Making the most of an old boat

I have recently inherited a decidedly uncool, yet fully functional 1978 Mastercraft I/O with a 125 Merc.

Usually I go wakeboarding with friends/family who have real wakeboats, but I'm wondering if there are some simple modifications I can make to my boat to make it a bit better for wakeboarding so I'm not always depending on others to pull me.

I realize many will say it's not even worth it, but if I could spend a few hundred $$$ and have something can at least have some fun with, it will be worth it to me.

Thanks in advance.

Tower, Perfect Pass, and bags. Get'em used on ebay and probably spend less than $1.5K.

I/O with a 125 Merc??

Sounds like an outboard to me. Which would make it a footin boat. Learn how to barefoot with it. I'd be willing to bet you & your friends will spend a little time footin behind it, then boardin behind the wake boats.

i can't think of one thing uncool about inheriting a fully functional mastercraft.

Complaining about it?

This is the photo that was sent to me. I haven't actually seen the boat in person. Supposed to be picking it up this weekend.

haha...I'm not complaining about it. Just pointing out the fact that I realize it's not an ideal boat, but I want to utilize it anyway.

(Message edited by dez182 on July 08, 2009)

That must be a different Mastercraft than the one most of us know about. It looks like an aluminum boat. It probably has a deeper V. It may put out a decent wake with not too much weight. You probably can't put in too much weight and still get on plane with 125hp 4 cylinder though. If it is free who cares rock it and have fun. Like I have been told. There is no such thing as a bad boat. Some are just better than others.

Just made a phone call to clarify...apparently it's a STARcraft. Big difference, obviously

Sorry

I kind of figured it was something like that. In my opinion free is good. You are playing on house money.

Hehe, yea, Starcraft makes a lot more sense.

Time to take up fishin when your not boardin.

Any boat is the ideal boat, dude! If you can ride behind it, it's worth just as much as any other boat...

You might want to look into prop options; Inboard/Outboards are often fitted with props designed for better top-speed... if you can find a good holeshot prop, you'll be able to put more ballast in the boat. I don't know if ballast bags are in your budget, but you might be able to run 900lbs or so in that thing. Maybe more!

Sick boat, though! If I were inheriting that boat, I'd be giddy as a schoolchild...

Take in mind I am assuming you are willing to put some money into it.

-Take off the trolling motor (Unless you plan on using it)
-Put a solid color on it. I would do black rattle can, it would look cool with the orange interior.
-Reprop it
-Big air tower to get the boards off the floor and raise the tow point.
-Take care of it an have fun!

Nothing wrong with fishing and wakeskating! Otherwise just sell it and put the money towards an old inboard. I wouldn't mess with putting a tower and whatnot on that boat - you'll do more harm than good to its value. Just enjoy it for what it is.

Tower, fatsacks, re-prop... if that doesnt do it for you, then use it to wakeskate.

should be fun.

I second the flat black spray paint.

I actually agree with Trace. That boat looks like you could sell it for 3-5k. Use that and any money you would use to upgrade it to get into an old Nautique, Sanger or Supra.

5K? In what part of the world? Sure he could sell it. He could set it on fire at the next party, but that isn't what he said he wanted to do. He said that he wanted to have fun with the boat and was going to utilize it.

It is tough to tell from a picture but it looks like it is in perfect shape. It is also a nice aluminum fishing boat that would be desirable. If it is in good shape and runs good I could see him getting 3-5k for it easy(if it has a trailer).

If he fishes as well as wakeboards than it may be a different story. If all he wants is boat to wakeboard behind why wouldn't he want something that is better suited to how he is going to use it. If he inherited it from a family member who passed away than there may be some sort or sentimental value and maybe selling isn't worth it no matter how much he could get for it. I am just throwing out ideas.

I think that's a nice looking boat as is, and good for cruising, skating, and fishing. IMO it would look weird with wake gear on it. $2k later it would not be a good wake boat and would still be worth $3-5k. If it had sentimental value, I doubt he would be wanting to bastardize it anyway.

I'm sorry. that had to be the worst phone conversation ever. here's how I think It happened:

Other Guy: Hey, I have this Old Mastercraft. It's in great shape and runs great. I was thinking I should just give it to you..for FREE!

You: No way! Thanks so much!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Other Guy: Hey, remember how I told you it was a Mastercraft...well it's actually a STARcraft. Same difference right?

You: ....F***

Nothing wrong with a free boat. Looks like an I/O. would be a nice skate machine for sure. You're not going to get very far trying to load it up for boarding. I bet it totes bikini clad friends like a champ. Looks like it could handle a keg as well. Throw a bimini and a stereo in it and call it a day.

Just build your own short pylon and you will be fine. Should be able to do 3's if you have good fundamental skills.

Put a really low pitch prop on it and you will probably be able to put some decent weight in it and kick up a wake. Maybe something in the 11 pitch range - won't go fast but it should pull. The freeboard / gunwhales are so high - no limits there.

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. Selling the boat isn't really an option, since it was given to me under the understanding that we'd get good use out of it. I'd look like a dick if I turned around and sold it!

I think that a tower would be a waste of money, but I will definitely look into a new prop and a pylon.

I'll dump the rest of the money into a stereo and a beer fund.

Thanks!

I thought the look of that boat was familiar. I owned a 71 Starcraft Holiday. It was my first boat. I bought it for 1200. Wasn't the smartest buy in hindsight. He had not cranked it in 2 years and it had almost 1k in motor work done and needed more when I sold it. The 120hp motor it had was not powerful but that could have been my motor issues. The nice thing is it was aluminum hull and you could beach it anywhere. I changed out the deck, put a bazooka tube in, new interior speakers and a cooler. Had tubes, a board, and lifejackets under my closed bow. For a first boat, it had shown me that I wanted one with a warranty lol. I sold three months later it to a guy for 800 and it needed a new floor (did when I bought it, just made it work), more engine work (lifter was sticking), and new seats (one side didnt turn into sundeck since the hinges broke from rot. My engine also needed lead every now and then. Mercruiser manual stated to put lead in every now and then. Motor was from a 68, stern drive was parts from a 67-70 boat(s) and hull was a 71 lol...The guy I sold it to wanted it strictly to re-do it and wasnt even concerned about the engine or upholstery. He wanted it because of the look it had.
Take care of it, prop it down, and wakeskate and haul the ladies around and enjoy it

Dez, That boat screams Wakeskate Boat ! ! ! Ditch the strap on, buy a wakeskate, and enjoy