Good price for an 87 Prostar?

[kavants]

Hello, I am new to the boards and I have a question. I any looking into buying an 87 Prostar 190 Powerslot. It needs a little TLC, possibly some new skins, plus little odds and ends. The guy is throwing in a new CD player and speakers, a MC cover, and all his gear (vest, skis boards, ropes, etc.) The question: Is $5000 a good price?

[Tom Wortham]

Few questions: do you know how many hours are on the boat? Where has the boat been "serviced"? What service has been done? Salt water/fresh water? Got any pics? If you get serious about it... I would pay the $50-$100 bucks to have it checked out by an "in-board" boat shop. Good Luck. 87 was the first body style change from the older Stars & Strips version. I have heard good things about it. You have asked the right spot... sit back and watch this thread go. :popcorn:

[loeweb]

doesn't seem like a bad price if the "little" things don't add up to be much over 2,000. Could be wrong too. The general appearance of it will tell you how well it has been taken care of..

[BrianM]

That really depends. What region are you in? Keep in mind that a new interior is going to cost you somewhere in the neighborhood of $2000. Does the boat run well? What about the trailer? How many hours? What kind of shape is the gelcoat in? Do all of the gauges work? If it is in great shape besides the interior and the motor checks out with a mechanic then you have a pretty good deal. I bought my '88 two years ago in near perfect condition with 375 hours for $8,100

[Brn85ss]

Region is a huge factor in the price of the boat.Out here in cal. you really need to spend aound 8K min. to find a good boat of that vintage.To me 5k sounds cheap if it's in ok shape.

[87Craft]

I've got an 87 with 2000+ hours...i wouldn't sell it for $5k.

[BriEOD]

I've got an 87 with 2000+ hours...i wouldn't sell it for $5k.

Ihave an 87 as well. I've got $3k just in a motor w/ 2 seasons on it!

[Lance]

On the skins... you can purchase the skins themselves for more like $800 to $1100. If you can do the work yourself it will only cost the price of staples to install. If you have it done by a professional then it probably will double the price.

I have an 87 and it is a great boat. If this thing really does run well and is otherwise in good shape I would say go for it.

[east tx skier]

Check out the thread about buying a used boat. As others have said, that looks to be a very good price if the boat doesn't require too much work. www.nada.com can give you a good idea on what the price range for an 87 is.

[kavants]

Well I live in Texas, south of Houston. The motor checks out okay, and it only has 275 hrs, original, according to the owner. And all the gauges work. When I say little things, that is all they are just details. The trailer is the original MC trailer, just surface rust, new tires, could use painting. The boat has not been in the water in three years. We put it in the river yesterday and it ran okay, needs some tuning and a fresh oil change. The interior is usable, the motor box needs some work, everything else needs a good cleaning, no rips or tears....

[east tx skier]

Sounds like a pretty good price to me. Take it out, drive it and ski behind it. Welcome to the board.

[Tom Wortham]

I bought my 86 when I lived in Houston back in 95. It wouldn't hurt to take it to Darryl Moore's Ski World in Spring, TX 281-355-1410 (unless the number has changed. I know they are still around. MC Dealer on the north side. If they are still around I took my boat to "Kaiser Marine" they were a Correct Craft boat dealer 713-920-2157, but did a full check for me for $50 bucks. Boat worked out... still own it today. Had 186 hours on it at the time. Sounds like a great price if you can live with the cosmetic issues... and everything else checks out! Keep us posted. :steering:

[k2mc]

For 5 grand, I'll buy it, haul it to Seattle and sell it for a lot more. I just sold my clean '87 with 1050 hours for 8650 in 3 days.

[east tx skier]

I've had good service from Daryl Moore as well. I think they have two locations (one north and one south). Got mine at the north location. Service is by appointment only (so call beforehand).

[kavants]

Thanks for all the info guys, I bought it! Hopefully I'll have some pics soon to show everybody. I've always wanted a Mastercraft, now I have one.

p.s. Does anyone know where to get an 87 Prostar service manual?

[BriEOD]

Owners manual or service manual? If you need the owners manual email MC and they will mail you one for free. What a swell company. :)

[east tx skier]

Indeed. Here's the email address. (teammc@mastercraftboats.com)

[MarkP]

Thanks for all the info guys, I bought it! Hopefully I'll have some pics soon to show everybody. I've always wanted a Mastercraft, now I have one.

p.s. Does anyone know where to get an 87 Prostar service manual?Congratulations, cant wait to see the pictures:headbang:

[east tx skier]

By the way, Mark, congrats on 3,000.

[MarkP]

Shhhhhhh!!!!

Location: way behind you!:worthy:

[Lance]

The owners manual for an 87 Prostar is pretty thin (both physically and content wise). If you want to do anything to the engine / transmission you will probably want the service manuals. For the engine the Service Manual you are looking for is from Ford Power Products and the Service Manual number is 194-209 (titled 'Industrial and Marine Engines'). There is another post on this site where I identified the major chapters in this service manual which is about 1 inch thick. At the time of the previous post there just happened to be one on ebay that I think eventually sold for about $25. This is a very good manual which provides good theory and practial instructions.

I also have the velvet drive service manual but haven't used it.

I don't believe the ford manual is in print so it is probably best to watch ebay.

[sfitzgerald351]

I got a manual for my 1984 454 from SkiDIM.com. It looks like they just copied all the different engine manuals from way back they could find and put them in a binder. My 1984 manual came with info for the 351 and 454 as well as the velvet drive transmission. It was pretty reasonable in price.