Poor running 1990 Ski Nautique

[JustinB]

I'm considering purchasing a 1990 Ski Nautique; however, it isn't running all that well. The current owner just spent $1700 to have the boat gone through as it has been sitting for a couple of years without use. The write up mentions that they rebuilt the carburetor as well as a complete tuneup. They mentioned there was water in the fuel tank and that they had flushed it a couple of times.

When I took it out, it started right up and idled out of the marina just fine. Under power it ran for about 2 minutes and suddenly died. It took a minute to restart and once again ran great for about 2 minutes before shutting itself off. I repeated the exercise one more time and got the same result. At that point I decided to idle back into the marina as I was worried about getting stuck on

I'm guessing there is water in the fuel...does that sound like how the boat would react? If so, what is the best way to remove the water from the fuel?

TIA,

Justin

[DanielC]

RE: Poor running 1990 Ski Nautique

That sounds a lot like water in the fuel. Completely draining the fuel tank, and changing the fuel filters, and making sure there is no water in the carburettor is the solution.
I have been running E-10 gas in my 1997 Ski Nautique for years. If your fuel system is clean, running E-10 keeps the water away. My boat has 2092 hours on it.
You may need to change the fuel system hoses on this boat, they might not be compatible with E-10 gasoline.

[81nautique]

RE: Poor running 1990 Ski Nautique

Sounds like fuel starving so if they've changed the filters take a look at the anti siphon back at the tank.

[JustinB]

RE: Poor running 1990 Ski Nautique

Thanks for the tips you two...I went back to the boat today and pulled the fuel filter. Dumping the fuel filter out into a clear container reveled a lot of water in the fuel. I'm guessing the best way to proceed is to empty the tank (which the owner just filled)...bummer.