different natiques

I am looking at some early to mid 90s natiques, what is the difference in the ski, sport, and air natiques? I will be using primarly for boarding so any suggestions would be great on what to look for in these boats. Thanks

www.planetnautique.com

You are most interested in a 2001 if you are primarily a boarder. It's the standard that set the tone for the current SAN wake. They stopped making them in 1991.

"sport" and "air" are nice options with the open bow for additional passengers and weight. the earlier air versions (late 90's) came standard with the launch control system (rear ballast tanks) and usually had the first version tower and or an extended pylon from the factory. earlier sport variants offer great wakes when weighted. the "ski" version is just that but can accomodate a beginner/intermediate rider with mucho weight. you might consider the first generation "super sport" which was there primary v-drive offering.

www.boattraderonline.com is an easy site to find a decent selection of early nautiques.



(Message edited by h20jnky on May 06, 2005)

Yea the 2 I found on boattraderonline were sports with the open bow, they are pretty slick, its going to be another week until I can demo them ( I am deployed air force and almost home!!!) Thanks for the link jeff I will check it out. Thanks for the info guys

1989 was the last year they made the 2001. It is a fantastic boat for wakeboarding!

I had a 88 2001 great boat. If you can afford spending a little more money go with a 96 or 97 sport. Thos boats were awsome and better then the new SAN. I also liked the mid 90's Super Sport good wake too but harder to find.

If they are still there when I get home I am going to check out 2 94 sports, so unless I find anything else in the next week hopefully one of those will work out. Thanks for all the input

look into a 95-97 super sport, same hull as the current SAN. It's also a v-drive, which is a bonus for most. They are a little more expensive then a regular sport, but not much. If you look hard you can usually find a good deal on one.

Thanks Scott, Ill see what I can find

From what I have gathered from all the forums:

93-97 Sport Nautique: Open bow, direct-drive, same hull as Air Nautique (good value)
95+ Super Sport: Open bow, v-drive, same hull as Super Air Nauty (pricey)

If you are on a budget(10-15K) get a Sport. If you have a little more to spend (20K+) get the Super Sport and you will pretty much have a $50K boat for a fraction of the price.

One of these days I will be able to sell my new "2001" and get into one of the aforementioned open bows.

I've got an 89 Sport. It's the first year they made that model and I believe only a handfull are 89's.

As other's have said, the sport is open bow, direct drive. I put about 400 lbs up front in a custom steel tank that fits under the bow seating. Depending on how many people and how much room I need I put two 600# sacks on each side of the motor box. The wake is pretty good for an older "ski" boat.

The wake is just fine for me, but I'm not a real advanced rider yet (2nd year). I love mine, just having some engine problems now, that I assume are standard for an old boat w/ a pretty good number of hours.

hey we just sold our 93 ski nautique . it was great boat. very reliable boat. threw pretty good wake when fat sac. i do agree that the sport is a good vaule for the buck. Imo i feel that you can't go wrong nautique. solid boat,and relaible boat. that why when we bought an new boat we went Nautique. thee only way

Hey Preston, how do the wakes compare '88 to '96-'97 sport? I have an '88 and can't ask for a better wake but really hate having NO room for anything inside the boat.

-Scott, so the '95-'97 super sport is the same hull as the current SAN? Same as which current model? 211 226 or 210? Thanks for the info, this is good news to me.

JFYI if you're a wood-weenie, Nautiques had wood stringers up til around '93.