pre 1990 boats

Is a Malibu Skier, Malibu Sunsetter, or Ski Centurion a decent first boat?

Andrew,
All the boats you have mentioned have enough wood in them to fuel a small brush fire! I would pay close attention to floors and stringers. Check thoroughly around engine mounts and visible bilge area for various signs of dry rot ie:wood splinters, mushy floors, excessive water stains on carpet, especially if you plan on placing any additional ballast in boat. Also check throttle and steering linkages for wear or unnecessary tension. Pylon housings were famous for coming lose in '86-'88 models ie: (skylon or extended pylon.) Look for signs of hull deterioration in vee entry. Excessive beaching or actual fiberglass showing would indicate that boat was handled accordingly and that accomodates all kinds of vibration issues with shaft and alignment. Sorry for draggin' the thread but I dealt with all these problems back in '87 with a Malibu Skier. As far as being a first time boat buyer, keep a monthly budget in mind for upkeep and preventative maintenance. There are plenty of other capable older direct drives in the market, down on the money----you just have to find the right one
Try traderonline.com
Good luck!

We had a '92 Malibu Skier, put 1400 hours on it and it was a great boat. No signs of rot or anything and it got wet. We did take very good care of it though. You need to make sure the previous owner did the same. You should be able to tell right away how the boat was kept. The Skier can be a great boat. I also spent a lot of time in a '90 Sunsetter. It was a good boat too, also well taken care of. The Skier never had one problem in the 1400 hours. Only maintenance was scheduled stuff, i.e. oil changes, etc.

I'll second Nick's statement there also. We've got a 1990 Malibu, and it has been nothing but good to us. Puts out a great wake when loaded up, and it didn't cost much either. Even though the previous owner babied the boat (it was obvious by looking at it) I still had a reputable dealer look it over to make sure nothing was bad. Would suggest the same for peace of mind.

Thanks everyone, I only mentioned those boats due to limited trader ads. I live on a lake and will be using the boat at least 10 hours per week in the summer, is there any other boat in the $8-13K range that anyone can recomend? Again thanks for the help.

I have an 88 ProStar 190 that I really like. Good wake when weighted, great engine, no wood in the stringers, and have had no problems. Plus it has a great name brand - good for re-sale. Mine is for sale - but I live in Illinois.