Picking up new to my 89 TS6M

Hello all, fist post. I've been lurking the past few months. Picking up my first boat in the next few weeks. I'm driving from IN to NC to drag it home. Buying boat from my aunt. Boat has sat for 10 years or so. As I'm not around to see the boat, I'll be bringing tools and new tires to make our journey north. As the bearing condition is a total mystery to me, I'd like to have new bearings on me when I arrive. Does anyone know what size bearings these trailers take? It's the single axle trailer that I'm ASSUMING came with the boat in 89.
The boat is in really good shape but does have some stringer rot. It sounds like 1-2 of the motor mount bolts spin. I'm hoping I can put a bandaid on it and delay the inevitable stringer replacement. I'm cheap and relatively handy, so that will be a DIY hopefully a while from now in the future.
I remember skiing/tubing behind this boat when I was a kid. While I only saw this boat once or twice growing up, I always thought it was awesome. It's kinda funny now that it'll be coming home with me.
Thank you all in advance for your help!

I have a 89 with a SMP trailer the bearings are a stock Item but the races are different from what you will find in most sets. Here are the numbers for my trailer.
Inner bearing L68149 Race L68110
Outer bearing L44649 Race L44610
Seal 2.33 OD 1.68 ID
National seal number 473317

Thank you for your reply! I'll have these on order shortly!

I've spent some time looking at parts for these boats. It's not quite a "make, model and year" setup on most sites. Are parts that fit a 351 pretty much universal? It's a little confusing so far.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Psode27

Thank you for your reply! I'll have these on order shortly!

I've spent some time looking at parts for these boats. It's not quite a "make, model and year" setup on most sites. Are parts that fit a 351 pretty much universal? It's a little confusing so far.

---

SkiDim.com if they will answer your call. Called four times before they picked up. Left messages, returned call 2 days later. Service has fallen off big time. They charged me $16 bucks to mail a 2 ounce package next state over so I returned it and went to local Supra dealer for part. Cost $4.50 to send back and they refunded the part but not the shipping so I ultimately lost $20 bucks and they lose a 20 year customer. They spend all their time out skiing I guess versus taking care of their customers. People are still loyal to them on this forum but I will take my business elsewhere unless completely necessary to order from them. I’ve spent big money with them this year restoring my ‘91 Comp and they screw me over $16 bucks shipping. Your mileage may very.

Started using Marinepartssource.com for basic items I used to get from SkiDim.

Bakesonline.com and Nautiqueparts.com are good source as well.

Greatlakesskipper.com

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Psode27

Hello all, fist post. I've been lurking the past few months. Picking up my first boat in the next few weeks. I'm driving from IN to NC to drag it home. Buying boat from my aunt. Boat has sat for 10 years or so. As I'm not around to see the boat, I'll be bringing tools and new tires to make our journey north. As the bearing condition is a total mystery to me, I'd like to have new bearings on me when I arrive. Does anyone know what size bearings these trailers take? It's the single axle trailer that I'm ASSUMING came with the boat in 89.
The boat is in really good shape but does have some stringer rot. It sounds like 1-2 of the motor mount bolts spin. I'm hoping I can put a bandaid on it and delay the inevitable stringer replacement. I'm cheap and relatively handy, so that will be a DIY hopefully a while from now in the future.
I remember skiing/tubing behind this boat when I was a kid. While I only saw this boat once or twice growing up, I always thought it was awesome. It's kinda funny now that it'll be coming home with me.
Thank you all in advance for your help!

---

New tires are a must and properly inflated for travel.
Jack up each wheel and spin it fast. If it doesn’t make any noise, bearings are ok. Grease each wheel accordingly.

Bad bearings will make noise. Wheel can be wobbly. If you have to pull, numbers like Michael gave you are imprinted on the back of each bearing and race. Just clean with some brake cleaner and compare. Make sure you have correct numbers. In my experience, bearings are usually the culprit but races have been fine saving you lots of time. If races are rusted and scarred, then replace but otherwise, leave them alone.

Check inside of wheel for grease. If lots of grease on wheel, you have bad seal but not necessarily bad bearings. You can pull hub off and just replace seal, then put it all back together. If you do bearings and races, make sure to do new seals.

I replaced all bearings, races and seals on my single axle Comp trailer in about 55 minutes start to finish this spring. Northern Tool and Equipment had it all packaged in one kit which saved a lot of time vs ordering all separately.

YouTube will be your best friend. Lots of good vids on how to do this. Good luck and welcome to forum. Post pics when possible.

Keep us posted. What part of Indiana? We could be neighbors.

