Need some info?

im looking into buying a nautique i wake board so this boat will be used for wakeboarding. i have friends with newer nautiques but my budget is much smaller though, and my friends dont have much knwoledge in the earlier years. im looking for an early year nautique. i dont have much back ground with them though so im curious if any one could explain to me the year groups of when they changed the nautiques or what years they stayued the same dating back into the 80's what models there are and the pros and cons of each, best, wake etc..

any info would be great i appreciate it in advance

If your a wakeboarder on a budget you should be looking for an 82-89 ski nautique. These boats are the "2001" series hull and produce a killer wake when weighted down. The boats older than that are classics with some charms of thier own but make better ski boats imho. But it all comes down to the actual boat and the deal you find... good luck
-Joe.   

I happen to have an 89 ski nautique with the "2001" hull that JoeinNY mentioned. He's right its hard to beat 'em. I also have an 87 Martinique. The 86-89 Martiniques have a totally different hull with a deep V shape and the open bow version has lots of room for family and friends (I have a family of 5 so seating is a big issue for us).

Huge wake on the Martinique and its overall design is more similar to newer wakeboard boats. You can pick up an 86-89 Martinique for between 4K –9K. There are a few for sale on this site. Take a look in the diaries section

I'm pretty new at wakeboarding and happyto just stay upright when jumping the wake. So I'm certainly not an authority on the nuances of wake perfection.   One person on this site, however, said this about his 86 Martinique . “This is the best wakeboard boat out there. The wake is way better than any of the new ones!”

The 2001 is a classic and IMHO the better “overall” boat. However, if you want an 80’s correct craft specifically for the purpose of wakeboarding and seating is important you should at least check out the 86-89 Martinique.

Tim

Well the saltwater makes it a lot harder to maintain. I run in brackish water most of the time. I run saltaway through my motor, completely wash the boat and trailer every time she comes home. It helps immensely, but eventually salt wins.

Trailers that have been in saltwater are even harder to keep going. Somebody else is going to know the details better than me, but I think CC stopped making trailers at some point (early 90's?). I'm guessing it was other manufacturers that started putting tandems under Nautiques.

IMHO=in my humble opinion

common problems in these older boats (and others) include flooring failures. Water gets in the hull and rots out the stringers. A soft floor is your first indicator. In 93 CC went to total composite materials in the stringers and hull. Before that, you're likely to have floor problems at some point.

Welcome to the forum. This is a great place with a bunch of super smart guys (and many more of us that aren't that smart). These are the best boats in the world. I hope you get one!

floors and stringers were wood with fiberglass over them.

Direct drive is when the motor is in the middle of the boat and the prop shaft comes through the tranny going straight back through the hull toward the aft of the boat. V-drive engines are in the back of the boat facing backward. The tranny has a "v gear" that shoots the prop through the hull toward the aft.

The direct drive puts the center of gravity foreward in the boat and flattens out the wake a bit better (at least that's the idea). The v drive is in the stern of the boat and gives more "living" room in the boat as well as providing a better wake for boarding.

check out the diaries section of this forum to look at some of the 82-89 boats. The changes are mostly cosmetic, but again, I'm not an expert on those years...

*I prefer the direct drive. The center mounted engine and direct drive gives better performance because the position of the engine and there is less loss of power in transfer to the prop (more gears, changing direction). Also there are more parts to break. The V-drive will give you more room and more weight in the back end of the boat. The v-drive is probably better for wake boarding.
*I'm not sure the year CC started offering v-drives but you can get direct or v-drive in newer nautiques.
*As far as I know the engine is the same from 82-89, Ford 351W. At some point they started using "throttle body injection" and then fuel injection and eventually switched to the Chevy Vortec I believe. The hull was the same during those years. The dash and graphics changed in 1985 though.
Review the reference section. There are brochures for most years there. Also look at the Diaries section.
I concur, the 2001 Style hull (82-89) with a Skylon and Fatsack make a really good wake boarding boat.
When you spot something you are interested, post the details here and we'll help you out.
You may also want to check out another website:
The 2001 It has a lot of info about the 2001 model and most of the members wakeboard.

fuelies didn't come on line untill around 93 everything before is a carb model unless the engine has been replaced. Most 2001 hulls have the 351w there are a few chevy 350's and 454's as well with the 454 mainly in the barefoot models but not all. also the v-drives are 90's era models too and thier going to get out of your price range most likely. Just starting out your going to be looking at 75-81 hulls or 82-89 hulls which are all the same hull per year grouping. So a 82 is going to have the exact same wake as a 89, the 89 is going to have a few more creature comforts and better trim than a 82 would. Models with the direct drive are the easiest to work on.

thanks 79' thats what i was wondering.

trbenj- so that trans is only in the 89' and up direct drive, nothing earlier?

Where do you guys get the info that you have about where to purchase SN trans and motors for prices and specs, i saw there are some specs in the brochure area.

thanks alot you guys are really helping me narrow down what i need and what will best suite my budget and needs

Hey whats the next year group of SN's after the 82-89'?

just curious i may increase my budget are they very similar to the 82-89 just more upgrade to the interior?

are they closed bow?

how is the sport nautique for wakeboarding?

do you guys know the diff between sport nautique hulls 92-97 and air nautique hulls later on? I remember someone saying the sport hulls were the same as the early air nautique hulls. ???

very good info bk. Thanks.