Are old nautiques (early/mid 80s) any good?

I was hoping to get some opinions on old nautiques. Do they still throw a good wake?

Trevor

Do a search on this group, tons of incredible info has been posted here. It's the best bang for the buck if your looking to create a great wakeboat without a ton of $$$ to spend.

Nautique has hed essentaly the same hull with a few modifications for ten years and even the old 2001 throw a knee high wake with two sacs in them not so good for sking though

1982-1989 is what you are looking for, it's called the 2001 which seemed futuristic in early 80's. Who knew the boat will still be a contender after 20 years!

(Message edited by mikeski on January 18, 2005)

I had an 89 Nautique 2001 for five years. It exceeded all of my expectations and held the value really well. It worked great for skiing and was a solid wakeboard boat. The boat throws a pretty good wake and was very easy to modify, requiring only additional rear weight to drastically increase the size of the wake.

The boat required minimal maintenance during the time that I had it. The only real common problem that I and other owners had was the points and condensers wearing a little ahead of schedule, which is minor as far as 16 year old boats come. The only warning that I would give is be careful of the engine type. The 2001 had two different engine makes one far inferior to the other. Make sure the boat has the large PCM engine otherwise you are likely to be disappointed. If you upgrade to a tower I suggest contacting WakeAir.com, they make the best custom towers for the buck. Feel free to email me if you would like any more info.

I have an '86 nauti 2001 and love the heck out of it. I put a 600lb. fat sack in back (between the back seat and the engine) and a 540 pounder on each side of the engine, plus people (usually 3 or 4) and the wake is awesome! I had to buy an acme prop (542, I think) to handle all the weight, which it does superbly. Deffinately best wake for the buck.

eric- I am going to look at an 83 on Friday. What should I be looking at for the engine? What is the other "bad" engine? What do you think of the proflight towers? I have a friend who could probably get me a good deal on one.

mark-if I get the one I am going to look at on Friday and it has a stock prop, how much wieght should I limit myself to?

WHAT ABOUT RESTORATION?
Does anyone know how easy these are to restore? When I was checking them out on line I noticed that the interior of the 88 and 89s was a lot nicer looking than the style of the 82-84s. I won't know until Friday about the interior of the 83 but was thinking I may want to put newer interior in it to make it look more modern. I was also woundering if I would be able to get graphics for it.

Thanks for all of your feedback!!

Trevor

I don't know if anyone has the pictures, but a guy in Disco Bay has a 2001 that he stripped, redid and made to look like a new Super Air. From across the bay it's hard to tell the difference. It has the same tower and even has the correct striping down the side. Restoring one of these boats would be a very viable option if you can do the work yourself. I'd just look out for boats that sat outside and have rotten wood. Most of the interior stuff is relatively inexpensive.

Trevor, go to this site: http://the2001.com

Tons of information and other pics of the old Nautiques. If it's a decent deal, I think you should go with it. Those boats are legendary for their wake, but are getting hard to find and are demanding some good coin considering they're 20 year old boats.

Careful though, seems like a lot of them are requiring some pretty major hull/stringer work. Hopefully the one you're looking at was taken care of.

Go to planetnautique.com and post a question about stringer inspection. There was an article there or on the2001.com that explained stringer inspection procedure very well. The only real problem with the older Nautiques is the floorboards tend to delaminate and the stringers can rot if they stay wet too long.

The best motor is the Pleasurecraft Ford 351, I believe it has 260hp/280tq. They performed better then the Chevrolet motors in these years, the smaller 5.0 302 V8 is not recommended. You can change to later Ford GT-40 heads with a bigger carb to bump the horsepower up to about 300. This also updates the heads to meet unleaded fuel standards. The single best upgrade for these motors is to install the points elimination plate in the distributor which turns it into electronic ignition making early season starting much easier.

Thanks again to everyone for your posts. You've really helped me out and the web sites you recommended are great. I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow. I'm keeping my fingers crossed because I think I can get the boat for $4500-$5000. It belongs to a friend of a friend who is out of work right now. Talking to him, it sounds like it is in good shape, but you never know!

Trevor

Sorry for the late response, but it looks like Trevor covered that base already. In addition to the less power, the 5.0 had all sorts of maintenance issues. As long as the specs work out, I'm sure any tower will work great, I just had a really positive experience with WakeAir. Interior work on these boats is ridiculously easy. Good luck!

I read somewhere that the best year to get is 1989 because it is the first year that CC used the AME5000 resin that is still used in their boats today. Has anybody heard the same?

Yes, 89's used the new resin which is much lighter and stronger. Plus they changed to the 1.23 tranny. I love mine!

Thanks for all of the input! I am looking at a VERY nice 86 today with a tower and speakers. I should know by the end of the day, and will hopefully have it by the end of the week. I will update this thread and post a pic if I get it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!!

Trevor

Well, I got it! I took it out this weekend and am very happy. It looks and rides great. Oh yea, awesome wake! Thanks to everyone for your advice.

Very nice! In response to your earlier question: your stock prop should be able to handle a fat sac on each side of the engine, but you might have trouble planing. You'll still be able to put enough weight in to make a nice wake, though. Hey, sorry for the late response, I got kinda busy...Love your boat though! Im sure you will too.

Trevor, nice work! Boat looks great. Congrats!

Congrats on the boat man! Nice dog too.

congrats!
acme 542 is the best performance upgrade you will ever do to that boat. hands down

I'll second the Acme 542 upgrade. Great hole shot, holds speed far better even when loaded with 2000 lbs.

Congrats on your new ride. You'll have fun. Looks like an 87 dash & nose though (I have an '86)

Thanks for the advise on the prop. I did think the nose was a little high with a couple people in the back. I thought I just needed to add some weight to the nose. It sounds like I should change the prop first.

Gordon- your right, it is an 87 (good eye!). I thought it was an 86 when I first looked into it.

thanks again everyone! If anyone ever needs a pull on the delta and doesn't mind cruising "old school", give me a shout.

I was tring to find an acme 542 on line. Is that the part number? Where is the best place to get one?

Karl,

Please post photos of yours (including the dash).

Thanks!!

Trevor,

Try this place. $315 and it looks like they have free shipping too:

http://www.propellersonline.com/Acme3bl.php

(I also have a 542)

Propellers online is where I got mine and you can have them 2 day it for a little extra. And theres nothing wrong with "old school" when its still a "nauti". By the way anybody replaced their floors? Mine has a soft spot by the observer seat. Thanks Jeff

I got my 542 the same place. 882001 said it perfectly. It's worth way more than every dollar you will spend.