2019 Nautique 200 vs. Prostar

[chipkimball]

There have been some good discussions about the new modifications to the SN 200. Has anyone skied the new SN 200 vs. the Prostar, and are there any good objective views out there (should there be such a thing). I've owned both Nautique and Mastercraft, and while I currently have a slight SN bias, I can go either way. I'm a big skier, 6'4 and 270, so I need a good pull with perfect wakes. What do the skiers out there think of what is out there now. 2019 SN 200 or Prostar? Go!

[Horton]

@chipkimball I have not seen a 2019 Nautique in person but have heard plenty. The 40,000 foot view is that Malibu, Nautique and MasterCraft all make extremely good products. Anyone who says the other brands suck and their brand is awesome should be ignored.

 

My pitch for the ProStar is as follows

• There is no boat with better wakes - some different but none actually better.

• The ProStar is ski tractor without unnecessary bells and whistles. Everything you need and nothing you do not need.

• The driver ergo and touchscreen are simple and elegant.

• Because the ProStar is a low drag hull it performs great with a 5.7 engine. Big motors are fun and sexy but cost a lot of money and burn a lot of fuel.

• ProStars are consistent from boat to boat. I love my current 2018 ProStar. I am confident that my next ProStar will ski and drive just like the last one.

[slow]

If the new Nautique tracks anything like the Nautique 200’s, at 270lbs, I would buy a Nautique hands down.

[RAWSki]

The 200 is interesting and I am sure it's a quality boat. Time will tell once the general public has access to it. The MC has more traditional lines and the SN.... well it has a LOT of lines. I agree with almost everything @Horton said, the ProStar is a really awesome boat with tons of room and great wakes. But to call it "A ski tractor without unnecessary bells and whistles. Everything you need and nothing you do not need" ------ might be an over (or is it an under) statement.

[Horton]

@slow if what I hearing is correct, the new Nautique is freer than the 200. The 200 was essentially stuck down in the lake. The new boat will require a similar amount of driver input as the Malibu and the ProStar. I would say if you can not drive any of the top three boats straight - you need some drivers coaching.

[RazorRoss3]

I don’t think you can go wrong like @Horton said but I’m personally partial to the MC ski racks over the Nautique saddle bags and MC has a great ZO/display interface.

 

For the record I’ve put down my tournament best of 1.5@38 behind the 2017 MC, Malibu, Nautique, and Centurian so... none of them can be that bad

[brettmainer]

2019 Nautique had better be better than the MC...it is almost twice the price. If it isn’t, CC won’t sell very many.

We have a 2016 200 and a 2018 MC. Equally good from from a wake/spray/trough standpoint, but the Nautique tracks much better. If you have an excellent driver, it doesn’t matter. If you are trying to ski 38 and your driver is mediocre, the 200 is the better choice.

[slow]

Horton. We’re all not expert drivers. I’m sure I could use some expert driving instruction.

[Horton]

@slow me too...

[swc5150]

Seems like it's coming down to your budget and aesthetic preference these days, if you're talking just tournament wake and pull.

[6balls]

It's the Ford/Chevy/Dodge pick up thing. All nice trucks, everyone has their preference based on something.

[ScottScott]

There is certainly brand loyalty and favorites. I am obviously a Mastercraft fan, as we took the plunge into a prostar last fall. But, I still haven't really heard a great comparison of wake between the 2019 ski nautique and the Pro Star. The big selling point behind the new SN is the lack of trough at short line, but that was a big selling point in the prostar 4 years ago (along with great wakes up and down the line.) What about us that aren't chasing 41off? Not that they are going to develop a boat for those of us 60 feet behind the boat, and crawling around at 28-30mph, but how do they compare at the more medium line lengths 28-35off? If 4 years after the prostar came out Nautique hasn't significantly improved on what the Prostar is, then really they failed didn't they?

[Zman]

Having skied a tournament this weekend behind the 2019 SN, slalom only, I can say for 22 through 35 at 34 MPH, nothing better, nothing worse as far as pull and wakes.

Trick skiers seemed to like the larger, steeper wakes with ballast tank near full.

Some different comments from slower slalom skiers.

[swc5150]

@ScottScott I think you're on to something, and that something is also where the Prostar shines. My wife would rather not ski than ski behind any other boat now. -22 @ 24mph, and the wake is just a rumble strip.

