96 sport natique

[Ski_Centurion_Falcon]

im new to natiques, but im a big time water skier. and its time to get a new boat, my neighbor has a 96 sport natique, im not exactly sure what it all has but he said its loaded with all the features, and has the biggest engine he could get in it... i dont know what the features are and how big the engine is... the overall condition of the boat is really clean and the interior was just redone. it has about 500 hours. so my questions are what features would it have, how big of an engine would it have, and is this a good ski boat?

[Fletch55]

RE: 96 sport natique

Why don't you just ask your neighbour what features are on the boat and what engine it has? Instead of us guessing.

[Ski_Centurion_Falcon]

hes out of town for a month in china... and his son is the one trying to sell it. and he doesnt know what hes talking about. i only know what i know about the boat due to previous conversations ive had with him... but the features and engine aside, how does it ski?

[Fletch55]

So here's the best answer I can give you. I had a 95' Ski Nautique and it was awesome for skiing behind, however, it was a closed bow. So I have a couple of questions? Are you running a course? Are you taking some decent length off the line for skiing? If not then the simple answer is it's a Nautique. The true wakeboard boats didn't really start coming around until 97. Even those boats had a great wake for slalom skiing for the average skier, no ballast tanks at that time. The weight was all people and fat sacs. If you're a more serious skier, then get a closed bow boat. Taking weight out of the front of the boat will help. However, most people want an open bow so that they have more room and can take more people. If that's the case then you shouldn't be concerned about having the best slalom wake. The best wake you can get is a closed bow with no more than three people in the boat (driver, spotter, and third). But even then you'll need to be concerned with side to side weight balance. I found a sport nautique on correectcraftfan.com so it might give you some more info on features, here's the link: http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diari...amp;yrend=2000. The other suggestion I'd have would be to speak with you neighbour via email if possible. But I'd be a little worried about a 96' boat that's had it's interior replaced, it doesn't sound like it was looked after very well, so the question is what else might be wrong with it. Anything can look good on the surface. Hope this helps.

[nch20skier]

I have a 96 sport and the ski wake is pretty decent, average at best for footing behind the boat.
I take good care of the boat but have had to replace some of the interior as well. I have noticed that the spotters seat bottom usually fails first then the rear seats. Keep in mind you should never allow anyone to step into the boat via the seats unless you are willing to relace them on a regular basis.