Which one to buy?

We have spent many fun days with a tri hull and the 90 hp outboard. If you enjoy the experince of playing on the water and are not concerned with sking at a competive level, most any of the models would be great. Look at what price you want to spend and then what interior setups will better suit your style. Over the years, the newer hulls have developed to better suit the different sports. All the boats are strong pulling platforms. For the money, the 2001 series I think are a good boat for all the water towed sports. Not neccessarliy the best for any particular one, but enjoyable for all of them. Even without ballast, the wake is fun for boarding and tricking and at slalom speeds, it is fun for sking. Although the wake is more of a bump than the newer hulls, I would choose it over the tri-hull 90 hp.   

The first ski boat I had was a very light 14' vee-hull w/ 65 Mercury outboard. It was a lot of fun, and it was so light that the slalom wake was actually pretty good (When I finally got up to slalom speed). But I always wanted a REAL ski boat, so late in the season 2003 we finally found a way to get one. WHAT A DIFFERENCE! This is the REAL DEAL! The Nautiques are unmatched in their Hole-shot, maneuverability, ride-quality, construction-quality, etc, etc, etc. The pull is like no other - rock-solid straight line never waivering. Steering with an inboard is totally different (and actually took a little while to get used to); steer effortlessly with one finger at any speed and cut as hard and fast as you want (as long as you don't have passengers). The morse control is another HUGE improvement over other control systems. I would NEVER go back!

As far as choosing one... I guess first you have to set your budget. Also, determine whether you want one totally ready to go, or a fixer-upper. I would say look for low hours and a good solid structure. Look for a solid floor and solid stringers (the two lag bolts on each engine support and transmission support should stay tight into the stringers).

Similar story to the rest. I started with a 16' Glastron outboard, moved to a 18' Sea Sprite with an I/O, moved to a 20' Stingray with an I/O, moved to a 28' Cruisers with two I/O's, moved to a 82 Nautique 2001, moved to a 86 Nautique 2001. I have yet to drive the 1986 but will tell you once I drove the 82 I will never buy another brand of boat. If I need bigger, I will tie two Nautiques together! Skiing and cruising are both a ton of fun with these boats. You will get hooked like the rest of us!