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We're in the second year of ownership of our 2003 SANTE 210 (love it) and I'm getting down to adding some custom touches for what we do (mostly surf, some wakeskate, occasional wakeboard). Earlier I ditched the centre tank for a bag and plumbed it with an integrated bow sac and a new Johnson pump, I'm working on a custom tower light bar with 4 16W square LED "off road" style lights, and Friday I received and installed our new FAE!
I've always dug the idea and have literally read 40+ glowing reviews of them and maybe 1 ambivalent one. I like fabricating things myself, and I have a TIG welder, but after examining the cost, time and materials to build my own FAE, I pulled the trigger on a pre-made one. I have two kids, so free time to dink around and fab up parts is at a minimum, plus materials were looking around $150 and at least a full day of labour (time that could be spent surfing!).
FAE's measurement sheet was easy to follow: I guess each Nautique is lovingly hand crafted and thus slightly different, so Nautique FAE's have to be built to order. I was quoted between 10 to 14 days for fabrication, and they shipped it after 14 days; not bad considering its probably the peak of their sales season. Shipping to the Great White North took a little longer than expected, and both USPS and Canada Post's tracking details left a lot to be desired. It seemed like the package would sit somewhere like Chicago for days at a time. If I were to re-order, I'd definitely opt for FedEx or UPS.
I tore into the project on Friday morning and it took about 2 hours total, with no major hiccoughs. The instructions were crystal clear, and I totally understand the challenge FAE faces: build a custom product for a boat you can't see or test fit on, and make it easily installable by the consumer. I might have built the support for the pipe differently, but again, I have the luxury and test fitting and having fabricating skills. A nice touch was including a new centre support for my swim grid: much beefier than the old one. Set aside at least two hours for the install, as some drilling and cutting is necessary, but again, the instructions couldn't have been clearer. It may look in the photos like the bracket is off centre and not right, but my centre support is very far left of centre, making the distance between it and the exhaust hole pretty tight.
My one complaint (minor) is the flimsy plates used on the bottom of the u-bolts under the swim grid. As you can see, when torqued down, the plates deflected and with the reduced purchase, the square tubing brace was allowed to rotate slightly under load and the exhaust flex pipe popped off the boat side of things. I solved this by making two new pieces out of the scrap square tubing from the installation. I made two "U" channels by cutting the tubing lengthwise, then drilling it to accept the U-bolts. MUCH stiffer, pipe is way more sturdy and virtually no deflection when the U-bolts were tightened.
As for performance, it's everything I expected. Huge noise reduction, especially for the surfer, and although I don't have data to back it up, I'm sure reduced CO exposure. It's worth the $420 to not have a 6 litre V8 roaring 8 feet from your face
Great upgrade, totally recommend.
I've always dug the idea and have literally read 40+ glowing reviews of them and maybe 1 ambivalent one. I like fabricating things myself, and I have a TIG welder, but after examining the cost, time and materials to build my own FAE, I pulled the trigger on a pre-made one. I have two kids, so free time to dink around and fab up parts is at a minimum, plus materials were looking around $150 and at least a full day of labour (time that could be spent surfing!).
FAE's measurement sheet was easy to follow: I guess each Nautique is lovingly hand crafted and thus slightly different, so Nautique FAE's have to be built to order. I was quoted between 10 to 14 days for fabrication, and they shipped it after 14 days; not bad considering its probably the peak of their sales season. Shipping to the Great White North took a little longer than expected, and both USPS and Canada Post's tracking details left a lot to be desired. It seemed like the package would sit somewhere like Chicago for days at a time. If I were to re-order, I'd definitely opt for FedEx or UPS.
I tore into the project on Friday morning and it took about 2 hours total, with no major hiccoughs. The instructions were crystal clear, and I totally understand the challenge FAE faces: build a custom product for a boat you can't see or test fit on, and make it easily installable by the consumer. I might have built the support for the pipe differently, but again, I have the luxury and test fitting and having fabricating skills. A nice touch was including a new centre support for my swim grid: much beefier than the old one. Set aside at least two hours for the install, as some drilling and cutting is necessary, but again, the instructions couldn't have been clearer. It may look in the photos like the bracket is off centre and not right, but my centre support is very far left of centre, making the distance between it and the exhaust hole pretty tight.
My one complaint (minor) is the flimsy plates used on the bottom of the u-bolts under the swim grid. As you can see, when torqued down, the plates deflected and with the reduced purchase, the square tubing brace was allowed to rotate slightly under load and the exhaust flex pipe popped off the boat side of things. I solved this by making two new pieces out of the scrap square tubing from the installation. I made two "U" channels by cutting the tubing lengthwise, then drilling it to accept the U-bolts. MUCH stiffer, pipe is way more sturdy and virtually no deflection when the U-bolts were tightened.
As for performance, it's everything I expected. Huge noise reduction, especially for the surfer, and although I don't have data to back it up, I'm sure reduced CO exposure. It's worth the $420 to not have a 6 litre V8 roaring 8 feet from your face
Great upgrade, totally recommend.
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