Super Sport Vs Sport Nautique

Chris,
When in Syracuse (Wawasee) I generally stay with friends from College. Several of my friend's families have lake houses on Wawasee.

David,
Getting to Chicago isn't bad its the drive home after having the beers.
I learnt to ski on Morse as well. My Uncle had a house on Morse when I was growing up and I had a condo until last year when the lease was up.

Now I live in Zionsville and have a slip at the Morse Marina. That way I can stop at Wolfie's for a cold one after a day on the lake.

do you have friends in syracuse that you stay with or rent something?

well you better go to Angola and lake James to see it or you can stop over at the barn and kick back some coldies on the '80 i have if you want.

If your out Memorial week-end look for a 380 Nortech rafted up with some Sea-ray's, couple Fourwinds, a Powerplay and a couple Baja's, one old boy usually brings his Formula as well

you need to check out Monroe in Bloomington, about an hours drive from Indy and the largest reservoir in the state, we are always there memorial week-end to kick off the season.

Wawasee is good, Tippy is another good spot, we also hit mississinawa and salmonie

David,

Thanks! I'm excited about the new boat, and thanks for the invite. I live in Indianapolis and am usually at the Indiana Lakes. (Geist Reservoir, Morse Reservoir, Lake Maxincuckee, Lake Manitou, Lake Hamilton, Lake Wawasee).

Anyone else ever around those lakes?

TRBenj wrote:    Post some pics of the new boat.

Here's the new Diary Page.

http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=5046

Bri892001 wrote: Thanks for your reply. I just asked because the newer, PCM Excalibur 330 Chevy powered Nautiques are way, way out of my price range still. I've heard that the Ford 351s are very robust though and if parts are still really easy, that's great

Bri,

The Ford 351 was pretty much the standard motor up until the '90's. Both my Ski Supreme and Martinique both have the marinized Ford 351 with 230 hp. Plenty of power to tow one person. The other option at the time was a Chevy 454 with 330hp. This was an available option for several of the Correct Crafts at the time but was most often found in the Barefoot Nautiques and the Martiniques.

Try www.skidim.com to find parts for your 80's Nautiques.

Cool. There is still a 87-88 BFN in my future... someday!

No progress on the Skier yet. Its still a shell up on blocks. Paint gets stripped this spring, along with new stringers and floor. We've got all the parts- just need the time to work on it.

The '79 BFN is in the garage and just about ready to accept the new structure. The material is in so hopefully we'll get it wrapped up by spring.

robertbruder wrote: I finally got my new boat! I went with a Martinique, Ford 351. Couldn't beat the price. It meets all of my requirements, Correct Craft, Open Bow, Ford Motor. Life is good.      My friend has a Sport Nautique, so once it warms up I should be able to have a good comparison between the Marinique's and the Sport Nautiques.

Sweet- congrats! Post some pics of the new boat.

What did you end up doing with the BFN?

robertbruder wrote: 8122pbrainard wrote: You could also dump the F150 and get a matching Chev P/U!! Those words make me cringe!

Rob,
Are you a empolyee of Ford or one of it's suppliers?

We're stamping all of the Ford pickup frame parts for the 1/2, 3/4 and 1 ton chassis for Tower automotive. Are you sure your Ford frame is good? I'd take a look under that pickup one of these days!! I cringe too!

If you are just recreational wakeboarders and like to do some skiing, nothing hardcore, I would consider a mid to late 90's Air Nautique. You get DDrive, tower, no wood stringers, and you should be able to pick up a nice one for a decent price. Personally, we do a lot of skiing, so the 95 open bow fit the family perfect after we outgrew the 82SN. The way the 95 is built, I can see it lasting for a longtime! Wait, it already has!

Bri892001 wrote: Do you guys consider it any kind of problem to buy a boat with a Ford engine considering they stopped marinizing them? Would a good condition Ford powered boat with low hours be just as good as a Chevy powered one? I'm just thinking in terms of maintenance down the road.

Your concern is maintenance? Parts? Take a look at how many say pre 90 boats are here on CCfan - Both Chev and Ford. Doesn't seem to be a problem keeping them running compared to the newer ones. Infact, the newer ones sometimes seem to have even more issues. Plus, forget about doing anything to them yourself unless you go out and get hundreds in diagnostic equipment.

Engine age sometimes plays into getting parts but I'm talking about real old. So far, no problems for my 77, 64 and 54 but yes, my 1927 some parts can be a problem.

Do you guys consider it any kind of problem to buy a boat with a Ford engine considering they stopped marinizing them?

Would a good condition Ford powered boat with low hours be just as good as a Chevy powered one? I'm just thinking in terms of maintenance down the road. I think power wise, I'd be fine with either for my purposes.

robertbruder wrote: Do the newer Nautiques still use Ford motors?

Nope, The Ford motors are no longer available for marinization.... changed happened several years ago (look in the brochure sections for powerplant options - 2003 Nautiques) Not sure exactly when the change happened b/c many Fords were in the PCM pipeline when Ford pulled out. Many boats still came with them after Chevy became the engine provider.

BTW - I LOVE my Chevy 6 liter in the Air!! Never thought I would go for a closed-cooled engine but it is soooo convenient for us.

Yup... you are right. We had an Excel and we watched that morph into the Super Sport. Kinda remembered 94-95 was the transition; makes sense. We loved our Excel.... but I was encouraging the years without fir stringers for Robert. Be it Excel or Super Sport..... fine, comfy boats but not slalom machines.