Swamping of Ski Nautique 200

[HoosierDaddy]

Today I had about 500 pounds of people in the driver and observer seats and 150 pounds of people in the bow. When I pulled the power back as the boat came off the plane, the nose went under 2 times, the second time, leaving almost a foot and a half of water inside the boat. It finally stabilized and the bilge pumps saved the day. I actually thought it was sinking. I am new to ski boats but have never seen this in inboard/outboard boats. Finally got home with no problem with people only in drivers seat and the rest in the back. Has anyone seen this phenomenon??

A scared new owner.

[NautiqueJeff]

That sounds normal to me. You had a lot of weight in front of the center of gravity. That boat has a low profile anyway. You should always balance your weight, especially in a direct-drive inboard ski boat. Learn to come off plane slower and keep the nose up as you slow down. Don't slam on the brakes in that boat. The I/O boats that you're used to have a lot more weight in the back of the boat. This boat has the engine in the middle to minimize the wake for skiing, and you have to take that weight placement into account when driving.

[greggmck]

Unless it is an emergency throttle movement in ANY boat should be deliberate and smooth both when accelerating as well as decelerating. This keeps your passengers from falling over as well as your bow and stern dry.

[SilentSeven]

....You had a lot of weight in front of the center of gravity.....

Jeff nailed it. A tourney ski boat like a 200 is very balanced around the engine - the center of gravity. This is how they get that super great ski wake. You had a lot of weight in front of the engine and I bet you came off the throttle hard. The stern will rise and you'll stuff the nose. It's always scary when this happens....

A few added tips from a long time ski boat owner.

- avoid loading up the bow with people. If you have anyone in the bow, offset them with people in the stern seating area. Consider the bow more for seating at rest vs seating on the move. I mostly keep adults in the aft area and put kids in the bow.

- as Greg said, learn to come of the throttle gently and let the boat settle. Popping off the throttle will lift the stern and the stern wave will stuff the nose. People in the bow just makes this all the more likely to occur.

- learn to watch for oncoming boat waves and plan to squat the stern with some throttle...don't idle through other boat's wakes. Just before the wake arrives, add enough throttle to bring the boat speed up to 6 or 7 knots thus raising the bow and squatting the stern and maintain this until through all the waves. If you don't do this, you'll make it ok through the first wave but you'll stuff the nose into the second wave.

I have a 206, basically the prior version to the 200 and it takes some captaining awareness to keep her dry. Once you have it figured out, it's no big deal....

Congrats on an awesome boat! Enjoy it!

[jjackkrash]

You can dunk (and swamp) pretty much any DD flat bottom ski boat with an open bow if you are not very, very careful, even with no weight in the bow. Weight in the bow just increases the hazard. Please, please, please be careful and really practice and pay attention to what that bow does when you decelerate (especially when turning back into your own rollers or another boat's rollers). If the boat swamps with people in the bow there is a real and significant risk they will get washed overboard and maimed or killed by the prop.

[jmo]

One other trick for dealing with a set of rollers at low speed is to turn the boat so it’s parallel to the rollers so the boat rocks side to side until they pass. The open bow is like a big ice cream scoop if you happen to take a roller over the bow, good news is your boat is walk through to the bow, which allows the water to run down into the bilge. Much older models (of different brands) the front was a playpen that would trap the water up there.

[bturner]

Inboards are not for everyone and were really never intended for the boating masses. A boat like the 200 was designed as a purpose built, high performance ski boat and meant to be driven by a seasoned and competent driver. The question then poses itself, is this what you were looking for when you purchased the boat? If yes, then you just got your first lesson on tournament boat driving, if not it may be time to cut and run now.

There are unfortunately a substantial number of articles out there on fatal accidents that have occurred with inboard boats, most of which have centered around an inexperienced driver and a poorly loaded boat. The harsh truth is that there's not the amount of room for stupid with these boats compared to say your average Bayliner or Sea Ray. Sending your 16 YO out with a boat load of friends can be dicey with just about any boat, make it an inboard and the stakes just got raised. As you've just experienced being the captain on a performance boat involves more than taking the Bayliner out for a drive around the lake. Care has to be taken that the boat is loaded evenly/properly and maneuvers are adjusted to meet the loading of the boat as well as water conditions. It can be very deceiving when you see someone with years of inboard experience jump in and head out, back the boat to a dock to pick up passengers or walk the boat sideways to the fuel dock. All this takes time and practice. Even after all these years and hours driving these boats I'd be lying if I were to say that I never have water come over the bow some time during the season from a rogue surf wave.

As far as your experience went.... Yeah that'll wake you up but then again now you know, move on. I have a 200V which means I have the vDrive version of your boat which also means my engine is in the back. Because of that loading in the bow is better than yours but even so I'll only run with 2 small kids up front or 1 small/mid sized adult in the bow and even then I'll need someone in the back to balance that out. Coming off plane with anyone in the bow is a delicate process as the bow will be sitting low. To be honest I use the bow seating mostly for storage under the seats, lounging when anchored or rafting off or for tending lines. When cruising I would much rather have everyone in the main area of the boat where there's better freeboard and I can keep an eye on everyone. Having kids up there makes me real nervous as there's really not much freeboard up there keeping them in and with kids you just really never know what they may do.

