2003 Ski Nautique 196 Project

[ScooterMcgavin]

Go for it !

[NautiqueJeff]

The interior would look like this, except that the black stripe in this picture would be gray and the piping would be black. I think this would add quite a bit to my boat.

[CHassmann]

I agree it will look awesome!

[mcowell]

Your wife has got to be angel

[Tigerxj]

Too much NCSU or UGA!

just kidding, but the gray/red combo I think would look better than the red/black in your example. I'm not a huge fan of red but it needs something more than white on white, and that amount is fairly understated.

red piping, white and gray stripes? Can you tell I'm more of a neutral colors guy?

[NautiqueJeff]

Getting right to it today.

Most of the interior is out, the dash is out, the windshield is off.

Tomorrow the rest of the interior comes out, the rubrail comes off, and everything that's left gets cleaned thoroughly. Then it'll be ready for the gelcoat shop next week.

Windshield will be disassembled and taken to the powder coater next week too.

Sunday, if there is time, I'll replace the impeller, so that way it should be ready to hit the water once everything is put back together.

[NautiqueJeff]

Ok, the rest of the interior is out, the rubrail is off, and it is all ready for the gelcoat shop. This one is moving right along!

[NautiqueJeff]

I am trying something different with the bimini top for this boat.

Normally I would spend big dollars (about $600 plus shipping) and buy a bimini top from one of the well-known companies. I have been noticing that Amazon has a number of much less expensive bimini tops with good reviews, and they appear that they will fit the boat well. I decided to go ahead and try that option for this boat, and if the quality wasn't as good as I hoped, or if it didn't fit, I would just return it and buy my normal bimini top.

I ordered this one from Amazon two days ago for less than $200.

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B01H8N43...roduct_details

So far, it appears that it will work quite well! I haven't fit it to the boat yet, but I think I am pretty happy with it. The material isn't sunbrella, but it seems like it might be of good enough quality to last for a few years. The frame seems very good. I ordered the shortest (height) version. It is still a little taller than I would have liked, but not so tall that it'll look stupid (I hope).

We'll see how it goes.

EDIT: I changed my mind on this bimini top and will be sending it back to Amazon. See Post 39 for more info.

[NautiqueJeff]

Got the windshield disassembled and the frame is ready for powder coat this week. Not sure how long they'll take, but they are usually pretty fast.

We'll go with matte black (to match the rubrail). Should look great, as usual.

[NautiqueJeff]

Well, the boat has been dropped off at the gelcoat shop, and the windshield frame has been dropped off at the powder coat place.

Now we wait.

Looking forward to getting it all back so that I can add the new decals and pin striping, assemble the windshield, and go for a ride!

[fsts2k]

Jeff, are you going to replace the nets on the sides or if not how do you restore them?

[NautiqueJeff]

I think they'll clean up OK. If they don't, I happen to have a set from a different boat that I can install if necessary.

[Pacer1]

Do you have a go to method/guy for your wet sanding? I have seen some discussion/tutorials on it but always interested in seeing/learning more ways?

[NautiqueJeff]

For these bigger projects, I leave it to the professionals. I am trying a new shop for this boat. I'll let everyone know how it goes.

[CHassmann]

You could always cut the tubes to make the Bimini shorter. A friend did that to the Bimini top on his Nautique. You would have to shorten the straps also. It looks great.