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Ok, I am finally back home from Orlando, and I wanted to give my thoughts on the 2019 Ski Nautique.
My first Nautique was a 1994 Ski Nautique. I now own a 1998 Ski Nautique, along with my 2018 G23 and my other Nautiques. I don't do much course skiing, but I like to free ski, and I am knowledgable enough about the competitive side of skiing to know a good ski boat when I see one. This one is going to change things even more than the Ski Nautique 200 did.
I was fortunate enough to get to spend all morning on Tuesday with Steve Carlton and Eric Miller, along with Shawn Perry and Brian Sullivan. We were supposed to have a media day at Nautique on Tuesday, but Brian called me Monday night and told me that they were cancelling it due to predicted storms. This worked out quite nicely for me because I got the chance to come by the factory on Tuesday anyway, and I got everyone (and the boat) all to myself for about three hours!
Nautique has been working on this boat for over five years, so they have had time to do lots of testing, and to figure out what works and what doesn't.
Lots has changed from the 200.
Here are some of the channels in the hull to diffuse spray. Eric went through what each one does, and how they layer the sets of spray on top of each other and force the spray down into the water. There is some really cool technology here!
These are the MicroTuners, and they are tiny! It is incredible the affect these have on the wake. They cause the water that they deflect to fill in the trough just outside the wake at short line lengths, allowing the skier's ski to keep in full contact with the water while crossing the wake. These little pieces of metal are probably the coolest piece of technology on the whole boat. They will be one of the driving factors in the records that we see fall behind this boat for sure!
The rear seat bottoms are completely removable, and when removed, you can easily step from the swim platform into the boat without having to stretch your legs over the base of the seat. Also, when coaching skiers from inside the boat, the engine cover is designed for the coach to lean on it and have a place on the floor to put their feet to mimic the stance of a skier.
You can really see the minimal upholstery design when the rear seat bottoms are removed. This minimal upholstery design saves weight.
Here you can see the stepped stern, which allows for such easy access into and out of the boat. There's also some guy on the back that may or may not have designed this boat.
The saddle bags have been redesigned, and include a rope hanger as well as a recessed area so that skis can sit inside without the fin having contact with the bottom of the compartment. There is also a step design to the outside of the saddle bag toward the front that provides a great step when entering or exiting the boat.
The fuel tank sits in front of the engine and pylon. This is a huge improvement since it keeps the weight more centered, and a full tank of gas will no longer make the boat ride bow-high.
Storage under the bow is just crazy! It is well-lit, and the amount of space up there is exceptional. I still can't believe all of the space they came up with in a 20' boat.
I wish I could have gotten up higher to get these two shots of the engine cover. The design is really cool. Instead of just the engine cover lifting up, there is a big part of the floor that comes up along with it. This allows for great access to the engine and transmission, the shaft packing, and battery. These pictures don't really do justice to how much access you get with this design. And, the gas shocks that hold everything up can be disconnected without tools, and the engine cover can lay back against the rear seat for even more access.
The windshield cap houses the navigation lights as well as the docking light arrays. The bimini design is unique to the boat, and connects to the windshield cap. The bimini arms are curved to guarantee no contact with the ski rope.
Above is a shot of the wake at 36.
Above is the trick wake at 17. This is with both rear 200-pound ballast tanks full.
Driving the boat is a blast! I wish we could have pulled a skier or two, but we only had a little while on the water in between storms.
I would love to have one of these! Maybe next year we'll have a PlanetNautique Ski Nautique to go along with the G23!
My first Nautique was a 1994 Ski Nautique. I now own a 1998 Ski Nautique, along with my 2018 G23 and my other Nautiques. I don't do much course skiing, but I like to free ski, and I am knowledgable enough about the competitive side of skiing to know a good ski boat when I see one. This one is going to change things even more than the Ski Nautique 200 did.
I was fortunate enough to get to spend all morning on Tuesday with Steve Carlton and Eric Miller, along with Shawn Perry and Brian Sullivan. We were supposed to have a media day at Nautique on Tuesday, but Brian called me Monday night and told me that they were cancelling it due to predicted storms. This worked out quite nicely for me because I got the chance to come by the factory on Tuesday anyway, and I got everyone (and the boat) all to myself for about three hours!
Nautique has been working on this boat for over five years, so they have had time to do lots of testing, and to figure out what works and what doesn't.
Lots has changed from the 200.
- No more carpet over raw fiberglass - this boat has a liner. In fact, there's no carpet or monkey fuzz anywhere in this boat at all. It is completely finished throughout.
- No open-bow option available - this is an unapologetic hard-core three-event towboat
- Fully-integrated LINC Panoray display - pick your event, set your line length and speed, and the boat does the rest - HydroGate and MicroTuners are automatically controlled
- MicroTuners - this new feature is certainly one of the key reasons that records will fall behind this boat
- Weight reduced as much as possible while still providing a luxury feel - Upholstery kept to a minimum, carbon fiber used in the construction
- Hull redesigned with incredible detail - focused on spray reduction
Here are some of the channels in the hull to diffuse spray. Eric went through what each one does, and how they layer the sets of spray on top of each other and force the spray down into the water. There is some really cool technology here!
These are the MicroTuners, and they are tiny! It is incredible the affect these have on the wake. They cause the water that they deflect to fill in the trough just outside the wake at short line lengths, allowing the skier's ski to keep in full contact with the water while crossing the wake. These little pieces of metal are probably the coolest piece of technology on the whole boat. They will be one of the driving factors in the records that we see fall behind this boat for sure!
The rear seat bottoms are completely removable, and when removed, you can easily step from the swim platform into the boat without having to stretch your legs over the base of the seat. Also, when coaching skiers from inside the boat, the engine cover is designed for the coach to lean on it and have a place on the floor to put their feet to mimic the stance of a skier.
You can really see the minimal upholstery design when the rear seat bottoms are removed. This minimal upholstery design saves weight.
Here you can see the stepped stern, which allows for such easy access into and out of the boat. There's also some guy on the back that may or may not have designed this boat.
The saddle bags have been redesigned, and include a rope hanger as well as a recessed area so that skis can sit inside without the fin having contact with the bottom of the compartment. There is also a step design to the outside of the saddle bag toward the front that provides a great step when entering or exiting the boat.
The fuel tank sits in front of the engine and pylon. This is a huge improvement since it keeps the weight more centered, and a full tank of gas will no longer make the boat ride bow-high.
Storage under the bow is just crazy! It is well-lit, and the amount of space up there is exceptional. I still can't believe all of the space they came up with in a 20' boat.
I wish I could have gotten up higher to get these two shots of the engine cover. The design is really cool. Instead of just the engine cover lifting up, there is a big part of the floor that comes up along with it. This allows for great access to the engine and transmission, the shaft packing, and battery. These pictures don't really do justice to how much access you get with this design. And, the gas shocks that hold everything up can be disconnected without tools, and the engine cover can lay back against the rear seat for even more access.
The windshield cap houses the navigation lights as well as the docking light arrays. The bimini design is unique to the boat, and connects to the windshield cap. The bimini arms are curved to guarantee no contact with the ski rope.
Above is a shot of the wake at 36.
Above is the trick wake at 17. This is with both rear 200-pound ballast tanks full.
Driving the boat is a blast! I wish we could have pulled a skier or two, but we only had a little while on the water in between storms.
I would love to have one of these! Maybe next year we'll have a PlanetNautique Ski Nautique to go along with the G23!
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