First Time Boat Owner

[Bill Thompson]

I recently bought a 1992 Ski Centurion Tru Trac iii that looks to be in great shape for the age and hours. Are there any quirks or things to look out for with this model? The engine looks well taken care of, all electrics work, and the fiberglass encased wood stringers seem to be in pretty good shape too

[DW]

Congratulations on your purchase.  Not specific to the model and generic to all ski boats, a key weak point can be the raw water impeller which is a maintenance item.  There are some good maintenance video's available, SKIDIM (Discount Inboard Marine) is a good source for them.

[03RLXi]

https://www.youtube.com/@rontanis1024 is another great source for vintage boat maintenance videos. His shop is good too https://www.skiboatpartsonline.com/index.php

[Stevie Boy]

Congrats, just log the sound your engine makes under load, if the boat sound changes and sounds more throaty and the temp gauge reading is not normal, change the impeller asap, in saying that, it is a fairly simple job and impellers are not a expensive item, I would just change it every season, may pay to have a spare one at hand

[Dano]

Float it and watch for water leaks. The bilge should  not take on much water during use.  A drip or 2 every 10 seconds from the log packing is all you should expect.   It should not have 2 or 3 gallons sloshing around.  
 

check fuel hose is in good condition and there are no fuel leaks. Insure the bilge blower fan is operating and properly vented out the back of the boat. Make sure your carburetor is equipped with a throttle return spring. So it will return to idle if your throttle cable breaks.  Speaking of cables a boat that old may need new brass fittings on the ends of the throttle and shift cables.  Mine were just about worn thru when I replaced them last year.  
 

make sure your bilge pump is operational.  
 

Steering cable. If you don’t know how old it is.  It is a good idea to replace it.  Even if it appears to be operating smoothly.  You don’t want to experience a broken steering cable at any speed.  You will also want to check the steering cable clamp block is in good shape and there is no slop in it. 
 

I have a centurion of that era and the rear drain plugs are the crappiest design.  Suggest you at least have a look at what is there and make sure they are securely attached still. On my boat they are just garboard plugs with tiny wood screws that were screwed thru the fiberglass into the wood transom.  Never sealed properly. Wet wood  Resulted in loose screws.  
 

the speedo pickup hoses are another point of water intake where they go thru the transom.  Get perfect pass, Toss the Speedo’s in the garbage and plug the holes with epoxy.   
 

grab your prop and see how much play is in the cutlass bearing. It shouldn’t have a lot of movement but it will have a little play.  While you are ther give the rudder a shake.  Again a little movement is fine but if it feels loose and moves around it may need to be serviced . 
 

start it up, and watch the temperature operates as expected probably around 160degrees.  If it climbs higher it’s time to shut it down and figure out why.  By the way the danger here is damage to the engine but also the exhaust hoses could get extremely hot if the raw water is not flowing properly.  That heat can cause the exhaust hoses to fail. I’ve seen the rubber seperate on the inside and become an obstruction.  Worst case is they fail completely and you are now sinking.  Always keep an eye on your temps. 

enjoy your boat!

 

[UWSkier]

Pull the throttle and change the brass doohickeys that thread onto the shift and throttle cable ends.  They wear out, and the wear isn't visible unless you remove the pin and pull it out.  If one of those lets go, you can find yourself in a dangerous condition where either the throttle or transmission stops responding to lever input.  It's something that's commonly overlooked by owners of these older boats and takes 20 mins to swap them both out.

[jjackkrash]

Check the motor mounts and make sure it's secure and there's no cracks, etc.  Grease the rudder and check all the running gear/throttle/steering connections. These things all wear out and you want solid and smooth inputs from the helm to the propeller and rudder.  And get a wrench on the ski pylon bolts and make sure it's tight.  IMO.  

[Dano]

if you are checking motor mounts just make sure the bolts are holding without turning them.  Tightening can pull threads out, and loosening can also weaken them.  They are just lag bolts into wood.

[101driver]

@Bill Thompson Congratulations on your purchase and welcome to the world of boat ownership. Don't let the informative and excellent posts above put you off. You don't have to do it all at once but doing a bit regularly is part of the fun of boat ownership.

or as Ratty put it in wind in the willows when explaining the pleasures of boat ownership to mole.......................

You are always busy and you never do anything in-particular, and when you have done it their is always something else to do. And you can do it if you like. But you had much better not.

[DvarianDan Johnson]

Would politely disagree with @Dano, not all motor mount bolts of that era are lags going into the wood. You need to put a wrench on them and try to tighten them to see if they're loose at all. If they spin - you have bad stringers.  My vintage 92 has an alloy frame around the engine on the inside of the stringers that bolts go completely through and tighten on the outside. Very strong factory set up.  Also don't ignore any soft spots in the flooring. A significant warning sign of additional damage underneath.  Older boats are great. I love them. But they do require regular care and feeding  

[BlueSki]

You may benefit from changing the distributor cap, rotor, and potentially the plugs and wires. See if you have information on the last time oil, fuel filters, and the belt were changed. If not recently, change those in addition to the impeller. Fuel filters should be replaced every year along with the impeller. The advice on the steering cable was solid. If you got it from a dealer, they may have done some of this, but maybe not. 

[03RLXi]

Well maintained steering makes so much difference! When not moving it should be feather light to turn i.e. easily spin steering wheel lock to lock with single finger. When boat is at slalom speed however the steering wheel will feel 'loaded'. Don't misinterpret that as a problem though, it's not. The rubbers are shaped to do that as it helps driver 'feel' the skier and to drive accurately through the course.

If the steering hasn't been maintained everything will be stiff and it'll be harder to slow speed maneuver and you'll loose the 'loaded feeling'. Easy fix though, replace cable and grease rudder. See the youtube how to videos.   

  

[BlueSki]

Doing maintenance yourself will save you enough money to buy a new ski every few years.  

[101driver]

There is a pleasure in doing the work to your craft yourself and a pride in taking out an older boat which runs well and people compliment you on, especially if they notice you doing the work yourself and trust me those who know will notice.......In that circle you get credibility for taking care of your craft yourself even if you only do the simple jobs. If you do a bit others are more likely to help you do more. This often leads to many positive benefits, not least new friends in your new shared interest