How many of you actually experienced a 2019 Ski Nautique

[LeonL]

Several months ago there was a lot discussion about the 2019 Ski Nautique. At that time I said we shouldn't worry too much about it because so few of us (BOS people) would have an opportunity to ski one. Well, I want to find out. Hey, everybody vote else it's worthless. I don't care if you're a tournament skier or not. All the more reason to vote. If you only see one at a tournament that doesn't say much.

[LeonL]

I did ski one but not in a tournament.

[eleeski]

Lots of trick rides. All in high stakes tournaments. No practice rides. It's been tough.

 

Eric

[Chef23]

I am not skiing tournaments this year or else i likely would have skied one. Unless someone that lives and leaves their boat on my lake buys one I won’t see one on my lake due to the small tunnel.

[bigskieridaho]

I have skied in two tournaments behind it. Don’t like anything about it, and couldn’t wait for the second round so the MasterCraft would come out.

[Steveo]

I was able to ski one at Jack Travers. Did not like the longer line lengths.

[MillerTime38]

Skied two tourney rounds behind it at Lake 38 record. first round was tough but second round boat felt great. I think the first round I fell into the trap of listening to all the other skiers talk about how bad the boat was and how there is nothing there on the backside of buoy. Second round I focused on wide slow gate and aggressive behind boat and ran my cleanest tourney 38 this year.

[mikegile]

Skied it a few times in tourneys. Nothing remarkable feeling but my scores were a bit lower than average.

[radarboy32]

Have never seen one, but my cousin has a 50th anniversary - 13th of 50 - and have skied behind it. BEAUTIFUL boat.

[walleye]

I have skied behind it but mostly drove it. It is weight sensitive and driver input sensitive. You can not have a heavy hand with this boat. It skies great with the right driver and weight. 22 off it sucks but beyond that it is very skier friendly. I have never drove a boat that you feel the load and release. My experience is if the nose is center let it do it's thing. There is alot of crazy shit going on in the mirror - focus on the nose it will come straight.

[MISkier]

Only two rounds with it. One at our State Championship tournament and one at the Midwest Regionals. Neither were very good. I didn’t connect with it yet. I’d have to have more exposure to see what it can or cannot be for me.

[Tkl127]

I have skied, tricked, and footed behind the 2019 and I have been very happy with the wake and overall set up. Make sure you have the right settings (hydro gate, MicroTuner) as there are several different to choose from. Great boat! Ski it and ski it again a few more times to get dialed in.

[dbutcher]

I think the chart for when the micro tuners are engaged needs a few changes.

[sunperch]

I have skied behind it numerous times, and also driven it. We played with the micro-tuners at every line length at 34mph. The micro-tuners being engaged or disengaged did not make a difference at -22 , the hump was still there but manageable. We moved the passenger closer to the driver and no more than 1/2 tank of gas for the best ride. If you had a passenger >200# or a full tank of gas, the hump was not friendly. All of the other line lengths and speeds were great. Both of my kids skied behind it the most (promo at our lake, thanks Todd!) as they were training for their boat draw for Regionals and Nationals. They both liked it a lot.

[LeonL]

Didn't mean to get boat bashing or praising started. I just had the idea that they would be few and far between this season. Seems to be more floating around than I expected.

[RAWSki]

I wrote in another post that I skied it once in a tournament and again at a Serving Nautique weekend. It skis really well. It's very loud inside but had some cool features. (I personally don't think the lockers are one of them) And in my opinion it is currently the least attractive AWSA approved boat but I don't own one ..... Yet!! ;-)

 

[lpskier]

I’ve skied all three events behind it. Sadly, it has not miraculously improved either my tricking or jumping.

[Zman]

Meh

[Bdecker]

I’ve been fortunate enough to ski and drive one regularly this season, both in tournaments and practice. Always happy with the way it skis and drives.

[waterbeat]

I have not skied behind one but have driven several in tournaments. The handling felt about like a 200. It is definitely sensitive to trim. The new touch screen is much better than the last one.

[PatM]

Skies behind 4 different ones and drove two. Not a bad set behind it which included multiple tournament rounds

[BlueSki]

I am up to 5 different 19s. It’s been a good summer.

