how is slalom wake on a 1995 196?

[dhskier19]

I'm looking at a low hour 1995 196 and curious what people thought of this model year? What year did the tsc1 come out? Are there any known issues with the 1995 196's? Comments on the wake?

[NautiqueJeff]

There is no such thing as a 1995 196. Those were simply known as Ski Nautiques.

I had a '94, and the wake was very nice. 1997 was the first year of the TSC1 hull.

[bhectus]

The 95 hull is very good for slalom. The hull design (No Wake Zone or NWZ) ran from '90-'96. The TSC hull came out in '97.
What motor is in the boat? If it has a GT40, you're set. '95 was the first year for the GT40. If you will be using the boat primarily for slalom skiing and it is a good deal then I think you will be very happy with it.

[dhskier19]

Boat has a gt40. sub 400 on the hour meter. I've just heard those years prior to the tsc1 had "huge" bump at22off. But I've never actually skied behind one. Boat would Only be used for course skiing.


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[bhectus]

You might need some better sources. I had a '96 and was very happy with the slalom wake. Have a '02 TSC2 now and am even happier. But there's a pretty big delta in prices between the two boats.

[Mikeski]

Well, I owned a 1995 and the wake was OK but not great. Prior to 97 many other comp boats had flatter ski wakes than the Ski Nautique. My buddies with Master Crafts and Ski Brendella's preferred skiing behind with their boats instead of mine. The 95 wake is fairly large but it is also fairly soft with very round corners if I recall correctly. In 97 everything changed and that boat has a significantly better wake in my opinion. I own a 98 TSC boat now and I think it is quite a bit better than the 95, smaller wake at most speeds and line lengths. My judgement is based on skiing 34mph @ 15-32off, different line lengths and speeds will be significantly different.

The GT-40 is a great motor but the early GT-40's were a little slow coming down to idle (carried speed longer during deceleration). Most won't notice but I skied in a tight slalom course and it was fairly annoying typically going another bouy set farther before turning around than I could with the carbed boat. One of the reasons the 98 I now own is carbed motor but most prefer the EFI GT-40 by a long shot.

[4th ski-doo]

I was using my Bimini Skier back then on a private slalom and jump lake. We used to ski mostly behind the remade stars and stripes master crafts, Bimini, and Brendella's over the early 90 Nautiques. Into the end of the 90's the Nautiques were much better improved slalom and jump wakes!

If you're looking I'd move up a couple years, it'll be well worth it.

Those original GT-40's were the response to the Indmar introduction of the multi-port fuel injected 315hp LT-1 Chevy blocks. Indmar went to GM blocks over Ford and the EFI systems just proved to be more dependable. Eventually the GT-40 PCM engine was improved and better dialed in but it took some time. I wouldn't be afraid of one but I'd never get the early versions.

[dhskier19]

Thanks for the great feedback 4th ski-doo and mikeski!


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[TRBenj]

A little late to the thread... I own a 1990 and have skied many 2001 (1982-1989), NWZ (1990-1996), TSC (1997-2001) and TSC2/3 (2002-2009) Ski Nautiques... as well as every MC PS190 hull from 87 through '00.

The NWZ Ski Nautique hull is the first SN that I would consider to have a "great" slalom wake. By comparison, I would consider the TSC hull to produce a "world class" wake... in that it's still, to this day, hard to beat. That said, I love my NWZ. I would not say that the wake is really any larger than the newer boats, but it is a bit more sharply defined (making it a great trick boat at lower speeds), which can give it the impression of being a little bigger. This includes the rooster tail, which isnt huge, but noticeable at 22-28', depending on boat speed. Other manufacturers were putting out better wakes at that time (like the 91-94 MC), but those boats had much worse side spray, tracking was not nearly as good, and generally drove much worse than the CC's, IMHO.

The TSC did a great job at rounding the wake off and knocking the rooster tail down a good bit. The TSC2/3 took it a notch further. Hold out for a TSC1 if its in the budget and slalom is your main discipline, but I think the NWZ is a great bargain slalom boat. Its also the best looking of the bunch, especially the 90-93 version with the large gelcoat stripe. But, I am biased, having grown up skiing behind a '92.

[swc5150]

Tim has provided a great synopsis. I can just add that while the rooster tail is indeed bigger, it's very soft. I remember as a kid being a little intimidated looking at it while spotting, but then skiing behind it, I was surprised how I hardly noticed it.

The TSC bubble back is still one of my favorite boats of all time, and worth extending your budget a little for.

[Swim]

If you don't mind doing a bit of work over time, you can find a TSC-1 hull cheap if you do some searching....

[Mikeski]

If you don't mind doing a bit of work over time, you can find a TSC-1 hull cheap if you do some searching....

If I could find 5 TSC-1 boats for the deal Swim got I would buy all of them. Anything under $12k is a good deal if it's in decent condition. The very clean ones with low hours sell in the $15k+ range in California.