T5Comp

I used towerbiminis.com and had excellent results. They even mailed splotches to make sure I liked the color match

Or better yet, a 30 x 40 Pole Barn will keep the rain out.

As an owner of a T5 I half to ask you to ask yourself what are your priorities ? Boats should be purchased, or traded for, on the basis of a couple key questions. One of which is, what will I spend the most time doing in a boat on the water. If your a hardcore skier and don't want more then 3 or 4 people in the boat then T5 is a good fit. If you are a recreational skier with tendencies to wake board, surf and enjoy company then a T5 is a poor choice. I agree with MANDC, I think you already know the answer.

My trim tab is !2 x 9 not counting the hinge. You have enough room looking at your pic. Here is a couple pics of mine to give you an ideal on room to mount it.

The metal plate you are referring to is a trim tab. There are fixed, which can be adjusted by hand and there are hydraulic, which are adjusted by a switch located on the steering column. Plus there is a gauge that shows how far up or down the tab is. Like you I want the flattest wake possible. The trim tab on my boat is a bennett trim tab with dual hydraulic cylinders. They are not cheep but then what ad on item in boating is. You definitely need the hydraulic, which by the way uses motor oil not hydraulic fluid, cause when you have two different skiers that ski at different speeds you will raise and or lower to their preference. My wife skis at 30-32 mph so I lower the tab to about 40 to 50% down. I ski at 36mph so my setting is around 25 or 30 % down. My wife and I can tell real quick if either one has forgot to lower the trim tab while skiing. A quick point to the wake and we are reminded what to do. Hope this helps and safe boating.

I had a tournament skier and I think it was an 1986. It had a big gas cap that had a flip open lid located at the back middle part of the boat hull. I remember thinking the same thoughts, who put a 351 engine in a boat with a one gallon gas tank. I think I had a 18 gallon gas tank. I even took apart the back of the boat to see if I could install a bigger tank. it wasn't worth the time and money to modify it. Safe Boating, Doug

ace hardware sells the same style pins if you want it to be original replacement. I went there and bought backup pins for the bimini top.

Here is a couple things I do. First, on backing the boat in, if its busy I will back the boat up until the tires are touching the water, jump out and let the wife go from there. She will back it in from the start but doesn't like a crowd so when its busy she has me get it close. From there all she has to do is let it roll back and then park. One thing I have taught her is to hold the brake, put it in neutral, release the emergency brake, and slowly let it roll back. No need to put it in reverse. Take the boat and wife to a parking lot and let her practice. When backing up keep one hand at the bottom of the wheel and move your hand the direction you want the trailer to go. Backing a direct drive up is different from other boats. It pulls left or right depending on your prop rotation. Mine pulls to the right so I try my best to pick a ramp with the dock on my right. This way when I am backing up I just have to keep it from hitting the dock. When it comes to loading I am constantly going in and out of gear. I keep it in gear just long enough to keep it straight and then out for a few seconds to keep the speed down without drifting. Depending on conditions you may have to keep it in gear. Trailer depth is crucial, find a depth that works best for your boat. Mine is the top of the fenders just out of the water. Remember don't go any faster then which you are willing to hit something. With a direct drive bow rider you have to be careful turning around to pick up a skier. You will get swallowed by your own wave. Done it many times. Sometimes on purpose depending who is in the bow, and sometimes from not paying attention. Oh and if gas consumption is a worry, you are in the wrong hobby..Hope some of this helps and safe boating.

http://www.gfopacking.com/installation.htm Take a look at this, I cant enlarge your pics but it looks a lot like my 04 t5. There is rope packing inside that big brass nut wrapped around the shaft. If the packing is wore out or hard it wont matter how tight those nuts are cause its going to leak. If the packing is not wore out then you just tighten the nut up till its just dripping. Mine is a slow slow drip, and there is no heat build up. I use skidim.com They have great customer service and lots of tech notes. If you need to replace your shaft packing there are two sizes. 1/4 and 3/16. You need two big crescent wrenches to separate the brass nuts. Hope this helps, Doug

I have an 04 T5. From what I can remember the only thing different is the name. In 04 they called it the Comp, my boat actually has a small decal at the rear of the boat that says T5 Comp. Not sure why they started calling it the Air Warrior. Maybe a marketing thing. The word Storm was used as a package plan. Storm Series 1 had a few options, Storm Series 2 had more. Our t5 had a tower and a rear ballast as an upgrade. I have also seen the phrase T5 Thunder used back in 04.

Many years ago ( 10 + ) I bought a 86' and had no info on it. I called Fineline ( West ). I asked for a owners manual and repair manual and was able to get both. Hopefully they still have them. Good Luck.

Thanks for the replies. I think this will be at the top of the list for the next add on. Thanks again.

I purchased the Ladder Rack Waterski Storage system from Overtons. I wished I had bought it years ago. It is the most simple and easy to use storage system I'v seen. The best part about it is it only takes 5 minutes to install (screw in two lag bolt hooks) and keeps everything flat against the wall if space is tight. Its only 19.99

I myself had an 86 closed bow with the 351 PCM. We had this boat for about 10 years and it ran great. All I did during this time was normal fluid changes, plugs, and impeller replacements. As fastjohnny mentioned it puts out 240-260 HP which pulled me up easily. I'm 6'8 250 and ski @ 36 mph. The rooster tail is ugly to say the least. The boat itself was a very hard riding boat. Not sure how much hull change there was between 86 and 87 or if the open bow would make the ride different. The only other issues I can say to look out for in a boat this old is wood rot. I had to replace a 2 x 4 piece of flooring under the drivers seat and keep snugging up the engine mount bolts. The last thing you want to do is start replacing stringers.