 

I get the impression the new SN was not designed with the novice in mind, but rather the hardcore 3 event skier...and I think that's actually pretty cool. At the same time, I think MC hit it out of the park catering to ballers with families.

[epnault]

I am so happy with our ProStar and I am a picky product SOB. The new Nautique looks awesome but I don't see a reason to change at this point. It certainly isn't going to take my skiing to the next level, I have many other issues to work out. The room in the MasterCraft is so nice. I couldn't trade that for the Nautique as we do other things with our boat and family.

[chipkimball]

Your comments are so very helpful, and I appreciate the insights. I look forward to trying them both. I also wonder if the PS is up for an upgrade soon. That could prove to be interesting as well:)

 

[Dacon62]

@MarcusBrown re @chipkimball comments about a MC PS revision?

[unksskis]

The low drag hull is very interesting, and insightful. I had heard the opposite, that the 5.7's aren't ideal to push the hull, but maybe it is this low drag hull that everyone is experiencing.

[LLUSA]

I drove both this weekend, in an REL, same divisions, different rounds, the Nautique with the 6.2 has more power, the MC with 5.7 gets the job done, the MC handles better, the Nautique display screen is heads above everybody else's, the MC is quieter, MC has more leg room. Skiers did complain about the SN wake at 22, MC wake is better. Price wise MC has it beat by a large margin, just make sue you get the carpet in the MC to knock down the noise

[Horton]

@unksskis the previous version of the Nautique (the 200) drove so well because it's designed to plow more water. That allows drivers to move the wheel less to stay straight. The downside is that the less expensive 5.7 engine didn't always work great in that boat. I will admit I have skied behind some 200s with the 5.7 that felt good but generally speaking the combination of that hull & that motor was not a favorite. When you put the 6 liter in that boat everything works as it should. I am a ProStar guy but I'm never sorry to ski behind a a 6 liter 200.

 

On the other hand unless you are on a VERY short lake or at high altitude the 5.7 has plenty of power for the ProStar. The hull produces less drag so it takes less power to get the job done.

 

 

 

 

[swc5150]

The 5.7 in our Prostar provides all the power I'll ever need. The 6.2 would provide a serious fun factor though.

[6balls]

6.0 Nautique rocks and tracks like a monster. Prostar has better 28 off 34 wake for my opener...shorter than that splitting hairs. Prostar ZO is awesome, love the space and the ski racks.

[DW]

Just to confirm the thread is on the new Nautique and not a 200 comparison to the ProStar. The '19 Nautique does not seem to have any numeric identification. Thx.

[tru-jack]

How does the txi fit into this thread? I don't have any experience with the 17' and newer hull, but the previous version was definitely a low drag hull compared to the 200 and decent at slower speeds and longer lines.

[Horton]

@DW yes the new Nautique is called "Ski Nautique"

[Broussard]

@DW the 2019 Nautique is simply the Ski Nautique.

[thager]

Glastron Edition!

[Gar]

@thagar I use to dream and wish I could ski behind one of those Glastrons! Now I am curious about this new Nautique!

[BraceMaker]

@Broussard

 

2014 Prostar

2019 Ski nautique...

2020 Malibu skier?

[Broussard]

@BraceMaker Considering Malibu released a new hull (Malibu Response TXI) in 2017, but if they follow the trend maybe it will just be a Malibu Response in 2022 or so.

[Skiingagain]

I had the opportunity to ski behind all 3 of the new boats this weekend in two different tournaments and all were really good, If I had to choose I'd say the Master Craft was the best to ski behind. I also drove the new Ski Nautique and was very impressed with the handling and the way it tracked, It is lighter feeling than the 200 but still tracks amazingly.

[DaveD]

You might want to compare you local dealerships when making this decision. The boats are so close, go with the better dealership.

[escmanaze]

The numbers are so weird in comparison to what I'm hearing so far.

 

I'm a crappy skier - I'm not sure if I'll ever make it to my age max speed, let alone start shortening the rope. I LOVE me some soft wake at long line slow speeds. Based on that, from what I'm hearing so far, it is a no-brainer for the prostar. It is the only boat I've ever skied that has a better wake (at my lengths and speeds - where I care) than my boat (97 SNOB). Now I'm hearing that the new SN has about the same wakes as the 200 for me, so I continue to veer toward the prostar.

 

But then my math brain starts thinking. The new SN is over 300 pounds lighter than the prostar, and 2" wider, and the gas tank is up front. How in the world is the Prostar still giving me a better wake?

