UWStoutSkier

Some more pictures of the bar

Just wanted to share this with all of you: in spring I turned the back 5ft of the malibu into a bar. The malibu boat bar is NOT for sale. I have had amazing feed back on how cool of a bar this is and found an old 1980 Ski Nautique that was sitting in a field the last 7 years all stripped out. I am going to make two more bars out of it to sell. Take a look at the pictures how the malibu boat bar turned out! Also two pictures of a wedding reception it was used in! Details on the bar, for those who want to know. Used 4x4's for the legs, and it is on leveling casters that have rubber pads that go down. Used red oak for the bar top with a warm teak stain. Has a double tap system that can be hooked up to a kegarator or two barrels for an event. Has a mini fridge that can hold 62 12 oz cans. Has a sink, a speed rail for liquor bottles, blue led lighting under the bar top and and hull of the boat. And of course wired up for 120v 20amp outlets with USB's to charge phones.

I took it into the dealer half way through the break in and had the ECM read and cleared. They didn't tell me the hours all they said was however many "# of starts ago" it had low oil pressure and overheated. Do you guys know if there is a way to read/clear codes myself without taking it all the way to a dealer?

Well I got the new motor dropped in the boat and started up first try on Saturday September 2nd! Drove it around Labor Day weekend breaking it in, then took it back up to school and finished the recommended 10 hour break in, did the first oil and filter change and have been using the boat almost every day. Got about 60 hours on the motor and she purs! Ready for another oil change already. We took the the head (on the side that blew) and the oil pan off of the old block and all I can say is wow! It was the second cylinder back on the passenger side of the boat. Piston was disconnected from rod and I pulled it out by hand, all cracked up and skirt was no longer in existence. Rod put a hole through the cylinder and into the water jacket, broke in half and pieces were sitting in the bottom. Wrist pin was locked up in rod and wouldn't turn. Must have bent the crank because with everything out of the way it still wouldn't turn. Looks like cause of failure was multiple things, oil might have been low and impeller was a little chewed up (but not terrible, I've seen much worse) could have overheated at some point, who knows. Oil filter seal was NOT the cause of failure. Just thought I'd give everyone an update

I got the motor pulled on Sunday and am still talking with several different companies and figuring out who has the best deal. There was not 2 gaskets on the oil filter and the impeller looks great. Not sure of cause yet but I will tear the engine down, later once the new one is in the boat.

@swc5150 yes it's been a rough year @Bruce_Butterfield not sure if it the bilge was full right away. I'm the same way, I always check for the gasket when doing oil changes. I'll check but I don't think that would be it because it's been 20 or 30 hours since the oil change.

The dealership did the last oil change, not sure on what type of filter (I'll have to go look) but I know it's not a fram. That's a good point, I will check the filter o-rings and the drain hose. Yes the bottom of the boat is full of oil and needs to be cleaned out. The hole it put in the pan is I'll check the spark plugs as well, and am going to have a bore scope put down the spark plug holes to see what the walls of the cylinders look like. @Gloersen did the dealer rebuild your motor or get a long block? Did you ever see the price on it? I've called a few different companies on long blocks: -Jaspar wants $3,650 with core exchange and 2 year warranty -Michigan Motorz wants $2,900 + $50 gasket kit and $215 for distributor pick up or drop off to a business with a fork lift and 1 year of parts and labor warranty -Doug Russel Marine wants about $3400 with 1 year of warranty

Well I'm not going to argue with you about maintenance, believe what you want. But here's what I will tell you I worked at a dealership for 5 years and I'm well aware of keeping up with maintenance, our last boat we got 1700 hours out of (and the motor was still good). This boat was bought from a guy who only had his local nautique dealership work on it and it was pristine. We always watch the oil. The boat had only been used for 2 hours since the last time the the oil was checked. So to not be seen on the dip stick, it must be about atleast 1 1/2 quarts low. Where does all that oil go so fast? And then once more was added, it threw a rod immediately when trying to start it. Thanks for the info^ on long block availability, I have a whole list of companies I need to call. Does anyone know how much a rebuild averages in cost? Granite, theee would have to be machining and check the crank to make sure it's still true. Not leaning towards a rebuild but just keeping my options open

We have a 2009 Ski Nautique 196 with the PCM Excalibur 343 in it with about 420 well maintained hours on it. Today it started running weird and making noises, stopped, shut the motor off, and checked the oil and it couldnt be seen on the dip stick. Got a tow back to the dock filled it up with oil and tried to start it. That's when it made a Big Bang.... threw a rod and went threw oil pan - appeares to be the cylinder closetest to the driver seat. What is everyone's opinions on what to do? I'm mechanical inclined. What's the cheapest option, rebuild or buy a crate long block?

Our boat was pretty empty when it sunk, just 4 people in it. We had been bare footing, thankfully no one was when it hit the log

No the boat did not go completely under, the bow kept above water all night while the stern was sitting on the bottom of the lake, then we got it out the next day. When talking with the certified boat appraiser, I asked about how they are supposed to float. He said boats under 24ft do not have to have enough flotation to keep it above water but they should atleast keep part of the boat at the surface. In this case the enclosed bow did its job.... although at the rate it was sinking, we though the whole thing was going to the bottom

Thank you so much guys! Sorry about that, I was unaware. When I signed into go fund me, it wanted updated/more info to the account. It should work again now! Yes our team owns our boat not the school, we also own our own jump, slalom course, and most equipment. The school helps by funding us for boat gas, some tournaments, and limited equipment. We do a lot of fundraising and it shows. With the help of you guys and everyone else who has donated, the insurance money from the boat, and more fundraising we will be able to buy a newer boat by spring. Thanks again we really appreciate! https://www.gofundme.com/donations-for-new-boat

Hi everyone, I am president of the UW Stout Waterski Team and in the first week of November our 1998 Malibu response hit a log while going 25mph (thankfully not pulling a skier) and ripped of the drivetrain and sunk in 9ft of water while being pulled back to the launch. We are dealing with insurance and the boat is claimed as totaled. If anyone would like to help out some fellow skiers and donate to the team to help get a new boat it would be much appreciated and anything counts. We will be doing lots of fundraising to make sure we have a new boat to ski behind in spring. Thanks for all the support gofundme.com/donations-for-new-boat