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You don't want to use Bondo. A pic of the damage would help. For a hole that size you should be able to get away with just an epoxy fix. Did the gel spider around the hole?

+1 on Cover-Sports covers. That will be my next one. The ones I've seen are amazing. As far as being able to get your cover over the bow, here is what I do. I keep a crescent wrench in the truck so when I get back to the truck to retrieve the boat from the ramp I tighten the bolt holding the bowstop up snug. Load boat like normal. When you want to put the cover on, loosen that bolt and you'll have enough play in the bowstop to put the cover on. Simple as it sounds. Just gotta remember to tighten it back up between launching and retrieval. If it is still a little too tight, you can always loosen the turnbuckle some and push up on the bow while sliding the cover over at the same time.

Hey guys, my name's Bret. 40 years young. I've been around boats since I was 12, bought my first one ('83 SN) the week after I graduated college and have been a loyal Correct Craft guy ever since. Had the '83, a '96 SN, '97 Supersport, '87 BFN, and now a '02 TSC2. I used to be a die-hard wakeboarder, and living in ORL enabled me to pretty much ride whenever I could find some friends willing to go. Was fortunate enough to ride with a lot of really good people and learned a lot. Blew my left knee out about 7 years ago and it slowed me down some but I have transitioned back more towards slalom and barefooting. My wife, 22 month old daughter and I moved to Gainesville, FL last May and have not had near as much water time as we used to. The nearest good lake to ski is 40 minutes away and no course so I mostly free-ski now. Currently on a 67" Radar Senate C which is by far the best ski I've ridden.

Most days at the lake now revolve around my little girl. Her 2nd word was "boat" and she's been in ours since she was 5 months old. I can't wait to get her on some trainers. She loves the boat and the water as much as my wife and I so it is truly a treat to be on the lake as a family. I don't get to ski as much anymore but we met a really cool couple at this years Nautique reunion on the St. John's that are part of a show-ski club just outside of Gainesville so I'm looking forward to skiing with them this summer.

 

@scotchipman‌, I have two of those hats, a quicksilver just like that one and an old Liquid Force hat. I have one or the other on my bald head whenever I'm in the boat. They are awesome. Another vote here for a BOS one of those!

@foxriverat I have heard similar of copycat, which is surprising because in the past they were always a great company as well and 2nd only to Nautique Skins.

If this was a year ago and I had not bought my '02 TSC2 I would be ALL OVER THIS.

@Horton, I'm thinking you are grossly overstating the HP rating of your pump. I'll bet it is 5hp or less. They do suck a lot of electricity but the HP ratings are surprisingly low.

@Schafer, if it is repowered with a GM Excalibur motor, yes. With standard issue Ford 351w powerplant, no.

@Horton, while swimming please remember to keep your speed below 5mph as that lake has been designated a no wake zone until further notice.

I had a '96 with the GT40 for a couple years. Was a great boat and had a respectable slalom wake. It was very weight sensitive. Removing the back seats and bases helps. Wake is small at 32mph but definitely hard as mentioned. My '02 TSC2 boat is definitely a huge improvement, feels like you're cutting through warm butter. Love it.

www.christinesmarine.com Used to be nautiqueskins. They are the best source for OEM original pattern skins. Not the cheapest out there but IMHO the best.

AB is right on. 10% is the magic number for variation. If you get into numbers over that you probably need to move on to leakdown test. Compression testing kits are cheap and its easy to do. Sure helps to have a helper work the ignition while you are running the tool. Make sure to pull all the plugs before starting test.

I've never had any issues flying in/out of MCO. My flying issues seem to always arise in ATL. As for skiing, I really miss being able to choose between over 20 different lakes within a 20 mile radius. I love living in Gainesville now but the nearest ski lake is 30 miles away. Orlando has multiple different public lakes with good access and ski courses on them.

Amazing he had such quick decision-making capability to spot his landing first and then duck his head to right himself for best way to impact. Amazing. That could have gone so much worse.

@crashman, technically CC started naming the SN a "196" in 2003 according to the brochures. Even though the 2002 was the first year of the TSC2 hull it was still referred to as just a Ski Nautique.

I never used to run a bimini. I thought they were "uncool" and against everything a boat was for. Boy how things change when you grow up, mature, and realize what's really important in life. I just turned 40 and my wife and I now have a 2-yr old daughter. Our '02 SN now doesn't hit the water without one. The sun is just too brutal down here in FL to be out all day without protection. And my daughter's health is more important than anything else. She loves being out in the boat more than anything in the world. My main concern now is making sure she continues to love it as much as my wife and I.

The bimini that came with our boat sat a little too high for my liking so I took it to a local upholsterer in town and talked with him about what I wanted. He chopped it down and got the fit just right, exactly what I was looking for. Now I still think its cool, and most important, it's functional.

Water was 52*F on Lake Santa Fe just outside of Gainesville, FL yesterday. It's still a bit chilly! But the air was nice in the upper 70's.

@Gloerson, that pic must have been taken at a south FL lake because there's not near enough camo on those guys to be from up here in N FL.

Gators - meh! Some of the biggest ones I've seen were while skiing on the St. Johns near Astor during the Correct Craft Fan reunions. They've got much more important things to do than troll for skiers.

@MAD11, feathering the throttle in a forward gear while going in reverse is going to wreak havoc on your centrifugal clutches and will wear them out prematurely.

@rodltg2, nice find. Those log manifolds on that Eliminator are cool as hell.

@lcarnes, I always wanted to do some sets at Rini's place. I used to drive by it every day going to/from work but never fit it into my schedule. The nice thing about his place is the water is almost always good. There are 2 course options depending on wind direction. It is literally 15 minutes from Disney and right on S. Orange Ave by SR417. They are putting in a ramp to Orange from the 417 now so that should make it even easier to get to.

ugh, Protec...... That's a $500 timebomb. Other than that and that goofy looking tower, looks to be a great boat. They do have great wakes.

@6balls, that post was from 2012. :)

@Wish, that's a heck of a deal on that Brendella. Can't really go wrong at that price.

@skier2788 is that only for the Excalibur motor? My '02 has the Apex 5.7 which is still Gm but not the Excalibur. I'm assuming it was an early model year build. Was also told by the PO that it was originally a promo boat but will have to see if I can verify that with Art Cozier.

@Wish, was that the green one in Winter Garden? I was looking at that one too but couldn't get down to ORL fast enough either due to work. Was going to go down after work but the guy sold it at lunchtime! Ended up getting a primo '02 with PP Stargazer for $16k in Sarasota instead.