HELP! First wakeboard boat purchase

Hi all. Newbie here. I am in the market for my first wakeboard boat and I am considering the following boats in my area for about the same price: 1996 Nautique Super Sport, 1999 Centurion Elite V, 2003 Sky Supreme 220sp, and a MINT 1999 Mastercraft 205. Since it is my first boat, I am also considering a couple of 90s Super Nautiques that are a little less expensive. We are all beginner wakeboarders, and my sons also like the tubes. But we want a boat that will also give us the best wake for when we get better. Which of these is the best? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

of those Supersport, unless the 205 is V-drive.

Do not buy anything not v-drive, because in 2 years you'll be selling to buy a v-drive... been there done that.

The supersport is a great boat with a great great wake.

Supersport hands down. Has the same hull as super air all the way up to 2006. Does the super sport have a tower or ballast?

You ask for best wake? In my biased opinion, Nautique, no question. That is unless, as nick pointed out, it's a 205V, then essentially it's the original X-star (sans tower and ballast). Then it's up to wake preference, ramp (205) vs wall (SS). For beginners on the nautique, you can go a little heavy on the bow weight to make the wake not so abrupt.

While searching I found a pretty good writeup on the 205/X lineage.

http://mastercraft.com/teamtalk/attachment.php?attachmentid=20362&d=1175286650

The other thing to think about is dealer service. Is there a Nautique or Mastercraft dealer in the area? Will you be servicing it yourself and fixing all the problems? If not, then trailering it a couple of hours is a pain.

Goodluck! It's always fun to buy boats.

2nd the super sport, unless the 205 is a v-drive.

Thanks guys! That is really helpful. The MC is a DD, so it looks like the Nautique is the front runner. One more question though, why does NADA value the SS lower than all the rest?

its older... I think Nada prices stuff as normal logic says:
BMW > KIA, 500 hrs > 1000 hrs, LEATHER > Cloth

but as far as a wakeboard boar goes there are certain things that make a boat great that NADA just doesn't know.... To them a 2006 Ski Nautique will with 150 hours is more expensive than a 2003 Super Air Nautique, which is fine, but for wakeboarding it would be a a no brainer

The super sport has by the far the best wake recognition and agree with others on the v-drive. Might give the 03 Sky Supreme some thought though as it is a 7 year newer boat and will have more room than the Nauti, particularly if the Nauti has a carb engine.

The Nautique has the GT40 fuel injected engine. The Sky Supreme is a DD.

Of the choices listed, the Supersport would be my choice, esepcially if it has the GT40 in it. That is a great towboat engine in my experience and the Supersport wake is proven, can be great without dumping a ton of weight, but gets even better when you do sack it out and Nautique quality is top notch.

The Nauti is sounding better and better.

Does the super sport have a tower or any added ballast?

If the 205 is money, I wouldn't rule it out. SAme hull as Xstar/x2, current x1. Where the engine sits won't make a difference to the wake.

The super sport is the only way to go. Our 96 just rolled 900 hours, and still starts better than the 02 VLX we had. The GT 40 is one of the most reliable motors ever built. You wont be disappointed in a a Nautique. Oh and we are running in the neighborhood of the 3k in the boat and the wake is all time.

Nick--The current owner of the SS did not use it for wakeboarding. It has all of the bladders for the ballast, but she did not ever use them or even hook them up to the pump. It also has the first-generation flight control tower. And it only has 135 hours on the boat. The only downside is that it was kept outside. Although covered with a custom canvas cover, it took a toll.

For beginner wakeboarders I would shy away from the Supersport Nautique. The wake is not the easiest to learn on its very peaky and can easily buck new riders. Secondly the interior is fairly small for a V-drive and has no wrap around seating. It does have some great features the Wake does get fairly large when saced out, the GT40 is a rock star motor, and when it comes time to sell you can most likely off load it for the same price you paid. If I had a family and was new to boating I would look at something with a great interior layout, tons of storage, and a solid wake. The MC 205V, X2,X15, Calabria Pro-V, Sanger 210/215, Nautique 211, etc. I would even shy away from the Sanger 210 due to the low free board for kids.

Nautique Super sport