 1991 Sport Nautique

[moto132]

I have been looking at a 91 Sport for a buddy. The boat is rough but the price reflects that. Some questions that i have are these. The boat is an open bow but the port side front windshield is shattered. How much will a new piece of glass cost? Also the interior will need to be replaced in a year or so, how much will the skis cost if we were to buy them and do them ourselves? The ski pylon looks like it has a bend in it at the bottom but it looks like too perfect of a bend to be from a ski. Is that factory on these boats or is it bent? It has 1109 hours on it and the motor is a 351. Only issue this owner has had was the impeller and it is now replaced. Other then that i cant think of much, is there anything else i should look for? The asking price is 5500 but he is offering him 3 based on the overall condition and cost to repair. Gel coat is faded but not cracked and the bottom of the boat looks perfect. It has a new cover and a spare prop. Thanks in advance!

[bhectus]

5500 seems like a fair price, 4k would be exceptional, and anything under that even better. Keep in mind it is a wood stringer boat and being an open bow, if the stringers are bad it is a much bigger undertaking than a typical closed-bow pre-90 boat. You'll have to separate the entire cap. The pylon most likely has a stock bend in it from the factory, this is standard. Skins will typically cost you about $1k-1500 depending on who you get them from. It is not an easy job to do it yourself. Not sure on how much the glass would cost but that should be relatively easy as that year boat had flat glass and 5-pc windshield.

[shag]

Pylon bend is normal. prices can widely vary for interior. 1109 hours is a lot, but probably right for that age boat. What kind of usage? Did they wakeboard a lot? If so was a lot of additional weight used? If so, I would be concerned about the tranny (they were not as heavy duty as they are now and they are not cheap to fix). Also, if the appearance is rough - that leads me to be concerned about mechanical. (just my .02) I know there are people that disregard the appearance but take good care of the drivetrain.
I would carefully walk on every square foot of the floor to see if there are any soft spots. If I remember right, CC used wood stringers till 93'. If the floor is good, I would think 3000.00 - 3500.00 would be fair. Is there a trailer? With a decent trailer, I would give no more than 4k.
Just my opinion.
Good luck!

[TRBenj]

Bhectus is right, for the most part. I disagree on 2 things though.

1. The delux interior is going to cost significantly more than his $1k-1500 estimate. Youre talking $2500-3000 if you want to go with factory correct skins from an authorized source, with the proper patterns and embroidery. Add $1k or so for the install. This assumes you can reuse all the foam... otherwise, add another $500-1000 for that.

2. The windshield glass is easy to get replaced (its flat and any decent glass shop can cut it for you), but the frame could be a major issue. If you cant salvage the frame you have, you could be looking at $500-1000 to replace half the windshield.

[bhectus]

Bhectus is right, for the most part. I disagree on 2 things though.

1. The delux interior is going to cost significantly more than his $1k-1500 estimate. Youre talking $2500-3000 if you want to go with factory correct skins from an authorized source, with the proper patterns and embroidery. Add $1k or so for the install. This assumes you can reuse all the foam... otherwise, add another $500-1000 for that.

2. The windshield glass is easy to get replaced (its flat and any decent glass shop can cut it for you), but the frame could be a major issue. If you cant salvage the frame you have, you could be looking at $500-1000 to replace half the windshield.

Tim, keep in mind that if someone is looking to score a boat on the cheap, that the chances of them going with "factory correct" aka Nautique Skins from Christines is slim to none. The estimate that I gave him for a local canvas shop doing the skins only and no labor is still fairly accurate. My buddy just got his entire Mastercraft done and INSTALLED for that by a local guy. So I know it is possible.

[TRBenj]

I disagree that about the "slim to none" comment... I bought a fairly inexpensive NWZ and then bought new (factory correct) skins!

While I certainly agree that its possible to get the interior replaced for $1000-1500, as your buddy did, that is also the extreme low end of the scale. I could not get any sort of interior installed with that many skins locally for that price... I could barely get a non-delux '80 Ski Nautique done for $1500, and even then, most shops around here would charge more. I have found that local pricing is very much in line with factory correct pieces from Nautiqueskins- so its a highly regional thing. The original poster is in Washington state... and I suspect his local pricing is closer to mine than yours. Just a guess!

Either way, I would plan for the worst when factoring in the cost on a used boat purchase. It will almost always cost more than you think to complete a project like that!

[EchoLodge]

I sold my 90 Sport to a buddy last year and I still ski behind it. It now lives in the salt and has 1400 hours on it and runs strong. I had to replace the drivers window and even though there is a curve to it a flat piece of tempered glass will work and was less then $250 to have made and installed. Check for soft spot on the floor by front passenger's seat near engine box.