Nautique's @ the Boat Show

[Grant_West]

It was intresting to see the the Nautiques next to the Mastercraft and Malibu booths at the boat show this year. It the same set up as last years Nor Cal boat show, The thing that struck me is how plane jane the Nautiques looked compaird to the Mastercraft's and the Malibu's. Ill explaine,

I know not everyone is into the Bling that the mastercrafts have, It seems like most of the parts on the MC's are all CNC aluminum giving the boat a more custom look. Then they have all the bells and whistles. fancy racks and Collord deck's ect. The same is some what true of the Malibu's with there Carbon Fiber tower and crazy intergrated tower box and Bimini. I didnt spent to much time looking over the Bu's, I spent most of my time looking at the CF tower, It was pretty crazy, The other boat that surrounded the Nautique Booth like the MB sports and Tige booth. The boats in thoes booths looked way more eye catching. I.E crazy colors spinning display's ect,

Is Nautique resting on there reputation, or are they trying to apeal to a diffrent cround, The kind that doesnt like all the flash ect.??

[Flux]

RE: Nautique

While I have not been to the show and seen these boats up close, I have seen alot of pictures and came to some basic conclusions about this same thing.

Seems like MC and Malibu both are pushing hard on the graphics and bling on the boats. Alot of it I like, some of it I definately do not like. The graphics on them are beginning to get too busy. It takes away from the lines on the boat. You can keep the tribal thing, everyone is doing it and it's almost cliche. I saw some X-star pix with bones and hot boat graphics, the last thing I want is my wakeboard boat to look like a hotboat, ughhhh. I do realize that they are trying to sell boats, and that is that. Regardless though, the Malibu's look pretty darn nice when all done up, i have seen a few in person and they look good on the water.

Having recently purchased an 02' SANTE, I will throw in my $.02 on boat graphics and what I like. When we started looking, we simply wanted a V-drive Nautique based on the wake and the reputation of CC for quality boats. Having no dealer at all in my immediate area made any boat a reasonable choice, but you want quality and reliability. We then narrowed it down to convenience with the split engine cover (01'+) and we both agreed that the graphics on the 02' & 03' were very desirable, simple, yet worked with the lines of the boat. We wanted black, preferably all black, or orange or whatever, but liked the colored hulls with the simple accent and the not too busy air logo. Finally it came and we jumped in head first. All black with tan stripe, low hours, team edition.

You can look at fine sports cars as a good example of design and graphics. These cars let the lines of the cars do all the talking. Rarely are the paint jobs over expressive and they rarely have more than a few square inches of chrome. The lines denote motion, the cars look like they should go fast. As we all know, you buy a vehicle like that for what it does and what is under the hood. I would rather have a great boat that has a decent paint job than a decent boat that has a great paint job.

Personally, I like the billet machined details and such, they show attention to detail. But in the end I want attention to detail on the motor and drive and go from there. I like simple & well done. I certainly would not mind some bling on my ride, but it has to be tasteful. You can keep your tribal and hot boat graphics. I like the forward thinking of the illusion tower, but it just looks all wrong to me, like a wierd mushroom thingie and it's lines work against the boat, kind of like the Malibu C graphics as well, looks like it should be going backwards.

[Flux]

RE: Nautique

This boat is not sure which way it is going:

[Flux]

RE: Nautique

Ummmmmm, NO.

[SGY]

RE: Nautique

CC is much more conservative in design as well as the "bling" than other manufacturers. The decision makers at CC are very conservative folks and, remember, have been making boats for alot of years. So, they have history on their side and know what boats will look classic and not dated in 10 years. How many times do we hear that people love the looks of the 2001 model or the 90-96 model. In 10 years, people are going to say the same thing about CC's new boats. CC stays within themselves and never will be "bold" in their design schemes.

I agree that the Malibus look awesome on the inside. Just enough flash that denotes quality in my mind. Malibu seats and vinyl IMHO look nicer than the CC seats. CC's interior looks quite pedestrian in comparsion. Now this has nothing to do with durability, I'm just speaking from the boat show buyer's perspective which favors Malibu in my opinion. Why is it this way? Not sure. Maybe its CC's conservative bent which favors form over function. Also, perhaps CC realizes that to stay competitive as far as price is concerned, the bling has to be kept moderate--meaning that CC is spending the money elsewhere on the boat.

