Buying 1997 Ski Nautique 237 hrs What do you think?

[cmacjvan]

I am looking at a 1997 Ski Nautique that appears to be in Like New condition. It has 237 hours and asking price is $18500. Exterior and interior are flawless. Appears to have never been beached. It has 310 HP GT-40, transom hot/cold shower, heater, stereo system, bimini top, boat cover, extended pole, depth guage, everything works. Drove it and it ran great. The only question I have is steering to the right at skiing speed seemed stiff. Anybody know anything about the steering being stiff? Is $18500 a fair price?

[cmacjvan]

picture of 1997 Nautique

Here is a photo of the above mentioned 1997 Nautique.

[SGY]

RE: picture of 1997 Nautique

If it was only stiff or harder to steer at speed, then I'd say it is normal. Because of the right hand rotation of CC boats, the Nautique will be harder to turn to the right. It may also make a bit more noise.

Nice boat, BTW.

[TRBenj]

RE: picture of 1997 Nautique

Nice looking boat. The price is very good considering the condition and the hrs- not to mention the extras. At the worst, it could need a new steering cable which is under $200.

[slalomdude]

For what it is worth, a couple of months ago,I sold my 1998 in similar condition(mint) with higher hrs(740) for $17000. I would say with the lower hrs, a 97 should be worth 17-18k, so yes the price is about right. Hope this may help you.

[M3Fan]

Snag it! I wouldn't delay.

[ClemsonDave]

A 97 SN with apx. 400 hrs in perfect condition sold around here for $14k. Not a bad price though. Tandem trailer is worth a little more.

[jdarwin]

1997 SN

Looks identical to my boat. Price is right. As for steering, check to see if the left side of the rudder was ground to provide some resistance. This is done to aid in tracking thru the slalom course. Easily resolved by grinding on the right side a bit.

The 1997 - 2001 hull is by far the preferred. I was on the promo team for 15 years thru 2005 and the 1997 was my favorite boat. In fact, I bought back my promo from that year and retired from the team. Buy it and don't look back. You won't have any regrets.

[MiracleDriver]

RE: 1997 SN

very sweet boat. I'd say its worth that kind of dough, 17500 would be a steal...

[SKIVT]

Nice looking boat. Sounds like a fair deal. I picked up a 2001 Nautique this spring for $19000. Boat is in excellent condition with 213 hours and perfect pass. I think I got a super deal because all the 01 Nautiques that I looked at were in the low to mid 20's. Not sure how the east coast market compares with the west coast market but I would guess that the east is more competitive.

[MikeB]

There may be a grease fitting above the rudder that needs a shot of grease. I bought a '93 SN last year and the steering was very stiff, especially to the right, at speed. The remedy was just removing the center piece of flooring (attached to the engine cover) above the packing gland and reaching back to grease the fitting for the rudder. The steering problem cleared right up.[/b]

[surroundsound64]

Get it!

[slalomdude]

Did you buy it?

[cmacjvan]

I am having it inspected by a marine surveyor tomorrow. If all checks out it will be mine. Thanks everyone for your input.

[Adrian]

Awesome boat with beautiful colors.
jdarwin, I like very much your boat too. :grin:

My boat: