127 Hour 1997 Ski Nautique Quick Project

**GMLIII** · 06-11-2019, 05:48 PM

Wow such an unbelievable find of a boat of that age with such low hours. Was the owner just not into water-sports after he purchased it? Curious for the reason of the low hours.

**NautiqueJeff** · 06-11-2019, 05:56 PM

From what I understand, it was kept on Lake Summit here in NC. I assume (but don't know for sure) that it was kept there at the owner's vacation home, and only used a few hours each year. I wasn't able to get very much information from the guy I bought it from.

**GMLIII** · 06-11-2019, 06:59 PM

Originally posted by NautiqueJeff View Post

From what I understand, it was kept on Lake Summit here in NC. I assume (but don't know for sure) that it was kept there at the owner's vacation home, and only used a few hours each year. I wasn't able to get very much information from the guy I bought it from.

Lake Summit , great lake at the top of the real estate market . A+++

**NautiqueJeff** · 06-11-2019, 09:38 PM

Well, we got right to it. My helpers and I pulled all of the graphics, decals, stickers, etc. off of the boat tonight. It is ready for a good buffing. I found one small gelcoat chip in the Silver Cloud near the bottom, but other than that, this thing should shine right up with no problems!

**ecoastkid** · 06-12-2019, 10:22 AM

Wow. That boat brings back memories of when I used to go to a camp as a teenager that had ski nautiques. Its why I finally bought one all these years later.

Great find!

**NautiqueJeff** · 06-18-2019, 05:46 PM

Well, this one is up and running!

It had a severely-corroded starter, so I replaced that. Even after that I had the dreaded click, click, click, no start. I went ahead and replaced the starter relay, and then it fired right up!

When I bought the boat, the propeller was missing. I have a new Acme 422 on order from Delta Propeller, and that should be here tomorrow.

I am going to change the oil and replace the impeller and belts tonight, and hopefully I can take it out for a spin tomorrow.

She runs! I only ran it for a few seconds since I didn't have water running to the engine. The impeller is getting changed later tonight anyway, so I wasn't worried about messing it up.

Here's the old starter:

Here's the new one:

**NautiqueJeff** · 06-19-2019, 12:11 AM

Got the impeller changed out, and also changed the oil and replaced the belts.

As soon as the propeller gets here tomorrow, I'm going for a ride!

Old impeller actually looked pretty good. I always change the impellers in my project boats because you never know when they were last changed.

Old impeller and broken O-ring:

New impeller ready to go in:

**migs** · 06-19-2019, 12:31 PM

keep the pics coming Jeff

**NautiqueJeff** · 06-19-2019, 04:47 PM

My friends at Delta Propeller came through today with a new Acme 422 for this boat. I was hoping to go for a test ride today, but my truck is in the shop and I don't have a way to put the boat in the water! Maybe tomorrow.

**Tytracy2003** · 06-23-2019, 05:54 PM

the exact twin to my boat, colors and all

**NautiqueJeff** · 06-25-2019, 04:46 PM

Took this boat out for a test ride today, and I am happy to say that for the most part it is running great!

I did run into a limp mode issue with the SLOW system (just like what happened on the 2001 Sport Nautique that I fixed up a couple of months ago). Once again, it was the oil pressure switch thinking that the oil pressure was too low and throwing the boat into limp mode. Oil pressure is fine, so I bypassed the switch by disconnecting the wire. That allowed the engine to operate at normal speeds with no problem, and it ran great.

I will order a new oil pressure switch from Nautique Parts tonight and fix it properly once that arrives.

It is getting a little crowded around here. I need to get this one finished up so that someone can take it home!

**NautiqueJeff** · 07-14-2019, 09:03 PM

Wet sanding and buffing is about half done. Should be all done this week, and then the new decals will go on.

Spent some time today on the dashboard. Replaced the voltmeter and the temperature gauge. Voltmeter wasn't working, and temperature gauge was not the correct gauge for the boat (see previous picture). They're all good now! I also installed a new head unit cover and door.