New vs Old(er)

I was pipe dreaming about having money the other day and looked at the nautique site... I started thinking about what I might buy if I had money to burn... I came to the conclusion that I think I prefer the simplicity of the 93 sport we have over all the stuff they put in the newer ones.

All those touch panels and stuff just look like more sh*t to break.

And I can't get in there and fiddle with it if something goes wrong.

The rugged simplicity of older boats seems more appealing even if money was no object.

93 has composite stringers maybe I'll just drive that until we use up all the oil. Money or not.

I'm bothering you all with this thought because I don't have any IRL boat nerd friends.

I'll take my comments off the air.

The heart wants what it wants

If you had money to burn you'd have money to just call the dealer have it picked up and fixed.One of our old Florida neighbors worked for a boat dealer- Kathy Lee Gifford and James Cameron were customers. Things were dropped when they called for service.

I’m a pretty regular, serious but lousy slalom skier. My boat is a 93 Ski Nautique with PP. most of my skiing is behind my neighbors 07 Ski Nautique with ZO. I hate the ZO pull but the wake is nice behind the 07 even though the soft wake behind my 93 isn’t a problem for me (if anything puts me into better form). I prefer the carburetor in my ‘93 and there’s plenty of power for a short set up, but I like the trunk in 02 and later SN. Love the lack of combing pads and the complete lack of a rear seat of my 93. I guess the perfect boat just doesn’t really exist for me. Will have to admit, if we’re talking brand new ski boats on the sales floor....... Mastercraft prostr gets my vote.

Interesting to think about new boats, or newer boats, one of my stress relievers is looking at boats, cars, tractors, etc.

My '98 Sport checks off all the boxes for me. That doesn't mean I'll keep it forever, but there is nothing I'm missing with it. I prefer 351 GT-40's to Excal 343's, so probably wouldn't go to a newer 206 if it had that power. Maybe a 200 someday? Certainly will never buy anything less than 8-10 years old.

I am very happy with the GT40 Pro Boss engine, it sounds great and had very good power.
With that said, it won't hold a candle to the technology you would find inside the Excal 343 engine.   If you ever tear one down and start comparing you would see it. They are better.
My son is tuning some of those engines and they are making 1,000 HP reliably ( with a Turbo ).
Sorry but a 351W will not offer that ever, but it is still a great boat engine and I really like mine it just won't ever offer the same power or potential of the newer engine.
The same applies to the older GM 350 marine engines, they run great but do not compare to the newer ones for power or durability. But hey, they are pretty easy to work on!

MrMcD wrote: I am very happy with the GT40 Pro Boss engine, it sounds great and had very good power. With that said, it won't hold a candle to the technology you would find inside the Excal 343 engine. The same applies to the older GM 350 marine engines, they run great but do not compare to the newer ones for power or durability. But hey, they are pretty easy to work on!

I think an Excalibur 343 is an older 350 Chevy based engine and you really mean the later family of GM engines for some newer technology

I picked up a signature edition 2003 Nautique 216 3 years ago and was pretty happy that it had all the analog gauges. I don't have to worry about all the gateway box issues. I just turn the key and enjoy the ride.   

I love my old Mustang for cruising around, but the new boats do a lot of stuff really well. I think an old boat for fun and a newer boat for loading up people is the best combo. Friends have a 2014ish Super Air Nautique. The stored-by-user ballast presets for surfing/wakeboarding/skiing/etc are amazing. Boat has room for 6-8 people and still power to tow. I wouldn't buy a wake boat for our lake - it's narrow and the big wakes smash up people's boats at the dock. For a larger lake they are wonderful.

My daily driver is a 2000 Corvette with 215,000mi. The LS-1 is a fantastic motor and I'd find something with LS power if I was to buy a modern boat.

My dad had a 2001 Malibu Sunsetter LXi with the fuel injected Monsoon motor. This was based off an older 350 but was still very nice. I grew up skiing behind this boat. Fuel injection can indeed cause problems that aren't solvable on the lake with basic hand tools. We had a TPS issue on the Malibu that didn't throw codes and caused a major dead spot just off idle. It was aggravating to diagnose - especially because the first replacement part was defective. That said, in ten years of ownership that was the only issue. Otherwise the boat started every single time. did well on fuel, and provided a ton of power.

I'd drop a full-electric Nautique in these nice CT lakes next to my house, where the only restriction is "no internal combustion". That'll get some attention!

Lake James is a fair size inland lake with good depth but small enough that someone surfing on my side can ruin an afternoon... a lot of my bias, I suppose, is from what I'm doing and where I do it.

Usually have me, one other adult, and 4-7 assorted kids for water adventures when we're out.

Trying to teach a kid to get up on anything with a g25 rolling 5 footers in the area is nigh impossible.

This happened last time I crossed one. Almost all my smaller gauges snapped off and fell inside. I had to wedge them back in the holes for now... I mean they were old but dang.