1987 Sunsetter Resurrection

[martinarcher]

Awesome.  Thanks for the feedback.  I appreciate it.  Sometime this season I need to fully disassemble mine and have it powder coated, then put it all back together tight.  The frame is starting to show it's age.  

Thanks again!

[87Warrior]

The ol' 87 went back into the water last night after a few more repairs.

Followed the rudder packing instructions in the resource section of the site in an effort to improve the under power steering. The instructions were spot on. Thanks @martinarcher! Also replaced the fuel sending unit, rubber fuel line, rubber gas tank vent line, rubber fuel tank filler neck, the bilge hose and resealed the pressurized fuel line from fuel pump to carb.

Everything worked perfect. No fuel leaks, no (big) water leaks and a fuel gauge that works! And it handled like a Miata on the water. Another beautiful Kansas evening.

[BusterSaunders]

Wow! I forgot to subscribe to this thread. Great work @87Warrior! Regarding the windshield. I just pulled mine apart and powder coated. I had the same gap issues you noticed with yours. I figured it's just the hull settling. Though you have 15 yrs on my boat lol. Keep it up. Love the build threads!

[martinarcher]

Nice work!  Glad the how-to article helped out.  Those pictures are what it's all about!  

[Arctic Slalom]

my 1989 Sunsetter.  I bought it in the spring of 2007 from Skiers Pier in Michigan.  Wetsanded it and went through it pretty good (mechanically). 

was a great boat.  put 400 hours on it in (3) seasons & Sold it for more than I paid.  I ran it summer of '07, '08 & '09.

Ran awesome, miss that boat.   Not sure why wife looks pissed in this photo!  HA! 

[87Warrior]

It has been a few years since I've updated this thread. As a thanks to the Malibu Crew for the help getting this old girl back on the water, I went ahead and became a supporting member of the site. The information I have learned here has been invaluable. Thanks! 

In 2019 the season was a bust here in Kansas. Early in the spring we started to receive the insane snow melt from Nebraska then it rained for a month, filling our reservoirs to the brim and didn't go down until December, so the Sunsetter stayed winterized all year long  The 2020 season has been slow to start due to the various worldwide situations and family 'stuff', but I am adamant to get back on the water.

Had planned to de-winterize it and get on the water this past weekend, but the wind started howling Friday and hasn't let up. I prefer to not beat it up in chop, so I just fired it up in the driveway, clean it up and went for a fresh tank of ethanol free fuel. I am soooooooo ready! 

Here it is getting tucked back into the garage until the wind dies down:

Edited June 15, 2020 by 87Warrior