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I'm buying a used malibu skier.....??


coldduck22

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my first post and not sure if it's in the right place. i recently came across a used 1989 malibu skier for what i think is a very good deal. the guy selling it bought it from the original owner in hopes to fix up and resell for profit but never got around to it. the hull seems to be in great shape it needs new upholestry and is missing the front passenger seat that kinda wraps around. the paint is warn but im sure can be buffed out. and it already has a tower on it. he says the motor is a LT1 corvette motor.

My question to all of you is how much do you think new upholestry would cost and where could i find a factory front seat to put back in it?. also is there any tips on buffing out old old paint on fiberglass to make it shiny again? Thanks for the help in advance. I'll try to post some pics of it tomorrow when i get my camera.

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First welcome to the board :)

It is gel coat that you are dealing with, a good soap wash to remove any old wax, some wet sanding with 2000 grit sand paper followed by a good buff and detail with a few coats of wax should take care of the shine.

Check for stress cracks, engine mount bracket's and "area" to the hull and make sure that there is no moisture damage "dry rot" under the seats.

Does the motor run?

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i've got an 89 sunsetter....the upholstery is in nice shape, but the drivers seat and rear seat needed some loving when i bought it (the wood in these two areas takes a beating). give the floor a good check to make sure that is not soft either. if you have to replace floor and upholstery you could be easily looking at +$2,500.

i agree with the previous poster about gelcoat. get some very fine wet/dry sandpaper and warm soapy water (1500 -2000 grit). the color will come right back. after the wetsand, you will need to use a very light rubbing compound (3M). after those steps, just wax as usual and you should be in good shape.

have the motor compression checked, make sure the prop is vibration free. check rudder and steering cables too. if you don't know when they were checked last i'd put new rotor, cap, plugs and plug wires in her too. call the guys at discount inboard marine with questions....they will hook you up.

it'd be good to give the trailer a once over.....new rubber may be needed, check jack, winch and bunk rails. you may need to replace plywood and carpet on inside of trailer wheel wells.

make sure you add all these numbers (for repairs) up and show them to the seller. negotiate, negotiate and then negotiate some more.

if you are the kind of person who likes doing this kind of work (think beer, itunes, friends, and an organized shop) go for it! if you don't like this kind of work, it might be worth your time and money to find a sporty or closed response for more $$$.

my .02 cents.

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coldduck22

i'm not trying to rain on yer parade....just trying to be straight forward.

here are a couple numbers for ya.

i paid $7,700 for my boat last spring (it's paid for).

the boat had 330 hours, tandem trailer, mint upholstery (for an 89), compression around 145 p.s.i., and ran/steered great. ours came with the standard carby mercruiser 350 (overall very popular motor) and borg werner 1:1 velvet drive.

after doing new tires, winch, wetsanding, stereo, teak restore, trailer jack, bunk rail carpet, trailer pylon covers, new driver seat base (s.s.), plugs and wires, rotor, cap, filters and fluids I have about $9,500 in it.

the boat is in great shape (look at my gallery images), and I think it's worth every penny. my kids and extended family totally love the boat and it is soooo much more powerful/performance than a 10K I/O.

i plan to keep my boat until we have lake property. when we get there (2-4 year), I think i'll start looking for a sunsetter LXi or Wakesetter VTX (we are starting to board much, much more).

there is another guy on this forum called 88 skier who is very knowlegable about that boat. he was very helpful to me when I had question.

a motor which doesn't run at all is kinda scary...maybe it is really easy to fix, but if it was easy why didn't he do it already?

i almost forgot....welcome aboard!

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