Best Mid 90's Boat

[kona]

Ok just sold the old tige Vdrive. Now I am going to be looking for a mid 90's to early 00's DD boat. What are you opinions, likes and dis-likes, whats out there.

Needs to be an open bow. Prostar 205, Malibu, Not to familiar with the Nautiques from that era.

 

Thanks.

[Jody_Seal]

Some have said that the 97-2001 Ski Nautiques are the best slalom boats they ever made. Also the Malibu closed bow responces in the late 90's were very nice to slalom with. Ski nautique open bows were rather tight interrior wise but they sure did ski well as did the open bow Responses. personally not a big fan of open bowsjust dont see the need in that small of a boat. I also try and stay away from the monky bars too! Hit my head on them way to many times!!!

[MattP]

205 not the best slalom boat...

[eyepeeler]

Scot is right, '99 Response LX is the cheapest/best open bow.

[MCskiFreak]

Malibu sportster with the open bow is a very lightweight boat with a very good slalom wake. Early 197's can be had for the low 20's these days fwiw.

[hogexpress]

Second the 97-00 Ski Nautique. For Mid 90's I think the '94ish MasterCraft Prostar 190 is hard to beat for a slalom boat.

[hogexpress]

Sorry didn't read the open bow requirement. Not sure the Prostar 190 meets that.

[Wish]

Ski Nautique OB (skies great but tight interior) Malibu LXi OB and Sportster OB. Malibu Sunsetter is very spacious OB and skis ok. Beleive it or not the Gekko OB doesn't ski to bad and sooooooo easy to drive and not being well know less $s. I'm also in the camp that OB are kinda pointless unless it's a big boat.

[PBD]

You will be hard pressed to beat the 1994 Mastercraft wakes for slalom. I'm not sure how long they had this hull. I think it was from about '93-'95. You certainly don't want the next generation which was christened the Disastercraft.

[robscholl-OF]

Best skiing mid/late 90's OPEN BOW is the Malibu Response LX or Sportster LX. OF

[Killer]

I have a sportster closed deck and the biggest difference I find between that and a similar age Nautique is a harder wake at long line and -22off. I prefer the newer TSC2 and 3 Nautiques to the original TSC1 unlike some others ahve posted, but they are great boats nonetheless.

 

With the sportster There is minimal spray for shortline, great tracking and I doubt there are any inboards that are more fun to Drive. It is also regarded as being one of the best Barefoot inboards ever made so if you slalom and barefoot the only boat that can touch it is a Response with an upgraded motor. amazing hole shot and 48+mph top speed stock.

 

I wanted the LX model but if you are ever out on the lake for a day and want some storage space I wouldn't recommend it. the bow area is the only place to store anything on this boat, & with the open bow it is minimalized. The 99 response LX has the rear storage trunk, a great upgrade.

 

also the sporty LX sits quite low compared to the bigger and newer boats and on bigger lakes its VERY easy to dig the nose with a person in the bow.

 

btw my boats for sale, but I'm in Canada. :)

[eyepeeler]

First year for the Sporty LX was '98. Also the Sporty LX came with two tracking fins-standard. Third fin was an option. I've heard it tracks better with the third fin.

[thompjs]

95 Mastercraft is different than 94. Most people prefer the 94's since they had throttle body injection and better slalom wakes. Some spray at 35 and shorter especially if a bit of head wind.

[Jim Neely]

94 Sport Nautique OB has a nice slalom wake

[Than_Bogan]

Personally, the mid-90s open bow Nautiques I skied behind were a little harsh -- hard pull and hard wake. The first Nautique open bow that I thought was fully equal for slalom came later -- I think it was after 2000.

 

Fwiw, I have been a Nautique owner for about 15 years, so I don't think I have any prejudice against the brand in general. I suppose I should mention that I do have some prejudice against open bows, though...

 

I do recall there was a Malibu open bow that was a full-fledged top-tier tournament boat a little before that -- I assume it's the Response LX that some folks mentioned above.

[bmiller3536]

2000 Nautique and 94 Mastercrap

[buechsr]

Malibu went to the diamond hull in 1998 and which is still the hull used on the new response and response lx, to my knowledge, not the case for MC or SN. The lxi uses the "cut diamond" which is much more similar to the diamond than the changes from SN and MC. So, with the Malibu you can still get a very comparable wake to the modern wakes, which I would think is a very good attribute.

[Ham_Wallace]

If anyone wants a great closed bow 200 Response LX with 400 hours on it: Call Ed Murrey: Murrey Chevrolet, Pulaski, Tennessee. (931) 363-3555

[Wish]

I'll toss out the Supra Legacy as a pick (wide boat bigger open bow). When Supra was getting back into the market in the mid to late 90's they loaded them up with high end materials and MPI engines and sold them for less than the competitors (97's and 98's had lots of extra standard features). I skied and drove the closed bow. Very nice. And that's another boat that's a little off the radar and one could get a lot of boat for little doe.

[vtjc]

Kona, The relevant brand forums can give you allot of info on specific models.

I recently sold my 99 MasterCraft SportStar CB which is chronicled here:

http://www.mastercraft.com/teamtalk/showthread.php?t=14622&highlight=prostar+history that hull was available as an open bow as the X5, SportStar Open Bow and later ProStar 195. It’s a good hull that skis well and has plenty of power with the 310 tbi Vortex 350 standard 99+. However, it doesn’t have great tracking, which is one of the things I hope to improve with my next boat, most likely a SN 196.

 

The ProStar 205 is chronicled in these two posts: http://mastercraft.com/teamtalk/showpost.php?p=112635&postcount=21 http://www.mastercraft.com/teamtalk/showthread.php?t=15198&highlight=prostar+history

 

I have skied behind a Ski Nautique Open Bow(SNOB), which isn’t a walk through, and found them to be great. Check out http://www.planetnautique.com/vb3/ for more late model Nautique info.

