Jeff's 1998 Ski Nautique Restoration

[t.franscioni]

very interested to hear how you go about the dash vinyl. I looked at doing this as well as part of my restoration but got hung up because I could not find unbacked vinyl as was used by nautique on these dashes (at least my 2002 dash anyway). Unbacked vinyl will stretch very easily and it appears to me that nautique used a vacuum bagging process on these dash pods so the unbacked vinyl was basically vacuumed over the dash which allowed it to cover uniformly without wrinkles to the complex curves of the dash pod... Unless you are able to figure out a way to do this I was just going to match the color and use vinyl dye in a spray can which will hopefully makes it look like new. Looking forward to some after pictures of your dash resto and learning more about this.

[RyanNoble]

Hey Jeff, the boat is coming along great and I'm just loving the fact that you are doing a project like this on planetnautique. It's just too easy to go after the next new shiny model so good on you for proving you can resurrect a legend like this! Keep up the updates, you are giving us all a lot of courage!

[brit_hunsicker]

Hey Jeff, with the windshield, is that little foam piece or whatever that is just up from the bottom, it is hard to get out? was your decayed at all or did you have to replace it once you removed it? Where I am I don't think I'll be able to track that down...

If you're talking about the foam piece that covers the screws, NautiqueParts sells the replacement strips and they are rubber. I replaced them on both of my last 2 boats, as I removed the windshields in order to tint them.


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[RyanNoble]

Thanks Brit_hunsicker, thats always good to know there are parts out there before you start a project and "something happens"

Ryan

[NautiqueJeff]

I took the boat back to the gelcoat place this morning, and they knocked the gel down some more on the driver's side so that the old letter locations are no longer visible. I brought it home this morning, and installed the driver's side graphics. Since there were some questions about graphic installation, I decided to better document the installation on the driver's side.



Starting at the end of the windshield, center the graphic in the middle stripe, measuring top and bottom at both ends to get it as close to perfect as possible. Run a single strip of masking tape along the top.






Separate each letter by cutting up toward the tape. This makes the graphic much easier to work with, since it becomes many small graphics instead of one huge graphic.







Flip each letter up (one at a time) and remove the backing. Use a squeegee and apply the letter by pulling down from the tape line. This should prevent air bubbles and apply each letter straight.





Repeat until all letters are applied.







Remove the tack paper from the front of each letter carefully. Inspect for any air bubbles and work those out by hand.







After all paper is removed, check over one last time for any air bubbles, and address as necessary. If you did your squeegee work properly, there should be very few if any air bubbles. Stand back and admire your work!

[t.franscioni]

Awesome thanks for the pics of the graphic installation process.

[Skidave]

Looks great. And I hate just having to replace my registration sticker!

I'm good @ spending other people's money...time for new trailer wheels now that the boats looks new again.

[NautiqueJeff]

Yeah, you're right. I hate pulling this boat around on the trailer it is currently on, especially now that the boat is looking so much better. This trailer in mechanically sound, but looks terrible. I bought a second Ski Nautique trailer a few weeks back that I plan to use with this boat. It is black, so it will look better than the reddish purple trailer I am using now, but it needs the bunk carpet replaced, the side steps need to be replaced, the wiring all needs to be replaced, and the lights need to be replaced. It also needs new fenders, a little rust repair (just a little) and a good buffing. Sounds like a mess, but it is actually a very solid trailer. I can get it looking pretty good in 2 or 3 days when I get time. I have the wiring and new lights for it already, and I can get the new fenders from Ram-Lin, maybe while I am in Orlando this week.

[NautiqueJeff]

Tomorrow morning I am heading for Florida with this boat!

First stop will be PCM, in Little Mountain, SC. I am not sure exactly what they want, but they asked me to bring this project by their headquarters on my way down to Florida, so I will do it!

Next stop will be SeaDek in Rockledge, FL. I will drop the boat off for SeaDek to scan, build, and install non-skid flooring. They may also build and install SeaDek on the engine cover base and seat bases. It depends on what we decide once I get there. They will have the boat for about two weeks.

After I drop it off at SeaDek, I will head over to Roswell's World Headquarters, also in Rockledge, FL. They are providing the audio system for this boat. It is going to be simple, yet modern and unique. They are also providing underwater lights. I am going to pick up this gear and install it when I get the boat back from SeaDek.

When I get home in a couple of days, I will concentrate on what I can do here without the boat -- Swim Platform, Upholstery (it is currently in production at Christine's), and working on the black trailer.

[cedarcreek216]

Jeff, I have a personal question and obviously you don't have to answer if you don't feel it's any of my business, but do you work for Nautique or is this a hobby that you have made an incredible network in and you have an extremely flexible job that allows you to do a lot of tinkering?


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[NautiqueJeff]

No, I don't work for Nautique. I am very lucky to have a job that allows me to work from anywhere, and that frees up time that would otherwise be spent traveling to and from work. I can work from my car while my wife drives, so traveling is pretty easy for me to do.


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[swc5150]

I hope PCM has something really cool in store for you, like perhaps an H5!

[cedarcreek216]

No, I don't work for Nautique. I am very lucky to have a job that allows me to work from anywhere, and that frees up time that would otherwise be spent traveling to and from work. I can work from my car while my wife drives, so traveling is pretty easy for me to do.


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That's cool, I have a similar work situation. Makes it nice to work from the lake or the golf course.


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[NautiqueJeff]

So I stopped by PCM this morning on my way to Florida. Here's the result:

[Miljack]

soooo, what's going back in there??