Thank you for all the replies!
Plan on picking up the boat at the end of the month. I e got tires shipped to the location of the boat and plan on ordering bearings asap.
I live in Rochester IN.

Praying for a safe return. I'm in Lafayette. Would like to see your new toy. Send pix.

I wanted to post a quick update! I'm officially a boat owner! My dad and I took my 03 Silverado with 240k miles, drove 12 hours from home, hooked up a boat and towed it home through the mountains! I'm happy to report that we made the trip without incident. Wheel bearings were good and the seals actually had factory trailer paint on them. I'm guessing that the trailer is very low mileage! We repacked the bearings and we were good!
I'll post pics as soon as I'm able (need another free hosting site), but I think it's it good shape for the year. Interior is in very respectable condition, carpet good, 1-2 spots in the floor getting soft. I haven't had a battery hooked up to it yet, but the bulge pump looks partially disassembled and it's sitting in some water. This water could be very likely from the trip home, as we were given rain off and on the whole trip. I'm hoping to screw with the pump and put a battery on the boat this weekend.
Motor is in good shape, but hasn't ran in a while. My plan is to put some oil in each cylinder and then fog each cylinder. I'll let it sit, then maybe do it again. I'd like to leave plugs out and see if it will crank.
Stringers will need replaced at some point, but I'm hoping I can push it for a few years. I am fairly self sufficient and that will be an eventual DIY job.
Gel coat looks good, though there is some staining and general sun damage. I'm probably not gonna get to buffing it this winter, but I think it'll clean up nice.
Steering wheel will not turn, not sure why. Haven't begun to troubleshoot but I'm hopeful it will be something dumb.
It came with a few sets of skis, knee boards and tubes. I don't have much experience on any of that stuff but I'm excited to try! I'm trying to get my 5 year old pumped for playing out on the water!
I'll hopefully get an order for an impeller and other random parts in the next few days. Anything else I should just replace and not mess with? Thank you in advance for your future help!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Psode27

I wanted to post a quick update! I'm officially a boat owner! My dad and I took my 03 Silverado with 240k miles, drove 12 hours from home, hooked up a boat and towed it home through the mountains! I'm happy to report that we made the trip without incident. Wheel bearings were good and the seals actually had factory trailer paint on them. I'm guessing that the trailer is very low mileage! We repacked the bearings and we were good!
I'll post pics as soon as I'm able (need another free hosting site), but I think it's it good shape for the year. Interior is in very respectable condition, carpet good, 1-2 spots in the floor getting soft. I haven't had a battery hooked up to it yet, but the bulge pump looks partially disassembled and it's sitting in some water. This water could be very likely from the trip home, as we were given rain off and on the whole trip. I'm hoping to screw with the pump and put a battery on the boat this weekend.
Motor is in good shape, but hasn't ran in a while. My plan is to put some oil in each cylinder and then fog each cylinder. I'll let it sit, then maybe do it again. I'd like to leave plugs out and see if it will crank.
Stringers will need replaced at some point, but I'm hoping I can push it for a few years. I am fairly self sufficient and that will be an eventual DIY job.
Gel coat looks good, though there is some staining and general sun damage. I'm probably not gonna get to buffing it this winter, but I think it'll clean up nice.
Steering wheel will not turn, not sure why. Haven't begun to troubleshoot but I'm hopeful it will be something dumb.
It came with a few sets of skis, knee boards and tubes. I don't have much experience on any of that stuff but I'm excited to try! I'm trying to get my 5 year old pumped for playing out on the water!
I'll hopefully get an order for an impeller and other random parts in the next few days. Anything else I should just replace and not mess with? Thank you in advance for your future help!

---

Congrats! Glad the trip went well. My '83 Rider trailer had original seals with original paint up until I changed them last year. The outer bearings had been replaced but never the inner bearings or seals. I drove it to Connecticut and back in 3 days with no issues after doing all four wheels cause it's no fun to be stuck on the side of the highway with bearing issues.

Do the engine bolts tighten down? Are the stringers solid around the engine mounts?

Time to change that steering cable. They do get hard to turn with age and this one is toast sitting for so long.

I use IMGUR.com for pics. Just paste and copy the BBCode under the share link tab once you have uploaded images.

Hope to see pics soon.

