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billy bee

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Everything posted by billy bee

  1. Hi gang: My wife loves to waterski. So, when I saw an inexpensive, older ski boat for sale locally (in Santa Maria, CA), I jumped on it. We love the boat, but there is precious little information about these older boats in the interwebs. So, I am always looking for history/documentation on Centurion and our boat. Centurion had a history page up for a while, but they seem to have take in down. Ours is a 1983 and has an OMC 350. 425 hours on it when we bought it. We have put another 50 hours on it. The PO had replaced the prop shaft, stuffing box, and propeller. I had to go through the carb, replace a small section of the floor, replace the helm and steering cable, replace the alternator, do a tune up, and mess with the carb (ad nauseum). The carb is a Quadrajet. We finally got it dialed in where it makes good power but does not just guzzle the gas. It has a paint/color scheme that seems like a throwback to everything that was bad about Disco. It is an odd combination of tan, black, burnt orange and brown. It is so dated that it is cool again. My wife loves to ski behind it. We took some other skiers out who also liked skiing behind it. We get comments every time we take it out. Anyway, we have had the boat for a few years now and ski on the Sac River Delta. Just happened to run across this forum and thought I would join and contribute. Having a blast with our "Ski" Centurion... Bill Here are a few pics:
  2. Greetings: We currently own a sweet old Ski Centurion--a 1982 TruTrac. It lacks seating for the friends and family that we like to get out onto the water. We are very happy with our older boat and would like to stay in the Centurion family. So, we are considering an upgrade to a 1993 Ski Centurion bowrider. Here are some of the details of the boat we are considering: 1993 Ski Centurion with bow seating 480 hours new upholstery new carpet new batteries (two battery system) cover (the boat has been covered and stored indoors, according to the seller) second owner (according to the seller) asking price is out of line @ $14k, but they said they would take $10k, which seems reasonable to me bimini top also reupholstered surge brakes on trailer need work--apparently the master cylinder is seized Here are my questions: What is a reasonable price? NADA sometimes misses the mark due to high or low demand. Reliability of the systems on this generation of Centurion boats? Build quality of this generation of Centurion boats? What should I look for when inspecting the boat? What's your experience with early 90's Centurions? Thanks in advance, Bill
  3. We are going to look at the boat on Friday. Bottom line so far is this--the boat we are considering is overpriced. Probably worth $7 - 8k. I have looked at values on line. How they are valued and what they sell for are different things. The on-line valuators have it in the $9k - $9500range. I'll let you all know what we think. bb
  4. I've done that, too. My wife likes to ski. I am just the driver, although occasionally I'll get in the water on a tube or on a ski. Mostly I drive and swim and drive some more. We love our boat. Love it. But it does not hold enough people when we are skiing. Hence, the bowrider option. So, I think we want to stay with a ski boat. Hey, skiing will make a comeback...eventually. bb
  5. Hey Jake: We love it here, too! Funny that we try to get to the Delta during the summer while your trying to get to Pismo... Does DD=direct drive? Is surfing behind a direct-drive boat dangerous? Or is there just not enough of a wake? bb
  6. That's a good find, Nick. Seems like a good deal on a like-new boat. I need to broaden my search a little. I have ben looking on CL for boats within a few hours of me. bb
  7. That would have been good info to include. We live in Arroyo Grande, CA, near Pismo Beach, and spend most of our time on the water at the Sac River Delta. So, we are close to you, Jake, much of the summer. We use our boat for skiing, primarily. We do have a tube and have some friends who want to try wake surfing. But we want a ski boat.
  8. Hi guys: Thanks for the feedback and links. We definitely want an open bow boat and realize they are more expensive. We also use it only for skiing and tubing...so far. We have some friends who want to wake surf. We could do that behind our 1982 Tru-Trac by seating people in the stern and going slow. There are also some attachments that make that possible, but wake surfing is not our focus. Our current boat has a single axle trailer. I like the idea of a tandem trailer. I have had a tire blow on the single and it was a wild ride. Less so with a tandem. Keep your insights coming. Really like reading what you guys have to say. Meanwhile, here are some more pictures of the boat that the owners sent me. Looks pretty nice to me... bb
  9. Vintage "Ski" Centurion

    Mary and I just spent a few days at Ski Sunset Ranch in Galt, CA. They keep new Centurions around. Shocking how far boats have come in the 33 years since ours was made. However, the older Centurions still get a lot of love. She likes the new ski technology, but she likes skiing behind our boat as much as the brand new boat, which is a real relief. A new ski may be $500. A new boat is $50,000. I think we dodged that bullet... Are there any other skiers on this board? bb
  10. Vintage "Ski" Centurion

    I tried to find the history page again and was not ble to see it by clicking through the company website. But I was able to Google it. I think my boat is a Tru-Trac as it was built a year before the TruTak II was introduced. But there is no specific info about the 1983 model year. http://builder.centurionboats.com/history/ bb
  11. Vintage "Ski" Centurion

    Yeah, that trailer is a beast. Prolly weighs as much as the boat. Very well built. There were cracks on two of the bunk struts, which we gusseted and welded. Better than new. The trailer does not have brakes, which I will remedy this winter. Need to decide on disc or drum brakes. There may not be enough weight to justify discs... Wondering of anybody has experience with that? Bill
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