87 nautique
 

I'm looking at purchasing an 87 nautique 2001 I'm just wondering what I should look for in forms of possible issues. I went to look at boat this evening but it got dark to quickly for me to get a good look. The boat did have 2" of water above the floor and in the bilge due to drain plug hole being clogged, not sure what damage could be have been done. I also noticed a decent crack on drivers side of hull just above the keel. I'm pretty sure I will be getting this boat regardless only due to the price the guy is asking too good to pass up unless the boat was cracked bow to Stern and trashed completely inside but interior did appear to be decent for age just dirty and some mildew. Any thoughts on what to look for would be greatly appreciated. Also according to owner boat was last ran in 2006 and sat inside for storage until this summer when he stored it at his buddies shop outside

I've learned that even a lot of "free" things are anything but free. 10 years ago, those boats were always known as awesome budget wakeboard boats but, they can also be money pits if they've been neglected (just like any other boat). The thing with that particular boat is the wood floor and stringers. They're prone to rot and that's a huge job repairing/rebuilding something like that. I've seen a number of them that have been all rebuilt from the bottom up and they still aren't worth that much-relative to the time/money that's been spent on them. If you're looking for a project, disregard what i'm saying. my .02

Effectively sunk on trailer and an obvious crack in the hull. I hope he's paying you to take it. As it sits now it's not much more than an expense. Water in the foam will never dry out. The floor will rot. I don't know about stringers in Nautiques but if they're wood they're goners too. Is there water in the oil? Wiring will fail. Seat bases are likely wooden and their days are numbered. Starter, alternator....

If you want a project, have fun but you'll spend more than the boat will be worth. If you want to keep it for a long time and enjoy it then go for it. If you're thinking you'll sell it after you get it fixed up then pass on it.

Hope it's free? You'll be in it $3k-$6k for stringers, floor, interior. Countless hours grinding glass and itching. Engine is suspect with that much water sitting for unknown time. Since you'll have it out at minimum pull the pan and check for water intrusion, check bearing condition, compression check adn go from there.

You're looking at a total restoration job. Nothing wrong with that and you can have an awesome upgraded and customized boat when done but be aware you'll have as much or more money into it as buying a nice SN2001 with stringers already done... Not to mention all the time. You will need space to work on it, fortunately a 2001 doesn't need the cap pulled to do stringers so it's not as bad as most. If you're into this type of stuff by all means save that boat and make it what you want it to be, if not don't bother or you may end up trying to sell it off as a gutted hull halfway through.

Do the old lag bolt check for stringer rot. Try tightening the engine mount bolts that go into the stringers. If they are rotten, they will just spin. If they solid, you should be able to tighten them up. I agree if it has had water sitting in it that high, the foam is wet and will never dry. Depending on how long it has been sitting like that, stringers could be bad or really bad. Empty the water, check the oil for water. If its clean, try firing it up, see what happens.

For the right price, it may be worth it, especially if the stringers are not too bad, or if you don't plan on keeping long term. Just think about what you will be able to sell if for down the road and what you will have to put in, if anything.

check out correctcraftfan.com...pretty much the authority on these boats

Water that high, check for water in the transmission too. As a general rule, I'd not buy a boat that's been sitting like that. Does it have a tower, new prop, interior? These boats are pretty common. Unless it runs and is like 1500, I'd keep looking.

Checked boat out again today after water had drained and talked to the owner more about boat. It has sat inside a warehouse for the last 8 years and he had moved it this summer to his buddies fab shop and was outside for last 3 months. I had looked at this boat a month ago just out of curiosity and there was no water inside the boat at that time. With the rain we have had the past couple weeks I believe water built up from there after drain plug hole became clogged. Anyways after checking the engine bolts to the stringers and finding them to be tight and the floor to be pretty solid and not sounding hollow I believe both of those to be OK. I checked tranny fluid for signs of water and there was none and the same with engine oil. I've worked on motors before and don't believe I will have much problems getting it running after doing a thorough tune up. The crack on side of hull appears repairable and after showing pics to a friend who restores older ski boats and him saying it can be fixed, I think I will be picking the boat up and giving it a shot. There is enough in spare parts and good parts that I could sell all just for parts and turn a decent profit if the condition ends up being worse than it appears not to mention the trailer alone is worth it as it is in great condition. My thoughts are if I can get it to run the rest is relatively easy to repair, yeah it may cost 2-3k but I should be able to get that back out of it if runs. By no means will this be a long term boat but rather a means to get out on the water with my family and hopefully a stepping stone to what I ultimately want in a couple years if not sooner

Your first order of business is to pull the floor and dig out all the saturated foam and evaluate stringers. It will never dry and you'll have mulch for stringers in a year or two.. Drill some test holes to see how wet they are once you have everything else dry. This is a sunk boat, treat it as such. You might get lucky once the foam is out. At least you have all winter to get it sorted.

