Saltare '88

[pfaudi_a4]

Has anybody owned or have experience with the '88 (or similar year) saltare? How does this boat track? Good for wakeboarding? Anything to look out for? I'm a 230 lb wakeboarder/skier/barefooter, I'm thinking this would be a good boat for my size. It has a 454. I'm considering purchasing it. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
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[Scotth]

A buddy of mine has one, great for wakeboarding and taking out lots of people. Not so good: sucks down gas like no other, major rot problems in the deck and stringers. When he bought it, it was in pretty bad shape so he got it for a good price. Just make sure you check for rot.

[sftbll5]

how to check for stringer rot: where motor mounts attach to fiberglass tighten bolts with ratchet if it never gets tight and keeps spinnig -----you got rot! Had one in my driveway and could have got it cheap but that rot scares me. Settled for a nice Sunsport with 240 HP pulls me fine @ 2200 rpm and I weigh in @ 200 more people gets crowde but throws perfect wake with 2 in back 2 in front and a driver.
Good luck and dont let go of da rope!

[1988comp]

check for :

Rot under the removable seats, if it is there, run for the hills
The driver seat is not loose or will rock.
badly discolored fiberglass in the motor bay is NOT a good sign.
badly corroded engine parts are also a sign of high moisture retention

one thing about these boats, don't be afraid of sun-dmaged exterior (seats can be pain) because it is easy to wet-sand,rubbing compund, polish compund, wax them back to new.

That engine is a guzzler, it has a very small range. You can put a new Edelbrock 600cfm carb on it and help the torque and gas mileage some. The engine is cock strong, no longing for power even from the chubby skiers.

It is bigger money to rebuild a 454 than other chevrolet engines, there just aren't as many of them as smallblocks.

worn valve guides (smoke on start only) mean near -death for this engine.

[1988comp]

since you are bigger skier like me, or if you like pulling 4-6 kids at once, you can put a racing prop on your boat, something around 12x16 that is highly cupped, and it will rev to 5500rpm or so immediately, then you can control the rpm with the throttle after you plane out. IT still allows me 42-43mph top speed and crazy-pulling power, near like our 500hp jet boat

[pfaudi_a4]

Thanks for your input....the engine has 50 hours on a complete rebuild, the upholstery is recently redone, wood refinished, boat and trailer repainted, steering replaced, and brake system replaced. Pretty much everything is like new, he swears there is no rot or soft spots on the floor anywhere including under the rear bench. I'm thinking I may be able to get this for under 10k (NADA says about 9500 blue book-but this thing is quite clean and like new). Any thoughts on whether this would be a good deal or not? Does anybody know of any wakeboard towers that will fit a boat this wide? Thanks again for any input.
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[OUI]

I have an 89 Saltare and love the boat. Everything everyone as said is true -- watch for rot, put a new line item on your budget for gas -- the boat will burn 30 gals a day if you're on it, and after dark load up a dozen of your friends and go for a ride.