Sorry for the delay in response, life has been a blur! To get you up to speed, boat looks in mostly great shape. Can't complain about the interior, exterior needs buffed, but that actually sound like fun at this point. Engine looks to be in good shape. Haven't tried to turn over yet. I took plugs out and fogged cylinders when I got home. I wanted some oil to sit for a bit before I tried to move things around.
I took out back seat the other day to remove steering cable. Steering was/is completely seized! After about a solid week if spraying penetrating oil down the cable, it's still locked up solid. I might try and put some air pressure behind it. Part of me just wants to give up and replace the cable. While I was down there, I wiggled my rudder around. It appears as though I need to rebuild it. I'm hopeful it's just got wax-rope packing? Never done this before but doesn't look too bad. Next to my rudder, my stringer shows some major rot/damage. I could shove my finger through the fiberglass. It only appears to be bad on one side. I'd still like to put stringer replacement off a few years if possible. I've got a decent garage for the project, however I've got a 63 impala that is gutted right now waiting for me to put it back together. My wife may actually kill me if I tore down a boat at the same time.
Hopefully the pictures work. If they don't, I'll try to fix them!
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...68e565f0_k.jpgIMG_20211107_130225981 by Paul Soderlund, on Flickr
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...9e5f50f8_k.jpgIMG_20211107_124034581 by Paul Soderlund, on Flickr
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...75f0dab0_k.jpgIMG_20211107_123848013 by Paul Soderlund, on Flickr
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...583c1837_k.jpgIMG_20211030_170115302 by Paul Soderlund, on Flickr

I forgot to out wrench on motor mount bolts, but they don't look awful visually. I do that next time I'm out there.
EDIT: Pictures fixed

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...5f0b43ed_k.jpgDSCF2274 by Paul Soderlund, on Flickr
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...bd08b1af_k.jpgDSCF2256-1 by Paul Soderlund, on Flickr
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...677bc342_k.jpgDSCF2262 by Paul Soderlund, on Flickr
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...464fa6f0_k.jpgDSCF2235 by Paul Soderlund, on Flickr This picture of the tow pole is kind of odd. I have no explanation how this occurred. My aunt said its been like that since she bought it (1994ish).

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...f7b99f2c_k.jpgIMG_20211107_124026092 by Paul Soderlund, on Flickr I'm not sure if you can tell by this picture what type of rudder packing I have?
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...6b52cb75_k.jpgDSCF2270 by Paul Soderlund, on Flickr

I didn't realize there was a max picture limit of 4 per post. I have many more pictures if anything would be helpful to see. I'm not sure if the prop through point in the hull (grease box?) is good or not. Its strikes me though that this might be the time to address any issues I might have there. Boat was last registered in 2017, however I'm not sure that it's seen water even that recent. Any help in identifying potential issues and lake-worthiness is appreciated! I've got two kids (5 and 9mo), a single income and unfortunately no ability at this time to write big checks. I'm pretty handy and not afraid to wander into a decent-sized project. I'm praying, desperately praying, that I can put off any sort of stringer issue for a while yet.

Very nice!! It appears to be in great shape like you say minus the stringer rot. Too bad they did not do a better job with it from the factory.

Scrap that pylon for another one...looks to be in bad shape. I believe I have a spare or two. Not black but solid aluminum.

Otherwise, definitely check those engine bolts before using. Glad to see another saved and find a good home.

I have composite stringers in my '91 but I had to do extensive gel work and upholstery so it's a trade off it seems. Thanks for posting. I like it!!!

I'm a little jealous. It's in beautiful shape. I'm a welder by trade and there's something evil going on with that pylon. That has taken a hard strike or has some crazy Corrosion going on. t would throw that as far away as possible.
Keep the pix coming !!!!!

Nice boat. That color looks good on the water.

Sorry for my general slowness in replying. I've decided to just push the "easy" button on the steering cable and replace it. My attempts at soaking in penetrating oil have been futile. I'm going to place order with Skidim shortly. Unfortunately, they don't have rudder packing or anything to rebuild rudder.
In the meantime I've ordered a new bilge and new blowers. One blower was dead, the other looked original and sounded 30years old .. I just bought some budget stuff off Amazon, but looks like it'll fit the bill. I intend to add inline fuses and plugs to all wiring too. I've got some wiring gremlins to work out I'm afraid....
Does everyone generally run a strainer? I'd like ability to hook up a hose. If I get a decent day I'd like to see if I can get it running.
Are oil changes with these things done exclusively with a topsider? Hope to get some more pics up soonish.

For the oil drain, most boats usually have a "remote" drain line that will go from a low point in the pan, basically where the plug would be and then have a section of line that runs long enough to reach the drain hole for the bilge forward of the engine. Mine does and that is how I drain usually. As for a hose hook up, I also have a fitting that I can hook a hose up to directly instead of using a fake-a-lake. Not sure if I have pictures on the computer and the boat is away for the winter already. But that works well for me.