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First post My New malibu 88 skier


Baileyak228

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ok so this is my first post so bare with me still trying to figure it all out sorry its so much to read but im seeking input on my new project.

Over the weekend i bought a 1988 malibu skier with 428 hours on. the floor is nice and sturdy and the engine runs pretty good. i purchased boat from a guy that had over hauled and completely changed almost everything about the original appearance of the boat. i purchased the boat for 3200 dollars with the trailer and cover. i bought it because the price and excellent functionality of the boat. i wasn't too concerned about the appearance because i already have a 2005 25 lsv wakesetter which i purchased brand new

photo taken from helicopter on lake norman nc after aquapalooza

Aquapalooza.jpg

but i wanted something that would be solid for slalom skiing and something i could trailer to different lakes easy.

here are some pictures of the 88 skier

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as you can see he cut the bow out and made a seat. Not what malibu had in mind when they built the boat but it works out ok, also the side rails and engine cover are rhino lined, it makes for a grippy surface but im debating on having the engine cover restored back to factory specifications- let me know what you think

Some plans i have for the boat:

As you can see in the picture, the floor is this foam puzzle piece material instead of carpet, it feels nice on your feet but it looks nasty and gets slimmy when wet. Also i am afraid that water has a hard time escaping from undernieth of it causing some rot to the floor structure. i plan on removing it and installing the grey carpet that you see in the bow- any suggestions on what kind of carpet to use, where to get it and what all i will need to make sure it adheres to the floor would be very much appreciated! i want to do it right and take my time with it.

Also as you can see the guy removed the spotter seat and put those ugly fishing seats in there. i would like to restore the spotter seat, i have the original removable seat cushions but the backing and seat frame are gone- again any suggestions as to how i can restore that seat or find a spotter seat etc. would be greatly appreciated. i have the original captains chair but the previous owner removed it because the square metal piece on the bottom of the chair was rusted so he removed it and put a tractor chair in there. i would like to remount the captains chair and i plan on having a machine shop fabricate me a new piece to mount the chair.

i also have the original siderails which i plan to remount. I found some cool malibu decals on bakesonline.com that i plan on ordering but i cant decide of i want the raised black and gold malibu decal or the raised chrome decal, i plan on putting them on either side of the back of the boat

http://www.bakesonline.com/detail.aspx?ID=1368

or

http://www.bakesonline.com/detail.aspx?ID=1110

i also plan on installing a second battery, a perko battery switch and some kicker kmt6 tower speakers along with a small 8 inch JL sub and two interior speakers- nothing to fancy

Now one thing i have noticed about the boat after having it out a few times, if i fill the tank all the way up to full there is a strong smell of gas and gas sitting at the bottom of the engine compartment so there is obviously a leak somewhere because the boat has a new long block but carb is original so my guess is the problem lies with carberator. when the tank is full and i hammer down the throttle it boggs for a good thirty seconds or so and then emitts a small cloud of black smoke then takes off. when i flip the bilge on gas comes out from the engine compartment. now after the tank is under half full it runs great, no issues what so ever pulls me up on a slalom like a champ, its like a completely different boat with less than a half tank- very strange- let me know if you have any suggestions as to what may be causing this

i am excited to have this as first post and look forward to being a part of the community

thanks for any input or suggestions

Alex

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Congrats on the new ride. And WOW did someone have to much time on their hands :whistle: You probably have the only open bow Skier in existence :crazy:

I like all your ideas, getting it back near factory will make it more comfortable and more marketable if you ever decide to get rid of it. One suggestion, ditch the tower. You already have a sweet wake boat.

Good luck. Keep us updated with pictures of the progress.

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Congrats on the new ride. And WOW did someone have to much time on their hands :whistle: You probably have the only open bow Skier in existence :crazy:

I like all your ideas, getting it back near factory will make it more comfortable and more marketable if you ever decide to get rid of it. One suggestion, ditch the tower. You already have a sweet wake boat.

Good luck. Keep us updated with pictures of the progress.

ya i was thinking about ditching it or upgrading to a cooler one this boat is way more fun to air chair off of. other than that i have no use for the tower. and ya i bet that took so long to cut the bow out he actually did a decent job which is the funny thing. thanks for the input

alex

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Welcome to the Crew! I agree with barefootpaul, no tower. Sleek all-out hard core slalom boat. Nothing fancy, bullet proof essentials. Chrome stickers wont help stranded out in the middle of the lake. Get that fuel problem fixed pronto. Thats dangerous stuff, you certainly dont want a tragedy, ie explosion! It's gonna be a great ride when you get her all done. Also agree with going back to oem as much as possible, you'll be happier in the long run.

Woody

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Seems to be pretty sturdy, I skied behind it a few times and have pulled people with it as well it never moved am inch, what would a loose pylon be a sign of?

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Thanks for all the tips, just ordered some grey carpet thanks alot for that tip, keep em coming. Any ideas on what to do about the spotter seat?

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An open bow Skier. That is wild for sure!

I would do as you are planning....

1. Recover the dogbox. We sit on ours a lot and I can't imagine the current coating is comfy on a ladies bikini bottom. LOL.gif

2. The gas smell might be a float stuck in the carb. Anyone in your area familiar with rebuilding or working on carbs? If so I would pull the carb over the winter and stick a rag in the intake manifold and let them rebuild your carb over the winter. If you can't find anyone local, look up the folks at Carb Junkys. They will get you sorted out!

3. As far as the observers seat, I would whip up a seat base with marine grade plywood or birch plywood and coat it with bedliner or simply coat it with fiberglass resin to waterproof it. You can then mount your original seat pad on it and your back in business.

