2001 Ski Nautique

[NautiqueJeff]

Picked up another project boat yesterday.

This one is a 2001 Ski Nautique, and came from an owner down near Orlando.

He had unfortunately run the boat with a failed impeller, and absolutely cooked the GT40. The plastic engine cover is actually melted overtop of the engine.

Other than that, the boat is in pretty good shape. It'll need a few new upholstery skins, a full wet sand and buff, new pinstriping, new decals (they are all missing), a refinishing of the swim platform, and some new bungees on the Flight Clips.

The trailer is a little unusual for this type of boat. There is no prop guard. It seems to tow OK though. The owner said that the tires were new, but as usual, that proved to be untrue. At my first fuel stop about 30 minutes after picking up the boat, the tires were burning hot and the treads were starting to separate. Upon inspection, the tires are from 2017. I spent the night in my RV and waited for a tire shop to open up in the morning. I wasn't going to risk a flat on the side of I-95 in the middle of the night.

I decided to drop the boat off at PCM on my way home. They are going to pull the GT40 and rebuild it, and drop in my Excalibur that was supposed to go into the 2002 Ski Nautique (the one STILL waiting for gelcoat work to be completed). That way I'll at least have a running boat. I'll probably just keep the Excalibur in this boat and have them put the rebuilt GT40 into the 2002, once the gelcoat work is finished.

[fsts2k]

From the 10' away pictures the boat looks in better starting shape than many of your other projects!

[NautiqueJeff]

It is for sure. This one will clean up quickly.

[Scooter G]

Good score Jeff. Did you grab sight of that on "the interesting finds" thread, or did you already have your eye on it? Too funny.
That engine got a little warm, for sure. Was there not a limp mode feature in 2001?
2017 tires, well, they were almost new, give or take 6 years. I swear, some of you travel stories, if you had a dollar for every night you spent waiting for a shop to open in the morning...

[NautiqueJeff]

No, I was on this one from the start of the listing. This is a perfect boat for me, since I had an engine sitting at PCM just waiting for a boat to go into.

There was a limp mode. He ignored it and thought he could get it to the boat ramp.

[Scooter G]

Always a good idea to ignore limp mode. Well like he said in the lising, my loss is your gain.
I would need a giant flow chart on the wall to keep track of your projects and parts.
I walk into my shop, "hmm, I came in here for a reason, now what was it again?" lol

It's been fun watching the progression in 10 different directions at all times.
Keep it up...

[ScooterMcgavin]

I can only imagine the look on the wife’s face… Honey I’m going to buy another boat!… But don’t you already have like 10? No it’s only 8 and this will be 9. I’ll call you when I get there

[NautiqueJeff]

Actually, it was 9 and this one makes 10!

Might be heading to Maryland tomorrow to buy another, and she's coming with me!

And yes, I do need a system. I actually have s spreadsheet that shows where all of the projects are and the costs for each repair to each boat. It is pretty detailed.

My biggest need right now is space to store all of these boats. And I need to sell some!

[Interjon]

Fun to watch. Good luck with this one, and with the 196 with the (now) gelcoat problems. As you said, the fiberglass guy did decent work on the 2003.

[Scooter G]

And I need to sell some!

Ya think! HaHa

ScooterMcgavin only missed the head count by 1, I'm impressed, not bad.

[fjg246]

Following!

[SilentSeven]

Hey Jeff - at what point do you need to declare yourself a boat dealer?

Here in Washington state...if you transact enough cars in a calendar period, the state determines you're no longer a private party and are effectively a dealer....and have to operate within all the associated parameters...

[NautiqueJeff]

Not sure, but I have only sold one so far this year, so I think I am good. There's lots of interest in this one though!

[NautiqueJeff]

PCM has pulled the engine and is ready to install the Excalibur this week.

Here's a shot of the exhaust tubes. The previous owner REALLY heated the GT40 that was in this boat up quite a bit to cause this much damage to the exhaust tubes.

[fsts2k]

oof... that had some heat!