Newer Super Air / Air

[rman56]

I was curious the more we go to the lake the more I ponder the idea of a newer boat. We have a 83 Nautique and its been a great boat for the past 4 years but looking for a little more room. I have been looking at 1999-2001 Super Sports or Super Airs, and I wanted to know would we noticed a huge difference in room and wake and do they sit a little higher out of the water? I also didn't know if there's anything to know or look for that could be issues in those years.

Thanks

[Texan1554]

Lots of info on here about these boats. Search for some topics and you will find pages upon pages as far as buying and selling and what to look for.

The other question, 83 to a SAN... yes you will notice a huge difference in room and wake. They sit higher, wider, longer, and are just simply made for more people and storage.

[s_kelley2000]

A Super Sport/Super Air will seem like a MUCH bigger boat than your 83. We went from a 91 Sport to a 99 Super Sport last year and my wife and I kept commenting on how much roomier it is. There is a lot of storage for gear and you can comfortably seat 6-7 adults in the main lounge and another 2 in the bow before it starts getting crowded. It’s a capable enough boat for some recreational slalom skiing but wakeboarding is where it really shines. The shape will seem familiar to your 2001 but it can get much bigger with ballast. It doesn’t take much ballast to make just about any decent to very good rider happy. Surfing is good but far from great. The starboard side is much better than the port side due to prop rotation. I think it sits quite a bit higher out of the water than your 83 but if you are running into heavy wind chop it can still be a little bit of a wet ride.

Things to look out for on the 99 is the tower. The ones produced early to mid-year have the first generation tower which was not the best design and they tend to shake some. If you look at some boats that have this tower I would try rocking it side to side and see how much give it has. If it rocks bad you might be able to beef it up or you can remove it and add an NDT which is a copy of the 2nd generation FCT(late 99-05) which is much sturdier and easier to fold down.

The 2000 and 2001s have the digital gauges which have been known to fail. Many of them have been swapped out by now which is a good thing except you may not be able to determine the true engine hours so be skeptical of any low engine hour claims and look for some service receipts that show engine hours if you can. Most of these came with the GT40 engines which are pretty bullet proof but the computer does not store engine hours.

There is no wood in these boats to worry about so basically give them a good walk around, check all motor, tranny and v-drive fluids and water test it.

[jlharms]

I was in a very similar situation as you are last summer. I had an '89 MasterCraft Tristar 190 (open bow). It was my first boat, and I really liked it, and had it for about 5 years. However, it was just very tight on space. Both for people, and storage. It didn't help that my good friend had me drive his '90 Ski to compare, and then his '00 Sport when he got that. It was an easy decision to make the switch to a correct craft Anyway, to better answer your question... I picked up a '00 Super Air Nautique last fall, and I absolutely LOVE it! Ample storage under the bow cushions, passenger seat, under the sides of the rear bench, both sides of the engine compartment, and a ski locker. Being rated for 9 you can actually fit that many people on the boat, with bags and coolers, a lot more comfortably then I could fit even 6 on my MC. Coming from that it does sit higher off the water. I had to constantly try to keep water out of my MC. With the '00 SAN it is still possible to bring it in, but much more difficult. The wake is great. Even without ballast. I would call myself an intermediate wakeboarder, and really enjoy the way. It makes the tricks I do much easier. I can't wait to get some ballast in it. Just finishing up a temporary ballast project, and am hoping to try it out tomorrow. Weather has been tough this year. The only thing that I am aware of with these boats is the gauges. They came with digital gauges that are notorious for going out. Unfortunately, unless the owners tracked the hours with paperwork, the hours on the boat can not be carried over to the new gauges. I've heard of the OEM gauges lasting 50 hours, and also a few hundred hours. I'm at 297 on mine, and can tell they are on their way out. Just a matter of how long the boats been in the sun. Mine spent a lot of time on a covered lift, and in a garage with it's previous owners. My friend replaced his in his '00 Sport with 86 hours on it. Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions. As you can tell I'd highly recommend one of the boats you're looking for

[rman56]

I really appreciate all the information I found a 2000 super air but its on a lift so I need to find a trailer for it. Its about 8 hours from me but thinking about taking a look. By the pics looks great but you never know until you see it in person.

[jlharms]

No problem. That's awesome you have your eye on one. Def good to go take a look first hand. I'm from the mid-west. My friend kept sending me ads for boats when I was looking that where Florida, Texas, California, etc. and I just couldn't bring myself to spend that kind of money on a boat having not seen, or driven it first. My SAN also spent the first 4 years of its life on a lift, so my trailer was actually purchased by the second owner in '04. Good luck!

[Miljack]

Yes the newer V drive will have more room than your 2001 model, just know that when you add ballast to the rear trunks, they shrink considerably! Under the observer seat will have the most storage. If the boat doesn't have ballast tanks, do some research and get sacs/bags optimized for the rear and ski lockers.

On the 2000 SAN/SSN, the engine hatch is one piece and typically on a actuator which makes access to the rear lockers cumbersome. I've seen a member here take on a project to build his own 3 pc hatch, but it looked like a BIG project!

[rman56]

OK thanks, more storage will be nice. I have been looking at a 2000 super air team, but I know it will need gauges soon do to fading and I think it needs one tank gauge fixed.

[rman56]

I was curious I came across a 99 super air with the 8.2L in it. Is this anything real special? Thanks

[s_kelley2000]

Yes that is a 502 Python with 430 HP. It is an awesome engine with tons of power that is relatively good on gas unless you are a speed demon. Parts are a little harder to come by but nothing too crazy. They have been known to burn a little oil but as long as you keep an eye on it they are fine. I bought mine last year and have put 100 trouble free hours on it so far.

Supposedly only 15 Super Sport/Super Airs were ordered with that engine in 99. One of them sunk on lake Powell, was "fixed" and has changed hands a few times. Last I heard of it, it was in your general part of the country so make sure it is NOT that boat because it sounds like a basket case. Unless you are stealing it and don't mind giving it some extra attention. I want to say it was green but I can't remember for sure. There are a couple threads on here specific to the sunken boat, let me see if I can find it.

[s_kelley2000]

Ok looks like maybe it was only 11 made in 99 although maybe that is just counting the Super Airs and not the Super Sports. I couldn't find the full thread I was looking for but I found some info for you. There is some information about the sunken boat on pages 2 and 3 of this thread but nothing definitive since the links are no longer active. Looks like it was for sale in MO in 2010 but not sure if it was blue or if that is a different one.
http://www.planetnautique.com/vb3/sh...ht=python+sunk

Heres a little more info on the top of page 2:
http://www.planetnautique.com/vb3/sh...ht=python+sunk

I would try to get the HIN# and maybe contact that dealer in AZ to see if they have any record of it if it seems suspect.

[rman56]

This ones in Texas and I think its black/white. He is asking 16.500 for it and looks like it could use some upholstery and put FCT2 tower. I will read through the thread. Thanks

[s_kelley2000]

Sounds like a good deal if everything else is in good shape. I am pretty sure the sunken one was either green or blue.

[rman56]

OK......thanks

[seth]

The one that sunk was black and white. I was looking at it years ago when it was for sale in Arizona. I called Century Marine and they had all the history on it.