2003 Ski Nautique 196 Project

[bionaraq]

Man, you've got me really itching to see what he can do with the Wineberry. I spent all of saturday working on removing the scratches on every step. I found the rotary buffing sanding pads were worthless, they can handle maybe a 2'x2' area before they are worn out despite constant water. Hand sanding was quicker!.

[NautiqueJeff]

Got the boat back from gelcoat/fiberglass today. It came out great! I'm ready to stripe this thing and install the decals!

[NautiqueJeff]

Couldn't resist striping it today and installing the decals. It is starting to look like a boat again!

I think we made the right choice with the blue pinstripe. It is going to look great with the new interior.

[NautiqueJeff]

I cleaned the carpet today, and now the boat is inside the garage drying out. It'll take two or three days to dry out under the dehumidifier and fan, and then reassembly will begin!

[NautiqueJeff]

First emptying of the dehumidifier. Still pretty wet, but looking pretty good!

I will probably get the PerfectPass gauge installed in the dash tomorrow. I had to order a 4.25" hole saw for the dash since there is no hole behind the Nautique sticker on dashes with no center gauge. I always learn something on every boat.

I may also start the rubrail installation tomorrow. We'll see.

[kylant]

really enjoy watching the restorations.
i am really digging this one!

the blue pinstriping looks great, except the rear upper one. that one seems out of place. IMO the boat would look better without it

[NautiqueJeff]

Yeah, being a solid color hull instead of having a contrasting color up there, it does look kinda funny. That said, it is the stock configuration and I worry that without it the SKI and the 196 will look weird. I'll let the person who buys it decide. It is super easy to remove that stripe if they don't want it there.

[bionaraq]

Man, I hated the Nautique/swirl on mine, but I REALLY like how it looks on this boat. something about it matches better.
I like the blue pinstripes myself. I'm getting closer on mine, still contemplating sending it to get the bad gelcoat cut out and replaced. Wife wants me to sticker it and use it. "it's an older boat, it's going to get dinged up, in a few years when youre good at handling it then worry about making it perfect".

is that new carpet? source? my bottom carpet is completely sunfaded and worn out. I've got a CNC setup i bought to do seadek for my yamaha. So I am thinking about making the switch.

[NautiqueJeff]

That's original carpet. I just cleaned it, and it seems to have come back well.

NautiqueParts does carry the proper carpet if you decide to replace yours.

[NautiqueJeff]

Got the PerfectPass gauge installed in the dash tonight.

This was a real pain because this dash didn't have a hole for the gauge. This is the first one that I have encountered like that.

I had to order a 4.25" hole saw, wait for it to arrive, and then cut the hole. 4.25" is the closest size to being right, but the hole still needed some work with the Dremmel in order to be big enough for the gauge to fit. I eventually got it all sized up, and the gauge fits well now.

I removed the "Performance Engineered For" dash plaque, and will replace it with one with the new owner's name, so don't mind the glue left behind from that.


BEFORE:




AFTER:

[MN Ryan]

A Dremel is the duct tape of tools. Looks good!

[NautiqueJeff]

Ok, so my original gauge placement wasn't the stock placement, and I couldn't stand that gauge not being in the stock location, so I spent another hour moving the gauges around to the stock configuration. If this boat had come with PerfectPass from the factory, the gauge would have been on the right, not in the center. This is for ease of getting to the buttons. It is all correct now.

The keen eye will also notice that I replaced the Danger decal by the key switch. The old one had a screw through it!

[SANonTellico]

Nice! Love the attention to detail.
It’s the little things that make a big difference.

[MN Ryan]

Jeff, I was going to bust your balls on that, but...

[bionaraq]

Where can i get the "performance engineered for" plaque from?
I did not realize they still did those, my FIL has it for his 96 Body Glove SN.