Considering purchasing a '99 Sport Nautique - questions

[MuskokaCanada]

There's a 1999 Sport for sale near where I work and I had a few questions for those of you who have owned them.

1. Is it normal for the board aft of the dog house to be soft to step on? I was under the impression that the Nautiques built after '93 had no wood in them so I'm wondering if there's some supports missing?

2. Can you check / confirm the hour meter against the computer on the GT 40? The boat only has 360 hours on it but the interior seems a bit tough in terms of sun damage for having so few hours.

3. Are there any normal areas of concern on this model / year of Nautique? Like the digital gauges that all went bad on the 2000's.

4. Where was the shower hose factory installed on these? It has the hot / cold control knobs by the driver's seat but I couldn't find the shower nozzle.

The current owner doesn't seem to know squat about the boat. Says he's not mechanically inclined ... which I get bc I'm not either .. but I am a little surprised at how little he DOES know about it. Thanks for any insight you gents can provide.

[a0128]

1) This panel might be wood. I'd need to look at mine. In any event it can be replaced and is not structural. It is removable so you can get access to the stuffing box and muffler.
2) Not able to check engine hours on a GT-40 as the ECU does not store the that data.
3) Steering cable will eventually bind up and become stiff to steer. Other than that just regular maintenance items.
4) I've seen the shower controls installed in several places. Mine happens to be under the engine cover (stupid place IMO). The PO drilled a hole in the engine cover for the shower hose (another stupid idea). At least he finished the hole with a grommet. It's likely the connection is close to the controls. You may have too get on your back and look up under the coming pad.

How long has the current owner had the boat? I can't believe he knows nothing about it. Perhaps feigning ignorance because he didn't properly maintain it. Does he have any service records? These could be used to validate the hours. The boat could have been left outside uncovered which could explain the rough interior condition.

What is he asking for the boat?

[MuskokaCanada]

He's asking 22k, Canadian funds.

[a0128]

So about $17k in USD. Without seeing it and based on your description, I'd say that's high for a Sport. What about equipment (i.e. tower, ballast system, trailer, audio)?

[Chexi]

There's a 1999 Sport for sale near where I work and I had a few questions for those of you who have owned them.

1. Is it normal for the board aft of the dog house to be soft to step on? I was under the impression that the Nautiques built after '93 had no wood in them so I'm wondering if there's some supports missing?

I had a 99 Air for a while, and it was a little soft. I think it was King Starboard material.

2. Can you check / confirm the hour meter against the computer on the GT 40? The boat only has 360 hours on it but the interior seems a bit tough in terms of sun damage for having so few hours.

Nope. Is there perfect pass on the boat? You can check that. This year did not have the problematic digital gauges, so unless he changed the Tach, the hours are true. You can beat up vinyl pretty bad in 16 years, even if only 360 hours. I bought a 99 Air with about 580 hours on it with beat up vinyl that was mechanically perfect and never gave me on once of trouble in the 4 years I owned it. I redid all the vinyl and made the boat look brand new.

3. Are there any normal areas of concern on this model / year of Nautique? Like the digital gauges that all went bad on the 2000's.

Nope. Just routine maintenance and parts that wear out. That doesn't mean that the boat has no problems. You need to test drive it and I would recommend a compression and leak-down test be run on the engine.

4. Where was the shower hose factory installed on these? It has the hot / cold control knobs by the driver's seat but I couldn't find the shower nozzle.

One way to find out. Turn it on and find the source of where the water is coming from. That's how I found mine!

The current owner doesn't seem to know squat about the boat. Says he's not mechanically inclined ... which I get bc I'm not either .. but I am a little surprised at how little he DOES know about it. Thanks for any insight you gents can provide.

The last owner of my old 99 Air didn't even know that the boat had a second drain plug in the motorbox. He learned that when we test drove it and water started coming up from the floor. This was on Lake Tahoe, a good way out in very deep water. This guy just took it in for service and never removed that plug. The service guy did when he winterized it. It was clear that I knew more about his boat than he did when I test drove it (all of which I learned here, as that was my first Nautique).

$17k US does seem high if the vinyl is rough and there is no tower. I paid $14k like 8 years ago for my old Air (with 2nd gen FCT tower). Replaced the vinyl and put in a ballast system and sold it to the next buyer for $18,500 (which was a really good deal for him based on how great that boat was at the time). That was 4 or 5 years ago. For a 99 Sport with no tower today with bad vinyl, I wouldn't pay more then $11k - $12k tops. If it were mint, I could see paying $17k. You can get a 99 - 2001 Super Air for $20k - $22k (sometimes less at end of season).

[MuskokaCanada]

FTR, it has a 2nd gen FCT tower, stereo head unit (likely factory with no ipod hookup) and all the speakers look toast. The trailer is galv but wasn't built for an inboard bc it has no prop guard which scares the crap out of me.

[Quinner]

The Knobs next to the helm could be ballast control knobs?? On my 99' the factory installed the shower control knobs in the trunk.

[Miljack]

Agree w/Quinner on the knobs, my '99 Pro Air (technically a Sport w/different hull & options) had the ballast "control" valves under the throttle, and they looked just like the shower controls, which were mounted in the trunk.
So for value, subtract about $3k for the non inboard trailer. You may get lucky and find a used one when you need it...
I also agree with the other posters on the panel behind the doghouse, if it's solid with no access panel it maybe a homemade job. The one in mine was made from the King Starboard material, but was about an inch thick.

The other question to ask yourself, do you ski more than wakeboard? Do you have any interest in surfing? V drives are sooo much easier to live with on the lake, but you will sacrifice the slalom wake.

[High altitude]

My digital hour gauge only registers some of the hours I have put on the boat. Of the last 180 hours on my manual hour meter I think something like 65-80 showed up on the digital hour meter built into the tach. I absolutely wouldn't trust the hours on a '99. Just my 2 cents.