older ski boats: ski nautique vs. supra

Blazer54

I am looking at older ski boats cause i cant afford a wakeboard boat, so I am deciding between a ski nautique 2001 or going with a supra, I was wondering if anyone had experience with either of these and knew which is the better way to go.

Mikey27 · Posted: Aug 10, 2005 12:23 pm Post subject:

From what I hear the Supra Sunsports are very good but stay away from the Supra TS6M. The TS6M sits too low to the water and you cant put much weight in it. There are lots of SN2001's fans on here. Though I have never owned one I hear they throw a wake comparable to newer wake specific boats. It all depends on how many people go with you, the Sunsport is open bow which obviously has more room for people, the SN2001 is closed bow and isnt good if you want to take alot of people with you. Again its all in what you want to do with it. Good luck.

Efox · Outlaw Joined: 11 Oct 2004 Posts: 238 City: Lawrenceburg

Older Supras have open bow available vs the 2001's have none and are pretty small. They do throw a pretty good wake...so there are tradeoffs.

Tiffanator · Posted: Aug 10, 2005 12:42 pm Post subject:

Mikey and Efox both hit close to the point. If I was looking in the older year range the Sunsport and the SN2001 would be the two boats I would look at. Both can be had for similar prices and have nice wakes. Now, what you really have to deal with is space. How many people go out with you on a regular basis? Do you ride on a river where you have to take everything with you for the whole day, or on a lake where you can leave stuff on a beach or dock? How much are you going to weight the boat? The SN2001 is a great boat, you can't deny that, but it is small, 5-6 people is about all that can comfortably ride in the boat. I said comfortably, I've seen malibu skiers with 10-15 people in them, you want to talk about crawling over bodies to get to the back of the boat, geez. People sitting on the closed bow, sitting on the tower, engine cover, sitting on other people, it was nuts. Storage... if you need storage space the Supra has lots of that. The SN2001 has a whole open bow, but that's about it. The seats are kinda close to the floor, which means little to no storage under them. You could probably fit a load of stuff under that bow though. Sunsport has storage under the bow seats, behind the passenger, under the seats and behind the back seat. Weight.. both boats can handle the weight you put in them. Throw a Launch Pad sofa in place of the back seat, a Launch pad on either side of the engine and some sacks up front and you have a great wake out of both boats. It is a bit harder to shove weight up under the closed bow, but it can be done, probably want to use sandbags. If you weight the boats heavily you will be crawling over sacks and lose that much more interior space, but that is the tradeoff you have for big wakes.
Ok, I've rambled. Sit down and look at the options of the boats. I'm thinking back then the SN2001 has a lead on the Supra in quality, but you still see 80s model Supras all over the place, so the quality was good enough. Not sure about the SN2001, but I know that Supra's in that period had wood floors, so watch for soft spots, and check the engine bolts to be sure they are tight, loose bolts could mean stringer rot, and nobody likes rotten stringers.
As you can tell, I have experience mostly with the Sunsport, not so much with the SN2001, but can say they are good boats and many people on this site have them and swear by them.
Later
Tiff

Blazer54 · Posted: Aug 10, 2005 1:22 pm Post subject:

I live on a lake which makes it easy but I was leaning toward barefoot nautique 2001 that i found for around 10,000 i like it because i know it throws a good wake and this had the 330 hp so i know i can really weight it down to get a good wake the only thing is it only fits like 5-6 people and that could be a problem for me.

Blazer54 · Posted: Aug 10, 2005 1:29 pm Post subject:

does anyone know anything about other supra models beside the sunsport? like the saltare or mariah?

wotan2525 · Outlaw Joined: 05 Aug 2003 Posts: 174

I've got the saltare... it's freakin' huge! Throws a fine wake unweighted, but I haven't gotten around to adding weight to her yet. Drinks gas like an SOB.

Mikey27 · Posted: Aug 10, 2005 2:31 pm Post subject:

Im pretty sure that the barefoot nautique has a different hull than the 2001.

ProPayne · Criminal Joined: 04 Jun 2005 Posts: 77 City: San Angelo

barefoot has a deeper V hull...but almost exactly like SN

JHerb42 · Outlaw Joined: 14 Jul 2003 Posts: 180 City: Columbus

I have a 1985 SN2001 and could not be more happy with it. Throws a great wake and runs great.

