Potential buyer

I'm absolutely hooked on these boats. I have spent the last 7 summers bumming rides on friends' boats and I'm ready for one. I've spent countless hours on and behind an '85 barefoot nautique and an '82 ski nautique. I also helped my roommate build his '62 century resorter (we actually wakeboard behind it) a few years ago but I LOVE the old nautiques. I'm just thinking out loud here but I'm a college student with a limited budget and can swing the $5000-$7500 range. It seems there are plenty of nice ones at that price. Is there anything I really need to know about the '82-'89 nautique before I commit to anything?

The more I look through this site, the more hooked I get. I know that the '85 had a much nicer interior--nicer seats all around and maybe longer? It also had a 454 but that '82 REALLY ran well. More motor than I would ever need. I also really like the ski tiques and see a few nice ones in the "diaries"--man, I can't WAIT!!--oh yeah, I'm in Texas if anyone has a lead I should check out

I'm not interested in the barefoot for myself. A buddy of mine has one and I've spent most of the last 7 years on it. His parents bought it for him brand new in '85 when he was 14 years old. Just gives you an idea how tough that boat has been. She's REALLY thirsty and has great pull out of the hole but I don't need it. I was refering to the interior as compared to my other friends '82 2001. The barefoot is more comfortable. I guess I'll have to settle for whatever I can afford right now but it looks like I can't go wrong either way. I've found plenty of '82-'85 2001s right around my price range--Oh, I'm in Tyler, Tx

Anyone? I see they used the 351 in the '78 nautique. Any major difference between that and the early 2001s?

Also, I've tried to contact Bob Bryant with the white '78 nautique for sale in arkansas but haven't gotten a response. Does anyone know this guy/boat?

Ok, just going through my options here. Does anyone use a tique for wakeboarding? I love the idea behind the tique and don't have a big "crew" to haul around. Keeping the boat in the garage would be very nice too. Has anyone added a skylon to a tique? A tower is out of the question

Don't get confused and think a "regular Ski Nautique" is an underpowered Nautique. It is not the same as a V8 vs a V6. Like 88 said, unless you are pulling mulitple longliners, there is more than enough power and torque in the 240 hp to suffice. No one can say what you may regret later on, but rest assured that the "regular Ski Nautique" will satisfy the requirements for wakeboarding/kneeboarding, and cruising the lake. You may even get to cruise and little longer between fuel stops with the "regular ski Nautique."

mrese wrote: rest assured that the "regular Ski Nautique" will satisfy the requirements for wakeboarding/kneeboarding, and cruising the lake. You may even get to cruise and little longer between fuel stops with the "regular ski Nautique."

So pulling a 220 pound wakeboarder is cool? If you’re just cruising around, is there a huge top speed difference? I would assume both the 351 and 454 would run around 45-50mph at best?

97sport wrote: Getting back to the 454, You will never need that much power. A 351 will pull the balls of a brass monkey.

Hahahahahahahha. The last time I was in a 454 was 10-12 years ago, but I do remember it being very powerful. I also remember going around a 1-mile island at full throttle and using a quarter tank of gas with the 454.

So basically what you’re saying is the 454 is about as useful as tits on a bull? I mean all of the 454's I've seen around people seem to be getting 11-13K for them, what is a good price range for the 351 say between 84-89?

Thank you both for the great input...

Jelly I have a friend who is 245 lbs. and never use more then half throttle at best and I'm 200 lbs. The 351 with a carb. will pull both of us on slalom skis. Never even grunt's. On wakeboards the pull is even easier. My sport tops out at 47 m.p.h. @ 4800 r.p.m. Never knew how good a nautique was until I got one. What a pull.

Better gas mileage with plenty of power...sounds like the Ski Nautique is the way to go! Thank you everyone for the great input. In this thread it seems like the 86-88 have nicer interiors...thoughts on that?