About to buy a 96, need advise.

[Gcart]

Good morning folks.

I am new to ski boats. I've owned several outboard pontoons and fishing boats, but never an inboard.

Here is a link to the boat I am looking at.

https://lakeland.craigslist.org/boa/4889973771.html

Anything special I should look for? I'm stoked about the 351.

Thank you for your help,
Sam

[kaneboats]

Great boat for the money if it was properly maintained. It may be a little crowded for anything but 2-3 folks going out for a ski. If you do more than hard core skiing you may find yourself wishing you had found an Outback instead. Then again, an Outback is probably double the money you are talking here. Go take it for a ride and see if it looks, feels and sounds right. It looks darn good in the pics. Good luck!

Edit: By the way, there are a couple of clues there. You want to buy any used item from someone who properly cares for it, maintains it and spends money on it, not from someone who takes shortcuts. Look at the condition in the pictures. And, look how he keeps his truck. This one is likely worth taking for a ride.

[sandm]

spent a lot of time on my buddies boat just like this. couple thoughts that echo Kane's...
if you are not skiing from a dock and swapping peeps, any more than 3 for watersking doesn't work.
you need a pole if you are going to wakeboard at all and anyone that is aggressive will yank the boat around pretty hard.
freeboard is VERY short so surfing is very difficult but can be done. not recommended.
have to pay attention to where you are driving. almost swamped my buddy a couple of times with a surf wave.
very easy to maintain and work on. simplest boat I have ever helped winterize.
amazingly light to tow.
VERY fun to drive. acceleration is amazing and turns better than any boat I have ever driven.
have to be careful with throttle. full on out of the hole pulling up a waterskier will rip their arms out.
storage is pretty much nil. hard to pack 3(including driver) and enough of a cooler for the day.
ford motor is a SNAP to work on however it's a ford so parts are somewhat pricey.

a great boat if you are a waterskier or pull tubes. decent wakeboard wake for beginners. not much of a surf boat.
overall a great boat to drive and resale should be 100% of paid price even with another 200-500hrs on it. basically can't really get hurt if you take care of it.

based on the cl ad, I'd pay close attention to the overall detail of the boat and as kane mentioned- his ride as well. a hotfoot would not be what I would want to see in one. could indicate it's been driven hard.

good luck and post up if you buy it..
*all my .02 :)

[Gcart]

spent a lot of time on my buddies boat just like this. couple thoughts that echo Kane's...
if you are not skiing from a dock and swapping peeps, any more than 3 for watersking doesn't work.
you need a pole if you are going to wakeboard at all and anyone that is aggressive will yank the boat around pretty hard.
freeboard is VERY short so surfing is very difficult but can be done. not recommended.
have to pay attention to where you are driving. almost swamped my buddy a couple of times with a surf wave.
very easy to maintain and work on. simplest boat I have ever helped winterize.
amazingly light to tow.
VERY fun to drive. acceleration is amazing and turns better than any boat I have ever driven.
have to be careful with throttle. full on out of the hole pulling up a waterskier will rip their arms out.
storage is pretty much nil. hard to pack 3(including driver) and enough of a cooler for the day.
ford motor is a SNAP to work on however it's a ford so parts are somewhat pricey.

a great boat if you are a waterskier or pull tubes. decent wakeboard wake for beginners. not much of a surf boat.
overall a great boat to drive and resale should be 100% of paid price even with another 200-500hrs on it. basically can't really get hurt if you take care of it.

based on the cl ad, I'd pay close attention to the overall detail of the boat and as kane mentioned- his ride as well. a hotfoot would not be what I would want to see in one. could indicate it's been driven hard.

good luck and post up if you buy it..
*all my .02 :)

What is the hotfoot?

[KG's Supra24]

Throttle is controlled by foot (like car) instead of by hand (traditional boat).

http://www.angleseymarinesupplies.com/resources/hotffoot%20boat%20throttle%20racing%20pedal%20powe rboat.jpg.opt362x271o0,0s362x271.jpg

http://www.bassboatcentral.com/images/HF5.jpg

[Gcart]

That makes perfect sense haha.

I'm going to try to beat him up on the price a little bit and pick it up by the end of the week.

[gregski]

I wouldn't want the hot foot. That would be an impossible way to get precise speed control. Maybe he was barefooting and the throttle was all or nothing.

$5k would be a steal if there aren't any unseen issues. I sold a similar '89 for $7k and most any DD in good shape will stay in the $6-8k range as a bottom price.

[wolfeman131]

that lil' boat looks great! good luck.

