New to Nautique

[Phoneman1031]

Hey Guys,

First off, let me thank the creator of this forum for the wealth of knowledge I have at my fingertips. Second, thanks in advance to all the members for answering some questions I have. Please be patient.

I have never owned an inboard boat, I actually just donated my inherited family boat to charity, a 1986 Smoker Craft 18' runabout with a 4.3l v6. To say we got our money's worth out of that boat would be an understatement.

I will be buying a nautique within the next 12 months. I wakeboard, ski and tube, and all my family members lean towards wakeboarding (a few are pretty serious) and we all still love a good power whip on the tube.

I have pretty much decided that the boat for me is the Super Air Nautique 210. Reasons being that it is the biggest boat that will fit in my garage (will have to take the platform off) and also that I see everybody that will be using the boat focusing more on wakeboarding than skiing.

90% of the boating season, the boat will be on a covered lift on our lake in southwest michigan, the other 10% it will be trailered and dragged up to northern minnesota for family reunions or to northern wisconsin or bull shoals for family trips. I already have a heated storage spot for the winter.

Now, my questions;
what can I expent to deal with as far as putting in and taking out the boat?
What can i expect maintenance wise?
What can I expect to pay for insurance?
I have a family friend who has had several nautiques over the last 6 years, who can show me the ropes, but I'd rather hear it from the true experts.

As far as buying the boat, I have a timeframe to find the perfect 2007-2009 SAN 210, If I can't find it, I will be buying new. Why have I not seen 1 used SAN 210 with the 409 motor? I am kind of a bigger is better kinda guy.

Thanks again, in advance, for all the help. Any detail, no matter how small you may think it will be, will help me immensely, as I am pretty much going into this purchase blind. Can't wait to read your responses!

[rugdr]

RE: New to Nautique

As far as trailering the boat, putting it in the water and taking the boat out are very easy. I have a solid black 08' 210 (for sale) that I float off and on the trailer each time to prevent any scratches from the bottom. I will say that if you have someone to back the trailer and/or drive the boat to help load it will make life a lot easier. It will also take a little getting used to with driving a V drive because the Nautiques want to back to the right, and because they are a little tricky when trying to drive at slow speeds, such as trying to load. It will only take a couple of outings to get used to things and it is by no means hard to do. I actually find that my boat now is much easier to handle than my old inboard/outboard.

Maintenance wise, a full service (change oil and filter, change V drive fluid, check everything engine wise, lube all cables, etc.) will run about $125 - $150 depending on where you are located. You should service the boat every 50 hours or at the end of the season, which ever comes first. Most of these things are very easy to do yourself though with a little time. I have a great dealer 4 minutes from my house, so I let them take care of it. Winterization will run about $100, again depending on where you are located. At my dealer, their winterization covers the entire engine and manifolds, heater core, and ballast system. As far as fuel goes, we can go about 4 to 5 full days on a tank of fuel, with the power prop, and that is wakeboarding, surfing, etc. all day long. But on average, a tank of fuel will last us about 2 weeks, with normal boating and a 30 gallon tank. Money wise, at $2.50 a gallon, you are looking at about $75 dollars to fill the boat up. What I like to do is, I try to not get the fuel below half a tank. That way, I only put about $35-$40 in at a time, which in my mind doesn't hurt as bad, plus with my crew chipping in it helps out even more.

As far as insurance goes, our insurance runs about $450 a year, with medium to upper coverage and a $1000 deductible. The trailer tag sticker will run about $20-$25 depending on your state and the boat taxes will vary by state, if you even have them.

As far as the 409 goes, I was the same way when I was ordering my boat. I wanted the 409 also, but my dealer had a great bit of information for me about that. They said that they would order me the 409 if I really wanted it, but the 343 engine with the power prop would come out of the hole just as hard as the 409 and would use less fuel than the 409 with the regular prop. As I have used my boat now, the 343 and power prop is perfect for this boat. We have had 8 people on the boat, plus about 450 pounds of extra weight and the factory ballast full and the boat come out of the hole and ran just the same as when it is just me and my wife. It has never struggled or hurt for power. The only difference is that it takes about 2-3 seconds longer to get on plane, but other than that there is virtually no difference. I am actually glad that I got the 343 over the 409 now, I mean the bigger engine would have been nice but, I feel that I would have spent extra money that would have been wasted.

