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modification ideas for my older bu


infantrybu

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hey guys this is my first post in a long time. I have a 1989 malibu sunsetter that im replacing the floor in....so now i have the floor all the way out and after i get the new stringers and foam in their ima be putting her back together.....Ive been sitting around for days thinking of something I wanna do to it that makes it different than just a regular sunsetter I.E maybe a built in icechest somewhere or anything that may benefit me to have on my old bu that you guys have on your new ones...I hope my question makes sense to you guys and you come up with some good ideas because if i can build it or mold it into my floor or seats ima do so.

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A cooler would certainly be cool, but how about a "factory ballast" system. It would be awesome to run hose and mount tanks below the floor of the older boats like the new ones. Out of site and not taking up any space, but added ballast when you want to whip up a wake. Thumbup.gif

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There is another Crew member that did the exact same thing you are talking about. His username is old skool malibu . Rob redid this entire boat from top to bottom. I am sure he would have some ideas for you.

Here is a link to his site on Wake Side Rides

Edited by trentj6930
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I would suggest a 2nd battery box. With the limted storage these boats have. It would be a good idea. I recently rebuilt mine and I wish I would have done a built in cooler and 2nd battery box.

The ballast idea is a good one but to do that, you are sacrificing foam space I think. I wonder what the boat sounds like when it is hitting chop. The foam helps to insulate the sound somewhat I think. Not to mention prevent flex in the hull? Someone correct me if I am wrong. I guess it wouldnt make much difference though if the ballast is full most of the time.

Another idea I have seen in an older Centurion is the rear seat was lifted about 6 inches and sits on a shelf. In the shelf He had pull out drawers that he was able to store docking line, handles, wake lines lifejackets, gloves, lubes, trash or.. etc. I thought it looked pretty cool and relatvely simple to fabricate

Please show some pics of your rebuild... Another thing I forgot to do.... Good luck!

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Are you planning on changing the design of the interior, I would suggest to maybe have the cushion seats changed up a bit so it doesn't have the same look it had from the factory. Just my $.02

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hey guys thanks for the ideas...i like the ballast idea but do you think it would be that much of a difference since i dont have wedge?....i think maybe i could try to find longer skinny water sacks and put down the hull and then build a type of brace around it to enclose it then say foam around it that way u could keep your support and your sound dampering from the foam( i ride on a river so their isnt much choppy water anyways)....if someone knows were i can find some sacks that maybe are not too wide let me know ill check out the deminsions and see what i can build.

trying to think where i could build the built in cooler if anyone has a idea let me know i kinda would like to not lose any leg room so maybe under a seat or somethin then run pipe to the back of the boat for drainage but definately am gonna do the build in cooler.

BigJerDog- i really like that drawer idea that sounds pretty awesome and seems fairly simply to do and maybe that is how ill do my cooler jus make it like a pullout somewhere. Ill start the photo journal tomarrow but i already have the floors up and the foam 90 percent completely out so ill just have to start from their.

68Slalom--i had considered changing the seating up but i have decided that it will be easier and probably cheaper for me to just stay with the same seating arrangement and let chee make me some skins for my boat although i wont be going with factory colors that came with the boat if chee will do that for me id like to just go with a greyish color with a blue seam if possible.

Molarbu-tell your wife that is a good idea cause as much man hours im puttin into this thing ima be acting like its a brand new one haha.....maybe put it in the side of the boat and throw a stainless steel handle on it and make it be like a droor type deal that just hold a small trash bag.

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I am not sure if the set up is the same on a sunsetter as it s on the skier but under the observers seat would probably be the best bet....

By the way all... That Sunsetter that was posted on wakeside with the automatic ballast and all..... Did you guys read his description? He put over 50k into that boat? I love my oldschool Skier but damn... I would have bought a Wakesetter lol.

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yeah reading that made me feel like i got a good deal i bought mine in 2005 for 4 grand from a friend(he has plenty of money and wakeboard boats arent a big thing where i live you see more of just the regular ski boats) and when i bought it it was in great overall shape...but im in the military so i ran it that first summer but for the last two summers it has set up and the weather has done its job on it.

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  • 3 weeks later...

-- On the extreme end, you could always reinforce the transom for the option of a wedge if you have it torn down already. I replaced the transom and stringers in mine and more than doubled the thickness and strength for only a few extra bucks in materials (I still haven't put a wedge on, but I picked up a used one for $200 and curiosity is now killing me).

-- I looked into integrated ballast options when I did mine... didn't make sense. You'd only gain about 120 lbs per side if you displaced the foam because these boats are low profile. -- not worth the downsides. Plus I'm more of a skier.

-- That Rob guys boat is unreal! Looks great! Check it out.

-- I made a bunch of cosmetic changes to mine, new upholstery scheme, custom gauges, dash panel, seat, etc. REALLY happy I did.

Good luck and post pics if you can. Glad to hear another classic bu is getting restored. -- still one of the best slalom wakes!

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I am not sure if the set up is the same on a sunsetter as it s on the skier but under the observers seat would probably be the best bet....

By the way all... That Sunsetter that was posted on wakeside with the automatic ballast and all..... Did you guys read his description? He put over 50k into that boat? I love my oldschool Skier but damn... I would have bought a Wakesetter lol.

That's funny!! I know he just bought an 09 VTX. I met him a while ago and he still said he would do it all over again. He said he had a lot of fun and learned a lot about the boat. It;s ok it was only $50k Canadian, so that is about $1.65 American now!!!! Surprised.gif

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