Water depth for 02-03 206 Air Nautique & lift

[johnq]

Hello,

I just joined the forum and will be buying a boat hopefully soon. I am looking for some info in the meantime. Can anyone tell me the draft of the 02 & 03 206 Air Nautique? I'm assuming the tower would make it sit a little lower in the water?

My lakefront channel is very shallow (at an alltime low of 30", but maybe some room to gain in the bottom muck?) so I'm also hoping to get some insight into minimum water depth for a lift. I'd like to hear your feedback as to how shallow you have been able to have a lift and still drive the Nautique onto it.

So far I've found a lift with an 8" clearance height at the base or frame rails, but I'm trying to figure out how low below the water the bunks need to sit in order to get the hull to clear. My thought is that in order to clear the base of the lift with the fins I need a water depth of 8" plus the draft plus another inch for clearance (and that is the minimum due to fluctuating water level and weight/draft of the boat with gear). If the lift sank deep enough into the muck I feel like the fins could possibly clear the base, but I need to know how low below the water surface the bunks would need to be in order to clear the actual hull. Thank you in advance for your thoughts!

[AirTool]

RE: Water depth for 02-03 206 Air Nautique & lift

The height of your bunks are probably longer than the fins? ...right? Will you have bunks or just 2x6 or 2x8 turned on edge?

I can't help much with the lift, but I can measure what I think the draft is on my 206 if you want. I'm planning to visit the boat tonight and I know approximately where the waterline is on the hull.

[johnq]

RE: Water depth for 02-03 206 Air Nautique & lift

That'd be great thanks. Yes, bunk height of course has to be longer than the fins. I haven't seen the lift in person yet, but the bunks look to be alum. square tube with a rubber bumper on top. I hope to measure one this weekend and get an idea of how low the bunks can sit on the lift framework. Ideally if they can be mounted low enough that the fins just clear the frame then all I have to worry about is whether the bunks are far enough under the surface to still drive the boat on. Many of the lifts I have seen seem to have the bunks mounted 18" above the framework of the lift which would put them almost out of the water in my situation. Gosh, I can visualize it all in my head, I hope I'm explaining it clear enough to everyone else! Maybe some other useful measurements would be:
The overall length/height of the fins and/or prop (whichever sits lower)
The distance in the rear from the water line to the bottom of the hull (which should equal draft minus measurement above?)

[WakeSlayer]

RE: Water depth for 02-03 206 Air Nautique & lift

at 30" you are not going to be able to do it. What is the average depth?
I am totally guessing at what my lift plus draftequal, and I feel that less than 36" and I am not getting my boat off the lift. I will usually have it at about 4.5 to 5' at the back in the spring. Only once in 12 years have I had to move my lift out.

[AirTool]

RE: Water depth for 02-03 206 Air Nautique & lift

The CC site shows the draft to be 24" ...I'm assuming that is running draft with a full payload.

My best estimate is 18" unloaded. I measured from what I believe is the water line down to the concrete and subtracted the distance from the concrete up to the bottom of the fin. It looked to me like the fin bottom and prop/rudder bottom were all the same. Prop/rudder shouldn't be a concern....there should be no lift frame extending that far back.

The fins are 5-1/2" ...so it looks to me like the bunks need to be AT LEAST 12" below the lake level.

See pic for water line.

[johnq]

Thank you for this information.

[kentsmith12]

Use the lifting rings or straps. You put a cradle in that shallow of water and you won't be using your boat much... Another solution is to dredge but that won't be cheap...

I've used straps on various Nautiques over the last 9 years. I have friend who uses rings and has no problems - they also can get their boats out when everyone else cant...