Some feed back on a 1990 Natique Sport

I am looking at getting a 1990 Sport Nautique with 564 hours for $8900. 22 foot 351 engine. Hull was refinished to get rid of oxidation. Replaced the cooling system. Any feedback on this year and type of boat? Prone to rotting? Engine maintenance? Anything else? Thanks ahead of time.

(Message edited by wakeboy01 on April 20, 2009)

If that boat is mechanically sound then that would be a steal. I've had my 1990 Sport Nautique for about four years now and it has been great. Me and my brother almost dropped some dough on a 2001 super air... but then we realized the sport nautique does everything we need it to do. It's probably the best direct drive wake out there (for the older boats). I usually run around 1200# of ballast and the wake is super big and firm. Do you have pics of the one you are looking at?

Here are some pics of mine... and a buddy of mine who also owns one. Mine is the blue one.

nice boats bryce ! totally agree. i had one for years and years and loved it. no issues other than general upkeep. i loaded it down with four sacks and lead, awesome wake, especially in calmer water. i really liked the platform too, great for hang'n out on. solid boat.

Just bought one. Haven't even ridden behind it yet. But I needed the room. So far so good.

What about issues with rotting? Should I be worried about this with this old of a boat and model? Thanks for all the feedback everyone!

My 2 cents on the rotting issue besides it being way overblown on the internet is this, it's been used in boats for eons and a really only a small amount have had issues. If you don't leave wet stuff in the boat, dry it out before storage and maintain it correctly replacing worn carpet) it's not an issue for the most part. I've had 5 wood floored boats and not one had rot! The last one, my '95 Tigé came the closet to rot with a little area the size of a quarter were the carpet was seriously worn when i got it and i know the guy before me didn't take care of it. Easy to fix and two years later was still good as new when i sold it. Sanger was wood until fairly recently i believe and i've never seen one of those with an issue including my brother-in-laws '89. Go for it! OK just my two cents worth.

It would be worth poking around the floor & stringers with a screw driver.... just to be sure. It's not something I'd want to fix, or pay for it to be fixed. Especially if your shelling out a lot of money for a boat your hoping is in great shape.

Maybe the area the boat is used has more to do with it. Here in the NW, it's not unusual to see wood rot in older boats, probably because it rains a lot some times of the year. And because covers fail. Snow caves in cheap Costco sheds. etc. If the boat is kept in a dry climate, then I'm sure it's less of a problem.

Old riding partner of mine had a 91. They are great boats. The only thing I didn't like was the sloped transom / molded platform combo. You have to come off plane slowly to keep from flooding over the transom, even unweighted. The observer seat setup is a little funky and wastes some storage & seating area compared to a normal design, but not a big deal.

I have a 1990 sport and I love the boat. I would check the floor to see if there are any soft spots. There maybe a soft spot behind the motor box because there is a panel that you can remove to get to the prop seal. Mine was soft so I pulled the panel up and checked it out and it was not rotted at all. Also check the seats the bases are wood covered in fiber glass my passenger side was rotted but the floor under it is fine.

the only 2 things I didn't like about the 1990 sport my friends owned were the two things "trace" stated above. Pretty minor IMO and it was still a great boat.