CC reminds me of Mercedes. There are lots of cars that look "cooler" than the big M but none are quite as good.

Just my .02 cents. (Probably what its worth.)

[G-man]

Graphics date a boat just as color can. That MC is butt ugly. Teal use to be a hot color, I have seen yellow go in and out of style twice in 15 years. I prefer classic design and color, or you can just call me old fashioned.

[FatBoy]

That X Star on Flux's post looks like it just got back from the Pimp My Ride TV show. I would not be cought dead in that thing.

[jonfo]

I wish CC wouldnt have made neon purple a color choice in 1995. I hope it comes back in style some day in case i want to sell mine.

[Flux]

So knowing that CC stays conservative in their approach, not too trendy in other words, sticking to styles that will not be seen as outrageous or become dated, what kind of aftermarket products would be nice to see??

I have seen the mymastercraft products. Personally I would not mind a few machined billet products here and there, perhaps some upgraded dash panels or interior panel offerings.

Anyone else??

[AbunDiga909]

NY boat show was the exact same, if not worse. They not only had conservative colors, but got rid of the huge "Nautique Flags," and had the exact same models in the exact same positions. Not only that, but the layout of the boats were that so most of the boats were "hidden" and not very open. All it showed was lack of creativity on CC's part.

Maybe the fact that MC and BU were right next to each other and CC was next to the yachs shows who their customer is...lol

[skinautique]

The displays at the shows are independent of the dealers. I will say that CC is more conservitive looking but the big thing is the performance of these boats. The CC performs so much better than the competition. I drove an X-Star yesterday and was highly dissappointed. No hole shot, couldn't emtpy/fill all three ballast at the same time without blowing a fuse, the boat did not turn well at all. It was very stiff. The upholstery was ripped with 60 hours on the boat, the bow rise was too much and the list goes on. I applaud correct craft for putting performance and safety first.

[Hollywood]

CC was next to MC and Malibu in Chicago too. SGY, I too think Malibu has a nicer looking interior, but I remind myself how cheap it is come fall skiing behind one everyday. Granted it's a new boat beat on all summer from a show team, but each seat/cushion has a rip in it somewhere or the seam is falling aprt. Also, I always seem to scratch/cut myself on some type of metal "bling" on the interior once a week.

Anyone else really uncomfortable riding on the port side of the observer seat in a Response? The windshield frame wraps around the right side of my head as well as the back leaving about 1-2" of travel before I slam into it going over the slightest wave. I better stop there, I could go on and on...

[M3Fan]

As I always say, CC is like Ralph Lauren. When does that RL polo knit shirt ever go out of style? As old as my boat is, and as ready as I am to get a new one, I think it looks AWESOME.

[SGY]

I'm with you M3Fan. I love the way those older boats look. Whenever I see a Pic of my 99 SNOB, my heart skips a jump. I love that boat and how it looks.

Horrywood, I haven't been around a Bu as much as you or others. So I can't speak to the durability and would have to defer to you. I will say that the few folks that I know who own the RLXI take really good care of them and they look nice on the inside--after two summers of full use.

With that said, I'm all over my boat and never worried about the vinyl. My buddy has a 2001 SN and two big dogs. They go with him everyone on the boat. The vinyl looks brand new.

[hsmunoz]

interesting perspectives, I was also at the show, and comparing prices, with features, and I gotta say the MC X45 was a lot of boat for a comparable SANTE. Lots of bling, billet, and flash. Then I noticed the interior lites were those cheap 2 dollar plastice perko's , that got me thinking. Also I noticed that MS builds thier boats with AME1000 vs CC AME 5000, so I felt pretty good about that too. But I have to agree, the CC boothe was plain, compared to the others. I think that CC could partner with a third party, like say Whitechocolate industries, and setup a boat or two for the shows, with all the stuff and deal with the customers that go to the show to buy a MC or Bu, and then see the Bling Bling replica and leave with a CC.

plus they should have had a black hulled SV211, that's the sick looking boat, well maybe to me anyway.