1991 Mastercraft prostar 190 soft spot, need advise

[bamafutbal]

haven't purchased the boat yet but the area between engine cover and rear bech seat a 10"X5" spot is a little soft, not much though, no where else can i find a spot by bouncing my 205lb frame on the floor. boat is in otherwise great condition, runs great etc. is this a run run run situation or should be a somewhat easy fix IF that is the only problem. you really wanting the advice on that one area, because i realize withour ripping out the carpet, it could be dry rot, wet rot, something else rot all over the boat.

 

[danond]

Re: 1991 Mastercraft prostar 190 soft spot, need advise

The floor is rotten. That means other things are rotten. The chance that it's just the floor is almost zero.

Expect to find a soft transom, soft floor and rotten stringers.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: 1991 Mastercraft prostar 190 soft spot, need advise

10" x 5" .... you can probably band aid it for the season just be prepared to do some serious investigating down the road.

The Mastercraft is an awesome boat. Take a look at this ski boat restore here on iboats http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=292744

 

[J. Mark]

Re: 1991 Mastercraft prostar 190 soft spot, need advise

Wow I am getting referenced!

Well I may have some slightly better news than the rest of the crew here.

The area you are referring to is in between the stringers and should be removable to access the shaft log. Because the prop shaft, exhaust and all runs through here there is no cross bracing. Even after completely rebuilding my deck, that same area HAD flex.

I just spent a few hours cutting a second layer of 5/8ths ply and epoxying coating some side supports to help with this issue. It is all in the basement curing up tonight.

I'll try and take a few pictures to explain what I ran into.

Still, you need to inspect the stringers for rot. My floor was solid as a rock when I bought the boat, but only because it had been replaced and no access was left over that area. My mufflers were shot and leaking and the shaft log was eaten up due to misalignment of the engine and the propshaft.

Having gotten to the point I am at, I would say a ski boat makes for a relatively simple restoration, but it is still time consuming.

If the boat looks good everywhere else, I would suggest you get a marine surveyor or get the owner to consent to having that panel removed for proper inspection. Even if the deck is the only area that needs work, without getting in to that area for regular maintenance and inspection, you can't maintain the boat properly.

The shaft log is most likely a packing type and the packing needs to be replaced periodically. Your rudder needs the shaft greased and the access is there as well.

 

[J. Mark]

Re: 1991 Mastercraft prostar 190 soft spot, need advise

A bit of quick research found this http://www.mastercraft.com/teamtalk/showthread.php?t=29236

bottom line your stringers are not rotten, cause they are wood free.

There appear to be some real engineering advantages to the mastercrafts and having skied behind one for years (and tore ligaments in my knee behind one) that was what I wanted when I went boat shopping.

What I got is a great boat that needed everything fixed. I am not unhappy, but I'll have a 7-8K mastercraft wannabe when I am done. Still it will be a very limited edition.

 

[J. Mark]

Re: 1991 Mastercraft prostar 190 soft spot, need advise

Check the end of my thread, the new floor I built doesn't flex with my 200 pounds and my back pressed against the roof of the carport pushing down with a fair amount of force. If it is just that the area is unsupported, the fix is super easy and cheap.

As to the transom, on an inboard it does less than on any other boat, but it is still important. I would check the hardware for any sign of looseness and if the owner will let you pull some screws and check for signs of water intrusion. Take a tube of 5200 with you so you can put it back together properly.

Roll Tide from a Bama alumni Class of 1987