What's Happening at Silver Cove Marine?

[NautiqueJeff]

Well, we have been getting a ton of communications asking if our 1997 Ski Nautique will be for sale when we're finished restoring it, and the answer is always "yes, but..."

The "but" is that often our restoration boats are sold before we finish restoring them. If you want to reserve it, you can put a deposit down and we'll finish it up to your specs, and that's what happened again with this one. We got a call from a gentleman in Germany who put a deposit on the boat, and will pick it up in May when he's back in the States. That'll give us time to finish it up, and he'll have a great boat waiting for him when he gets home.

[NautiqueJeff]

Got a cool boat in this morning for a bit of restoration work! We love special edition boats, and we're looking forward to working on this 1996 Ski Nautique Body Glove Edition.

[NautiqueJeff]

Here's a little before and after of the carpet cleaning of our 2005 Ski Nautique.


BEFORE:


AFTER:

[NautiqueJeff]

Although these new reproduction switch panels are not my favorite (I don't like the white behind the writing), they're certainly better than what was on our client's 1996 Ski Nautique Body Glove Edition!





We did a little bit of work on the Airguides, too. They got their black needles straightened, orange needles painted, and faces cleaned.

[SilentSeven]

I was browsing Ebay a while ago and was surprised to see how much the vintage air guide speedos were going for. The refurbed ones look good!

[NautiqueJeff]

Our 2007 Super Air Nautique 210 is getting really close! New alternator and starter are on, and the engine is running great!

Today was water test day. We still need to replace the oil pressure switch (that's why the big red light is on), and the tachometer. Everything else seems to be good!

[NautiqueJeff]

Lots of engine work this week here at SCM:

The Excalibur 330 5.7L from our 2005 Ski Nautique 196 got a full rebuild, plus new starter and alternator.
Here are some tear-down and reassembly pictures. We'll finish assembling it on Monday.

[NautiqueJeff]

Upon detailed engine inspection & cleaning, we found a small crack in one of the heads on our 1997 Ski Nautique's 351 standard engine, so we decided to pull them both for repair. Once they were off, I decided that I'd hate to put the standard heads back on, so I ordered a set of GT40P heads. GT-40 heads were an option from the factory in 1997, so these are very close to a stock offering, but they will boost the power of this engine by about 25 HP. The new heads are here and ready to be mounted! The engine is all ready for them, and is soon to become what was known from the factory as the PCM 5.8 HO.

[NautiqueJeff]

Our client's 1996 Ski Nautique Body Glove Edition has a complete dashboard now, including the problematic stereo panel. We had to do some modifications on the stereo panel, because it didn't fit properly as-built. We trimmed it up, and opened up the stereo hole so that the cover would work. Also, on the stereo panel, we don't use the original wood screws that the factory uses because the stereo puts more pressure on the holes than they can easily handle. We buy longer machine screws, and through-bolt that panel on, using lock washers, flat washers and nuts, so that it has the support it needs for the weight of the stereo.



This vessel also had its carpet removed and floor prepped for new carpet today. We'll use the old carpet as a template to cut the new carpet to size, and hopefully get it installed early next week.

[UG_ALLSTAR]

Hey Jeff, quick question. I was reading up on your 07' SANTE resto and are you sure it's a 210 and not a 220? Only reason I ask is I have an 08' 210 and the center engine cover back rest does not protrude. It remains strait from gunwale to gunwale. Just curious

[NautiqueJeff]

UG_ALLSTAR Good observation! This is in fact a 2007 210.

The 2007 210 is a one-year-only design. It was the first year of the new hull, and after 2007, Nautique decided they didn't really like the layout like that in the smaller 210, so they changed it to a straight back seat starting in 2008.

I spent some time doing a deep clean of the carpet in the storage areas of this boat today, and removed the additional plumbed-in ballast bags to clean them and the compartments.

I also got the new cover set up and installed. We use different types of covers at SCM, and this one is kind of our mid-level choice. It is a semi-custom cover built by Carver. It isn't quite as nice as a full custom Sunbrella cover built by our own upholstery people, but it isn't bad for an off-the-shelf cover.

I also gave the bimini top a good scrubbing.

[UG_ALLSTAR]

NautiqueJeff I had a feeling there was an explanation haha. The chromax letters turned out great, makes the boat look like a newer gen.

[NautiqueJeff]

The engine for our 2005 Ski Nautique 196 has been completely reassembled after the rebuild, and is ready to go back into the boat. We'll run it on the test stand tomorrow before installing it.

[SilentSeven]

Does the head update change the octane requirements of the fuel? I looked up the head differences and see the 40P heads increase the compression.

[NautiqueJeff]

That head update was on the engine for the 1997 Ski Nautique. All PCM engines of that era spec 89 octane minimum, so I guess technically there is no change on the requirement. I typically run 90 octane ethanol-free fuel in all of our boats, so that fits the requirement.