Another Project -- 2003 Air Nautique 226 Team Edition

[NautiqueJeff]

A little bit more work on the speaker fitment happened tonight.

To fit the R1 speakers in the factory pods, you have to cut out the back of the pods. That wasn't fun.

Got them all in properly now though!

[Chris Parsons]

Nice! Do you see a return on investment when putting such high ens speakers in?

Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk

[NautiqueJeff]

On older boats like this one, sometimes. I had to take the big side panels off anyway to replace the tower, so I thought I'd go ahead and replace the speakers while those were off.

[Spud]

Any updates on this project Jeff?

[NautiqueJeff]

This one will get going again next week. I am finishing up the 2007 211, and then this one will be off to the gelcoat shop. The tower and bimini are all set for installation, and the new speakers are installed into the interior pieces (which are currently sitting in my house). This one should be wrapped up within a few weeks.

[NautiqueJeff]

The 226 is over at the gelcoat shop being shined up, having the old tower holes filled, and having a few chips and spider cracks fixed. Once I get it back, I'll add the new decals, reinstall the interior, and get the Roswell Aviator tower and Shadow Top bimini installed. After that, it'll probably be my winter boat this year, and I'll probably sell it in the spring.

Here it is at the gelcoat shop next to the twin-engine Fish Nautique. The Fish Nautique is finally getting the gelcoat work done as soon as the 226 is finished!

My gelcoat shop gets lots of work from me, so they kindly allow me to use their carport when my boats are there. I appreciate that!

[wayoutthere]

Thats a beautiful boat, lines wise and the yellow and gray go good together. (A little more research on my part would've ended up with an open bow model at least)
so its a big block?
the other question i have is 2 part ;

1. this boat has carpet, is it stick built interior 'wood floor' or is the deck/cap and cockpit all one piece ?

2. what year did ski nautique go to a 'full bath tub', deck/cap cockpit 1 piece ?

[NautiqueJeff]

This boat has the 5.7L 330 HP Excalibur engine.

In 2003, the boats were still hand-laid raw fiberglass under the carpet. It wasn't until later that they went to full liners. There hasn't been any wood in Nautique construction since 1992 though, so that's good!

Here's another shot of the boat the day before I took it over to the fiberglass shop. I really kind of like the way it looks without a tower on it!

[wayoutthere]

So the wrap around, step, lounge and bow rider portions made me think it might be a liner boat, the carpet made me think wood floor as so many manufacures did that and ive seen a million of them.
i read most of the correct craft bochures thru the mid 90s and know the floor isnt wood but, i spaced on that and always revert to the old techniques.

it sure does look good without the tower, but you obvioisly know your stuff so the one you got for it along with that teak platform will make that boat hard to beat in the looks department for sure.

[bwski]

I have this exact boat except I changed my graphic to the newer Air Nautique from the tramp stamp tribal. I am really looking forward to seeing it with the Aviator Tower.

[NautiqueJeff]

Aviator tower is on! Roswell Shadow Top bimini with white frame and black canvas will set this off nicely.

The rest of the gelcoat work should be finished up this week too!

[TexasTom]

Looks great! any picture from the front or back? Curious how much it angles in since it has a similar beam to my 220 and I would ultimately like to upgrade the tower.

[Spud]

Aviator Risers look good Jeff, just gives the Tower a bit more OEM look. I'm still awaiting the risers for Aviator.. do they use extra long studs that go all the way through the riser and deck or seperate studs top and bottom?

[NautiqueJeff]

They use separate studs to mount the risers.

[Stevemo14]

Here are some pics of my 210 ( Jeff Feel Free to delete this if its hijacking your post