New to me used nautique maintenance

[willnich77]

After 20 year if waiting to buy THE boat I wanted, I have. 2003 air nautique 206. It's I'm fantastic shape except for some oxidation with only 350 hours! So excited!

Ive changed oil, trans fluid, and had a marina look over.

As spring comes, I'm getting ready for plugs, impeller, and.....? I think in worst case scenario I take it to a dealer close to me but being rather handy I'd like to do some if it myself because it will be fun. Thoughts? Is there another post I should reference I haven't found? Been browsing... Thanks.

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[Infinity]

After 20 year if waiting to buy THE boat I wanted, I have. 2003 air nautique 206. It's I'm fantastic shape except for some oxidation with only 350 hours! So excited!

Ive changed oil, trans fluid, and had a marina look over.

As spring comes, I'm getting ready for plugs, impeller, and.....? I think in worst case scenario I take it to a dealer close to me but being rather handy I'd like to do some if it myself because it will be fun. Thoughts? Is there another post I should reference I haven't found? Been browsing... Thanks.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using PLT Nautique mobile app

When you replace the impeller, change the belt too, or at least check it and order one so you have it on hand if needed.
Changing plugs....you should do cap and rotor (easy and pretty cheap)....maybe check price on plug wires?
Change your fuel filter(s)...sounds like boat did a good bit of sitting with low hours like that, so this is pretty important IMO. Personally I would open gas tank and look for any debris in there and siphon out if it looks suspect, but that is taking things to another level unless you have fuel issues once you start running it.
Check all your fuel lines carefully for deterioration, especially if regular gas was used (E-10 with ethenol)....and I would use the blue stabil in each tank for at least the first few tanks of fuel. I use it in every fill up, but every 2nd - 3rd is probably good for someone not as OCD as me.
Check you coolant, you can buy test strips to check alkaline to make sure its still effective.....DEXCOOL is "good" for 5yrs and others 2-3. Chances are it has never been drained, flushed and replaced.....so just an FYI.
Might as well check/change thermostat

TEST batteries......make sure they are good and trickle charge till full (if you dont have 2, strongly suggest adding another). I have 3 batteries. 1 starter and 2 acc

Don't know what ballast pumps you have, I have reversible and I check my impellers in Spring and change them every other season.

Make sure on first outing, run it on trailer for 5 mins.....if ok then at dock for a while and triple check for leaks, (turn off and after 5mins, check all fluids), get up to operating temp and make sure it comes back down so you know thermostat and impeller is working right, etc. I am anal, so I run it at home on hose first....then at dock, then a nice easy cruise, stopping every 5-10mins to check and triple check.

Oxidation.....toilet bowl cleaner an acetone can clean off some stuff, but likely on 2003 you will need a variable speed rotary with wool pads and synthetic blend pads (wool is for the cutting compound that will sand/strip the gelcoat down some....Synthetic blend is for the polish coat. I use Boat Candy, but 3M and lots of other good ones out there). Then wax with something like Collonite Wax. Depending on how bad the oxidation/scratches are, you may have to wet sand and I will tell you now that its gonna feel scary as ****, with patience it will be ok tho. Personally I used 2000, but you could use 1200/1500 if needed. Would be 1200/1500/2000/cutting compount/polish/wax. If you do this, spend a couple hours watching utube videos on it, that is what I did. I did my boat a week ago and it turned out perfect, but took my time and I put like 16hrs into doing entire boat and I bought all the right tools upfront. Forget cutting compound by hand, wont give good enough results.

I love working on my boat, ts relaxing to me and I spend way too much time screwing around with it but on flipside have rarely had issues with any of my boats for that reason. Congrats and have fun. Nothing better than the new boat feeling!

[Quinner]

Will you be using on Bangs Lake? What Marine are you planning on using? I am in Wauconda most weekdays, would be happy to stop by and look it over if you want, also have a 206 so know that boat very well.

[willnich77]

Thanks infinity! All good tips. I've checked through most of what you mentioned. Didn't think about a thermostat or belt though. Belt looks good but worth a change. Only have 1 battery right now but will probably add one this year.

As for the oxidation... I may end up paying someone to do it. As much as I love working on the boat, my inexperience with gel coat and the time make it hard for me to get comfortable with doing myself.

Thanks for all the great information!

Quinner, I'll pm you. Good to have someone that's had this boat a while take a look at!

