First post My New malibu 88 skier

[Woodski]

Make sure the carb is a marine version, and if/when you take to the carb shop, let them know the application so they do the correct things. You need to have all the anti spill hardware so you don't spill fuel in to the bilge.

[martinarcher]

Make sure the carb is a marine version, and if/when you take to the carb shop, let them know the application so they do the correct things. You need to have all the anti spill hardware so you don't spill fuel in to the bilge.

Good reminder!

[Baileyak228]

Cool. Good luck!

do you know of a good website that sells the marine version of the rebuild kits? im afraid to order the wrong thing

[Baileyak228]

had custom cover made for the skier. took some pics of the engine and the guy i bought it from seems to have fabricated his own version of a fake a lake so you can hook the water hose directly to the boat ive included pics. i decided to cancel my order on carpet until i had more info. should i order 8 foot wide carpet roll or will the 6 foot be enough? also put a little decal on the side, looks kinda cool. theres not much that can be done to this boat to make it look real nice but i figured every little bit counts.

alex

[Levi900RR]

Alex, just gonna throw this out here...

Here is the thread on my interior rebuild, I painted the floor rather than put carpet back in. The whole thing is bone dry by the time I get back from the lake...

[Baileyak228]

Alex, just gonna throw this out here...

Here is the thread on my interior rebuild, I painted the floor rather than put carpet back in. The whole thing is bone dry by the time I get back from the lake...

ya i was thinking about doing that but my floor is wood so i feel splinters would be a definite risk involved. that looks great though im jealous of your fiberglass floor

[Levi900RR]

ya i was thinking about doing that but my floor is wood so i feel splinters would be a definite risk involved. that looks great though im jealous of your fiberglass floor

Yep, you would have to lay a layer of glass down first, then sand and paint.

[Baileyak228]

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

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.

So im about to order a new rub rail from TACO. I cant decide which color scheme i should go with? its either black on black black and white or all white. im thinking black on black would look best but im not sure. what do you guys think? i would honestly like a black base with a chrome insert like on the newer malibus but i dont see that option on the website

http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=6824

your opinions are appreciated

[jk13]

Rubrailsdirect has some with SS inserts. You'd have to compare sizes, profiles, and pricing to see if it would work for you.

Otherwise I vote black/black.

Edited October 27, 2011 by jk13

[Baileyak228]

Rubrailsdirect has some with SS inserts. You'd have to compare sizes, profiles, and pricing to see if it would work for you.

Otherwise I vote black/black.

by the looks of all the original skiers, black on black rub rail is what came on them im thinking thats the best choice

[martinarcher]

by the looks of all the original skiers, black on black rub rail is what came on them im thinking thats the best choice

You are correct. Black on black is the OEM color.

[Baileyak228]

You are correct. Black on black is the OEM color.

well bad luck but we all saw it coming. i should of just bought a newer malibu response but i just had to have the old school bu now im paying for it. i finally got around to removing that foam crap off the floor and found a couple small little slitts in the epoxy coating that covers the floor, only about 2 or 3 and they are about two inches long by half a centimeter wide. bad news is when i stuck my fingernail and picked at it, little powderized would chips started flaking off. Floor is starting to have some small amount of dry rot. im thinking i might get a new floor. i hope there isnt stringer rot even though in the back of my head i know there probably is. the floor is hard and sturdy, but before i get the boat reupholstered and put new carpet down, would you recommend that i put down a new floor? you advice is appreciated. like i said its not bad but its definitely there. ill try and get some pics uploaded asap

Edited November 1, 2011 by Baileyak228

[martinarcher]

That's a tough one since you don't know the extent of it since it's covered in epoxy.

Most replace their floor when it develops soft spots. If it's nice and solid still it might be worth grinding the epoxy off around the areas that are exposed by slits and see how much the little bit of rot has spread. If it's very isolated to those couple small spots I would grind it out, fill with fiberglass filler, re-epoxy, and apply carpet.

[Baileyak228]

So i know its been a while but i finally got the seat base and seat cushions built for my skiier. i took the base and cushions to get upholstered. it turned out ok and i am pretty happy with it because i honestly built the seat base to the best of my ability. the only part i screwed up was right side of the seat isnt exactly even but i think its ok. anything is better then what was in there. let me know what you think.

