1990 Sport Nautique back bench?/ Good boat?

We are going to look at a 1990 Sport Nautique tomorrow and I cannot tell by the pictures if there is a back bench seat.   Can a knowledgeable nautique person let me know and is this boat a good starter ski boat for a family.   We need the HP to pull my large husband out of the water and we want the boom to teach the kiddos!

Is 1100 hours reasonable for this boat?

Thanks KB Pgh

It would be a good starter ski boat for sure. The main thing to watch for is that is a wood stringer boat, so you would want to check that the stringers are solid.

Bri892001 wrote: It would be a good starter ski boat for sure. The main thing to watch for is that is a wood stringer boat, so you would want to check that the stringers are solid.

Agree. In my opinion the price is too high also. But if all checks out, make an offer? End of the season. There was a 94 here in Orlando listed on Craigslist for $6995.with 450 hours.
Our Ski Nautique was one of the best Family investments of all time! Good Luck with your search, I think you will agree.

There are some Pittsburgh CCFans, maybe one of them could go look at it with you, another set of knowledgeable eyes can always help.

ps. Yes if we are liking the boat, we intend to offer him much less. Nada says 7K with trailer which is only 3 years old apparently.

Welcome to the site Katie and you've come to the right place to find answers to your questions about purchasing a new to you Correct Craft. Stringers are the primary sunpport structure of the boat or basically the same thing as a LOAD bearing wall in your house. CC's used Fir wood to make the stringers up until the end of 1992......1993 is when Correct Craft went to an all composite system. Fir wood is strong but the downside is that wood ROTS! Most boats are left outside to the elements "Because its just a boat" and water will eventually find its way to wood and start the rot process. The water sitting in the bilge of that boat for however long is a concern for just that reason. Check out the CCF FAQ thread for answers and tons of information on what to look for. The Stringer Inspection link is a video I threw together a few years ago to help you inspect the stringers. Tons of great info in that thread for pre buying and general questions that are asked over and over again to those who are new here and are trying to educate themself. The more you know the better off you are as a buyer and can use the knowledge learned here to talk down a seller if you find a things wrong with the boat that they don't know.

Welcome to CCFan and keep us in the loop.

Hi again! Wow I wish I had joined this forum a lot sooner! you guys are awesome!!! Going to watch your video now! :) THANK YOU!   I will stay active here!!

I think a compression check is a little much for a boat in this price range, but that's just me. An interior costs more than a long block, after all. So does a new trailer. It's not like these boats have $20K outboards on them. Interior condition is my #1 priority, followed by exterior condition, trailer condition. If the boat idles and pulls hard I'm not going to expect the owner to have me towing it to a shop to be inspected, having some unknown wrench monkeys crawling all over it. I know as a seller I'd move on to a more reasonable buyer.

From the looks of the interior and exterior I'd start in the low 6's. Doesn't look like the proper trailer for an inboard no guide poles to start.
Buyers market now since the seasons just about over

KB
How did the test drive go???

Joel as I don't totally disagree I have to say that for some of us a 10k investment in a toy is a BIG investment.
If a first time buyer doesn't know how a boat should perform then the test drive may feel like it is all that and a bag of chips only to find out that it's only performing to half its potential and 6 months later you have to drop another 5 k into a motor job. There's a lot of people don't have the ability or know how to yank a motor and are now at the mercy of a marina to do the work $$$$ So being cautious is not that far fetched of an idea.

It is never out of the question to compression test an engine of any age of any price if it is advertised as running properly. I compression test $400 outboard motors before purchase! It's non-invasive, not sure what the issue is. $10k is a bigger boat purchase than I've ever made as well.

Also disagree with the trailer comment but I'll leave that one alone for now.

Hi all - Well went and tested the 90 Sport and although my eyes/or small computer screen didn't show the crappy interior as well as you all saw, you were totally right, it was in sad shape, mold stains, etc. We knew right off the bat. The engine ran strong and sounded great but.....the dials and needles didn't work, the hour dial read 627 but they had told me 1100 and so really they had no clue, the boat veered hard left so rudder bent or something nasty, water under engine. Bilge pump sounded helpless. He would only comedown to $8,500 and only knew boats history last 3 years so we said thanks but no thanks and are revisiting the idea of another boat out of state....lemme tell you about that one.....

It's not a sport. It's a 90 Ski closed bow. It's original owner. Plaque on front even has his name. Lived at same lake since purchase.   On lift and garaged whole life. Needs new carb probably but still runs great. He took us out on it a couple of weeks ago while we were on vacation. A little surging on low speed, but he was getting that looked at. Interior pristine. Dials and needles all work. 725 hours, which is quite low, yes? He sold his lake home and done boating for a while. Divorce we think. He started at 10.5K.   got him to 9K. Comes with original trailer but trailer not titled which is problematic in PA, paperwork hoops galore. But can be done, eventually. Not sure lights work on trailer, also. small stuff. Anything wrong with boat can be fixed.   Called him last night and now he says 7K cause he knows we didn't want to go that far and also didn't want to fuss with the trailer hassle.   We really like the boat. Wanted open bow but I think for this boat who cares!!   Oh and he's throwing in Extender (tall) boom, side boom, tubes, skis, wakeboards, ropes, life jackets, etc. He wants green cash only. Not cashiers check. That normal? But he will sign bill of sale/ and title of course.

And ps glad that 10K is trivial to some of you, lucky you!!! But it isn't to us! :)

kbpgh wrote: . Not cashiers check. That normal? But he will sign bill of sale/ and title of course.

Yes it is relatively normal... I have never paid for or sold a used boat or car with anything other than cash.   Whether he doesn't trust the check or whether he is not going to report the whole price to the wife, government, whatnot... its typical. You need to know what sort of bill of sale you will need to register where you are, if its a dmv form that you both need to sign to cover the sales tax requirements better to bring it with you than try to track him down later.