Sport Nautique, 206 returning owner questions....

[justin]

Hi everyone,

First time poster here....I hope my questions haven’t been answered already - I did browse before posting so sorry in advance if anything is too redundant.

I am thinking about buying a used Sport Nautique. I previously owned a 1998 model and was extremely happy with it, but I sold because my wife and I had our daughter on the way and auto racing was taking up a lot of time as well. We were so happy with our Sport Nautique that frankly I cant imagine buying another brand, but I do have some questions as I am a bit out of touch. I guess I should provide some additional details that might help to answer some of the questions: We live in Northern California (Davis) and unless something changed over the last 5 years we will again primarily use the boat in the Sacramento River, Lake Berryessa, and occasionally Tahoe. My wife and I are decent skiers, not very good at wakeboarding but have fun trying.

I believe I will want to Sport because we aren’t tournament skiers and we enjoyed the open bow, and since we don’t / wont ski beyond recreationally the absolute best wake isn’t as important. Also we will probably friends out with us, so space is a consideration. That said, are there any other boats in the Nautique line we should consider other than the Sport Nautique?

Is the Ski Nautique 206 basically a Sport Nautique with a new name?

What is the difference between a Ski Nautique open bow and a Sport Nautique / Ski Nautique 206?

Have there been any material changes to the design or construction that make one model year better than the other from 1998 to current?

Any motor development / changes?

Any thing I should look out for within a specific year when considering a used Nautique?

What is considered “a lot of hours” on a boat? Hours per year, total hours, etc. – is there similar guidelines to what we consider “high mileage cars”? I seem to remember having around 200 hours on my boat and it was still great….

What are fair price ranges – I realize this is subjective given year and hours – but is there a rule of thumb? It seems like boat prices have gone up over the last few years or do I have a bad memory?

Aside from the classifieds in this forum, where else should I look for used boats? Not much in the local paper or CraigsList.

Is it possible to ship boats if I were to buy one that is not local? Anyone have vendors they like and cost approximations?

I guess that’s about it. I know I have asked a lot so thanks again to anyone who takes the time to respond. I hope to be back in the Nautique family again soon!

Justin

[Quinner]

Re: Sport Nautique, 206 returning owner questions....

Hi everyone,

First time poster here....I hope my questions haven’t been answered already - I did browse before posting so sorry in advance if anything is too redundant.

I am thinking about buying a used Sport Nautique. I previously owned a 1998 model and was extremely happy with it, but I sold because my wife and I had our daughter on the way and auto racing was taking up a lot of time as well. We were so happy with our Sport Nautique that frankly I cant imagine buying another brand, but I do have some questions as I am a bit out of touch. I guess I should provide some additional details that might help to answer some of the questions: We live in Northern California (Davis) and unless something changed over the last 5 years we will again primarily use the boat in the Sacramento River, Lake Berryessa, and occasionally Tahoe. My wife and I are decent skiers, not very good at wakeboarding but have fun trying.

I believe I will want to Sport because we aren’t tournament skiers and we enjoyed the open bow, and since we don’t / wont ski beyond recreationally the absolute best wake isn’t as important. Also we will probably friends out with us, so space is a consideration. That said, are there any other boats in the Nautique line we should consider other than the Sport Nautique?

Is the Ski Nautique 206 basically a Sport Nautique with a new name?
- Similar but different: 206 is 6" smaller than the Sport, 216 is 6" longer than the Sport.

What is the difference between a Ski Nautique open bow and a Sport Nautique / Ski Nautique 206?
- 206 is SN open bow, Sport was much bigger and not considered a SN open bow

Have there been any material changes to the design or construction that make one model year better than the other from 1998 to current?
- 206 will ski/track/handle better than Sport, 216 will be very similar to sport

Any motor development / changes?
- No more GT-40's or Ford Motors, my Excal 330 has been great.

Any thing I should look out for within a specific year when considering a used Nautique?
- No idea.

What is considered “a lot of hours” on a boat? Hours per year, total hours, etc. – is there similar guidelines to what we consider “high mileage cars”? I seem to remember having around 200 hours on my boat and it was still great….
- 50 hours a season is considered average, like 12k on a car.

What are fair price ranges – I realize this is subjective given year and hours – but is there a rule of thumb? It seems like boat prices have gone up over the last few years or do I have a bad memory?
- Brand new my 05' was almost 20k more than my 99'

Aside from the classifieds in this forum, where else should I look for used boats? Not much in the local paper or CraigsList.
- www.flipsell.com
- www.correctcraftfan.com
- www.traderonline.com
- www.ski-it-again.com
- www.iboats.com

Is it possible to ship boats if I were to buy one that is not local? Anyone have vendors they like and cost approximations?
- Yes, could get costly however.

I guess that’s about it. I know I have asked a lot so thanks again to anyone who takes the time to respond. I hope to be back in the Nautique family again soon!

Justin

I have an 05' 206 Air and had a 99' Air with the TSC hull, pretty much the same boat as your 98' Sport.

Answered what I could above.

Good Luck.

[justin]

RE: Re: Sport Nautique, 206 returning owner questions....

Quinner,
Thanks for the thoughtful response, your explanation of the differences in the boats jogged my memory in a couple areas:

1. I am not really interested in an older Ski Nautique Open Bow, I understand the purists’ perspectives may differ but IMO I might as well get a Sport Nautique.
2. The other consideration was boat length, as I will be storing it in my garage I am limited to a length without the swim platform at 21' 8". My old Sport fit snug but fine and I have learned it was 21' exactly. As I recall I probably don’t want to exceed 21' to allow for some movement in the garage as I unhitch, etc.

This would rule out the 216 and narrow my choices to the Sport Nautique I am used to (perhaps just a bit newer but cost less is upside), a more current 206/206 air, or the sv-211.

I understand that the sv-211 is a fundamentally different boat in terms of v-drive, etc. I have been told that the wake is as good if not better than my old Sport Nautique, is this accurate? Anyone have any impressions of this boat?

What are the differences between the standard 206 and the 206 air? Internal ballast and tower?

Thanks.

[Quinner]

I believe the sport discontinued and the 206/216's were introduced in 03', if you are looking for a used sport you should be able to find them through 02', you will most likely see more in the Air configuration which basically adds tower & ballast as well as different graphics, some Air's also had the TWC hull which is geared more towards wakeboarding, if slalom is more your interest look for the TSC hull. www.CorrectCraftFan.com has brochures available online in the years you may be interested in, there you should be able to get all the facts on boat lengths as well.

I really like my 206, it has plenty of room and also has outstanding performance, the wake and handling is substantially better on the 206, IMO the only thing you give up from the sport to the 206 is the trunk, which is definitely smaller and the bow seating may be slightly smaller as well, try to test/ski or get out on any boat you can, nothing like a real world test.

Good luck with your search.

[G-man]

206 handles much better than a sport and the slalom wake is smaller.