[skiinxs]

Skied and driven several, skied and driven mine a lot. I like the way it skis and drives a lot. If you want to come to the St. Louis area and try one out, I would be happy to pull you, decide for yourself! (great wind protection, Beman jump, surveyed/R certified slalom course).

[jimski]

skied it spent some time in it but never drove it. love my 200

Change is hard

[lakeaustinskier]

I've driven and skied behind a 19. Drives and skis fine except that the rope seems to catch on the Seadek right behind the bimini (already chewed up).

[teammalibu]

Skied it and drove it, last tourney tried the plus and it felt great! easy to bump the mouse and change settings if your not careful putting your drink it the cup holder next to the drivers knee.

[klindy]

I checked the box that I skied behind the 2019 but that has been two tournament rounds of tricks only. First round at the Regionals and second time at the Nationals.

 

For what it’s worth, the wake was really nice with 50% ballast. I learned I have to shorten my rope 4-5’ but I liked it!

 

Prior to skiing behind it at the Regionals I had never even seen the boat.

[Drago]

Too many variables to give an opinion on how it skied, but Loved driving it: screen is great, pulled a large group and don't think

I moved more than an inch.

'19 nautique and the '18 MC are too loud.(MC mostly because of that always-on blower, can't even hear the skier say ok)

[MrJones]

Skied behind it at a 6 round weekend recently. I was in for the first round, then on the trailer for the rest of the tournament...

[LLUSA]

I've got over 50 hrs in 5 different SN, some are better than others, boat does slide a great deal

[The_MS]

Have not skied it yet and only will if I get a shot at it in a tourney next season. I would never buy one now that Yeargin spouted his mouth off about why they are so expensive.

[Drago]

@MS Link?

[The_MS]

It was posted here a few weeks back but it’s kind of political so probably can’t post. He basically said that Nautiques are more expensive because of Trump.

 

If I am on the board of CC I would tell him to keep his trap shut.

[ScarletArrow]

You can find Yeargin's op-ed article with a quick google search.

[Horton]

Google it all you want but please do not turn this into a non-water ski politics thread. I will just delete the posts. Please just refrain.

[markchilcutt]

skied it at western regionals and really liked it.

[LOTW]

Go ski with Matt Rini and you'll have no choice but to ski behind a '19, the thing is AWESOME and so is Matt!

[dvskier]

Agreed, ski with Matt if you have the opportunity. Cleanest lake I've skied in FL.

[Drago]

@Horton 10-4, I had zero idea what he said, thought it had something to do with 3-event

[RAWSki]

I also got to observe the boats this weekend at the Big Dawg. Not sure what engines they were running but the boats were very quiet from shore compared the sound level experienced inside the 6.2 equipped boat. You could see the boat 'rock' just a little when some of the guys got late and really pulled out of a turn but the drivers didn't seem to have any trouble tracking a nice line. The other thing I noticed is that even with significant head/tail winds on Sunday boat spray wasn't an issue for the skiers at any line length.

[Roger]

I have not skied behind one yet. I have driven Becky's several times in practice and twice in tournaments. I drove both hers and Jim Powers boats at the Palm Bay records this weekend. First, I disagree with whomever said it drives like a 200. I believe it tracks very well, but requires a different input compared to the 200. The boat rocks a bit under heavy pulls and I've seen more than one driver "over drive" the boat (due to this rocking moment IMO). Skiers are still unsure about the boat and there does seem to be some variation from boat to boat in how they feel to the skiers (IE: The same skier I pulled with both boats this weekend had two different opinions of the wakes). I pulled Chet Raley during a round on Sunday and he is still experimenting a bit. He started with A2+ for 32, 35, and 38 and then changed to B2 for 39 and 41. Jim Powers and Skip Dunlap were both at the tournaments and both are intimately familiar with the boat and the current ZO software. Comments by the skiers, good and bad, were listened to and I expect we will see some fine tuning of the parameters over time just as there were changes when the 200 came out (Prop and changes to ZO after the move to the single puck). I hope to ski behind one later this week...

[LeonL]

Come guys. 1.3K views and only 140 votes ( as of 12 noon Sept 10) whether or not you had any experience with the boat? It's a simple question. Either you did or you didn't or you haven't even seen one.

