1996 Mastercraft ProStar 205 Restoration

[Tateau18]

Does anyone know if those additives that are supposed to stop transmission seals from leaking will work in this application? I'd be willing to try that before pulling the engine...

[mikeg205]

I had to reseal the base of my ski locker and get a new plug. This kept bilge water from entering locker. I have a '95 so I am not sure how your locker is constructed.

[Tateau18]

Well, it has been an interesting few weeks. I pulled the boat into the garage and pulled the engine. It was a tricky maneuver as my garage is pretty small and the ceilings are only 8' high. Attached are the photos of how I pulled the engine and re-attached. I did not re-align the engine and trans with the prop shaft after setting it back in, however I marked it pretty well before I pulled it out as you will see in the photos. When I set the engine back in the boat I bolted it to the bell housing first and then bolted down the engine mounts. Since the weather has been so crappy I have not even had a chance to sea trial it to see how the new seal works. Hopefully all is well. I am going to try and take it out this weekend. The last 3 weeks have been killing me with all this rain! Take a look and see. One weekend we decided to take a trip to Big Canoe, GA so that was part of what kept me away. One of the photos below is the view from our house.

[Tateau18]

More Photos. My Dog likes to have forts made around him and my wife obliges on a weekly basis. I'll never understand this. I'll let you know how everything goes once I drop it in this weekend. Once I am sure everything is mechanically solid she will head off to the upholstery shop.

[Jeffer]

Hey Tateau18, sorry I'm late to checking out your thread, but awesome, all the best on the refurb. Someone else commented on the helpfulness of this site and the unselfish responses from everyone, and I'll second that. I have a 96 Prostar 190 and have been doing refurb on it ongoing for a while (working on stuff even now), and it might be of help to you too. Definitely keep posting those pictures and keep the thread going, because it'll definitely help someone else and it's rewarding to get your stuff posted (reminds you of all your hard work).
Here's my thread, if anything helps you, great. I did use Copycats myself, and although the end result was ok, it was a fairly painful experience. If you read through all the posts here, I have never heard one bad thing on Viper, but you'll get 50/50 on Copycats...so buyer beware.

http://www.mastercraft.com/teamtalk/...ghlight=jeffer

Good luck with everything!

[Lumbergh]

Nice work. That is a big job to tackle in your garage!

[kraig1995]

I have been restoring my 1995 prostar 205 for the past year and half. I live in Ohio, found out about Copy Cat covers and started the process. I sent the my skins and $750.00. after 9 months and numerous conversations with numerous people at Copy Cat covers I have nothing. They lost my skins, They said they have templates of previous boats but they don't. "If I sent them more money and better pictures they might be able to put something together". Nice customer service. my only shot is to go to Florida and file a small claims suit against them. My end result was to use a local upholstery shop and recreate them. I have seen Vipers final product and if I had my skins would have used Viper. I hope you have great success!

[sheckski]

Very successful project with viper and my 2000 205v. Detailed images can be seen on my thread under upholstery. Highly recommend them.

[Tateau18]

I need to get all of my decals replaced as they are faded. Can anyone take some photos of their decals on a 96 prostar 205? It would be much appreciated so that I can send them to the vinyl shop.

[Tateau18]

I am about to buy a Bimini for my Prostar. What size (height) has proven best for this model? I don't want it to be too tall but I also don't want to have to crawl to the bow. What has everyone else bought? Thanks!