[sandm]

buddy paid 6 for his and was in great shape. 5 would be a good price, but if you can get it lower based on a few issues you are bound to see, great....

hotfoot would make me scrutinize the sale that much more. most of the guys that put those in are running low-pro jetboats with big block motors. those are typically not driven very easy.

[kaneboats]

Gas pedal in a boat is really moronic. With no suspension, try keeping your foot still going over rollers. Almost impossible.

Ah, reminds me of a story from around 1989 or so . . .

My cousin Kate brought a pretty boy guy around during the summer-- a college boyfriend. Her Dad had a 22 ft. jet boat with the bigfoot gas pedal (460 Ford, Berkley jet). We taught the boyfriend how to ski. He was doing pretty well, going about 25 MPH on a beginner pair riding directly behind the boat. Uncle Ed driving, approached some rollers and let off the gas out of habit --- a bit too much though --- and so he ended up putting some slack in the ski rope. He quickly realized the problem and jumped back on the pedal-- the boat shot forward and ripped the boyfriend right out of the skis. Ha ha ha. Still remember the image of him leaning forward, suspended in the air - no skis and an "oh $hit" look on his face. We were all laughing so hard he was sure it was something we planned and did on purpose. Now that I'm a Dad I am more suspicious.

[Gcart]

that lil' boat looks great! good luck.

Thanks guys.

Just curious... How much weight can the "hood" hold?

Would it be possible for the lady's to lay out on it?

Thank you,
Sam

[wolfeman131]

that all depends on the ladies you bring out. there are some pics recently posted on here that I would have to say, "NO!" to for many, many reasons.

[sandm]

I walked on my buddies once to dock, but it was slippery as heck. it didn't feel weak by any stretch but not sure I would do it long term, even with some seadek installed.

keep in mind the windshields on those are getting tough to find and fairly pricey to replace. not sure I'd want a bunch of people stepping over it. they are not very structural in nature. lots of guys are going to bent lexan and even that can run 2bills to replace.

not sure of your budget but some of the late90's kamberras can be found in the 10k range and have an open bow.

[gregski]

Yes, you can walk on the bow. It is plenty strong. It is built with fiberglass the same way as the rest of the hull. As mentioned, it can be slippery and unfortunately it's not quite as big an area as you are thinking. It isn't long enough to lay out on so the only option would be to sit up against the windshield.

[Gcart]

that all depends on the ladies you bring out. there are some pics recently posted on here that I would have to say, "NO!" to for many, many reasons.

That's great.

I plan on looking at the boat this evening. Putting it in the water this weekend.

[beat taco]

Are you looking at only skiing? They are very small boats.

[Gcart]

Are you looking at only skiing? They are very small boats.

We will likely be cruising more than anything.

Maybe some tubing/wakeboarding.

How does the pole work in the center of the boat? I assume the rope connects to that directly for skiing/wakeboarding?

Boat looked great guys. Little bit of sun wear. The only thing it didn't have was the bench across the back of the boat. I will definitely be adding some seating there.

[beat taco]

It's really small. I suggest you at least look at that $6500 Mastercraft and the $8000 Malibu I saw in your area on Craigslist before you pull the trigger (unless he takes a low offer)

[gregski]

How does the pole work in the center of the boat? I assume the rope connects to that directly for skiing/wakeboarding?
Yes, you would use the pylon for skiing/tubing/etc. The bad thing is that you can't have people sitting in the rear seat while towing from the pylon due to the decapitation. I would recommend that you would get a Skylon or other similar extended pylon. This can be found used for about $200. This would move your tow point up to about 6-7 feet above the floor. This is much better for wakeboarding (like a tower) and since it moves the rope up high, you can have people sitting in the rear seat.

Boat looked great guys. Little bit of sun wear. The only thing it didn't have was the bench across the back of the boat. I will definitely be adding some seating there.
When I had my upholstery re-done, I had them rebuild the rear bench. I forget the exact price but it was around $500. Without knowing the extent of the sun wear and assuming that the upholstery is acceptable, I would think that $5k is a pretty good price.

[sandm]

on most of the old boomerangs, there isn't a rear bench, it's just a cushion that sits on the floor. buddy built a small rear seat bench for the padded "seat" he had. guessing it was 3 or 4" tall. made some storage. made it nicer to sit on, but you then sit higher up in the boat with a very low freeboard as it is.

[Gcart]

on most of the old boomerangs, there isn't a rear bench, it's just a cushion that sits on the floor. buddy built a small rear seat bench for the padded "seat" he had. guessing it was 3 or 4" tall. made some storage. made it nicer to sit on, but you then sit higher up in the boat with a very low freeboard as it is.



That's what I'm thinking. I'm fairly handy, I believe I cold build a storage department that doubles as a seat.