vibration in a ski nautique 2001

I am looking at a 82 sn 2001, the guy said he hit a stump and put a small ding in the prop and it has a small vibration. Could this be caused by the prop being out of balance or could the shaft be bent?? I just sold my i/o and would like to get a sn2001 until i can afford to buy a newer boat. He said the vibration is not bad...but bad to him and to me could be different. What could i possibly be looking at?

Depends on how bad the prop is dinged. If it's harly noticeable, then I'd say you may have a bent shaft. I recommend taking the prop off and taking it to a prop shop and asking the repairman for an opinion.

Having a dinged prop will cause vibration, but it could be the shaft / struts or possibly the rudder. What worries me from your post is that it seems that the boat may have been regularly driven with this vibration which can't be good for the tranny and generally leads me to believe that the boat may not have been well cared for. I would probe deeper on this vibration issue. If you know someone with an extra nautique prop and a prop puller you can swap the prop for a test run and see if that takes care of the vibration before buying. It may be a perfectly fine boat, less the prop, but I would proceed with caution.

i def wouldn't buy it till you know more about it. that could be a huge can of worms.

well the problem is the boat is 6 hours away. I haven`t seen it in person. Lets say worse case the shaft is bent, what would i be looking at?? The boat looks pretty good and he wants 4700 for the boat. The boat looks pretty decent.

bmartin, i just reread your post and he told me it happened last weekend. He said the vibration is hardly noticable but he would not take it out anymore in the condition unil he has a new prop.

$4700 is really cheap for that boat, depending on the condition of course, and what upgrades have been done. It's worth investigating. What kind of prop is it? If it's stainless steel, the chances of shaft damage are higher than if it is bronze.

I believe its all stock. There is not a tower, as far as the prop i do not know if it is stainless or not. I only briefly talked to the owner and I will talk to him again today. He says there is not any soft spots on the floor, of course there might be if i investigate further. What should i ask before i drive to look at the boat?? (if i decide to drive and look) He bought the boat from the original owner and was always kept in storage. I believe he has been keeping it outside but he has not had the boat long.

i had a 82 SN2001. and dinged many props. the smallest inperfection causes a huge vibration. some times the blade was bent, and the naked eye could not even see it. i hit alot of stumps and never bent a shaft. always the prop. nettle props in austin texas always fixed mine. about $150 to repair.

the prop on that boat is not stainless. it is nibral. nickel brass aluminum alloy.

you REALLY need to check the boat out. the floors and stringers especially. take a cresent wrench and tighten all the motor mount bolts that go threw the stringers. if they spin freely the strings rotten. also be sure to check the floor right in front of the doghouse. its the most common place to rot.
checking compression would also be a good idea. check the oil if its thick there using ring sealer gunk to hide it.

Almost 20 yrs of boat ownership, several boats, and I've bent or broken several props. But never once had a bent prop shaft.

So I would say there is a better than good chance the prop is dinged & the shaft is fine. Might be worth putting a new prop on the boat for a test drive though.

I've done a ton of service on an 01 malibu that was ABUSED by a ski team. Run onto the ramp, run into shore, props destroyed weekly, etc. Hit magnets, rocks, trees, etc.

Had a prop so badly mangled that i couldn't drive it onto the trailer.

If a prop didn't vibe too bad, we'd run it for months on end with a vibration. NEVER hurt a shaft. Would put a new prop on, and it would be smooth as a new boat. Strut bushings took a beating, but in an older boat.....probably time to replace anyways.

Moral is, if the price is right, i think its worth the gamble. Probably just a prop. And really, a prop shaft really isnt' that expensive.

Here is my experience with the vibrations. I replaced the steering cable on my 2001 AIR due to the common “stiff steering”. Upon my first test run with the new cable I noticed a vibration when accelerating under load. The vibration was coming up thru the steering cable. More weight in the boat caused it to be worse. After getting up over 10-15 mph it was gone, no vibration. I was mixed about what could be the problem after double checking all the steering cable components. I also am on planetnautique.com and many members pointed out the slightest ding in the prop could cause the vibration. Well the prop had a few minor imperfections…well problem was the prop. I ordered a new one and problem was solved and I didn’t have to have the shaft replaced or aligned. I am at the understanding most of these vibrations are directly tied to the prop…sometimes even if there is no visible damage.

Lets see some pictures of the SN2001.

I will see if i can upload. I called the guy back and left him a message yesterday and didn`t hear back from him....
IMG00325-20100816-1652[1].jpg

i am not sure how to load the pics on here i will try to figure it out.

I agree with Cory, It doesn't take muck to cause a huge vibration.

I dinged my prop at the Delta years ago and it had a terriblel vibration to my boat. I could hardly notice the bent prop fin and the small curve end edge, but it sure feel it. Also what happened to my fathers Nautique was the engine mounting bolts were loose and the engine was not lined up with the shaft correctly causing uneven tension that caused vibration and uneven ware on the packing seal and shaft. This caused the vibration as well. Might want to look at that. IF the prop itself doesn't spin easily by and out of the water then it could also be the engine mount is out of allignment. Food for thought, Good luck.

I plan on buying a 2001 this winter. I just found this boat and sounded like a good price.I am waiting on more pics, he was supposed to send them last night. I think i am going to pass up on this boat and wait on one a little more local. I think over the winter i can find a good deal on one with a tower and all. I will buy one this winter though. Thanks for the input guys. Roger