New Member & New Boat (I hope)

Like many new members, I have been watching and learning from this forum for some time now. The amount of information I have been able to gather here has been awesome and has helped me a bunch in being able to survey the last five boats I have looked at. Based our family budget, we have been looking in the 93-98 range in order to stay away from wood, but not get too expensive. That being said, today I decided it was time to officially join as I think I have finally found "The One"

I have found a '95 SN with a Pro Boss GT40, and understand the differences between the GT40 / Pro Boss / Pro Boss GT40 I believe. What I am not sure of is the ignition, and if this boat uses what I have read to be a sometimes problematic Pro Tec system. So, before I put a ring on this girls' finger, I thought I would post that question.

I am a pretty capable guy when it comes to cars and boats, and have done restoration on both, and have also been burned by both. In order to make this a succesful purchase, I think I came to the right place!!

The motor is very clean, and has clearly been well maintained. The rest of the boat is equally clean both inside and out. Seats are great with no rips or tears, and the gelcoat is very nice. From the dry side of the water, I was able to spend about an hour in the boat going through all the basics, and testing all the electrical - lights, radio, blower, bilge, etc.. and all systems are operational. Speedos can be verified when I water test the boat this weekend. I am planning on compression testing the engine after the water test and the owner has agreed to allow me to.

The owner says the packing does have the typical leak which I will also verify once in the water.

All the maintenance is up to date and based on the discussions with the owner, and the survey thus far, I have to believe him. Trailer is in great shape also, and has upgraded LED lights and all the basic tire, greasing, and brake maintenance performed.

We have been looking for a year or so, and now that my other boat is sold, we are looking very seriously. So, I guess I am just looking for anything that may be specific to this year SN and the PCM Pro Boss GT40 ignition or other potential motor "quirks" for this year. If there seems to be anything glaring I am overlooking, any advice would be great for this potential first-time direct drive owner!

We are very excited to own our first inboard as it has been over 25 years since I have been behind one. Can't wait to teach the yougins how to slalom as my dad did with me.

Thanks to all of you in advance.

http://correctcraftfan.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=34168&title=pro-boss-questions

Here's the "link"
Never post a link the way I just did, a few members go bezerk over it.

Orlando76 wrote: http://correctcraftfan.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=34168&title=pro-boss-questions Here's the "link" Never post a link the way I just did, a few members go bezerk over it.

FIXED LINK....NEVER DO THAT!

Thanks Hollywood. Cracked heads would not be good - is the problem with a specific head (left or right) and cylinder? That would be something I would at least want to put a visual on if it can be seen with the naked eye. Vapor lock on EFI is pretty rare, so I would not be too concerned with that.

Welcome and good luck with your search! I loved our 95. I think she is running around Lake Norman these days? Red and black.

Hi Brett, and welcome to CCF! You'd love a GT-40, tons of power out of the hole and just a good running engine. I just skied on a friend's '97 Ski Nautique 2 days ago and it's a perfect running boat. There are some threads here with GT-40 problems, loping or galloping idle is one that I have in my GT-40 Sport, but I don't find it to be a major problem. You'll find some listing of problems with any engine, and I think most here would agree the GT-40 was an excellent engine package for these boats.

Assuming it has the standard type of shaft log packing, you do want to see a few drips a minute out of it. Only aftermarket dripless packings are supposed to be dry, standard ones are adjusted correctly if they drip.

Go for it! Good luck.

Well, she's even better than expected - It's a Signature Edition to boot! In my driveway and ready to go this weekend! Finally a dream has become reality - My First Nautique!!!! What a beautiful machine.....

-Brett

Good news! Let us know how it goes this weekend, a new boat in the driveway is about as good as it gets.

I will certainly get some pics on here. Can you upload them from an iPhone or iPad?

Boat ran great when I test drove it. Put it throughout the paces and it performed without a hitch. Everything works, very clean, and I got two covers and two props.

It is a rocket out of the hole, much different than my I/O!!! I am getting a nice wax job on it after the buff job, but it did not need much. She will look like a million bucks on the water this weekend.

The only thing I want to do is tighten up the Morse controller a bit so I don't have to leave my hand on it to keep pressure on the throttle. Got to look into that as it wants to drift back towards the idle position slowly in some spots.

Got to ski behind it this weekend and absolutely love it! I did quite a bit of driving to get to know the boat as well as some low speed maneuvering to understand how it responds in reverse etc.... Really enjoy it and the handling is remarkable. That Pro Boss GT40 moves that hull like a freight train! I'll get some pics up as soon as I get to my regular computer. I can't seem how to do it from the iPhone or iPad.