2001 Super Air Nautique

I'm looking at buying a 2001 SAN and was hoping for some feedback. Those who have owned/rode one, how did y'all like/dislike it. Ride, wake, options, fuel consumption, ballast, all that stuff.
Thanks, Terry

Hey Terry. I have an 01 SAN and love it. That being said, I do have some opinions about it. In '02 CC dropped the floor and narrowed the gunnels making more interior space. It's nice to have wide gunnels to stand on/sit on, but increased interior space is a very good thing also. Oh, and 01 was the last year for the sloped transom, which although it looks cool it reduces rear storage, engine access, makes the sunpad smaller and is conducive to taking rollers over the transom. Fuel consumption is similar to everyone else.

I drilled a single raw water intake and added a sack in my ski locker, two under the bow seating area and two on top of the rear tanks. The wake is absolutely massive with enormous pop. About the only drawback is it might not be very beginner-friendly but I can always tone it back with less weight. You'd probably be pleased with the stock wake, as well.

Some nits -- I don't like the clamshell observer seat, but they've carried that into even the newest models. The radio placement on the side sucks, and the glovebox/cooler arrangement isn't any good, either. The "glovebox" door is really heavy and can smash a finger pretty easily if people aren't careful. Righthand prop rotation isn't as convenient for picking up your rider or docking maneuvers, but it makes righthand turns tighter (which is the way I usually turn to pick up) and you really just get used to it, no big deal. Finally, the tower isn't nearly as high as some of my buddy's boats (Xstars, 'Bu's, etc.) so you might be a little cramped to hang speakers on your FCT. Lotsa d00ds run speakers on those models w/out apparent problems, tho.

OK, all that being said, I still LOVE my SAN. The wake kills with less weight than others require, it drives GREAT and I love the lower freeboard than others rigs. Makes it feel more open and more like a traditional ski boat (OK, I'm a tad old school). I love the looks of the tapered transom and swim platform and breaking down the FCT is trivial and bullet-proof. The swim platform on SANs is smallish, but how many people really need to stand on it at once and I can remove it myself for garage storage with ease. Wider/longer platforms are a serious bitch to yank yourself. No prob if you have a helper, tho.

Bottom line.. I would seriously consider an 02 if I had the option, but I have absolutely no regrets with my 01 and am not looking to "upgrade" any time soon.

That is great input, thanks Joe. I used to run a 91 Sport Nautique, so I know about rollers over the transom!! How many can you seat? I have a large family and who with a WB boat doesn't have lots of friends. I currently run a 95 Maristar 225VRS and like it other than the wake is reaal wide. It takes a fairly strong pull to clear toeside wake. Not really good for beginners. Have you every rode behind a Maristar and do you have any opinions on the difference in wake between the two boats?
Thanks again,
Terry

Well said Joe. I had a 2001 SAN and agree with just about everythign he said. I do think the tower is a little low and the radio placement could be better. It is a great boat and with a little extra ballast you have an insane wake.

Heh.. yeah, I had a 94 Sport and wanted to try a v-drive, hence my change to the SAN. I don't recall what year they changed the hull to the current shape but the SAN wake is relatively narrow, probably a good bit narrower than what you have now. I've had quite a few pulls behind an X-10 (Maristar 210 hull) and it's wider than the SAN. I'd guess your 225 is wider, still.

For seating capacity, uh, for a v-drive SANs are actually pretty small. I don't like to go out with more than 5 or so just because I don't like to rotate with a ton of riders. However, I'd say max seating including bow area is going to be 7 or 8. Interior space is NOT a big strength with the CC lineup.

How you liking your new rig, actiondcpd?

Joe, check your Yahoo email when you get a chance. I sent you some questions about your hull and locker/bow sacs.
Collin

Terry. I sent you an e-mail.

Thanks y'all for the input. Joe, did mention I have a large family? 7 kids and a beautiful wife. The oldest kids are going to be leaving home in the next few years but the youngest is only 18 months. Real estate inside the boat is important. There was 8 of us when I had the Sport Nautique and we would all fit in. Now there is nine including the baby, can we all fit in the SAN?

The other big question I have is my health. The two inverts I'm working on are toeside front roll and heelside backroll. With the Maristar wake I seem to need more speed to get wake to wake toeside. With speed comes more hurt when the trick goes wrong. Do you think (as I haven't landed either trick yet) that these tricks are easier (less hurtful) with the narrower SAN wake. My knees like to land comming down the opposite wake as opposed to out in the flats.
Thanks, Terry

Awesome on your family, Terry. If they all fit in your Sport Nautique they surely will fit in a Super Air, just not sure how the space would compare to your Maristar.

As far as tricks are concerned I'd say you should definitely be able to make it wake to wake with less speed. If you go beyond the downwake into the trough though, you might find the landing even harder than your Maristar. The trough a SAN carves out is really really hard, which makes sense given the hard wake.

If you can, I'd suggest hauling as much of your family out as you can and take the boat for a test spin/ride! Is the boat not local to you? At least ride behind it yourself. You'll get a good indication of interior space when you look at it in person.

When I say we all fit in the Sport, I mean we probably look like the Beverly Hillbilly's going to the lake, The only thing that would add to the humor of us being on the lake would be if we had a 150lb St. Bernard onboard I can't test drive the boat as it is 25 hrs away. I will be buying it sight unseen. Of course, I will only do that if I can buy it right.

What speed and rope length do you ride on? I don't have ANY experience in landing inverts (unless you count butt landings), do you try and land on the downwake or do you carry out into the flats?
Again, thanks

75'rope and ~23 mph. I'm NOT an expert on inverts but have to admit it's a blast to fly way out into the flats. It's murder on the legs though so I'm usually shooting for the downwake.