Safe Operating Depth for Ski Nautique at Gross Weight

[JC McCavit]

For a Ski Nautique, I need to know the manufactures guidelines or recommendation for actual safe operating depth at gross weight?. If you do not have the published depths available, please add your personal recommendation. I know some folks think that the 24 inch draft listed in the specifications is sufficient.

[Jdubs]

I would say anything above 2ft is probably fine. I have seen my depth meter go to 1.7 feet, but lower than that my prop hits the mud. Luckily I have no rocks in my lake to worry about.

[303Skier]

My dock is at 1.7 feet right now and i'm not having an issue.

[oldjeep]

24"? On my much heavier VTX the spec is 18"

[JC McCavit]

More specifically. 1996 Ski Nautique with six people, full fuel and gear (1000 pounds or more) or as permitted on the CG data plate located next to the driver. The bottom is concrete or solid with 8 inch diameter rocks in the middle of a tournament lake that tappers to zero. I am talking both full reverse and full throttle from a dead stop with boat fully loaded.

[Bruce_Butterfield]

Huh? It comes down to how lucky do you feel? No manufacturer is going to stand by you hitting bottom if the draft is 24" and you claim the lake was 25" deep. Use some common sense and have some margin. The responsibility comes down to the driver.

[Orlando76]

Even with a '96 weights could vary due to how much juice the foam has sucked up in the past 21 years. 24" in my experience is plenty but with 6 people and 1000 pounds..... telll the wives to not pack so much crap.

[skihart]

Are you thinking of skiing in two feet of water??! You mean just idling around at that depth right?

[BRY]

@jcmccavit To really know with your boat exactly, which may vary from others, you gotta put it in the water. Float it with your six people, full tank, 1000lbs gear as you will run it. Mark the waterline in a few spots (dry board pens or duct tape pieces work, it's temporary), pull it out, level to waterline marks and measure. Measure fins, prop and rudder. Done it for sailboats that have been "accessorized" extensively. That's stopped or at idle, running will be less, getting on plane will be more (hard to figure that one).

BTW, is this a real or theoretical question? 1000 lbs gear? 166 lbs per person of gear? In a 196 with six bodies? Why? In a tournament lake?

[ntx]

@BRY & @jcmccavit When you measure for the blades, make sure that the prop shaft is rotated so that the blade is down. This is more important on a three blade prop.

[bigskieridaho]

How do you even get that much crap in a ski nautique? Or 6 full size adults and gear? Just ask my buddy who was wakeboarding with his, loaded with two 750lb fat sacs and people. Didn't turn out good. I wouldn't take it in anything less than 24", but that would be pushing it.

[Stevie Boy]

Wakeboarding or Tricking, surely not, Slalom, if the draft is listed at 24 inches, I would say at least 36 inches, if it was my boat, I would want 39 inches, probably 42, how much is a new prop nowadays, can,t even begin to think of the damage, if the tracking fins hit rock or the rudder gets sheared off.

[JC McCavit]

My best guess is 30 inches. Sometimes after skiing we'll put 8 - 10 people in the boat and go to the lodge for beers and some food.

[Stevie Boy]

@jcmccavit must be heavier on the way back then.

 

 

 

[JC McCavit]

@Stevie Boy Beer equals fuel burned

[MNshortliner]

I don't like to go above idle in anything less that 4'

[liquid d]

My advice would be to not operate your boat in 2 feet of water. Use a jonboat.

[skiinxs]

I would bet that at rest, the fins are the deepest point.

[spicoli]

They drop our water in winter we stop at about 3.5 ,idle over some 2 between 55s and gate hear the fins dragging at idle not worth tearing up stuff.we also had a gt40 pack all the water passages with sand and had put new engine in wouldn't run cool I guess it was from churning up the bottom but we've never had that happen to any other .

[A_B]

I hope you are not skiing in 24" of water.

[Jmoski]

Draft on my 2006 196 is 22". That said I wouldn't operate under 3' of water - and only at no wake speed in shallow water.

 

Remember your depth sounder is

a. Not calibrated by NASA for accuracy, and

b. It's under boat where the tracking fins are, which means your already in trouble by the time it reads 2 feet.

 

Also, I may be stating the obvious here but: your boat max capacity is 6 people OR up to a total of 1,000 lbs of weight (people & gear & ballast). So you can't load 6 people AND that 200 lb beer keg!

 

Keep in mind the max of 6 occupants includes the person skiing behind the boat.

 

The marine/environmental police around me have nothing better to do that cite people for minor infractions...