my newly purchased 1999 sport nautique ballast questions

[masterboarder]

okay, so it march up here in canada and i just upgraded from a 1994 campion to a 1999 sport nautique. I have the next couple months waiting for the ice to melt to make this thing wake board ready. I know i should have bought a super sport but this was for a good price. i'm currently putting a monster tower on but i was wondering as far as ballast is concerned how much is too much. specs on the boat say it holds 1200 as a load capacity. i have plans to put around 2000 in fat sacs. 370 in the ski locker 250 one either side of the engine and 970 at the back. is this a bad idea? also if anyone can tell me what to expect as far as a wakeboarding wake goes with this boat. i hope i don't regret this purchase. i like it big.

[CradGen2]

RE: my newly purchased 1999 sport nautique ballast questions

How about a couple pics?

[masterboarder]

RE: my newly purchased 1999 sport nautique ballast questions

its in the shop getting the tower put on. not the flashiest tower but it'll do the job

[masterboarder]

Here is a picture of her pre tower. I would really like to chat with someone who is an advanced wakeboarder who has riden behind this boat or a similar model. Im excited to hear some reviews on the wake.

[SkiedUpFromTheFeetUp]

Now i am also the proud new owner of this boat...and i hate wakeboarding. Im not sure why but i just do...so my question is, without 2000 pounds of ballast in there, how is this beaut when it comes to skiing?

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[Teleman]

No pro here, but how about trying it out with less weight and see what you think first. I have the 2000 sport and it is really nice. If you want more weight, you can always get it later. What do you have for engine (EFI or carb)

[Chexi]

I have a 99 Air, but it's the identical boat with just a few more factory options. The wake on this boat with no ballast is good, firm, and poppy. I would take the wake on this boat over my 96 Tige with every ballast combo I've tried. With 400 lbs in the back hatch, it is even better (I have the hard tanks... for now). With another 340 in the ski locker, it's big and really poppy. That's all I've done so far. This year I will be adding another 350 to the rear hatch area and probably an integrated bow seats sack which can ostensibly add another 1000 lbs, but more likely about 750. Should be sick with that kind of weight. I would not buy the sacks for around the engine until after you have experimented with your hidden weight options first. Because you have a decent sized ski locker and a rear hatch area, you can add a lot of well positioned weight in places that do not affect traffic patterns or seating.

As far as ski wake goes, from what I have read, this hull throws a nice ski wake. It's not as good as the pure ski nautique, but not far off from the other brand pure ski boats. You should both be pleased with your purchases. Don't fret not getting a SAN. You can build a pro-caliber wake on this boat fairly easily. And in my opinion, the Air's look nicer.

Do you both have the GT40 engine?

[ally606]

I've got a '97 Sport Nautique - different hull to yours as the '93 - '97 uses the same hull as the super air.

Just remember to get a good amount of weight towards the stern. For my boat I have in the region of 400lbs of lead stored as far a stern as possible, 2 fat sacs running down the sides and a locker sac. Total weight in the region of 1500lbs I would guess. I could do with a little more wight at the stern as when we load the boat up with a few fat blokes, the wake is perfect for me.

As I'm using lead shot, it's pretty easy to bag it up nice and small and get it into all those little nooks and crannies around the fuel tank.

Good luck, you'll love the boat!

[DavidF]

I have virtually the same boat in the same color combo. Purchased last August. Mine is a 1999 Nautique Super Sport complete with 1st gen flight control tower, factory hard ballast tanks, PP (lite), shower, heater (since removed, hey I live in Texas). Also, mine has a custom factory interior color combination (no black vinyl).

Anyway, we (8 kids and myself) have only been boarding once since I purchased the boat. The kids loved the wake and had fun boarding and surfing. I really could change the wake with the factory tanks. Also, I am a skier (transitioning to surfing) and when I test drove the boat before purchase, I felt the ski wake was acceptable and not too radically larger than the wake on my 1993 SN (for sale).

So, good boat. Add a 2nd gen FCT, soft sacks, remove the ski pylon and have fun. Almost forgot, the boat is very senstive to balance weight. So, find out how she sits in the water before adding anythign like amps and batteries. If she leans to one side make sure anything you add is on the opposite side. I had to relocate my second battery to port.

Crud, I just realized it is a SPORT not Super Sport...oh well, good boat anyway..add the tower.

[cmd]

i've got a the same boat with a tower and the original hard tanks...honestly i've got friends that can throw the same tricks behind mine that they can behind their heavily weighted v-drives....so i guess to your answer is they do what they were intended to do which is be a good compromise between brdg and skng.the ski wake is pretty nice too.personally between mine and the other brand v-drives...i'd say you can't go wrong with the ol sport ntq.....it'll still put a smile on your face.plus the gt-40 is absolutely awesome...