Just saying hello and 1993 EuroF3 Skier stuff.

[JeffS]

New member. New to Malibu. New to an inboard ski boat. Not new to boating by any stretch. Thought I'd say hello.

Just picked up a 93 Euro F3 Skier.

Very nice condition for a 16 year old boat.

Only 350 hours and really runs well. I think I can get it to idle a little better though, and want to kick the idle rpm when in gear, up a notch. This boat has the 265hp 5.7 Magnum.

I'm the third owner.

Only needs a couple of things. Stiff steering and a little more than 1/8" play side to side in the rudder - so I'm going to do the steering cable and rudder stuffing box. Having a new cover made once I get a tower on the boat. Took the rear seat in to be reupholstered today - just the seam...but having the whole thing redone just to make it fresh.

A couple of things to do on the trailer over the winter. May even sand blast it and repaint - we'll see. It's not bad - just not perfect.

Steering cables are not easy to get this year. That's discouraging a little. Going to be two weekends on the water before I get to that job. How much urgency is there to the play in the rudder? I've seen some say no-big-deal, and others say they wouldn't drive it like that. Discount Inboard says it's not that far from normal to be 1/4" of play.

Going to get a new steering wheel from GreatLakesSkipper - he has actual Malibu wheels. Nice.

Have to rewire the stereo system.

Want to find a bronze prop too. This one has a very nice stainless wheel. I don't want stainless - to risky for damage. And I think I attribute the harsh ride to that unforgiving prop.

I have to have something to obsess over at all times - it keeps me almost sane. So now I get to learn everything there is to learn about this Malibu and read every thread on this board just for kicks.

Thanks to all for the info so far.

Much appreciated.

And Hi.

-Jeff

[martinarcher]

Welcome to the crew Jeff! You sound a lot like me. I'm always making projects or working on something to keep myself sane.

Now, about you Malibu....

1. the idle RPM in gear can be changed by the throttle cable. I believe you screw the red cable termination at the carb linkage "in" to raise the in gear RPM. If you want it to idle faster in neural as well, scrap the throttle cable idea and just adjust the quadrajet idle screw up a bit.

2. Is the steering stiff while sitting at idle or just while under way. If it is free while stationary it's not your cable. Inboards have a bit of a tight steering feel while under way. if your used to an I/O it might take some getting used to.

3. Good call on the prop. I have an OJ prop on mine and certainly wouldn't run a stainless prop due to the risk involved. I have also read great reviews on the ACME props as well....

http://www.ojprops.com/home

http://www.acmemarine.com/

Again, welcome to the crew!

[JeffS]

Thanks much!

And to answer your question about the steering - it's stiff sitting still as well as when underway. It's for sure the cable. Talked to the dealer in my area - they've had so many steering cables this year - it's been interesting. And with Teleflex having bought Morse - cables are backordered pretty far out I guess. Dealer attributes it to boats being used very little last year with $4.30 gas on land, $5.50 on the water...cables sat on idle boats and went bad. That's the issue with mine I'm sure. Changed the oil today - filter had "05/07 328 hours" written on it. It's June '09 and the boat has only been run 22 hours since that oil change 25 months ago. Lots of sitting.

The rudder issue - there's another thread from April '09 on this board started by mbdye - exact same issue on his '92. Same setup from what he describes - same symptoms, same everything. He disassembled the whole unit...I've read...and found it's kind of just the way it is. Oh well. I'll replace the cable and see how it works from there.

So...fluids are changed - I have the dash apart - old stereo out - steering wheel off - steering cable job eyeballed and ready to go when I have the part - all is well.

[martinarcher]

Cool. Sounds like you have it all under wraps! It's good to see someone new to the board that is willing to read around and do their homework before digging into a project!

About the rudder, I know ours has a bit of play. I'd have to check again for sure to see if it's a 1/4", but I know it certainly doesn't affect the performance of the boat. She handles like a sports car on the lake!

Now get your boat in your profile changed to show off your Euro! The shopping is over!

