The US$3,500 Novurania

Navygakman · 25 July 2007, 03:33

Hi all -

I am new to ribbing and to this forum. Just bought a 15' 1994 Novurania off Craigslist for US$3,500. I know I was taking a chance but at that price, I was willing to take the risk.

I plan to get it back in shipshape (hate to use the term "restore"). This is the condition that it is in as I bought it -

Tubes -
- seems to be holding air
- 3 or 4 sizable patches, some of the edges are peeling off a bit
- a couple of the seam tapes are peeling off or missing

Fiberglass -
- no minor chip or cracks
- some minor scrapes on the bottom

Upholstery -
- no rips in fabrics

Motor -
- it has a 2-stroke, 90HP OMC jet drive. Funny thing is that this "seems" to be a replacement - being that some of the fiberglass around the engine bay has been "chipped/filed off" to accommodate the motor (like the motor is a wee bit too large). Cannot believe that it comes out of the factory like that?
- i plugged in a water hose and ran the motor, it seems to run OK, yet to see how it does on the water
- bilge seems dry and relatively clean (for as old as it is)
- some small barnacles stuck to some of the metal parts (e.g. jet diverter)
- fuel filter has a "1995" date written on it by a sharpie :P

Electrical -
- the functions work sporatically, meaning that they would work sometimes and not sometimes. Like, for example, the deck lights would come on with a delay of a second :P

Anyway, here are some pictures and I will keep posting new ones as I get something done. I am sure I will need lots of advices

pathalla · 25 July 2007, 03:41

looks like a pretty good deal to me, good luck, restorations can be fun... and sometimes very trying. I had one of those with a yamaha outboard about 12 years ago, sixteen foot. Sold it to a friend of mine, had a lot of fun with that boat..

Navygakman · 25 July 2007, 05:17

BTW, it is $3,500 WITH the trailer

columbiachop · 25 July 2007, 07:34

that's a good buy. post a report when you get to spend some time on the water with it. i'm curious how fast it is as well as how it handles.

have fun.

andy

columbiachop · 25 July 2007, 07:39

by the way, it may have had a mercury sportjet on it before then replaced with that turbo jet.

Navygakman · 25 July 2007, 15:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by columbiachop

by the way, it may have had a mercury sportjet on it before then replaced with that turbo jet.

I am trying to research this to see what a '94 Novuraina originally came in, in contact with their factory in Vero Beach to ask some questions. I see that the motor was probably replaced back in 1995 (by the date mark on the fuel filter). And I find it interesting that someone would go to the length of replacing the entire motor for a relatively new (one-year old) boat.

Also I see that the engine control is also a replacement (from the photo posted earlier) next to the wheel there is an aftermarket 2-lever teleflex control there not enough to cover the original opening on the dash.

Navygakman · 29 July 2007, 17:02

Finally splashed it yesterday for the first time (under my ownership). Took my son out for a test run on Lake Washington.

- the integrity of the patches/tubes seems good - holding air. I did not feel any topping off was necessary.
- the motor started, idled and ran fine. Lots of smoke but inherently that is the character of a 2-stroke motor?
- it planed fairly quickly - about 2,500 rpm, at about 20 mph (slightly choppy water)
- top speed was maybe 30 mph (again, somewhat choppy water) at plane, but the motor only got about 3,000 rpm at full throttle???
- we were out on the lake about 4 hours and burned about 11 gal of fuel (about US$35) so it is a gas hog.

It was not steller performance but I was not disappointed considered how little I paid for it.

codprawn · 30 July 2007, 20:39

You had a serious bargain there!!!

Navygakman · 01 August 2007, 14:59

Here are the patches on the tubes. Looks like some amateur did it. I am trying to decide whether to take them off and re-do them with new patches (well... I am also a amateur at this point...) or simply glue the peels/seams down and call it quits. Your opinion??

PacificNWrib · 15 August 2007, 16:06

That is one heck of a good deal! I am looking for a larger RIB and that would have been perfect. Especially a jet for the rivers that I fish!

Nice ride!

Navygakman · 22 August 2007, 17:59

Seattle's August has been crappy this year so I did not get a lot of chances to work on it much. But here are some pictures after I had the patches re-done and then I used the rubber boat cleaner and cleaned off the tubes, not bad??

Navygakman · 22 August 2007, 18:11

I have been working on ideas to provide some sun shade to this little boat (OK I know that RIBs are supposed to be open air like a convertable car) because there will be days I want to take it somewhere, drop anchor, relax and read a book or something. And I will have riders who do not have olive skin like myself. I looked at the traditional bimini tops and they just look goofy (especially when the top is retracted) and distracting to the light bar. So for right now, till I come up with a better solution, I installed a rocket launcher (rod holder) on the console and I put in my patio umbrella. So it looks "really" goofy now - but man, it functions great.

Probably won't help the boat to "plane" though...

Anyone has a better solution for sunshade?

columbiachop · 23 August 2007, 06:10

i like this setup for sun shade myself.

the patches look much better now. well done.

codprawn · 23 August 2007, 14:33

The boat looks great - or it did until you stuck that parachute on it!!!

$3,500 would have been a bargain here - never mind in the US where ribs are as rare as rocking horse doo doo!!!

jyasaki · 29 August 2007, 16:43

Some other RIBber had a T-top made by TaylorMade. Seemed pretty simple (if not exactly luxurious): sections of SS tubing, stainless tees, angles, and barrels to connect all the bits together, and a snap-on canvas awning. Similar to the custom T-tops you see on center console fishing boats, but about a quarter of the cost.

jky