There's a few pics of my original seat on my old Skier in this album of the stereo install. Might help you out in building a new one. Not too many close ups of just the seat. If you need some I'm sure there are members that could take a few for you. Thumbup.gif

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I like it. Personally, if you want it to be a lean-mean-skiing-machine I would only touch the essentials and things you can do yourself. Such as, I wouldn't pay to have the engine cover wrapped, I can imagine that being a pricey adventure with labor involved, but if you were to do it yourself, it might not be too bad. More than anything I would be cautious of putting more money into the boat they you feel it's worth.

Either way, good luck and keep us updated.

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Out of that whole mess, the rear seat looks like it is in great shape and "normal". Just looking at this boat reminds me of the "red green" show for boaters....where is the duct tape...

Not a bad custom project, you could actually do a lot to this boat and make it pretty cool looking

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An open bow Skier. That is wild for sure!

I would do as you are planning....

1. Recover the dogbox. We sit on ours a lot and I can't imagine the current coating is comfy on a ladies bikini bottom. LOL.gif

2. The gas smell might be a float stuck in the carb. Anyone in your area familiar with rebuilding or working on carbs? If so I would pull the carb over the winter and stick a rag in the intake manifold and let them rebuild your carb over the winter. If you can't find anyone local, look up the folks at Carb Junkys. They will get you sorted out!

3. As far as the observers seat, I would whip up a seat base with marine grade plywood or birch plywood and coat it with bedliner or simply coat it with fiberglass resin to waterproof it. You can then mount your original seat pad on it and your back in business.

There's a few pics of my original seat on my old Skier in this album of the stereo install. Might help you out in building a new one. Not too many close ups of just the seat. If you need some I'm sure there are members that could take a few for you. Thumbup.gif

Wow thanks a lot ya those pics are good and exactly what i needed to give me an idea of how to put it back together, i feel like the trickiest part of the spotter seat is going to be the little curve closest to the drivers seat around the dash, im not so sure how exactly im going to set that up. i have a lot of work to do but i can promise you guys by the start of next season im going to have it looking great.

There is a little shop right down the road from me that will rebuild the carb for a reasonable price but i would like to order the rebuild kit on my own and just bring them the carb and the kit instead of buying the parts through them. if you know what kit i need and where to get it online it would be much appreciated.

as far as the engine cover goes, i feel that with the addition of the spotter seat and carpet getting the engine cover redone would have this boat looking great on the inside and considering how little i paid for the boat, it seems like it would be a worthy expense.

I like it. Personally, if you want it to be a lean-mean-skiing-machine I would only touch the essentials and things you can do yourself. Such as, I wouldn't pay to have the engine cover wrapped, I can imagine that being a pricey adventure with labor involved, but if you were to do it yourself, it might not be too bad. More than anything I would be cautious of putting more money into the boat they you feel it's worth.

Either way, good luck and keep us updated.

its great for skiing, it blew my mind how well it ran and how much power it has, i am going to try to do most of the work myself.

Out of that whole mess, the rear seat looks like it is in great shape and "normal". Just looking at this boat reminds me of the "red green" show for boaters....where is the duct tape...

Not a bad custom project, you could actually do a lot to this boat and make it pretty cool looking

ya exactly what i was thinking the back seat is in good shape so when i reattached the side rails and rebuild the spotter seat and engine cover and the captains chair i am going to match the upholstery to the back seat and the red whit and blue theme through out the boat.

thanks for all the help everybody

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Wow I would NOT want to be sitting in that bow on a choppy day on the lake, talk about getting a bath! My bow rides low enough as it is without a 190 lb person sitting on the front, haha.

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are you going back original or are you headed where ever your imagination takes you?

Here is a link to a post earlier this week of someone parting out a response lxi. While some of the parts obviously may not work, The drivers seat and maybe a few other parts might.

http://www.themalibucrew.com/forums/index.php?/topic/34441-2004-response-lxi-parts/

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are you going back original or are you headed where ever your imagination takes you?

Here is a link to a post earlier this week of someone parting out a response lxi. While some of the parts obviously may not work, The drivers seat and maybe a few other parts might.

http://www.themalibucrew.com/forums/index.php?/topic/34441-2004-response-lxi-parts/

do you think that front spotter seat would fit in my boat nicely? how much bigger are the responses then mine?

alex

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On an unrelated note. Do you keep that 25LSV at Holiday Marina. I swear i've seen one just like that last year. I store there and have probabliy seen every boat in that place at least once. :)

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i ordered the low grade carpet but im thinking about canceling my order and getting the nice stuff before it ships, is there a huge difference? is it worth the extra money to just get the best? any advice would be appreciated. Also do any of you know where i can get a good bimini top for this boat?

Edited by Baileyak228
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i ordered the low grade carpet but im thinking about canceling my order and getting the nice stuff before it ships, is there a huge difference? is it worth the extra money to just get the best? any advice would be appreciated. Also do any of you know where i can get a good bimini top for this boat?

The good carpet sure feels a lot nicer on the feet. It doesn't look so "flat" all the time either. It's up to you. Either way, it will keep the floor a lot drier than that foam that was in there. Dry = good for old Bus!

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The good carpet sure feels a lot nicer on the feet. It doesn't look so "flat" all the time either. It's up to you. Either way, it will keep the floor a lot drier than that foam that was in there. Dry = good for old Bus!

im about to go rip that foam out right now ill take pics of what the floor looks like and post them up on here soon so you can see if i should ad any "reinforcements" to the floor before i put the carpet down

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im about to go rip that foam out right now ill take pics of what the floor looks like and post them up on here soon so you can see if i should ad any "reinforcements" to the floor before i put the carpet down

Cool. Good luck! Thumbup.gif

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