So you have some pondering to do. A boat like a 200 is an incredible machine to own. They handle like they're on rails, accelerate like the wind and look amazing. What they're not good at is loading a bunch of people on for pontoon cruise duty or carefree casual cruising. You have to actually drive these boats and be very aware of what's going on in and around the boat at all times. This should be said of all boats but with greater performance comes the need for greater experience and attention of your surroundings. I think with some experience you'll come to love this boat.

[jjackkrash]

I agree with the above post. A DD ski boat like the 200 is a point-and-shoot rocket ship, but the weight distribution, hull design, and power needed to get his type of performance comes with the need for greater skill behind the wheel and some safety tradeoffs. Things can go south in a hurry in a DD if you are not a skilled operator and very, very careful.

[jmo]

If I had an open bow 200, I would designate the bow as my wife’s official sun basking location while the boat is not running. When under power I wouldn’t put anyone up there, especially small kids since if you dunk it, they could get washed out of the boat. Do you have any friends on the lake that are tournament slalom skiers? If so ask them to give you some driving lessons in the boat. I would be happy to do that if I weren’t 1000 miles away :-)

With practice and smarts, you will get the hang of it. The other thing new inboard owners have to adjust to is the fact that in reverse the boat only pulls to one side.

[FMSKI]

Was in the 200 this morning thinking that to be a safe open bow design, it needs a twin V hull - which would look crazy and never sell. I wondered how the wake would look like and ski though.

The nose of the 200 does ride about 3 or 4" too low, I would have built it up a bit or added some hull there. Unfortunately it has to look good on a boat-show bunk so that is the reality of it I think.

Switch to an anti-gravity battery - that saves 40lbs up there.
Keep weight at 300lbs D/P 100lbs OB then move ppl to back seat as that will prop the front higher. Run full tank of gas helps too.

My setup:
I do not have the center cushion installed .... I have no bow cushions installed at the moment. I run the AG battery. I removed the subwoofer box. I run the driver seat all the way back when tubing. Open the hydro gate. These keep the nose up

[ScooterMcgavin]

I’m pretty sure most of us on here has dipped the bow into the water before… at least once.
you’ll get used to how the boat handles and takes the waves and wakes, like stated above come off plane easier and always be aware of other boat wakes too.

[NautiqueJeff]

FMSKI While what you're suggesting regarding changes to the design may possibly help safety, those changes would absolutely ruin the boat as a slalom machine. You're talking about modifying the hull, which alone would be disastrous to the intended use, but also adding freeboard in the bow, which would add lots of unwanted weight to the boat. Neither would ever be done by Nautique on that model.

I can promise you they didn't build it this way to look good at a boat show. Very few of these make it to boat shows. Nautique usually has their G-series, S-series, and GS-series at the shows, but rarely a Ski Nautique, and almost never a 200. These boats were designed for one thing -- creating the smallest slalom wake possible with no compromises for much of anything else.

HoosierDaddy The more I think about it, it sounds like this probably isn't the boat for you. I would suggest selling it to someone who is a dedicated skier and will use it for what it was designed for, and buying something more along the lines of a multi-sport boat, whether it is an inboard or an I/O. I don't mean that in a rude way, I just think you would be happier in a boat better suited to your needs. The 200 is a boat built for a very particular user.

[Interjon]

I run a 50lb sandbag in the very tip on my 200. It helps ever so slightly with the ski wake. Even with that knowledge and my experience, I sometimes lightly swamp the front turning to pickup a fallen skier in the course.

I will let my 40lb son ride in the front sometimes, but only on a perfect ski morning with 0 traffic. The boat is not made for more than that, in my opinion.

Be safe out there. Now that you know, you can compensate. Hope you continue to enjoy safely.

Edit: I am on a larger lake. I only use the boat for ski runs, nothing else. The boat is not made for chop, IMO.

[SilentSeven]

Lol...look at all us board junkies weigh in when HoosierDaddy - the OP - has yet to reply.

Regarding the slight downward dip in gunnel on bow of most all tourney ski boats...it's by design IMO. The dip keeps the tip of the nose (more) out of the drivers line of sight when the boat is on plane. Nautiques have a moderate nose drop from what I've observed; Malibus are lower and have even a more significant drop. Remember the old Ski Centurion Falcons? The bow of those boats were almost in the water at rest....

Personally, I love the closed bow version of tourney boats. They are lighter, warmer in cold weather and shed water better when you do stuff the nose. The reality however is that many of us need that front bow pocket to have a ski boat and accommodate family. That's why I made the swap from my 97 Ski to my current 206....but it's a compromise for sure.

[MN Ryan]

I'm pretty sure most of us on here has dipped the bow into the water before...at least once.

Hey, now, I resemble that comment. It's called "learning".

I recall watching a ski show years ago. They had a Malibu Response. After the show, the driver was hot-dogging it a bit, and his observer wasn't really paying attention. He submarined pretty much the entire boat (intentionally?!). The look on the woman in the observer's seat was priceless.