Hull difference -ski vs air

cdevil. I can answer your question, but I need more information. Which Air hull are you
referring to. The Direct drive or v Drive hull? What years are you referring to.

Yes, you can weight down the smaller ski nautiques and produce good wakes. Some years are better than others. However, a big boat is a big boat. They weigh more in the first place, and have more room for weight.

Let me know what years you're looking at.

BKH

If you've been boarding behind a pwc, any inboard will seem like a big wake.

The Ski Nautique, model 2001 was made from
81-89. It is known to put up a very good wakeboard wake, particularly if you add some weight.

The Ski Nautique from 90-96 can also put up a very good wakeboard wake if weighted properly.

Ski Nautiques from 97 on are not as good for wakeboarding.

The Sport Nautique is two feet longer. It is heavier and therefore puts up a bigger wake. In addition, because it is bigger, you can put more people and/or weight in the boat.
It has the same bottom as a Ski Nautique, just stretched.

The Air nautique, did not begin until 98. The Hull is identical to a Sport, but it has built in ballast, and a tower. In later models it is called an Air 216.

There was also a Pro Air nautique offered form
99-2002? This boat looks like a sport, is the same size, but has a special, wakeboard specific bottom.

Early 90s V Drives were called Excels. These boats can put up a large wakeboard wake.

Mid-90s V-Drives became known as Super Sport Nautiques. When towers and ballast were added in the late nineties, they became known as Super Air Nautiques. Later known as Air 210, or Super Air 210.

Many, many boats are loaded with weight for wakeboarding. They do not fail structurally, unless exhorbitant amounts of weight are added.

This is some general info. I'm happy to provide more specifics if you start to narrow down your choices a bit. Also search this forum. Many folks have asked similar questions.

Good luck and have fun learning about these boats as you make your choice.

BKH

CDevil,

My neighbor has a 98 Air Nautique, and I like that boat. It is a very versatile boat, good for both waterskiing and wakeboarding.

I would be surprised if the boat has 330hp. The most common motor was the PCM Ford GT-40, 310 HP fuel injected.   The boat was also offered with a 260 HP carburated Ford, and a PCM Apex (Chevy) Fuel injected offering 320 HP.

The tower was an option on this boat. Does this one have a tower? The tower was the first on the market. Correct Craft actually patented the towers, and all other manufacturers must pay a royalty when making towers. The tower is a bit clumsy, and not real good looking by today's standards, but it works well.

The ballast system has two 25 Gallon tanks. About 200 lbs each. On modern ballast systems, you flip a switch to fill, and another to empty. The ballast on the 98 has a mechanical seacock, and is a little slow to fill, but, again, it works fine.

What will the wake be like? Now we need to know more information. How fast do you wakeboard? What types of tricks can you do? Do you take a lot of beginners out?

Many people are of the belief that a bigger wake is always better for wakeboarding. That simply is not true. The truth is that expert wakeboarders can do flips, rolls, raley's and other advanced tricks with virtually no wake.

Weighting the boat down, and creating big wakes do two things. 1) It allows the boat to go faster, and still put out a relatively large wake. More speed equals more speed into the wake, and bigger tricks. 2) For those that can handle it, the shear size of the wake can help the rider get higher in the air.

A really big wake can be a drawback for kids, beginners, and often women. The wake is intimidating. Less advanced riders have enough trouble crossing the wake, and to make matters worse, the wake gets bigger as the speed gets slower.

Most beginners to intermediates board at speeds of 16-20 mph. At these speeds, no ballast, or factory ballast will put up a very nice and sufficiently large wake for boarders of this ability. Additional ballast
can be added to increase the size of wake as you progress.

As you progress and kick up the speeds to 20-24 mph the wake will flatten out. You will probably need to add additional ballast. The boat can handle a lot of weight. It is recommended that weight be added 40% toward the front, 60% toward the rear. The wake can be built to world class if you so desire.

Usually only experts and pros ride above 25 mph with a really big wake. If you get that good, buy another boat. IMHO, it's just not safe to put that much weight in the boat.

Long winded answer. Summary, great boat, great wakeboarding boat. There are very few people whose abilities are better than this boat can handle.

Now that you've done a little research, I'd also recommend that you check out wakeworld.com, and planetnautique.com where there are more discussions about wakeboarding.

Good luck,

BKH