Question for all you skiers and SKI Nautique owners

[BrennanK]

I have been dying to ask this, but I think that it is a little to controversial, and will end up being a debate... we will see.


When you see a SKI Nautique with a tower on it do you wince in pain.?
(wake borders are bias and may not answer.. lol)

I sure do when ever I see a SKI Nautique with a tower on it, I cry inside. I think that it totally takes away from the look and sleekness of the boat.
Most of the aftermarket towers for SKI boats look like garbage. The only tower the Correct Craft offers that really looks fast/cool to me is the FCT3, and it is not available for the SKI series.

What do you guys think about towers on the SKI boats, thata re used for SKIING making the tower purely ascetic? I understand the tower for the purpose of multi sports. I'm talking to the hard core slalomers here.

196= ABSOLUTELY NOT
206= prefer not, but if the family wake boards also... kinda ok, but looks bad.
216= I really think of this boat as a crossover but aimed towards skiing family's and a tower is ok on this boat.

[gride300]

RE: Question for all you skiers and SKI Nautique owners

for wakeskating 196's are awesome, but just the pole is fine. i personally think the 206 w/ a tower would be a perfect do anything boat. however, the way i see it is this. if you're going to wakeboard do not get a closed bow. there's no point so no tower on those. if you can't "afford" or find one and have to go smaller you should probably look at an older model wakeboat or 21' direct drive. of course looks matter alot, but function and getting use are the main reasons to buy a boat. so i agree. for the most part ski boats shouldn't have towers, but i'd totally put one on a 2001 as a last resource(not knocking anyone that has one. just saying)

[DanielC]

RE: Question for all you skiers and SKI Nautique owners

It is your boat. Do with it what you want. The great thing about a Ski Nautique (196) is it's overall performance. The way it tracks straight when you want it to. The way it turns when you want to do that. It is truly a "sport" car, on water. A larger boat starts to feel to me like a SUV.
My Ski Nautique does not have a tower. But it does have the extended (18") pylon. I use the boat on a show ski team, and the extended pylon is used for Around The Boat acts.
I also work on a 1998 Ski Nautique (196) that my church owns. This boat has a tower on it.
If a tower makes your boat more useful to you, do it.
I would rather ski behind a 196 with a tower, than a 206 or a 216 without a tower.
Ideally without the back seat, a 1/4 tank of gas, or less, and a driver and observer that are "easy on the eyes", and not adding a lot of excessive weight, that know where to sit to balance the boat perfectly.

[Quinner]

RE: Question for all you skiers and SKI Nautique owners

A tower is a tool to enhance the functionality of any boat, like an extended pylon, barefoot boom, bimini top, etc.
Too often people see towers and automatically think "Wakeboard Boat", some people also call I/O's ski boats, any of us that own an inboard know that also is really not the case. Bottom line is the tower adds a ton of function and enhances almost every pulled sport with the exception of slalom and trick, it also provides additional storage, a point to pull from which allows passengers to sit in the back seat, a place to hang speakers, etc. etc.
To each his own but for me having a tower makes my CC that much better.

[SkiTower]

RE: Question for all you skiers and SKI Nautique owners

I am a skier, though not very good yet. I have a 211 because it is a family boat with a ski wake. The only reason I have a tower is to hold the bimini. In answer to your question: I cringe when I see a closed bow with a tower or tall pole, but a 206 and 216 I can go either way. I will have a tower on the next one to simple hold the bimini, and maybe a ski rack.

[Adrian]

Yep, I don't like the 196s with tower, they look odd to me. I'm an onlyslalom guy so I own a 196 but my kids and wife like to wakeboard so I bought a slip on skylon and it does the job.

The only tower that looks nice in a 196 is the old spyder tower.

[skijones]

Second on the slalom only. I would never install a tower on my 99, but to each his own. It could be handy at times to get all the gear off the floor, but that it is all I would use it for.

[zapada]

I'm fine with it. I can't see why something like that would ever bother me.

[jc]

I've heard there might be a scaled down version of the FC3 tower that will be an option for the ski boats. It might be more in keeping with the sleek lines of the 196's and 206's.

[DanielC]

I would like to add that to me, the beauty of a Ski Nautique is in what it does. Beauty is as beauty does.
Every boat is a compromise. A Ski Nautique would one of the worst choices for off shore fishing. Having said that, I have seen a trolling motor mounted on the platform of one.
A Ski Nautique is just a tool to be used for towing skiers. My opinion, it is the best tool available. A huge part of that is what happens behind the boat, the wake shape, size and other characteristics. The pull, and the ability to hold a straight line when pulled sideways.
Another part of the design is it seems that Correct Craft designed the boat to be easy as is possible for the driver to pull the skier. I can see through the windshield with out having to sit on a bolster seat. When the trick release is pulled, the driver can reach down into the water on the driver's side and get the rope without getting up out of the seat. The seat fits. The throttle, and gunnel by the throttle support the right arm comfortably. The steering wheel sits naturally in your hands. The rudder has been hydrodynamically balanced to not require an extreme amount of effort to turn, and yet it will still want to go back to straight.
The propeller turns the correct way to balance the driver.
In short, the boat seems to me to be one of the only true ski boats still available. It is not a closed bow deck slapped on an open bow bottom half.
It is this performance and function that makes a Ski Nautique a beautiful boat.
A wake board tower does not affect this performance and function near as much as it affects the overall look.
To me, the beauty is in the function. A wake board tower does not change the function that much.

[SuperSquirt]

Coming from the "biased" wakeboard group, I don't have any problems with towers on ski boats, even closed bows. If you can remember around 12 years ago, everyone was rocking an extended pylon on an inboard boat. Then the FCT came out, and v-drive boats were eventually turned into wakeboats. Even though the tower was originally made for wakeboarding, the Air series (inboard) were too expensive for many to own. So people started installing towers on their ski boats, and used them for wakeboarding. I remember getting weird looks when I used to wakeboard behind one of the best (if not best) ski boat ever made, SN176, and left the skiers shaking their heads. I did this for 10 years and loved every minute of it. I just couldn't afford to own an Air Nautique back then.

Now its 2009, and many wakeboarders still can't afford the Air series boat (its just a fact of life), and they are rocking out with what they can afford. Basically, they are getting to do what they love and no biased skier should tell them their inboard is uglier than before. Trust me, if they had a choice, they would own a wakeboat. Hardcore skiers wouldn't want a tower on their closed bow anyway because they probably don't wakeboard, they just have a tower for their "kids"???

Just remember why the tower was originally invented, I think some people on this forum forgot.

[Adrian]

That's it, just for my KIDS.

The 196 with the spyder tower. I prefer the clean lines of the boat without the tower but anyway I like this tower.