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[Infinity]

Yep, I was nervous to work on the gelcoat too, so totally understand the feeling. Took me all winter to finally make the time here recently too

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[CGSkiNautique]

When you replace the impeller, change the belt too, or at least check it and order one so you have it on hand if needed.
Changing plugs....you should do cap and rotor (easy and pretty cheap)....maybe check price on plug wires?
Change your fuel filter(s)...sounds like boat did a good bit of sitting with low hours like that, so this is pretty important IMO. Personally I would open gas tank and look for any debris in there and siphon out if it looks suspect, but that is taking things to another level unless you have fuel issues once you start running it.
Check all your fuel lines carefully for deterioration, especially if regular gas was used (E-10 with ethenol)....and I would use the blue stabil in each tank for at least the first few tanks of fuel. I use it in every fill up, but every 2nd - 3rd is probably good for someone not as OCD as me.
Check you coolant, you can buy test strips to check alkaline to make sure its still effective.....DEXCOOL is "good" for 5yrs and others 2-3. Chances are it has never been drained, flushed and replaced.....so just an FYI.
Might as well check/change thermostat

TEST batteries......make sure they are good and trickle charge till full (if you dont have 2, strongly suggest adding another). I have 3 batteries. 1 starter and 2 acc

Don't know what ballast pumps you have, I have reversible and I check my impellers in Spring and change them every other season.

Make sure on first outing, run it on trailer for 5 mins.....if ok then at dock for a while and triple check for leaks, (turn off and after 5mins, check all fluids), get up to operating temp and make sure it comes back down so you know thermostat and impeller is working right, etc. I am anal, so I run it at home on hose first....then at dock, then a nice easy cruise, stopping every 5-10mins to check and triple check.

Oxidation.....toilet bowl cleaner an acetone can clean off some stuff, but likely on 2003 you will need a variable speed rotary with wool pads and synthetic blend pads (wool is for the cutting compound that will sand/strip the gelcoat down some....Synthetic blend is for the polish coat. I use Boat Candy, but 3M and lots of other good ones out there). Then wax with something like Collonite Wax. Depending on how bad the oxidation/scratches are, you may have to wet sand and I will tell you now that its gonna feel scary as ****, with patience it will be ok tho. Personally I used 2000, but you could use 1200/1500 if needed. Would be 1200/1500/2000/cutting compount/polish/wax. If you do this, spend a couple hours watching utube videos on it, that is what I did. I did my boat a week ago and it turned out perfect, but took my time and I put like 16hrs into doing entire boat and I bought all the right tools upfront. Forget cutting compound by hand, wont give good enough results.

I love working on my boat, ts relaxing to me and I spend way too much time screwing around with it but on flipside have rarely had issues with any of my boats for that reason. Congrats and have fun. Nothing better than the new boat feeling!

When you say to add another battery, are you literally connecting a second battery in the boat, or just having a charged backup stowed somewhere? I don’t think there is any room to connect a second battery in my SN, but I could stash one in the bow. Maybe I could run some cables and build a custom 2nd battery box in the bow.

I have been thinking about buying one of those jump packs and keeping it on board; not sure if they make a marine specific version.

Either way, running out of juice on the water is a major concern of mine, I’ve been a victim of that more than once.


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[Infinity]

When you say to add another battery, are you literally connecting a second battery in the boat, or just having a charged backup stowed somewhere? I don’t think there is any room to connect a second battery in my SN, but I could stash one in the bow. Maybe I could run some cables and build a custom 2nd battery box in the bow.

I have been thinking about buying one of those jump packs and keeping it on board; not sure if they make a marine specific version.

Either way, running out of juice on the water is a major concern of mine, I’ve been a victim of that more than once.


Sent from my iPhone using PLT Nautique

Yes, you can add 2nd battery and wire in parallel so it adds juice to your current setup (u-tube how to hook up cause if you do it opposite, you will turn it into 24v, which you do NOT want). On my boat with isolation switch, batter #1 is starter and #2 was for accessory...I had a 3rd battery wired to my 2nd to add more juice to accessory for stereo, pumps, etc.
I keep one of the portable jump packs in my truck and recently my 2016 battery on truck went out, I was thankful to have it....saved the day. I dont in my boat cause I have plenty of juice and keep my batteries topped off, but think that would be a smart idea for you since you are running single battery.
You could add 2nd battery to bow and hook it in, just make sure you properly size cables since the further it gets away from source, the bigger the cable wire needs to be. Till you figured that out, you could definitely just keep a 2nd fully charged battery in boat. Would make me nervous to only have 1 battery too