Good luck in your search! If you have any more questions, just pm me. I will try to help you any way I can.

[Phoneman1031]

RE: New to Nautique

Rugdr, can't thank you enough for all the info. Keep it coming in boys!

[innov8]

The 409 hp Zr6 also has a closed cooling system , that is nice to have as well, but you really don't need the extra hp for a 210, the 210 runs great with the 343.

[kevfran99]

No worries with the 343. I've added an extra 1100 lbs with full stock and 9 people and it still pulls my big *** out of the water in a hurry! It does take a little longer to plane, but so what. I would love to have rudgr maintenance! Mine is more expensive yearly insurance is around $600 I change the oil myself, because it's that easy, so it's about $40. winterizing costs me around $175 last year for the ballast and the motor. I trailer my boat everyday. It's extremely easy. Just back it up in far enough to float it off. I don't want to scratch mine either(it's black) Putting it back on is a little trickier, but you get the hang of it real quick. I do it all by myself and I actually think it's easier now beacuse I've done it so many times. I use a little more gas than stated above, but when I go out each time I fill back up. I like the weight for surfing! Usually runs me about $20-40 a day running all day. Sometimes more if I fill all the extra ballast.

I would say the most expensive part of my boat is the personlization. I've spent tons of money on extra stuff like: underwater lights(4 of them now) better stero stuff(wet sounds on the tower, an extra amp for the interior speakers, sub enclosure, much more to come later) upgraded carpet, bimini, chromax letters, etc...... and I'm still not done. This winter I plan on adding a pro 485 to the tower and a syn6 to power it. a 420 to play with. interior leds. ****......good thing I'm not married!

[harddock]

With the tower you'll need to raise the canopy on your lift. You might want to check this befoe purchasing the boat otherwise you'll be folding a tower every time you want to park on the lift. The canopy will become just a sn shade and you'll now need to cover the boat. These boats do not steer in reverse like your i/o did. that will take some getting used to. Youll enjoy owning a nautique.

[flat4scooby]

we were told the boat would fit under a standard lift, pulling it next to the lift it looks like its inches from making it under the lowest cross bar. so i would probably say a raised canopy is needed.

the boat spins right when reversing, of course this can be easily used to your advantage once you get the hang of it.

and i would agree 343 is plenty of power in the boat, no need to spend the extra $ on a bigger motor-> more gas -> more money.

[Phoneman1031]

I will be buying the lift along with the boat, so that won't be a concern. Thanks again for all the info, Keep it coming!

[harddock]

Reading your original post it sounded like you already had a lift. if you don't you might want to look into the touchless cover that goes on a lift. Sides roll up/down via a remote and if you need to take the lift in and out seasonally check out FLOE, they have some cool features and options.

[Phoneman1031]

do you have websites for these companies? If so, pm me, new here, don't want to cause any spam waves

[harddock]

Sorry, but if you Google, or Bing touchless boat cover, or Floe boatlifts I'm sure they will take you there.
I mentioned the cover as it looks like will offer more protectection than a standard canopy for a boat with a tower but I have no first hand knowledge, it just looked like a cool idea.
As for Floe, I have to put in and take out my docks and lift single handed, (ok my 8 year old does help) and I have owned Shoremaster, Nyman, I sold harbormaster lifts ( which are all good) but the screw jack legs on the Floe really help when I install and remove mine. Depending on how and where yours will be it might be worth a look. I am not a dealer , I bought mine off Craigslist used.

[Phoneman1031]

Can't thank you guys enough for all the help. I feel like I'm ready to buy if the perfect boat comes along. I check onlyinboards and boat trader everyday and I'm keeping my fingers crossed. If you guys can think of anything else that would help me out, no matter how small the detail I would appreciate it.
Thanks Again!!