[martinarcher]

That's progress for sure! Looks good man. Looks like the edge of the drivers seat you can see is new as well. Did they do the rear seat was well?

Any progress on the floor? Did you decide on a new surface?

[Baileyak228]

That's progress for sure! Looks good man. Looks like the edge of the drivers seat you can see is new as well. Did they do the rear seat was well?

Any progress on the floor? Did you decide on a new surface?

Still havent got that far yet im either gonna just recoat it lay carpet use for a little bit then I was thinking about getting rid of it and just biting the bullet and going for the echelelon so I do have to worry about rot. Or I'm gonna just recarpet and use it til I experience problems. Or I'm gonna have it gutted and have the floor and stringers replaced still can't decide. I m thinking more towards option one or two. If I go with option two I'm just gonna rig the stringers using the rot doctor method, I could really care less as long as I can get out there on summer mornings and do a quick ski run before work I'll be happy. The back seat and engine cover are being finished as we speak. I already have a newer Malibu so I'm not to concerned about not having a boat. But man these old school bu's sure are cool and they are so nice to ski behind. Truth be told tho I still havnt had a chance to really drill into those stringers yet to see if there is severe rot. I did some good cranking on those motor mount bolts and couldn't get them to tighten any more and I put some good muscle into it. So hopefully I can get a couple seasons out of her before having to do major work. I'll keep you updated. Thanks for chiming in I was beginning to think I wasn't going to get any feedback on the seat which I really put a lot of time into.

[martinarcher]

Still havent got that far yet im either gonna just recoat it lay carpet use for a little bit then I was thinking about getting rid of it and just biting the bullet and going for the echelelon so I do have to worry about rot. Or I'm gonna just recarpet and use it til I experience problems. Or I'm gonna have it gutted and have the floor and stringers replaced still can't decide. I m thinking more towards option one or two. If I go with option two I'm just gonna rig the stringers using the rot doctor method, I could really care less as long as I can get out there on summer mornings and do a quick ski run before work I'll be happy. The back seat and engine cover are being finished as we speak. I already have a newer Malibu so I'm not to concerned about not having a boat. But man these old school bu's sure are cool and they are so nice to ski behind. Truth be told tho I still havnt had a chance to really drill into those stringers yet to see if there is severe rot. I did some good cranking on those motor mount bolts and couldn't get them to tighten any more and I put some good muscle into it. So hopefully I can get a couple seasons out of her before having to do major work. I'll keep you updated. Thanks for chiming in I was beginning to think I wasn't going to get any feedback on the seat which I really put a lot of time into.

I would think your stringers are fine for running the boat. Most of the guys on here that have found stringer issues found it by either the motor mount bolts spinning or by tapping up and down the stringer with the handle of a screwdriver and listening for odd sounds. If the motor is still solid I would say that's the green light to use her! Take care of covering up the floor and finishing the interior and have fun with it next summer.

[Baileyak228]

I would think your stringers are fine for running the boat. Most of the guys on here that have found stringer issues found it by either the motor mount bolts spinning or by tapping up and down the stringer with the handle of a screwdriver and listening for odd sounds. If the motor is still solid I would say that's the green light to use her! Take care of covering up the floor and finishing the interior and have fun with it next summer.

Well i went ahead and bit the bullet. Dropped the boat off this morning to have the floor and stringers replaced in my boat along with new carpet and an additional battery installed. Also having them put on a new carburetor. The guy quoted me a pretty good price to do it all, has a written warranty for his work, and has 20 years experience on ski boats like mine. He said he typically uses white pine for the stringers because easy to shape. sounds kinda crappy though. Anybody have any thoughts on using white pine and coating it real good? i figure anything will be better than what i have but i really don't know about this sort of thing. Your input is appreciated

[Steve B.]

I think douglas fir is the preferred material? But if I'm not mistaken, it's possible to get/use some kind of fiberglass or other polymer replacement.

Steve B.

[Baileyak228]

Ok so Douglas fir ill have to look into it, he quoted 1430 dollars to do it all which I thought seemed pretty cheap , but that's if I used pine.