Boaters - The old man just bought a '95 Rinker Captiva

Congrats. You should obviously have all your first aid equipment, flares, fire extinguisher, signal horn, paddle, flash lights, life jackets, throwables, VHF and other coast guard mandated safety gear aboard. Now go get you some skis, a tube, and an American Flag and you should be good to go! Hope you enjoy your boat for years and if you see a black and white Chaparral on False River give me a wave.

Eta: a battery jumper is never a bad investment. Just in case you need to jump it off in the middle of the lake.

spare plug
spare spark plug and wrench to change
spare belt(s) for motor - change them now and keep old as spares
Spare water pump impellar (should have a raw water pump on the 350 and another on the foot. You can only change the one on the 350 in the water - I change mine every 100 hours and then keep the old one as a spare)
Duct tape - million and one uses
Screw drivers / tool kit
flashlight

A jump box is nice, but a long set of jumper cables is OK

Mandatory stuff: Throwable PFD, Signaling device (whistle - even if you have an air horn, keep a whistle on the boat), life jackets for every passenger, paddle (make sure you can reach the water with it from the bow - i use one with a telescoping handle), make sure your anchor and nav lights work - a spare bulb isnt a bad idea.

Extras: Fenders/bumpers, assorted dock lines, Anchor, flashlight

Excellent info, this is what I was looking for . As far as the engine replacement, from what I'm told a head gasket was blown on the original engine. Not sure what all got replaced along with the engine, but it would be a good question to ask him. The previous owner used Allen Marine on 72nd street in Baton Rouge so we brought it back to him to do routine maitanence.

It never really gets cold enough down here to crack the block, I know plenty of people who don't even drain theirs over the winter (not that I'll follow their example).

The out drive is the same Bravo 3 so I'm sure he updated it whenever the engine was replaced. But it never hurts to ask so I'll be calling him after work today.

I would be very interested in why he replaced the engine for a head gasket.

The only reason to repalce the entire motor is a cracked block. Even a bad head can be machined or replaced alot cheaper than an entire engine. ETA: or possibly if it saw heavey salt water use without a closed cooling system

FWIW, with winterization, even if it never gets cold enoguh to freeze, I would drain / refill with antifreeze for the winter. The anti freeze has Rust Inhibitors that keep the water passage ways from clogging up due to ust scale.

the engine part of that combo is very easy to work on / maintaine yourself. The outdrive is a little more time consuming / tedious but not hard either.

Since it has the original bravo 3, check the rubber gaskets and the bellows for dry rot / cracks. thats a common place on older ones for water leaking in.

I guess labor would make a swap cheaper than a rebuild at that point.

There are good owners forum out there. Get on one and read all you can.

I finished a full resto of my old ski boat a year ago, couldnt have done it near as easily without the forums.

then mine is right up your alley.

I have a Ski Nautique 2001