late 90's super sport or air nautique?

[rainfly]

hi, new to the forum..i am thinking of buying a boat for the family, it has been a few years since i have owned one..i am looking for a boat i can ski (eventually back to) 28 off at 34. my kids like to wakeboard, nothing fancy, they are just learning and i tried wake surfing this year, and think it's a blast and again, nothing fancy. i want a boat that can do all of those things and i also have a budget max of 25k..i am looking at both the 'air nautique' direct drive style and the 'super sport' v-drive. anywhere from a 98 to an 02-ish. can anyone please shed a bit of light and wisdom? thank you. -fly

[DanielC]

If skiing is more important to you, direct drive,
If wakeboarding is more important, V-drive.

If you could find boats to ride, and ski behind, that will be the best help for your decision.

[jhiestand]

DanielC called it right on. If you're looking to hit the course pretty hard an Air Nautique (direct drive) would be best suited for the task. A Super Sport (v-drive) would put out a better wake-sports type wake and may have a more family-friendly interior layout, but the slalom wake is pretty rough. I'd think you should be able to obtain either one in the year range you listed for $25 or under. Pretty nice ones for that amount, actually.

[wake_fun]

I've owned my SS for over 8 years now and there is no way I would trade it for a direct drive. One of my kids was 2 years old at the time and we had one in the oven They are now 10 and 8. We love the room the v-drive offers for days out on the lake, especially when we bring friends or family with us. It will do everything you want perfect except the skiing. You can do nice recreational skiing behind it, but you've got to pull up and take it a little easy going over the wake, but you can ski.........You will love it for everything else, the family will love it. My brother has a direct drive and I don't like that it's not open and more roomy for people. See if you can test drive both. On your test drive's take your entire family with you and ss what's it like with everyone aboard.

[rainfly]

i agree, but..i don't really have access to either boat to test. i guess i am asking if the 'air nautique' makes a good enough board wake, and again, big enough to surf, or if the 'super sport' has a wake flat enough to ski at say 22 off at 30-34? i do like the layout of the super sport and am finding both, nation wide at a reasonable price..anyone ski behind the super sport or surf behind the air?
thanks again, -fly

[Chexi]

I have had both (had a 99 Air and have a 2000 SAN). However, I do zero skiing. As such, I cannot comment on that question. Yes, you can surf behind the Air. It will require more ballast in the seating area than the SAN/SS. The surf wake can be better on the SAN/SS than I ever got it on the Air, but I could still get my Air's surf wake to have a very strong push. I just could not get it quite as clean of a curl as the SAN. For that matter, I haven't really gotten my SAN to have as clean of a curl as my friend's Malibu VLX (same hull as v-ride).

I also prefer the wakeboard wake on the SAN. You can get a good wakeboard wake on the Air, it's just more difficult to do so, and in my opinion still not quite as good of a wake. That said, even a no ballast wake on the SAN can be intimidating to little kids who are just learning or even adults who are just learning. I found that I had to put beginners out 80' to get them behind the main wake (so in the wash) in order to prevent them from freaking out and face planting. The Air's no ballast wake is considerably more tame.

[shag]

If you are anything more than a recreational slalom skier, I don't think you would be happy with the SS.

[555nova]

We just bought a 03 216 air Nautique, and as happy as I am with the boat over all, my wife and mother in law don't care to ski behind it. They would rather ski behind my father in laws 1982 glastron 176 outboard. Even with just a spotter in the boat it has a pretty big wake. They are far from expert skiers but I would say they are above average.

I'm under the impression that the 216 is a boat that docent do anything exceptionally but is a nice all around boat and like I said I couldn't be happier with a first boat. With 700lbs of ballast on the surf side and the factory ballast full we have been getting a surf able wake. With more people/ weight in the back the wake gets better in a hurry.

[NCH2oSki]

I have a 99' sport nautique, no balast, but it does have a tower and the tower does a great job of starting kids and holding the bimini. We ran 32' off last weekend and it wasnt bad, its not a closed bow 200, but it ski's probably about the same as a 206, or at least very close. It has Lots of storage, gt 40, mechanical guages and pp digi pro. Its a good all around compromise boat, and it keeps the family happy and allows me to run the course. I wish it was the limiting factor in my skiing, but its not.

[NautiqueJeff]

Redmond,huh. I work for Concur, which is based there. I am on the east coast though.

[rainfly]

--nautique jeff..redmond is a nice place..we just moved onto lake sammamish, and lk washington is only a few miles away..both ho and o'brien are here too..
NCH2--is the 'sport' the same as the 'air' in hulls without the ballast?

[HS]

i am looking for a boat i can ski (eventually back to) 28 off at 34. my kids like to wakeboard, nothing fancy, they are just learning and i tried wake surfing this year, and think it's a blast and again, nothing fancy. i want a boat that can do all of those things and i also have a budget max of 25k..i am looking at both the 'air nautique' direct drive style and the 'super sport' v-drive. anywhere from a 98 to an 02-ish. can anyone please shed a bit of light and wisdom? thank you. -fly

When you get around to looking, be sure to ski behind an SV-211. Mikeski and others here can comment on the ski wake aspect. IMO, the SV-211 model fits your ski, surf, and kids needs for WB (as it has for our kids). There are a few around Lake Sammamish and if you want to see one send me a PM with your info. It's just down the lake from your house, On east Lake Samm Pkwy. The 211 model is a bit newer than you're '98-'02 target, however...