196 owners Please give opinion

[RacingSims]

Hello all,
The background, My situation is that I currently want to get back into the water so to speak. While skiing through college (90's) I am now a father of a 7 year old boy and want to pick up a boat. Wow a lot has changed and with the various models it gets a bit confusing but I think I have it cleared a bit. We will be skiing and wake boarding (he will be wake boarding) I will stick to skiing. So the large wake is not that important right away. Perhaps in a few years we can look at the SAN line.

196 owners, would you buy one again? what would you change? (sorry the year(s) I am looking at is 2006 and 2007 if that matters, both with the Excalibur 330 motors. Thanks again for those that reply.

[scott resick]

i have a 2006. I barefoot mostly and the ex cal 330 makes deep starts a breeze. Started messing around with surfing a bit, so a ballast bag will make a good enough wake for your boy.I love my boat, really wouldnt change a thing. The hydro gate is pretty cool feature for wake shaping but its not available on all 196 models. The signature series for example uses a key start and does not have the hydro gate its kind of the "bare bones model", whereas the limited has the key pad and keyless ignitoin and hydro gate. Just things to keep in mind when price checking.

[shonuff]

I don't own one but I've wakeboarded behind a 196 before. Children pick things up fast, he'll outgrow that wake fast and get bored with it IMO. I'd look for a crossover.

[swc5150]

Owned 3 of them and loved them all! '06+ will give you the TSC3 hull, and drive-by-wire throttle. Plus they can be converted to ZO, which you likely wouldn't need, but it's good for resale down the road. In the used market, there isn't too much of a difference in price between a limited and signature. Naturally it comes down to condition. I'd take a mint SE over an average LE any day. I owned both, and prefered the LE for all the bells and whistles, but some could say there's more to go wrong. I actually had an incident with the Faria gateway on my '07, and had to break out the soldering gun.

Nut shell: it's an incredible boat that you'll flat out love!

[swc5150]

I don't own one but I've wakeboarded behind a 196 before. Children pick things up fast, he'll outgrow that wake fast and get bored with it IMO. I'd look for a crossover.

This is true... it's not much of a wakeboard boat, but definitely enough for a 7 year old. I'd get what you want now (while you still can), then buy for the family once your son gets a little older. But that's just me - my kids will be coerced into slalom

[RacingSims]

Thank you all so far, the boat does have the hydro gate, would that not keep him going for a couple 2/3 years?

crossover?

Sorry for the questions, in my day it was MC or CC

[RideButter]

Sounds like a good match for you would be a 200v. Not going to find an 06 though, they started them in 2010.

[swc5150]

The hydrogate won't give you a wakeboard wake, but you can always throw a fat sac in the back. RB is right on the 200V, although even used they're still in the high $50's / lower $60's.

The crossover Nautiques are really nice family boats. They don't excel in any discipline, but aren't horrible either. Many on this forum say they're pretty good for boarding. IMO, they don't make very good slalom tugs, but the CC slalom boats tend to make one really biased and spoiled.

In this day it's still pretty much MC or CC, with a Bu thrown in once in a while. (Actually, I prefer the TXI to a MC 197)

[RacingSims]

Sounds like a good match for you would be a 200v. Not going to find an 06 though, they started them in 2010.

V as in V drive?

[swc5150]

V as in V drive?

Yup...

[RacingSims]

[QUOTE=swc5150;179791]The hydrogate won't give you a wakeboard wake, but you can always throw a fat sac in the back. RB is right on the 200V, although even used they're still in the high $50's / lower $60's.



Sounds like that would be a nice second boat. Right now 30's are top end. 30's are were the 196's seemed to be priced.

[swc5150]

Shop around, and you should be able to get a late-model 196 in the upper $20's (when putting pencil to paper). Not exactly a red hot market out there right now.

[Panda cub]

I don't own one but I've wakeboarded behind a 196 before. Children pick things up fast, he'll outgrow that wake fast and get bored with it IMO. I'd look for a crossover.

I've seen people throw mobes off the wake of a sn 196 with no ballast. I personally have a 95 ski, and it is a great boat for everything.

[east tx skier]

Yes, I would buy one again, but hope I won't have to.

/I know I'm not technically a 196 owner.

[MI-Nick]

i think you should buy my '93 that is currently for sale ...not much you can't do behind that boat wakeboarding wise...

http://www.onlyinboards.com/Details.aspx?ID=32983