Laying some new carpet over wet foam and passing it on to some unsuspecting buyer before it rots isn't cool. I"m not saying that's your intent.

Good luck. If you do decide to do any major restoration, please post up pics, it's always fun to watch the transformation.

But gotta ask, why even pose the question in the first place? Almost all responses were to run away from it. Sounds like you already have your mind made up and have all the necessary resources to take care of it...

I wouldn't sell boat to someone without them knowing the condition of the boat, that's screwed up to do to someone and I wouldn't want that on my conscious.

If you think the floor and stringers are good/decent, no way I would pull the floor. Almost every boat from this era will have wet foam in it unless it has been dug out. While I agree that trying to hide something at sale is bad, it doesn't sound like that is your intention, nor is it your responsibility to restore a boat just to sell it. Sure, eventually all wood stringers will need to be replaced, but there are varying degrees of rot and if it's not too bad, I would get it running and enjoy the heck out of it with your family for a summer or two. Why don't you post up some pics and the price you paid and it may change everyone's mind.

Picked up boat today. Yes it is definitely going to need a bunch of tlc and elbow grease on the interior, but floor is solid and motor hopefully will run after a tuneup. Owner said he tried to start it this summer and it would crank just not fire. For $500 I'll take the gamble. There is 2 spare good props in boat that I could sell and recoupe half the price. Trailer is solid, will just need painted eventually and tires are practically brand new.

Interior pic

more

Another

$500? I would have jumped on that too! Looks like a solid boat. A little love and that thing should be a fun boat.

Amazing deal.

Nice man, diggin' the reverse gel!

Nice pick up Chris!
Here's an old write up from my 2001 project several years back. Keep us posted on the project!
http://www.wakeworld.com/forum/showthread.php?t=577634

Wow that alternator is f'd up lol. Engine looks rough but I bet the whole boat cleans up easy and you can get it running without TOO much effort.

If I was on a budget and didn't have a boat, I would buy that. It's rough but not wasted. That dog should hunt.

$500 is a great price. You can do a full restore and come out ahead. Seriously, pull that floor and get the foam and water out. Wood does not turn to mush the second it gets wet, and completely submerged wood generally does not rot. Bacteria needs air, >20% moisture content, and some time to get started. If you get it dry you might have a chance to only do a floor and not be in it for stringers too.

look at that alternator. corroded to HELL. not a bad price at $500 but that alt need to go in the trash.

nice find! interior is in good shape. looks like you caught it before it really went to shat. let the fun begin!

The alternator will definitely be getting replaced along with plugs, wires, cap and rotor to start. Carb will get cleaned and fluids changed along with filters then I will see if it will run, which after talking to a friend of the original owner, not the guy I've purchased it from, I'm pretty confident it will start. From talking to the friend the boat was meticulously maintained from the time it was bought new until early 2000's before it was sold to guy I bought it from. The existing boat tags expired in 2004 so boat has sat since at least then in a warehouse. I have removed most of the interior already, except for what is attached to floor or sidewalls and have fans blowing through boat and in a heated garage to get it dried out the best I can before doing a more thorough assessment of floor and stringers.

Helluva deal for $500

^ agreed.

Move the pistons with a breaker bar before using the starter to make sure nothing's stuck. Not a bad idea to pull the distributor and use a drill to spin the oil pump before hitting the starter too or at least shoot some lube in the cylinders while changing the plugs.

Fun project.

make sure you got timing figured out before you yank the distributor. but I agree, spin the oil pump a minute or two before you fire it. No oil whatsoever left in the top end.
also agree with turning the crank by hand before firing. don't want to bend a rod cause a piston doesn't want to move. or worse...

timing: Pretty easy to do. set cyl 1 to TDC, line up the rotor with cylinder 1. set it to 8* out and you should be able to get it real close without a gun. of course a gun helps dial it in.

get a master rebuild kit for the carb. always hated that job, too tedious for me. I'd rather multi-task.

also rebuild that distributor with looser springs so you get your timing advance a little early in the RPM range. helps with hole shot. If the heads have to come off for some reason, you can gain a LOT of flow from porting.

making me miss my old boat!! wake is SUPER fun with a 500-800 lbs on either side of the doghouse

Look at the DOT age stamp on the tires. They may look good but if they are over 6 years old I would replace them unless you travel less than 45 MPH and very short distances. If you see or feel any wobble in the trailer (use your seat /butt to feel vibrations or watch for a wobble in the guide posts) a tire is ready to let loose.

Trailer needs some guide posts but I'd say the trailer alone is worth $500👍