1997 Sunsetter rehab

[jrvs23]

Fix the back seat for a couple hundred, buff or get it buffed out and run it for a season. The classic clean look will probably grow on your wife when she sees what else is on the water. If not get a wrap and change the interior.

[h2oratJR]

Highly recommend getting a quote from Gabriel Garcia to do your interior he has done a lot of work for members on this site ranging from his location in CA all the way to the east coast 

[braindamage]

I agree wth Michigan Boarder. That boat looks really good. I'd replace just they rear seat vinyl. Super easy super cheap. 

Enjoy it for a while before tearing into it. There is always next winter?

[Bean97]

11 hours ago, h2oratJR said:

Highly recommend getting a quote from Gabriel Garcia to do your interior he has done a lot of work for members on this site ranging from his location in CA all the way to the east coast 

How do I get in contact with Gabriel Garcia?

[Bean97]

12 hours ago, jrvs23 said:

Fix the back seat for a couple hundred, buff or get it buffed out and run it for a season. The classic clean look will probably grow on your wife when she sees what else is on the water. If not get a wrap and change the interior.

Got a quote yesterday for a wrap...$2400 for gunwhale to waterline...so that idea is out.

 

[90oldskool]

The exterior can defiantly be brought back to life with just a good compound and wax job. Two years ago I brought back a 1990 skier in about the same color combination . 

left side is after only compound wax with a wool pad

 

[Bean97]

wow oldshcool, that is quite the difference.  Great looking boat!

[Woodski]

@Bean97:  Nice boat acquisition.  As for the gelcoat, there are a few threads on this site that do a detailed documentary on how they refurbished the fiberglass.  If you are budget conscious, well worth finding and reading.  I don't recall the specifics (thread title or author) so hopefully a search will bring them up for you.  The results on those threads are simply amazing.  Good luck.

[Bean97]

Thank you, woodski!  I did find one thread and plan to look for more later.  Tomorrow is the day I have my appointments set up so I should be able to figure out what I am willing to spend on and what I want to do myself.  I can tell you that most of the replies here about the gelcoat have me swaying pretty heavily toward trying to get the gelcoat looking nice myself.  I'll let you know what I find out tomorrow. Thanks again for all the input!!

[Bean97]

Okay, thank you again to everyone for replies.  My Wife and I are pulling the trigger on new gelcoat (just on the colors) and all new interior from a local shop.  changing the colors to lime green, light gray, and charcoal gray.  Will post pics as results come in.  Also going to look into re-powdercoating the windshield frame, replacing the steering cable, and replacing all hydraulics.

[Bean97]

Question on oil changes.

The oil pan has a hose attached to it for easier draining.  The idea is you stick this hose out the drain hole in the engine box, remove the nut from the end of the drain hose and voila! oil draining outside the engine box.  The challenge I have is that the nut on the end of this drain hose is too large to fit though the hole in the bottom of the engine box.  I am sure this is an issue many have had and fixed.  I searched the site but couldn't find anything.  Any ideas or tips you can give would be greatly appreciated!

[boardjnky4]

13 minutes ago, Bean97 said:

Question on oil changes.

The oil pan has a hose attached to it for easier draining.  The idea is you stick this hose out the drain hole in the engine box, remove the nut from the end of the drain hose and voila! oil draining outside the engine box.  The challenge I have is that the nut on the end of this drain hose is too large to fit though the hole in the bottom of the engine box.  I am sure this is an issue many have had and fixed.  I searched the site but couldn't find anything.  Any ideas or tips you can give would be greatly appreciated!

Don't do that. Attach a pump to the oil drain hose. It uses a 1/2" NPT. You can get a 1/2" female NPT to barbed fitting.

I made my own pump out of a bucket from Lowes and a marine utility pump from Harbor Freight.

[Woodski]

@Bean97:  It appears that the original nut has been replaced with one that does not fit through the hole.  Hardware store should have a hex head bolt where the head is smaller than the threads which will allow passage through the hole.  This is assuming the original fitting has not been cut off & replaced with some alternate.

Remove & replace bolt/nut with tube tied  up in elevated position then proceed with oil drain process & remember it is always best to have oil warm when draining.

[Bean97]

This is a picture of what the end of my oil drain hose looks like.

