Buying my first Correct craft help

[littledevile420]

Hello, i have been looking for a nice Ski Nautique for some time, and now i have been narrowing it down between a few i have found for sale. I want to do some wake boarding and maybe pull some skis or tube behind. I found a nice 1887 2001 model with all the goodies, a 1990 with 600+hrs but well cared for by a ski instructor and a 1994 with 200hrs but owner is kind of clueless on it and its not running properly on high end (probably carb). all 3 are the same price and are in decent shape. the 94 probably has the most flaws but easy fixes on appearance.--- My question is what is the better year and value? I heard the 2001 makes better wake and is easy to keep going, but the 94 has full composite stringers and have no worry of rot. not sure if the 1990 has wood stringers or composite. Im so lost on which one is better. can someone please help me. or can i talk with someone who knows the nautiques?

thanks

[NautiqueJeff]

The '87 and the '90 will both have wood, so with those, use this checklist when inspecting them:

Buying an Older Nautique or Correct Craft Boat

The '87 will have the 2001 hull, which can be made to produce the best wakeboarding wake of the three you listed, however it will be the worst ski wake. It will also require the most frequent tinkering to keep running well. The flotation foam in these boats is also known to absorb water, and some who have replaced floors/stringers in these boats have been surprised to pull out MANY pounds of wet foam.

The '90 model was the first year of the No Wake Zone (NWZ) hull, and improved the ski wake dramatically. The wakeboarding wake won't be as good. There are still wooden stringers in this boat, too.

The '94 is still a NWZ hull, but has composite stringers, and no wood in the construction, so that's a good thing. I had a '94 years ago and loved it.

You didn't mention which engines are in these boats you're looking at. Post that information up, and let us tell you about the engines in them as well.

[littledevile420]

gr8 info Jeff thx!
The 94 has the 5.8 boss, carb engine 280hrs
the 90 has the for 351 640hrs
and the 87 has 351 176hrs

all 3 are carb engines and have been serviced every year.

[littledevile420]

here is a good question, what should they be selling for? they seem high for the year. all around 10k and they are in decent shape not excellent but livable

[Quinner]

All priced too high IMO, 94 should be 8-10 range and is the best value of all 3. When the other 2 need new floor/stringers expect to spend 3k+ in material alone and many hours of your time to do a proper replacement. 94' stumbling at high RPM could be the Protech ignition if it still has it, about 500 in parts to do an ignition conversion.
Good Luck in your search

[littledevile420]

thanks quinner that is good info to know, i was not sure what the cost to replace a floor would be and such.

[littledevile420]

just added a new one to the mix, decided no wood floor crap. so 94 and newer. found a nice 95 SN with gt40 engine 500 hrs and clean AF. wants more money than the rest, but not even kidding looks showroom new. I believe it will be alot more reliable and i seen the wake the 94 can produce and i will say its a lot bigger than i expected. not quite as big as the 2001 model but not substantial difference. and torque of the newer hull is very race car like. and they are very solid. I think i may get this one. gonna take it out for a spin this week end.

If the 2001 model SN wasn't so over priced id for sure get one, I like the Jet fighter dash and simplistic look,

[a0128]

just added a new one to the mix, decided no wood floor crap. so 94 and newer. found a nice 95 SN with gt40 engine 500 hrs and clean AF. wants more money than the rest, but not even kidding looks showroom new. I believe it will be alot more reliable and i seen the wake the 94 can produce and i will say its a lot bigger than i expected. not quite as big as the 2001 model but not substantial difference. and torque of the newer hull is very race car like. and they are very solid. I think i may get this one. gonna take it out for a spin this week end.

If the 2001 model SN wasn't so over priced id for sure get one, I like the Jet fighter dash and simplistic look,

I always like the sloped transom on those years. Looks like a launch from a 120' yacht you'd see in Monte Carlo.

[littledevile420]

Went with the 1995 after test driving the 94. I really enjoy the GT40 engine over the ProBoss. And the 95 was just so clean. I am very happy with my new boat. Thanks you guys for helping me with my choice.

[obd666]

wow that thing is a beauty, congrats!

[s_kelley2000]

Great looking boat and you can never go wrong with a GT40. I think you made a good choice.

[littledevile420]

thanks guys!

[egelandfam]

Folks: Need some quick, timely and salient advice: I am looking at a used 96 Nautique that has a boss engine, it has 250 hours on the meter and I hope to check out the Pass system to check the hours..............awesome shape and need to ship it a very long distance. Buying it from afar.............does this boat have glass or wood stringers. What important tips/notes can anyone pass along that would be helpful in decision process. Owner asking 17K

[nukemustang]

94 and up will be composite stringers.

The Perfect pass does store the hours, but it stores them from when it is installed (so if you had 300 hrs on the boat and then installed PP, it would read 0 hrs) and the PP can be reset, so there is no "good" way to document the hours off the PP modules.

If you let someone know where it is, there may be a PN member close that could check it out and give you unbiased feedback

Tim