89' Malibu Skier, woth it?

I'm looking at a 89' Malibu Skier. The boat has 500 hours and is in really excellent shape (close to the best i have seen for an all original boat of that age). It does not have a tower or any fat sacks. I can pick it up for about $10k.

I'm going to look at this boat in a couple days. So, please only respond if you have some good experienced based information. Not just a guess or biased, or pride based opinion.

My 2 questions are :
(1) it seems like a really good price, is it?

I will be using it strictly for wakeboarding. I have been behind a 82' Nautique 2001 and love the wake. Although the wake is different, i find the ride almost as good and just as big as a 04' Centurion and a newer Wakesetter.

(2) So, even at that good of a price is the wake big enough to make it worth buying and is the wake anything comparable to a Nautique 2001.

I think that is WAY TOO MUCH money. I'd guess closer to 6000 or 7000, maybe a little more if it had a tower and other stuff. I'm guessing there may be nicer stuff out there.

The 2001 will have a better wake. There are also issues of poor quality in older Malibus. If you do go that direction, make sure you have a pro look at the boat, particularly the floors and stringers.

that is a little much - i agree w/ jeff -- 6- maybe 7 topps

thanks for the info fellas. keep it coming. looks like i will have to reconsider looking at this boat. Damn, wish i could find a solid SN 2001 somewhere reasonably close? U guys no anything about 88' Ski Supreme's?

Gonna run into the same problems as the Malibu. Quality of ski boats really jumped in the early and mid 90s. If you can find a Nautique or MC from that vintage that'd be awesome. If not spend a little more and find something from the mid 90s.
Neither of the boats you mentioned are worth close to $10K.

Many of these boats from the 80's have problems with rot, and all of them were made for skiing (small wake). The 2001 is the only one off had that I can say has a great wake.

Be patient, watch boat trader and the ads here. For $10K, you can find late 80s early 90 MC Or nautique. Heck there is even two 94 Malibu Echelons on Boattrader close to that money. You can put a wedge on that boat, weight it down, and the wake gets pretty nice.

My best friend at home has an 89 Skier and it is what I learned to wakeboard behind and I still wakeboard behind it occasionally. We use two 500lb. fat sacs on the sides of the engine and then a Fly High extended pylon and the wake is pretty good at 65'. With the boat weighted, you can learn pretty much any spin up to 5s and a dozen inverts.

As for the price, I think it is pretty fair if the boat is in good condition. My friends paid $9000 four years ago and the boat wasn't in the best shape and the trailer needed to be redone, but they bought it from a friend. That being said, it is a 17 year old boat so you are going to end up spending more than you think on maintenance and repairs. I know that my friend has done some vinyl work and has worked on some soft spots in the wood floor.

Just make sure you know what you are getting into. It's a great boat to learn on and it's a good price, but it is an older boat with a wood floor.

Kyle --ther are 2 very nice 2001's near me -- but i'm in NC -- both are < 10K

That '89 Malibu isn't as bad of deal as a lot of people say. Everyone wants to jump on the 2001 bandwagon around here, but you are getting a lot bigger boat in the Skier as far as inside room, there is a lot more floor space. We had a '92, which is pretty much the exact same boat, we sold it for just over $11k in '02 with 1400+ hours on it. It was in showroom condition though and always stored inside. Make sure the boat was mainly stored inside, as there are a lot of wood in these boats and that makes a huge difference. I would definately choose the Malibu over the Supreme. Weighted right the Skier can make a heck of a wake, I still have never got even close to a comparable wake with our Centurion promo boats which are a lot bigger in size.

When we sold our boat like I said it was in perfect condition, no cosmetic problems, engine was perfect, trailer was in great condition with new tires. The boat you are looking at is 3 years older, but has about 1000 less hours, I would say if you could get around $8-9k you would be getting it for a very good price. If you can get it for $7k like some said above I would feel like I stole the boat if it is near the condition ours was.

I saw an 89 Sunsetter the other day with 80, YES that's right 80 hours on it! The thing was CHERRY! The bimini had never even been taken out of the plastic!

$9700 obo! Yes 10k is too much...

Nick,

I've got a 90 Skier. What did you do to weight it?

kstate, where was this?

I am trying to remember exactly what we did, I think we had 5 5 gallon buckets full of concrete where the back seat would have been, then two side sacks up the side, I am trying to remember what we had in the front locker. That thing made a great wake. It's been a while ago though, so I'm a little fuzzy on the exact weighting of the thing.

Beach, we're trying to get a crew together for the Cats v. Louisville, I think it's a late September game, you down? I'm going to try to make it down on Thursday night in the next couple weeks, either way we're going to be at the Rock the first week of August.

(Message edited by kstateskier on June 30, 2006)

I stated earlier that i needed to find a solid boat near me. But did not say where the hell i am. So, if anyone knows of any boats near Bellingham, WA lets hear about them. I will go as far south as Lake Shasta area and as far east as western Montana. Don't reply if you just have a boat that you want to sell. It's gotta be a fair price, excellent condition, and something wake-worthy (no mediocre wakes or beginner boats).

that's a lot for that boat. i own a 90 malibu skier. it had 748 hrs and i got mine for $7800. put a tower on it, sound system, had our race car mechanic rebuild the carb and it's a champ. when weighted with ballast and/or people it puts out a good wake. but remember it was built for skiing, so i go anywhere from 17-20 mph so the wake doesn't flatten out. overall, i'm very please with mine.

Too much. Just because someone has sold their boat for as much doesnt make it a good deal. I think you should be able to get the same boat for around 7k. Take it on a test drive and see what you think about it and then haggle.

My brother has had a 1988 Malibu Sunsetter (open bow) since 1997 and has never had any trouble with it. All he has done is yearly service/winterization. He uses it for skiing so he has never weighed it down or put on an extended pylon or tower. When I've boarded behind it, it is very solid with a consistent pull. Only problem is the floor is wood and in front of the back seat is a little soft. Could cause trouble in the future. The wake without weight is fun for beginners, I'd love to see it loaded down myself. I'd think the boat could handle a lot and produce a solid wake.

Kyle - I was in the exact same situation as you a little while back. I wanted a badarse wake, no matter what. I decided on the 2001, and looked everywhere remotely near me for about 8 months. I found a few, but most had serious problems. I found one that was very close to me, and paid $230 for a boat inspection, only to find out that it needed new floors, and the stringers were shot, despite the ad which stated that the boat was 'mint condition with new floors and stringers'.

After that I had had enough. I had a friend who was hard up for money, and he had a '78 Nautique with a monster tower, racks, speaker cans blah blah blah. Great condition and a recent marine survey completed too. I bought it the next day.

Don't rule out the '77 to '81 Nautiques. Sick wake - believe me. Just a tad more narrow than the mighty 2001.