New Project!
 

After numerous boat restorations, the last one being a Checkmate 2800 SX Outboard, I thought I was done restoring boats….Well, I couldn’t pass on this little 1992 Nova Spyder 230 with a carbureted 454 Magnum/Bravo One on a tandem axle aluminum trailer for $1500.00!!! It’s going to need a bit of love, mostly the rear bench seat and engine hatch, but everything else is pretty solid! This will be my first I/O boat since selling my Velocity back in 1995!
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I love it. What a steal. Looks really clean.

That’s awesome! Giver some love and go run-er. Fuel costs shouldn’t bother you with that deal. 👍

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beautiful!

please share pics of the I/O motor





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Congrats

Awesome boat, just saw this on the classic powerboat Facebook group. Looking forward to following your progress!

I'd pay $1500 for that!

The outdrive worth that alone!!! Nice to run across deals like that. As long as it’s solid and no rot that will be a perfect day runner..

Congrats.
Great deal!

Always liked them.

How much salt has it seen down there?

Thats a heck of a deal !

Hull is clean with no bad scratches, some sun crazing on the deck. Vinyl on the engine hatch and rear seat will need to be replaced.

She's really coming back to life. Each week, when I have time, I put some sweat equity into the boat on projects that I want to work on. The Spyder keeps getting nicer and nicer!

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I'm willing to raise my generous offer to $2500, it's looking great.

That's a money maker brother! Looking really nice!

Love it. Looking great. How does it run?

I feel like the 'shades' above the rear cleats should move up/down power. Like, when you turn the engines on, they should close up and conceal the cleats.

LMAO! I've spent that much alone in new parts and supplies! This boat, by far, is the cheapest boat I've ever owned and I cannot beat the amount of fun I will have for the money invested. My next items on the to do list are:

Mechanically: A) plugs, wires, rotor, check timing
B) fix or replace the tachometer
C) fix or replace the trim sender
D) install new stereo system
Once the above items are completed, all the mechanical items will be finished!

Cosmetically: A) replace vinyl and foam on engine hatch
B) replace engine hatch struts
C) rebuild seat box and bench out of Aqua Plas
D) replace vinyl on rear seat box and bench
E) remove and replace carpet-I'm still undecided on what to use

I've been out three times. Whenever I begin running an older boat (in this case 30+ years) I tend to take it easy until I feel comfortable with the boat and confidence with the motor. The first run, I kept on getting a beeping sound that I thought was an engine overheat alarm. After driving myself crazy for an hour on the water, I found that it was the depth alarm going off from a Hummingbird depth finder mounted low on the starboard gunnel! lol The first run, I mostly focused on checking for water leaks, overheat issues, drive issues, etc. All checked out well after blowing out years of collected rust scale out of the through hull exhaust! The second time out, feeling more confident in the motor/drive, I pushed the boat harder, getting the "seat feel" for how the boat responded to my input. Without the trim gage working, it was all "seat of the pants" feel and the boat felt great. There's very little margin of error for trimming the hull. Too much positive trim and the drive starts sucking air through the gills, the motor temperature rises (no low water pickups), and speed shaves off. I was seeing 57mph on my I-Phone GPS app. The hull handles boat wakes and chop very well (4000lbs and 20 degree deadrise) and turns nicely with the outer strake retaining bite throughout the turn. The third time out was just a cruise down the intercoastal waterway with my wife for lunch. The motor has an occasional backfire that I need to chase down. I still have not replaced plugs/wires/cap/rotor. I know there's more in her. I'm guessing I should see 60mph+ when dialed in. The hull bottom is not a very performance oriented design. No step, no pad, etc. It's just a rounded keel bottom with one set of lifting strakes that carry all the way aft. I'm looking forward to getting the Spyder back in the water July 4th weekend!