1984 S&S Refurb

[PineLakeRumble]

Greetings All,

For those of you that always have your radar out for old Mastercrafts you may have seen the following boat that was for sale on Ski-It-Again August-October. Thanks in part go to fellow Team Talk members who allowed me to pepper them with questions in the following thread… https://teamtalk.mastercraft.com/for...-a-new-project
… I made the trek to Michigan and brought the following project home to Ontario.

[PineLakeRumble]

I purchased the boat from the third owner who has owned it since 1994. You can see the boat that bumped it from its’ lift this fall. The seller was kind enough to provide me with photos and videos of the boat (including cold starts and compression tests) which took much of the fear out of the cross border shopping experience. Until his new Prostar was purchased this boat had been used and maintained mechanically by the seller every summer for the past 28 years. The hour meter reads 750… if it’s accurate. Over the next year or two I’m hoping to roll back the years inside and out and make it an attractive and dependable ski boat again.

[PineLakeRumble]

I’m fortunate to be able to keep it in a heated shop where I can have weekly access and begin the cleaning and repair process. At this point my hope is that those of you that are familiar with Skiers of this vintage will comment on the photos and let me know about things that aren’t stock, need addressing, or are simply odd or incorrect. I’m not looking to create a factory correct show boat but it is nice to know how things were done originally or should be if things have been changed. For those of you that have figured out how to improve on the factory setup to help keep these old boats in good shape I look forward to learning from your experience. I’ll post photos as the work moves slowly forward. I’m learning as I go, helpful comments are always welcome.

[proey]

Great project! I’m looking forward to watching your restorations. I love S&S, it’s a classic!

[PineLakeRumble]

Took some time to get dirty and give the bilge, engine and transmission a good initial clean. The gel coat around the drive shaft looked to be a different colour and somewhat cracked and crispy. Not sure if that is typical.
My 86 and 94 both had plastic fuel tanks so I was surprised that the tank was aluminum. After investigating other threads I'm guessing that 84 was a transition year away from aluminum tanks. Mine sure isn't mounted well and the feet don't line up properly. If that's typical it isn't a very impressive factory fit.
My 86 had exhaust blower hose that ran almost all the way to the transmission. Not sure if it that is the way it should be for an 84?
Things looked alright on the engine after a quick glance...other than the JB Weld on the carb and the crooked transfer tube. Though the boat started well I think a carb rebuild will be in order. All belts and hoses are due to be replaced. I'll look more closely at the driveline in the future.

Anyone see anything else interesting, strange, or noteworthy?

[RxMC]

Nice. You are very lucky to have place to work on the boat now in Ontario.

Maybe the log has been reglassed?

[PineLakeRumble]

Some further investigation is needed for sure. One more item on the to do list. The boat exterior is heavily oxidized and I'm interested to see what shape the gel coat is in. I'm going to strip some decals and see what some 3M super duty will reveal.

[waterlogged882]

... exterior is heavily oxidized ...

3M won't touch it at this point. Wet sanding is likely required. The good thing about the 84; no flake to have to deal with when sanding. Cut deep enough to get to clean gel or you'll see the chalk-look sooner than later.

The shaft log appears to have had something coated on top of it, thus the flaking. No big deal. The places to be concerned is at the hull where the log was placed into the hull then glassed over.

.

[PineLakeRumble]

The shaft log didn't seem to be leaking. I'll keep my fingers crossed on that one.

Thanks for the heads up re. gel coat. I'll work my way backwards from the 3M as necessary. I've got 600 - 1200 in the bag if needed. I'll never forget the time I left my wedding ring on while wetsanding one entire side and the bow of my '94 while using 800 grit. Lot of unfriendly language used when I finally realized where the swirls were coming from. Back to 600 I went. Some lessons you only need to learn once.

[RxMC]

I've found 3M 1500 grit to work great on my red 1990. Hopefully that's all you'll need???

[PineLakeRumble]

Found some time and got to work. Removed starboard side vinyl. I took measurements for myself as I imagine it will be a long time before this boat sees new vinyl. That yin yang sticker was a beast to remove. Heat and persuasion eventually prevailed. Nice to see the real colour under the original vinyl.

[PineLakeRumble]

I got to work with the 3M Super Duty. Broke the side into 2x2 sections and hit each section 3 times. Actually, the compound wouldn't touch the hard water stains so I stopped and rubbed the side down with vinegar which took care of the crustiness. Pretty good result for a first step. Interesting to see how the gelcoat wears around the vinyl. Though the colour is now the same it will probably take some sanding to make it all perfectly even.

[PineLakeRumble]

Waterlogged, you were correct. I got away with compound on the side but as you suggested the bow was too far gone and needed sanding... 800, 1000, 1200, then 3M Superduty. Considering how expensive 3M Compound has become I think I'll continue sanding the rest of the boat as a first step (3 steps actually).

[waterlogged882]

Waterlogged, you were correct. I got away with compound on the side but as you suggested the bow was too far gone and needed sanding... 800, 1000, 1200, then 3M Superduty. Considering how expensive 3M Compound has become I think I'll continue sanding the rest of the boat as a first step (3 steps actually).

Best on the results and also the off season.

.

[PineLakeRumble]

This clamp block is worn and needs replacing. This unit is unlike the one in both of my former MC's (86 & 94). Anyone familiar with this style of clamp block? I found a Uflex (S39) part online that could be the answer.