[Roger]

@LeonL - the poll has no selection for my situation... Okay, I guess it does, so I voted...

[Horton]

@LeonL Forum members who actually have an account represent an extremely small percentage of the entire readership. Only signed in members can vote.

[darinmontgomery]

I’ve had the opportunity to ski four sets behind the SN 2019, one tournament and three practice. Half of my sets were with version “R” software and last 2 were version “S”.

 

My first set was in a tournament were I skied my best score of the year, at that time, using the same setting as my 200.

 

My last two sets have been behind a Big Dawg driver, not Becky, and local coach/driver who works in Boca Raton, FL, not Chet. Ironically, both had never driven the SN 2019 and I was ridng a new ski for the first and second time.

 

I skied within 1 and 2 buoys of my practice best this year using C3+, C2+, & A2+. So, in my experience, the concern and chatter about the boat is greatly exaggerated. I haven’t tried my normal C3 and C2 settings yet, hopefully tomorrow as a comparison.

 

IMO the boat is better than SN 200, both driving and skiing. The SN 200 certainly drives like its on rails, super solid. Roger is correct that the 2019 has a bit of a rock which is unsettling to the driver at first.

However, once you drive the boat a few times, the rock helps to signal when it’s time to really counter the skier. If the driver waits too long they will then overdrive the boat probably resulting in a dead line at the buoy for the skier.

 

I believe this movement also helps the skier, with a good driver. Many skier like the MasterCraft for the same reason, it moves.

 

The wakes on the 2019 are the absolute best of any boat on the market. I’ll qualify this by saying I’ve only skied 32-41, so perhaps 15-28 are different.

 

I was going to wait until 2020 to consider buying the new Ski Nautique, after getting to ski and drive one this past week has convinced me it’s time to buy 2019.

 

I encourage everyone to ski and drive the new Ski Nautique before making any comments or judgements.

[mxhideout]

Just skied in my third tournament (just started on the course in June/July) that had a Malibu on Saturday and Natique on Sunday (pretty sure it was a '19 since the owner just picked it up on Friday). I'm a lowly grassroots skier just trying to figure out how to ski the course going 28mph @ 15 off, but at that speed and length the Malibu felt a lot nicer for me as I was finally able to get around all 6 on my last pass of my given set.

 

Sunday on the Natique was another story... Never felt comfortable, and my third pass I had a really nice OTF. Definitely not blaming the boat, as my technique is still horrendous, but I'd definitely prefer the Malibu or our old prostar 190 at my current speed/length.

[AU_Skier]

I skied one tournament round behind the 2019 SN and I set an all time PB. Hard to say it was the boat but it certainly didn’t hurt anything?

[Roger]

I skied my first tournament in a year and a half due to an injury (ruptured achilles). I skied behind all three hulls over the weekend, 2018 Mastercraft, 2017 Malibu and 2019 Nautique. During the rehab from the injury, I also moved into Men 7, so I'm 2mph slower than I've ever skied before. Wakes by boat/rope length: 28 off/14 meters, MC Excellent, MB good, SN firm. 32 off/13 meters, MC Excellent, MB Excellent, SN good (maybe excellent, but I approached them with the 28 off/14 meter firmness in mind). 35 off/12 meters, MC Excellent, MB Excellent, SN (did not reach 12 on the one round I had it).

[unksskis]

First/Only exposure and forced experience tricking at Regionals then Nationals, after training behind a 200 all summer. I feel fortunate enough to be able to practice behind 200's, frustrating to have a new boat experience at the most important tournaments of the year. That said, I think I'll love it with more exposure and practice, it's obviously a 3 event machine.

[Ali]

Been skiing and driving one for 2 months. We are skiing '16 6L Carbon Pro, '14 6L SN200 and the SN '19 this season. I like the SN '19 wake better than the 200 at 28 and 32 off. Pull feels the same at B1. I prefer the Centurion wakes very slightly.

 

My wife is skiing at 15off 28mph and 30Mph. She loves the Centurion wakes but interestingly she likes the wakes of the SN '19 just as much.

 

Some things I like in the interior some things I don't, like most boats! I would recommend any of the boats we have been skiing this year.

 

Cheers

Ali