1996 Sport Nautique
- Jeff Carroll
- Oct 27
- 1 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
Sort the comments below by OLDEST to see a chronological timeline of the work we have completed so far.
Over the weekend, we received a boat from a client in Texas. This 1996 Sport Nautique has had extensive work done to the interior, and we will be adding a brand new PCM ZR-409 engine and 1.23:1 transmission! This boat is probably going to be the most powerful 1996 Sport Nautique in existence, and will also be ultra-reliable. We'll be dropping in the new engine and transmission this week.
Today, we shrink wrapped this vessel so that it will be protected on its way home to Texas. It is all set to be picked up tomorrow morning!
Today, we made the final adjustments to the engine box so that it would close properly overtop of this bigger engine. We thought we were going to have to build a riser to mount to the floor to raise the box up, but in the end we were able to make some adjustments to the hinge mounts, the rear floorboard, the front clips, and the foam on the inside of the box (plus some modifications to the coolant overflow tank bracket and the raw water strainer mount) that allowed the engine box to close properly overtop of the engine. We retained the use of all original gas shocks, and both sections of the engine box operate properly. It is e…
Today was water test day! We picked a great day -- about 42 degrees, with 15-20 MPH winds. That didn't stop the fun though! Very successful water test. This engine is a beast! We also dialed in the steering, adjusted the shaft stuffing box, and checked a few other safety items.
The owner asked us to replace all of the dash switches and buttons while we had the boat, so that was completed today. Looks a lot better, and the circuit breaker switches actually work now! We found several wires completely disconnected back there, which means those switches never would have worked.
Here's the "before":
Here's the "after":
Exhaust is in! New prop is on! Lake test tomorrow!