Looking at 1992 Sport Nautique (anything to look for)

[mf01]

I'm looking at a 1992 Sport Nautique. From the pictures it looks to be in great condition. I'm going out tonight to take a look at it and ride behind it. Is there anything I should be aware of in this year boat? It has around 700 hours. I know it's not a brand new SAN, but is it a good boat? Is a 92 Sport all fiberglass? From what I've seen the resale and build quality of Nautiques seems to be the best. I looked at and rode behind a 98 Moomba Outback on Monday, it's in the same price range. Any opinions? Thx

[bkhallpass]

mfo1,

Nautique did not go to all fiberglass until 1993. The 92 should have
wooden stringers. This should not be a problem (many wooden
stringer boats are still in use with original stringers after 40 or
50 years). I depends upon maintenance. Was it stored indoors?
On a boat lift, etc. Be sure and check the stringers, particularly
around the motor mounts for any signs of rotting.

The 92 sport will retain its value better than the 98 Moomba.

BKH

[Flux]

Darn good boat, spent about 100 hrs driving/wakeboarding behind it until we got our new boat. We ended up putting about 1000 lbs to the sides and behind the motor, very nice wake. Engine is easy to work on and we had only one problem, blew an alternator, but we suspect that it may have been faulty (undersized) stereo wiring anyway.

Strong engine, handles nice, a bit rough in big chop, but most are.

[jchamlin]

Some buddies of mine had a 92 Sport. They used it soley for wakeboarding and it had a great wake....very clean and with enough weight, pretty steep! I can understand you considering the Moomba...being newer and all. I think the Nautique would handle rough water better and last longer.

[mf01]

I took a look at the Sport Nautique last night. I also got to ride behind it. He put some water in a mattress bed and the wake was fairly big. The interior of the boat is in excellent shape. There are minor nicks in the interior. Its the original interior. It's the guys friend's boat. He said that his friend took great care of it and initially wouldn't let people put their boards on while on the swim platform. The carpet also seemed excellent. All of the gauges are clean and worked fine. It rides and accelerates nice. The engine has 734 hours and seems to be in excellent shape. I looked around the motor mounts and didn't see any problems with the stringers. The rudder/steering feel gets tighter with speed, seems normal. It pulled me up nice and smooth on my board.

The Negatives:
I guess it has wood stringers, but the motor mounts seem to be fine. He didn't think it had wood stringers(?). The plastic style glove box has a 6" crack through it and might have to be replaced. The horn button is gone and horn doesn't work. The gelcoat has some slight fade, but nothing that bothers me. The red paint on hull has fade and doesn't really shine much, I think this is probably what I'd see with most boats this age. Could I remove the oxidation with something like the 3M cleaner? The Sport Nautique lettering on both sides is peeling back. What does new lettering cost and where could I get them? The trailer has a slight amount of rust. It has a little bit of surface rust on the running boards, but the supports seem fine and its nothing that needs to be replaced.

Comparison vs Moomba:
The Moomba seemed to have a lower hull design. When I was driving the Moomba the bow seemed to be lower on the water. The Moomba's trailer was crap and needed to be replaced on a 98(?). The Moomba's interior didn't seem to be built as good as the Nautique. Screw were coming out of the dash and the windows. It seemed like it took less effort when steering the rudder at speed in the Moomba. That being said both felt the same at idle speed. The Moomba's engine and transmission were strong and in good shape. The Nautigue's engine and tranny were also strong, with just slightly less power. The Moomba has 300hp from the factory and the Nautique has 285hp. The hours on the Moomba's engine were 540 and the Nautique's are 734. I don't think this difference matters, since the Nautique looks to be really well maintained.

If I were to buy today I would pick the Nautique even though it is 6 years older and has about 200 hours more on the engine. The build on the Nautique is definitely better and the resale value will hold more than the Moomba.

Any thoughts on the paint fade and lettering? If I could shine it up a little bit and replace the letters the boat would be perfect.

[Flux]

It's somewhat funny, but the cracked glovebox, peeling letters, and faded gelcoat were also things that happened to my buddy's 02. We took the letters off by heating them up with a blowdryer and just left the hull plain, thought it looked fine with nothing on it. His Uncle bought the boat and replaced the letters. In the right light you could see the nonfaded gelcoat where we had pulled the stickers off.

You can probably get them from any dealership, just call. We never did anything about the glovebox, it was just cracked, period. The horn did not work either. Everything else was great though.

[bkhallpass]

mf01,

Your comparison results were about as I expected. Good to come to
conclusions for yourself.

For stickers, try mid-ohio watersports at the top of this page. They
will provide a 15% discount. The stickers won't be cheap. If no longer available, try correctcraftfan.com. Guys on that board are into restoring olderc orrect crafts. I have seen the several of the letterings distributed
electronically so that they can be printed onto vinyl.

You should be able to shine that boat up. It just takes some elbow
grease. There have been several threads on this site, as well
as on correctcraftfan discussing methods of doing it. Rubbing compound
with a wheel, followed by polishing compound with a wheel, and a good
waxing. In a worst cast scenario, wetsanding with a fine grade of
paper to begin the process and get the fading/oxidation off. Again, these
have been discussed in detail. Just do a search.

Good luck,

BKH