03 Super Air Questions

Hello,
Just found and joined this so I am a newbie. I purchased a 2003 Super Air Nautique this past fall and wanted to learn a few general things about the boat that I cant seem to find in the manual.

First off, Is the floor made of wood or is this fiberglass ? The front floor section in the bow between the seats seems to have curled up on the ends and I am wondering why. I have not torn into the floor as I am hesitant to do this until I know a bit more.

Second, where exactly are the BILGE pumps located ? I would assume one is towards the bow and the other maybe in the rear / engine compartment area. They don't seem to be operational and I am trying to run down the reasons. Seems to pop a breaker each time I try to use it ??

Third, where is the best place to find interior skins to replace a couple of mine that have stitching that has come loose.

Last, I understand there is a factory ballast system, and appears to be 2 large tanks in the rear , there are 2 handles in the engine compartment that allow water to flow into the system, well that doesn't happen . I have never operated a ballast system can someone give me a few pointers ?

Thanks in advance for any insight on these issues.

Clueless in San Antonio Texas

The boat is all fiberglass. Post a pic of the curling floors so we can see what's going on.

Actually, might as well add pics of the rest of the boat as well. We love pics here.

Congrats on your new boat.

Thanks for the help. I really appreciate it. Although, I don't have a pylon in my boat, I have a full wake tower. I will still try the ski locker as suggested though. I owned a malibu before this boat so I am new to the Nautique ways.

Do you know which trim level the boat is? Signature Edition would have a key for the ignition and separate ballast pump toggle switches with off-fill-empty positions, Limited & Team Edition would have a keypad for ignition and (3) buttons on the keypad for ballast, Left (Port), Right (starboard) and belly, push ballast button once, button light will illuminate solid to indicate pump fill, Push and hold - release ballast button, light will blink to indicate pump empty.
FYI, the original bilge pumps would be the cycling type, when you turn them on they cycle every couple minutes to sense water, if you have a keypad push hold - release ballast button to turn it constant on, light will blink to indicate that mode.

Congrats and post some pics especially if it's Blue :)

Welcome to the site. I believe the belly tank was still optional in 2003 and it sounds like yours does not have one based on your description. You can always add a bag in it's place. If the seacocks are opens and the rear tanks aren't filling it could be a pump issue or a valve/vent issue. Step 1 is determining if you can hear each pump pumping when you hit the appropriate button. I believe each tank will have a fill and an empty pump. I believe one or both will be located in a little cutout in the floor behind/under the tank at the rear of the boat. I forget exactly how they work but if you find both pumps in a line then they are setup for the fill pump to push water through the empty pump when filling and then the opposite happens when draining so the empty pump pushes water through fill pump. They are quiet but you should be able to hear something for each each fill and drain pump if you stick your head in the rear locker. If you aren't hearing each pump then start checking the electrical. If electrical is good then the pumps might be toast but replacements are only about $20.

If pumps are working fine then the issue could be tied to the valves for venting. I think there should be "helm control valves" on your boat. These would often not open/shut properly and if that is the case they would not fill/drain. Do a search on PlanetNautique.com and you can probably find some good info. Here is something on WakeWorld that explains it somewhat



As stated earlier there is no wood in your boat but there are panels made out of PVC or something similar. The floor in the bow is one of these boards and the rug wraps around it. This thread mentions it. If you have questions on how to remove it I am sure you can send Jared (Scarbs) a PM and he will get back to you. Shouldn't be too major an issue to fix especially compared to other floor issues that members have dealt with on older or abused boats.