Commodore · Ladies Man Joined: 20 Jun 2005 Posts: 11636

My Mariah throws a great wake, not as big as a Sunsport but when it's weighted down it does good enough for me.

jon4pres · Addict Joined: 09 Jul 2004 Posts: 589 City: Fort Scott

I have an 82 sn2001 and have nothing bad to say about it. I have been out with 7. 6 in the boat and 1 in the water. And it was tight but I cant say that it was uncomfortable untill the rider got back in the boat. I have never been in a sunsport so I cant compare much but I love my boat and would recomend it to anyone who wants to RIDE. the 2001 is not a boat for laying out on and partying at the lake.

Blazer54 · Posted: Aug 11, 2005 7:10 am Post subject:

so is it better to go with a 2001 than a barefoot 2001 cause of the hull difference or is it too little to even matter, cause i just figured that it would be great to have the 454 for the extra pulling power and more weight and better wake.

Juice75 · Outlaw Joined: 09 Jul 2004 Posts: 218 City: Austin

Blazer54, I just went through this same question, and I decided on the Sunsport. Basically, I wanted a boat with a great wake, but also one that I could pile everyone in and spend the entire day boarding, drinking and getting sun. So because of the size, storage and open bow, I picked the Sunsport.

As for the Barefoot vs SN2001, from what I've heard, the Barefoot has a deeper hull, but I think it is a little more narrow than the SN2001. So the wake will be a little more narrow, but not much. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. The 454 will give you more power, but it will also drink A LOT more gas. I've ridden behind an '89 SN2001 with 1500lbs in it, and it pulled just fine. So I wouldn't worry about power as long as it's a good running boat.

The Saltare and Mariah are also good boats, just a little bigger than I wanted. I think the Mariah is 21' and the Saltare is 23'. The Sunsport is 20'. Also, the Sunsport is the same hull as the early Supra Launch. I've heard if you through a fat seat in the back and about 600 lbs in the bow, you'll have an amazing wake. Plus, you wouldn't lose any floor space. Either way, you can't go wrong with any of these boats (Nauties included).

Rambling over. Let us know what you decide.

Wakeboarder166 · Outlaw Joined: 19 Jul 2005 Posts: 112 City: Sioux Falls

Are you going to be useing the boat for all wakeboarding or do you slalom ski too? If you dont slalom ski go with one of the bigger supras like the sunsport or the Mariah but if you do like to slalom ski id go with the SN2001

bremsen · Outlaw Joined: 08 Jun 2005 Posts: 168 City: Charlotte

One other thing the nauti has going for it is resale. Its getting more and more difficult to find good condition examples for under $10k.

Blazer54 · Posted: Aug 11, 2005 11:09 am Post subject:

yeah Ive found a few 2001 for under ten same for supra Im just trying to find the best boat and wake for under ten and It would be nice to be able to hold more people too, im just not sure which way to go yet and looking for any help or advice

ScottyB_RochNY · Addict Joined: 09 Jun 2004 Posts: 971 City: Rochester

Hey man, I can give you some advice too.

I've got a '88 Sunsport and I love this boat so much. When I'm in deep water I just throw a 600lbs sack in the back and the wake gets big enough for me. I'll try to get a picture tonight if theres not alot of boats out there in the deep stuff. Otherwise we ride in about 4 feet of water and the wake gets smaller but its still big enough to do basic inverts and spins.

Like alot of these guys said, space is the big issue. I personally like being able to take a bunch of people out comfortably. Even if I only have 4 people out, they appreciate being able to spread out a little. Also, the storage is sweet, there's so much in here, everything in my boat can be stored away at all times. One last thing is the freeboard on the boat. This thing sits so high out of the water, you can really add alot weight.

Looking back I am glad I chose the Supra over the SN2001 because even though I ride everytime I go out, not everyone rides adn they enjoy lounging and anchoring in to party alittle without being right on top of eachother. I can fit about 10-12 people in there.

So, all in all, I love my boat and I think the only thing I would change about it is that it leans a little due to the gas tank and I have to use half a sack to balance it out. Otherwise, Love it Love it. Oh, and it holds speed really well too.

Juice75 · Outlaw Joined: 09 Jul 2004 Posts: 218 City: Austin

ScottyB_RochNY, could you snap a couple pics of the storage areas, too?