First time boat buyer, so be gentle. <BR> <BR>I'll give a short overview of what I'll be using the boat for. We have just as many skiers as wakeboards, so we definitely wanted to get a direct drive (space isn't an issue either). We want to favor the wakeboarders just a bit, so getting a boat that has a great wake is important. We are riding behind a pontoon boat right now with a 225 hp engine, so obviously we have outgrown this due to "skill" and lack of wake size. <BR> <BR>I have been in talks with a seller for a 1998 Air Nautique with about ~600 hours. <BR> <BR> <BR>Any one have any strong opinions about this model? Is direct drive the best bet? Will this wake be good/big (not sure the correct terms)? <BR> <BR> <BR>Let me know if more info is needed. Thanks!

Tons of people are going to tell you to get a v-drive, and that you can still ski behind it and make due but like it for the room and blah blah blah. If the ski wake actually matters, that is the 2nd or 3rd best older boat to go with for best of both worlds. It can create a nice board wake, and being Direct drive at faster speeds will have an okay ski wake. This boat will lean more to the board side of things for wake though. Back in '98 my family looked at the Air, and had similar needs. It was bigger, bulkier and more expensive at that time, so it was less desirable for skiing than a MC 205 (best all around boat ever made), so they went with that. <BR> <BR>Long story short, that is one of a few boats that would best meet your needs, and being the Air version is a plus

We bought a 2002 SAN, but only because we don't ski - wakeboard and surf only. I can tell you that there's no way anyone other than a first-time recreational skiier would want to ski behind it. I think you're smart for going the DD route if skiing is a big concern. With 600 hours, though, make sure you get it thoroughly inspected by a good marine mechanic.

That should be a great crossover boat. One thing I would take a look at is what tower it has. The original tower that came that year was the FCT 1 and is a POS from what I have heard. If it has a FCT gen 2 tower you are golden. <BR> <BR>Malibu has some good crossover hulls as well. If you can find a 2001 Sunsetter VLX or any VLX with the diamond hull that would do pretty good as a crossover and be a vdrive. The sunsetter LX or Wakesetter direct drive are both direct drives with the wake hull. They would lean more towards wakeboarding. The Sunsetter LXi is a direct drive with the diamond hull and would be a very good choice if you wanted to lean more towards slalom skiing.

This is great to hear. I was deciding between this Air Nautique or a Malibu Sunsetter (if I could find one). <BR> <BR>How much cheaper would an equivalent Sunsetter cost?

if its not a pro air than its the san hull and you can weight it exactly like a san and get the exact same wake only with exposed weight(fatsacs). the only thing a vdrive does is gives you somewhere to hide ballast. vdrive in no way makes any wake better or worse. same hull with same weight in same place= same wake

maybe a few thousand. Go with the nauty, Bu's quality was suspect back in those days.

Get a regular 205 DD. I would take that over an older BU. Then if you want to wakeboard load that biatch up with some wake and you will have a world class wakeboard wake.

So without driving the AN in person, how can I get idea for the size of the wake?