Super Sport Vs Sport Nautique

behindpropeller wrote: Rob- Do yourself a favor and go drive both boats. Personally, a Vdrive is out of the question because I do all of my own work on my boat. Tim

Tim,

I am assuming that the V-Drive being in a compartment makes it harder to work on? Do you have to remove the interior or pull the engine to work on a V-Drive?

Investing in a boat with the idea of breaking even right now may be a bad option,unless you build to enjoy I would advise against it.

Hollywood wrote: A $12,500 BFN is not only going to be turn-key, but have a strong, low hour 454, original or high quality upholstery, shining gelcoat, full decals, and a good looking trailer.

What would be considered low hours? There are only so many boats from the 80's that can actually have 400 hours.. My BFN has 1100... would that be a lot or mid range?

I do have the replacement decals so that is good. The trailer is the original galvanized aluminum looks pretty good to me.

How important is it to have the original upholstery and interior pieces? Someone else has mentioned this to me as well.

Thanks again for the advice.

robertbruder wrote: behindpropeller wrote: Rob- Do yourself a favor and go drive both boats. Personally, a Vdrive is out of the question because I do all of my own work on my boat. Tim Tim, I am assuming that the V-Drive being in a compartment makes it harder to work on? Do you have to remove the interior or pull the engine to work on a V-Drive?

I can't answer that since every V drive is a bit different.

Unless you enjoy doing this type of project work, it would probably not be in your best interest to rebuild the BFN. While you might break even, or do slightly better on your material investments, you will spend hundreds of hours doing the project. You won't get that time back - time when you could be doing something else - and you likely won't get back any compensation for your time, at least in the current economy and the value the boats are going for right now.

I'm currently working on a project boat because I enjoy the project. It relaxes me and takes my mind off other things. I have the advantage that I have another boat, which works perfectly fine. There's no pressure to get it done quickly. I did not even touch the project for nearly two years. Now I'm back at it and spending 20 or 30 hours a week on it.

I think the guys trying to meet a deadline to have the boat operational by summer feel a lot more pressure to get it done. They are cranking it out and putting in long hours. For me, that would take the relaxation part out of the project, but then again I would have been done by now. Heck, there are times, I just stare at the boat for an hour drinking a beer, thinking of what to do next.

If you do enjoy the project, it's very rewarding to tear a boat down and bring it back to something that will get another 20 years or more use. You also learn alot about these boats when you tear it down to a bare hull.

BKH

robertbruder wrote: Tim, I am assuming that the V-Drive being in a compartment makes it harder to work on? Do you have to remove the interior or pull the engine to work on a V-Drive?

My Excel (V-drive) and my Air206 (DD) handle, ski and function very differently for my family. You absolutely need to be in both and drive both. We found "living" in the Excel to be VERY easy with the arena seating..... very comfortable..... but the wake, handling and ski-ability of the Direct Drive is amazing. The Excel was great for when the kids were little and we were beginner skiers..... the Air is great for what we do now..... your intended use determines hull design.

As far as repair, my Correct Craft v-drive had adequate space for general repair. In fact it is a little harder twisting my body in tight spaces working on my little direct drive Ski Tique.

And just in case I win the lottery tomorrow...

What is the difference between a Super Air 210 and Super Air 230?

bkhallpass wrote: . I'm currently working on a project boat because I enjoy the project. It relaxes me and takes my mind off other things. If you do enjoy the project, it's very rewarding to tear a boat down and bring it back to something that will get another 20 years or more use. You also learn alot about these boats when you tear it down to a bare hull. BKH

Bottom line Brian, that and the family is what it is all about. The side benefit is is all the friends we meet here.

Air206 wrote: robertbruder wrote: And just in case I win the lottery tomorrow... What is the difference between a Super Air 210 and Super Air 230? Potentially a lot of money...... 210s (21 ft) came out first....thereby purchased used at a lower price. 230s are bigger boats (23 ft) and came out several years later...more money. If I wanted to get in a small project boat at a lower cost, I would look for a 94 or later SuperSport (No wood stringers) and enjoy..... maybe even a tower. 230's are gonna be some major coin. Check out PlanetNautique.com for more recent model info. This site is primarily oriented for "Correct Crafts" ....... PN is geared toward "Nautiques". Keep looking around..... that is a ton of fun... (I'll take the BFN of your hands - if my wife says its OK    )

Thanks for the info. I was hoping there was a bigger difference than 20 horse power. The numbering makes sense now. So a Ski Nautique 190 would be a 19 ft boat.

So another dumb question. Correct Craft refers to more of the classic boats? and Nautiques refers to the newer boats?

The BFN is now listed on the For Sale portion of the site. I'll probably start wet sanding the hull this weekend.

robertbruder wrote: Thanks for the info. I was hoping there was a bigger difference than 20 horse power. The numbering makes sense now. So a Ski Nautique 190 would be a 19 ft boat.

The model designation is a reference to the approximate length (not horsepower). No such thing as a Ski Nautique 190, but the 196 was approximately 19'6" (actually listed at 19'5.25" '07-09).

Robert:

I have been keeping my eye out for a 94-95 Super Sport as a boat for my kids (and sister-in-law who lives down the lake). They are few and far between..... but the hunt is what is the fun........ buying just makes you work!

Steve

Yup... you are right. We had an Excel and we watched that morph into the Super Sport. Kinda remembered 94-95 was the transition; makes sense. We loved our Excel.... but I was encouraging the years without fir stringers for Robert. Be it Excel or Super Sport..... fine, comfy boats but not slalom machines.

robertbruder wrote: Do the newer Nautiques still use Ford motors?

Nope, The Ford motors are no longer available for marinization.... changed happened several years ago (look in the brochure sections for powerplant options - 2003 Nautiques) Not sure exactly when the change happened b/c many Fords were in the PCM pipeline when Ford pulled out. Many boats still came with them after Chevy became the engine provider.

BTW - I LOVE my Chevy 6 liter in the Air!! Never thought I would go for a closed-cooled engine but it is soooo convenient for us.

Do you guys consider it any kind of problem to buy a boat with a Ford engine considering they stopped marinizing them?

Would a good condition Ford powered boat with low hours be just as good as a Chevy powered one? I'm just thinking in terms of maintenance down the road. I think power wise, I'd be fine with either for my purposes.

Bri892001 wrote: Do you guys consider it any kind of problem to buy a boat with a Ford engine considering they stopped marinizing them? Would a good condition Ford powered boat with low hours be just as good as a Chevy powered one? I'm just thinking in terms of maintenance down the road.

Your concern is maintenance? Parts? Take a look at how many say pre 90 boats are here on CCfan - Both Chev and Ford. Doesn't seem to be a problem keeping them running compared to the newer ones. Infact, the newer ones sometimes seem to have even more issues. Plus, forget about doing anything to them yourself unless you go out and get hundreds in diagnostic equipment.

Engine age sometimes plays into getting parts but I'm talking about real old. So far, no problems for my 77, 64 and 54 but yes, my 1927 some parts can be a problem.