[beast]

Does your boat have tilt steering? My Euro F3 Sunsetter did. When I got the boat the steering was tight. So I ordered a new cable/helm from skidim. When installing the helm I found that the u-Joint in the tilt mecahnism was damaged, cable was fine, helm was fine. Not sure you could find just the u-joint. Did you try skidim.com for the cable? http://skidim.com/searchprods.asp . Cable/helm, the whole kit for around the same price as just a cable everywhere else.

Don't worry about the rudder. Mine has quite a bit of play & doesn't affect performance whatsoever.

[bretski75]

A Nibral (Nickel, Bronze, Aluminum) prop will be much better. You may lose a bit on top but the ride will improve and it will be smoother. Depending on your budget a good used OJ 4 force will do the trick. But if money is not an issue CNC is the way to go.

[MaliBlue]

Hey JeffS,

I have a '93 Euro F3. Just wondering how your gauges are and if you are considering replacing them. My boat is in really nice shape but for some reason the dash around the gauges is a little beat up and looks as if the gauges have seen too much sun. I would like to replace mine but have had no luck in locating decent replacements.

Also, what is the deal with everyone being against stainless props. I have a 4 blade SS on my boat and don't have issue with it. I'm not dissing anyone but would like to hear more about your opinions on the subject. I have the original 3 blase brass sitting in a box as a spare. Perhaps I should put it on to see the difference.

Cheers everyone!

[JeffS]

Hey there.

I have the same issues as you do with the dash. All of the boats of this vintage that I looked at, Malibu and Nautique mostly, had the same issue. Whatever they used for the helm materials seemed to have the least resistance to sun.

My gauges all work. My oil pressure gauge is fogged – but works fine. I have a broken Pitot pickup on the port side – so my left speedo doesn’t work – but it’s not the gauge. Both of my Airguides are in great shape functionally, and ok shape cosmetically. Those are the gauges that are unavailable.

I live in S.E. Wisconsin, which is home to Great Lakes Skipper (eBay store) which is the same as Kendor Marine (Bricks & Mortar store). They are just one step above a junk yard for boat stuff – but you can find just about anything. I go through there fairly often and have never seen an Airguide like is on our boats.

I may or may not keep this boat another season. It’s been awesome, and I’m exceptionally cheap – but I may actually spend additional dollars to get a 1995 or 1996 Response LX. If I don’t, I plan to upgrade the dash custom. I’ll make a custom face plate – have it stamped and cut out of black powder coated aluminum. Install one airguide speedo, after refurbishing it. Put in new oil pressure, engine temp, fuel level gauges. The engine management warning light cluster will stay the same, as will the switch cluster. On the right side of the steering wheel, I’ll put in a Standard Horizon CP180 display. It has GPS and chartplotting capabilities which I want – it will display a GPS speedo very nicely. I can also add fuel flow monitoring, lake temp and air temp and depth finder. All on one display. The right side speedo, oil pressure and the silly lake temp air temp hour gauge cluster will be eliminated to make room for this setup. A knee level panel will get built into the side next to my right leg that will house the hour meter, (2) 12V sockets, iPod jack, and power switches for the stereo amplifiers.

That’s my plan if I don’t find a very nice Response LX from someone who really, really, really needs to sell.

Regarding the bronze props – put yours on and you will understand in one push of the throttle. The bronze props are so silky smooth. Stainless is brute force – bronze is finesse. I actually kept my stainless on – more because I don’t have a prop puller yet than anything else. But I did drive a boat like mine with the bronze prop. Makes the boat feel much softer through the water.

And why is everyone against them? A stainless wheel doesn’t sacrifice itself if you hit something. A bronze prop will of course be destroyed if you spin on to a rock or deadhead in the water. In the process of destroying itself, the soft metal prop will absorb a lot of the force by bending every which way. A stainless prop will also be destroyed, but doesn’t bend any easier than the steel shaft, or the steel pressure plate, or the steel gears. So all of that force will get transmitted up the driveline to the expensive stuff…and there are prop strikes where you will do thousands of dollars of damage over and above what you would have done had you been spinning a bronze wheel.

That’s what I think I know. Cheers back atcha!

Edited August 27, 2009 by JeffS