Carb vs. EFI and 91-94 prostar vs tsc Nautique

[seveet]

My wife has finally consented to allow to look for a dedicated slalom boat. The idea of taking a bath on my 230 to get a GS 20 seemed to push her into believing that dedicated slalom boat was a better option. Couple of questions.

1) How big a deal is an EFI engine. I run Ethanol free gas in all my water toys and the boat would primarily be used between May and September.

2) For those of you who have been behind a tsc hull Nautique and an 91-94 hull prostar is the Nautique worth the extra 3000-5000 dollars and why?

[DaveNH]

EFI is not a big deal. Carbed boats of that vintage will run great and arguably can have less problems. I do like EFI for the ease of cold starting for people other than me, nice to just tell them to tun the key, but it's not exactly hard to teach someone to move a throttle forward and back a few times before starting.

I have not slalomed behind a Prostar, sorry. I ski a lot behind a TSC, it is excellent. A NWZ Nautique is a good slalom hull, a TSC is a significant step up from that. Someone else will have to chime in with a Prostar to TSC to NWZ comparison.

[DLafont]

My first boat, which I sold to my slaloming buddy, was a 1990 carbed Ski Nautique. It started flawlessly every time (still does). Three pushes forward on the throttle, turn the key and voilą!! Friends had ProStars of same vintage, ran great too, but hey, I'm partial to Nautique!

[swc5150]

I've owned plenty of both, and would choose EFI every time. Carb'd boats can run great, yes, but you have to maintain the carb. If you're a gear head that's into that, by all means don't let a carb'd motor stop you. EFI is turn and burn. Seeing that you live in MI, you're bound to have cold mornings where you don't want to screw around firing it up.

I have a 91 PS and an '06 TSC. 91-94 PS wake is great, but the spray can get bad...painful with a head wind. It tracks decent, but your driver needs to pay attention. The TSC hull is a work of art. Tracks great, limited spray, low and soft, and still on par with new big 3 slalom tugs. The ride in bumpy water is also light years ahead of the PS. Hit a roller on plane in a PS, and prepare for bruised kidneys. The TSC is worth the extra $$, but you may have to drive and ski both to see why.

[DW SD]

Carbs are a real pain especially for something which has months of downtime each year.
Had one 1978 nautique with a carb back in 1995 / 96/ 97. After rebuilding about every year from gaskets drying out I converted that engine to EFI. HOLLEY PROJECTION throttle body kit. It made more power and was 100% reliable after the swap.

After that I'd never own another carbed boat (or car). Too much fiddling.
Since had 3 GT40 boats.
I'd hold out for one of those. At the current market for a vintage boat I don't think the difference is much from a carb'd model to one with EFI.

I loved the closed bow 1996 I had from 2000 to 2003. Awesome boat.


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[swatguy]

I can't compare hulls , but can do the carb vs efi



if mid you were looking for a rig as a primary ski boat I would say it wouldn't matter. However you're looking at a boat to fill a gap and fit a niche. There's most likely gonna be lot of down time on that rig . Lots of cold starts after sitting I would imagine. Efi is worth it's weight here on that aspect alone. Carbs can perform flawlessly , but they need to be used and maintained regularly. In your case EFI hands down

[Quinner]

Not sure the dollar difference is a fair comparison, you are talking about a 91'-94' MC vs a 97' + CC, model year alone equates to a couple Thousand dollar difference regardless.

If you are primarily doing 36mph and under watersports the EFI boat will use noticeably less fuel, particularly in the lower RPM ranges. As far as reliabilty, in my experience, ran a GT-40 for about 6 seasons/600hrs and an Excal for about 12 season/600hrs, both with zero issues!!!

[dw1]

seveet : If you are mechanically inclined, a carbed boat is fine assuming you don't mind some routine maintenance. I have a carbed boat and use it from temps in the 40's > 90's and don't have a problem other than a minor choke adjustment a couple of times. As for hull comparison, both options are considered very good to excellent. The MC Prostar hull you note does have an issue with spray at shorter line lengths, wakes for both are very good and may just come down to a personal preference. As for price difference, the 196 holds value well and it appears you may be looking at slightly newer vessels so price will vary accordingly. Happy hunting!

[Jonny Quest]

The TSC hull is very nice. 1997 and up "Bubble Butt" is a great boat. Many came with the GT-40 which is multi-port EFI. I've skied behind both and the TSC is the winner (IMO).

Don't be afraid of a carb boat. I have a 1994 SN with the 351 High Output that has a QuickFuel M-600 carb on it. This QF replaced the factory original throttle-body fuel injection that failed. The high performance carb feels just like the throttle-body EFI as far as performance. Carb maintenance is very easy. I don't run ethanol fuel in mine and good fuel stabilizer. Once the carb is tuned properly, I don't have to touch it.

JQ