 

I would also add the late 90’s Malibu Sunsetter LXI to your list. I skied and drove friends allot before he upgraded to the slightly smaller 07 Response LXI. The Sunsetter ski’s amazingly well for such a large boat. However, even with the Monsoon engine it’s doesn’t seem very sporty. www.themalibucrew.com

 

Here is a good boat buyer’s guide to help you inspect boats: http://mastercraft.com/teamtalk/showpost.php?p=257514&postcount=47

 

Good luck on your search!

 

Jamie

 

[DW]

As for Malibu, the Echelon LX (open bow) which was avaiable from '93-95 as a walk through open bow, and from '96-'98 as a step over similar to the Response LX (open bow). Both boats use the same hull, different top section. Both are excellent slalom and barefoot boats. The SV23 hull was introduced in 1993 and has basically been the same save for the Diamond ('98) and then Diamond Cut (~'07) updates over the years

[kona]

Wow thanks for all the great responses. Scot I have been looking at Response lx and the Sunsetter lx. The open bow is for the kiddies when we ware just hanging out. I still need to incorporate the family.

Thanks again everyone.

 

[kona]

Scot what are you in now. I know what you mean about swamping in Utah lake it gets pretty hairy at times.

[east tx skier]

The 92--95 MC 205 was a great skier based closely (but not exactly) on the 91--94 PS 190 hull. The next generation of the 205 was good, but not as great for slalom as the 1st gen. I pulled a skier or two happily into 38 off behind my 93 205. Beyond 35 off though, I'm told spray is an issue.

 

Agree also about the TSC SNOB. Cramped, but a nice ski wake. My cousin just picked up a pristine 99. My local dealer said he thought they skied better than the CB SN of that era by odd coincidence of the way the weight was distributed. One thing was for sure, my cousin was having a hard time finding a good one. Had a couple sell out from under him before he finally jumped on one.

 

No experience with the OB Malibus.

[baja]

The 1993 thru 1995 MC Prostar 205 is great. I've had a 94 205 since new. There is some spray at shorter line lengths compared to modern hulls...never been there though. The Ski Nautique Open Bow (SNOB) is a great boat but the open bow is a climb over the dash flat playpen style vs. the walk thru and deep seats of the MC 205. So if you have smaller children that could be a consideration. I agree with Jody and others that the 1997 era SNOB I've skied behind is awesome.

[RichardDoane]

My 1992 MC 205 was a great boat except for the shortline side spray. When I sold it last summer ( I had it 15 years) it had 1400 hours on the clock and ran like a charm. It was also a decent OB if you were careful in choppy water.

[RichardDoane]

Kona - email me, and I'll turn you on to a screaming deal on a 2005 Malibu LXi open bow

[Ham_Wallace]

Richard, Tell me about it.

[kona]

The early PS 205 is looking better and better for me. I think that will be my focus.I just need something to get me through the next few years until the little one really start getting into skiing. With them on my side I think I can talk the wife into a new DD ski boat. Right now the boss cant see the vision. :)

 

Thanks for all the great input

[Jordan]

If you are leaning towards the PS 205, you may want to think a little more about a closed bow 190. I know that you want the extra room, but, you are really only getting one more seat in the 205.

 

205s had a walk through to the bow, so you lost one seat there; and you only gain 2 in the bow. Plus, there is a ton of under bow storage in the 190.

 

I guess that it depends on which is more of a priority to you, skiing or the open bow. The 91-94 190 has as good a wake as exists - including today's boats. I have '93 190/ LT-1 and also ski with my buddy's 2009 197...the better wake is on the older boat.

 

Either way, you will have a blast!

[kona]

I know what you mean and there is a lot more PS 190's out there.

[Killer]

that was my exact reason for getting the closed bow malibu vs LX. all you get is 1 more seat, but way less storage and easier to swamp it....

[RichardDoane]

I'm trying to sell OfficerFriendly's boat, it's the world's cleanest Lxi, he needs to own a piece of the lake boat we're trying to put together for the Broho. I'll post some pics.

[GAJ0004]

I like the 1994-1996 Ski Nautique. I like the dash setup which is perfect for driving manually. You have the tach, speedos and course all in yout line of sight at the same time. Since I added Stargazer to my boat it is by far the easiest to drive. I think the trick wake is second to none.(I have not been behind a SN200 yet). It has a nice flat slalom wake, but the only trade of is that the wake is harder than newer boats. It gives you more of a kick if you are not on a proper edge. I also like the dash setup which works very well for pulling barefooters.

The 1993 Malibu Echelon is also a great slalom boat. The 1993 Master Craft Pro Star 190 is also a great boat. No wake at slalom speeds except for a rooster tail at 22off. Nice flat table for trick skiing, but the wake crests are a little soft. The only downside is the spray can hit you at shortline(28 off and shorter) in windy conditions.

The 1997-1999 Ski Nautique is probably as close as you can get to a boat made today. The wake looks the same as the 1994-1996, but softer. I think the PCM GT-40 was one of the best marine engines ever made. Smooth, powerful, and reliable..

[east tx skier]

You can throw a jump seat in a 205 to get that seat lost to the 190 back. Still, having gone from a 205 to a closed bow, I don't miss the limited bow seating for the abundance of storage I gained.

 

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[greghayes]

+1 on the 1997- early 2000s era Ski Nautiques.

 

I'll ski behind a closed or open bow any day of the week.

 

I routinely get compliments on how my '97 SNOB skis.

[Jean B]

Buy my 2000 MC. It is a great skiing and tricking boat . If you add the Pylon extention and fill the fat sack that comes with, it makes it fun to goof around wake boarding or wake surfing. See in on SIA.