 

I would really like to try a new SN for myself to see if this is actually true. It's hard to get my brain wrapped around the performance not being proportional to the numbers. If so though, the combination of price, wake, open bow availability, and tower availability makes the prostar really tough to beat. I can't see my next boat being a Nautique even though my current Nautique has bred in me more brand loyalty than I am really comfortable with.

 

And I'm an elevation guy, so the 5.7 is insufficient in either offering.

[ScottScott]

I agree with a good dealer. We pulled the trigger without a MasterCraft dealer in the area, and are excited to have Action Water Sport announce opening up close enough to central florida, shortly after our purchase.

[MileHiGuy]

Elevation wise, How high is too high for the 5.7?

Would a standard motor in the ProStar be insufficient for 5600’ elevation?

Thanks for any input.

[6balls]

@scotchipman Txi rocks. Seems a little tighter on interior space tho. That Prostar with the ski racks...man does it have walk-around room...killer boat with a 6.2.

[mbabiash]

Pretty sure the base engine on the pro star is going to be a 6.0L in 2020.

That might be the perfect combo.

[eleeski]

@scotchipman If an engine loses 3% of its hp every 1000 feet of altitude, your 350hp 5.7 is still cranking out a hefty 300hp. Looking at it another way, the 3600 rpm needed for that 36 mph pass might need to go to 4100 rpm to get the same performance - easily done with a prop change (redline should be over 5000). Big jumpers might be limited but for slalom, there should be plenty of hp. You will need an altitude prop.

 

Tune the engine for its intended use with the altitude appropriate prop. Get the big engine if you are jumping big. Realistically, there are just a few jumpers who are truly limited by hp. Probably none in slalom.

 

Interestingly, a prop that gets more of the horsepower out of the boat seems to give a harder less forgiving pull. The prop that barely pulls you out of the water and gets to speed right at the course feels best. Maybe it's something that keeps stock factory props from being optimally pitched (at altitude).

 

Is there too much focus on big engines?

 

Eric

[LeonL]

I heard from a reliable source that Malibu will soon start doing their own marinization, And stop using PCM.

[MISkier]

There is no replacement for displacement.

[DW]

@scotchipman : I would expect the aerated table of the 200 is due to using a 4 blade prop, the aerated white water is due to the hull. A fun experiment would be trying a 3 blade prop.

 

@LeonL : Malibu has been working on their own marinized engines for a while, intro date as far as I know has not been set, early comments were a '19 intro date. With any development project, we humans find ourselves delaying the target date due to various unforeseen complications.

[MISkier]

And, to @LeonL point about Malibu doing their own marinization, they need to do something. The TXi I drove in a tournament this week had a very poor hole shot. The boat we had at last year’s State tournament was also very slow.

 

They need something different. They have been so much faster in the past.

[LeonL]

Not to stir s**t, but this "source" stated that they (being Malibu) were receiving poor cooperation from PCM to rectify the low power problem. Seeing as how PCM is owned by CC?......

[Drago]

Seriously? So they bought a company with the goal to not sell the product?

 

[RAWSki]

@MISkier I skied that boat and just don't understand how there can be that much difference in the Responses' performance coming straight out of the factory? I thought the driver was giving me a super soft pull-out, when I ask for more he just shook his head.

I know the SN, MC and CP are all running gear reduction while the Bu is still a 1:1 tranny.

But with 400 hp one would think it would be fine.

[MISkier]

@RAWSki, we had very serious concerns about even getting to speed at some sites, especially 36 mph.

[Horton]

Engines are a profit center for Correct Craft. My understanding is Malibu is going to start doing their own engines mostly because it is a profitable business.

[scorban2]

Does the Response use the same prop regardless of engine? If so, it seems like a lot of the slow hole shot and trouble getting to speed could be helped with a prop change like @eleeski said. Going lower in pitch is effectively gearing down the drive system. Coming from the I/O world, we dropped pitch and increased blade count on every boat we had to get them to behave better for skiing.

[APB]

I’ve driven and surfed the boat with the new 450. It’s good. Lots of power and a lot more quiet.

[bojans]

Slightly off topic.

We were using an 18 Response on our lake and noticed the (very) soft acceleration. In playing around with the menu I noticed there was a setting for throttle aggressiveness. I didn't try playing with the setting but am curious if this would give a better hole shot.