Should I Keep '77 CC or trade-in for an 80's 2001

I need yalls opinion. I have a 77' Correct Craft Skier. I have had it for a little more than a year. I have been plagued with the decision to keep my current boat and add a tower, or sell and use my (and my wifes) tax return to get into a 2001 series boat.

The only thing I don't like about my boat is the space. I think with a tower that some space will free up from getting the boards off the floor, but still it is pretty small. I've thought about a custom wraparound cushion, but that might be a little to much trouble tnan it's worth. Any 2001 owners know what the inside dimensions of the seating area is. That way I can calculate how much real estate I would be gaining. I'm not sure if it will even buy me that much width, maybe 6". I think that the 2001 is about a foot longer too.... I think that difference can be seen from the engine cover to the back seat.

As far as hull design goes, the one I have is almost identical minus the V at the lower portion on the transom and the cutouts on the rear corners. When weighted well, we can get a pretty massive wake out of it, albeit almost vertical not very rampy. It kinda bucks you. It does seem a little unstable when heavily weighted...how is the 2001 when weighted with 1500lbs. The overall hull is the same for the same time period natiques, but one generation older than the 2001.

If anyone has ridden both.... would it be worth the extra cheese to upgrade to the 2001?

Cheers,
B

I would say upgrade. I've ridden behind a 76 CC and an 87 (?) 2001, and the 2001 is better in my opinion. The 76 seemed VERY narrow (not that the 2001 isn't, just not as much so), and the wake with weight didn't compare to the 2001.

again, just my opinion.

The 2001 is a better boat in almost every regard. It slalom's better, the wakeboard wake is better, it's bigger, it drives better, better ergonomics. I would definately recommend the upgrade. I don't miss many of the Nautiques we had between 1972 and 1981 but I miss the 1983 2001. It just seemed to do everything very well. If I remember correctly the 2001 is about 8" wider? You will notice it's much more stable in the water. The 2001 will also do much better with a tower. They also pushed the seats farther up towards the nose adding significant interior real estate.

Yalls opinion is right in line with what I have been telling myself.

Anyone want to buy a '77
Brandon

Brandon,
I owned an 82 2001 Nautique in the late 80's. If you are looking for a boat with storage space, you might be disappointed.
As a former 2001 owner, on the plus side, I would say it had a strong hull, a tractor like pull out of the hole, the ability to hold speed decently, and could turn on a dime.
On the down side, my boat did not have a rear seat, so any more than two passengers and a driver was a tight fit. In my boat, storage space was pretty much the floor. walking over skies, vests, ropes, got old pretty quick. I also remember my boat was unbelievably loud. If I owned it now, I would install sound insulation on the inside of the engine cover.
I bought my boat used, the previous owner performed marginal service at best. I did a TON of work to make it reliable. Even though it was only 5 years old when I bought it, it had been used in saltwater, and everything was a nightmare to work on. The exhaust manifolds would flake rust on the inside and plug up the water cooling - causing overheating (this was not a defect with the boat, only because of the saltwater). Every nut and bolt on the boat was rusted, and snapped off when I tried to remove them.
After I installed a new exhaust manifolds, carburetor and distributor, the Ford 351 ran strong. At skiing and barefoot speeds it got terrible fuel mileage. There were no gas stations near where I used my boat, so I always started with a full tank and carried 2 or more 5 gallon gas cans for a day of boating.
The 2001's can be great boats. But, if are looking for a boat with storage and seating space, I would try to save up a little more money and buy a newer boat, with more space and if I could swing it - fuel injection.

Just throwing one more opinion from someone who has been there.

I would expect the my 77 to handle and pull about the same as a 2001. I do think that the wake is a little rampier than mine.

Either way I go, the only way to get room is a tower for the boards. Right now I'm like you Geoff with only two front seats. I built a platform that extends from the back all the way to the engine cover. That is where we put the 500lb sac and wakeskate,etc. Any people riding in the back has to sit on top of the platform (about 5" from the top of the boat).

Geoff,

Sorry to hear about the performance issues you had with your 2001, I beleive it may have had some isolated issues. We were on the promo program when these boats came out getting a new one every year. Our 1983 2001 was definately no louder then any of the earlier and was no more thirsty either. I seem to recall that the 1982 rough idle and performance issues until I took the carb apart and discovered that it had been assembled carelessly so the metering block gasket blocked some of it's passages.

These boats also came with a michigan wheel 13x13 prop. Changing to a cupped OJ 13x13 lead to a whole new performance level, that was before Acme was around. Just something to keep in mind.

The later model 2001s had a plastic base back seat that could easily handle 400+ lbs of lead without disturbing passenger access. You might also be able to stash some under the exhaust channels. That combined with side sacs on each side of the motorbox should be pretty good.