IMG_1748.bmp

[Bean97]

This is a picture of my steering cable behind the steering wheel.  It looks different than the others I have seen on this site.  Any tips of removal/replacement of this so I do not mess it up?  Thank you!

IMG_1747.bmp

[jhartt3]

On 3/8/2017 at 9:10 AM, 90oldskool said:

The exterior can defiantly be brought back to life with just a good compound and wax job. Two years ago I brought back a 1990 skier in about the same color combination . 

left side is after only compound wax with a wool pad

 

you have a step by step how to and what you used.  i have a 99 VLX i'd like to bring some shine back to 

Edited March 28, 2017 by jhartt3

[90oldskool]

40 minutes ago, jhartt3 said:

you have a step by step how to and what you used.  i have a 99 VLX i'd like to bring some shine back to 

Used a 3500 rpm buffer with a wool bonnet and Meguiar one step compound polish. Then finished with their wax. Acetone will help get any dock marks out as well.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00029CYRG?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007TR47G?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00

 

 

Edited March 28, 2017 by 90oldskool

[90oldskool]

58 minutes ago, Bean97 said:

This is a picture of my steering cable behind the steering wheel.  It looks different than the others I have seen on this site.  Any tips of removal/replacement of this so I do not mess it up?  Thank you!

IMG_1747.bmp

http://www.bakesonline.com/images/MediaLibrary/MalibuBoatsfitchart.pdf

 

Call up skidm and talk with them about your boat . They will point you in the right direction . They got me the right cable for the skier. 

http://www.skidim.com/ROTARY-SYSTEM-15-CABLE/productinfo/UFLROTECHKIT15/   (this is for a skier not sunsetter , looks like the same rotary system) 

Edited March 28, 2017 by 90oldskool

[MadMan]

22 hours ago, Bean97 said:

Question on oil changes.

The oil pan has a hose attached to it for easier draining.  The idea is you stick this hose out the drain hole in the engine box, remove the nut from the end of the drain hose and voila! oil draining outside the engine box.  The challenge I have is that the nut on the end of this drain hose is too large to fit though the hole in the bottom of the engine box.  I am sure this is an issue many have had and fixed.  I searched the site but couldn't find anything.  Any ideas or tips you can give would be greatly appreciated!

I had the same problem.  Easy, cheap,  fix was to install a 90 degree bend then about a 6" length of brass npt pipe extension.  Just the extension goes through the hull and the 90 degree fitting keeps the hose flat on the floor ensuring complete oil drainage.

 

[boardjnky4]

1 hour ago, Bean97 said:

This is a picture of what the end of my oil drain hose looks like.

IMG_1748.bmp

Looks like the common 1/2" NPT size.

Gravity draining your oil will take forever to get all of the oil out. Pumping it out will get it done in less than 5 minutes.

[Woodski]

Looks like you have the inverted version of a drain tube that requires a larger hole, @MadMan suggestion is a good one for a cheap fix. 

This is what I have:

http://www.icontact-archive.com/1t4ZCCcEOVilNBrs_T_9XJh8pFgIbNg8?w=4

Note the wire hook that allows you to tie up the hose along the topside of the engine to prevent any leaks.  You might be able to find the end fitting at a good hardware store / McMaster Carr industrial supply house if you want to update.

[MadMan]

It does take about an hour to drain, but that inconvenience is nothing compared to the messy chore of changing the oil filter.

When I'm not draining, I screw an NPT cap on the end and hook it over some nearby hoses, above the oil pan, to prevent leaks.

[Bean97]

Progress so far.  All interior removed and at the upholstery shop. He was nice enough to do one seat in the color scheme that we think we want to let us confirm that we like what we picked, then he will do the rest.

I removed everything that I am going to remove for the gel-coat guy to do his thing.

I do have another question.  What do you all suggest for the black pads that are step areas, two on the back and one on each side, shown in the pictures.  I would like to have those off for the gel-coat guy and possibly replace them with new as well but I have no idea how they are attached or where to get replacements.  As always, thank you for any input.

[HPetit]

Gatorstep or seadek for the replacement steps. Remove the old ones and use as templates. 

[BlindSquirrel]

The old ones come off easy. The black insert, kind of rubbery part is lightly glued in and pealed up with a screw driver, hiding 3-4 small screws. You can put them back in if you want or do like HPetit said and use something else.

Edited April 3, 2017 by BlindSquirrel