Vintage wake board boats

mb911 · mb911's Garage

We moved recently with 5 minutes walk time from a local lake.. We have a very very nice small fishing boat. It is a 16 foot boat but to small to ski behind.. Looking for a wake board boat in the 10-14k range so that puts us in the late 90s early 2000s. Any place I should be looking in particular or brand I should avoid?
Ps anyone interested in a very nice fishing boat let me know. $3500 for anyone interested

rfuerst911sc · 06-30-2020, 07:43 AM

I would visit local boat shops to see what they have taken in on trades . Plus it doesn't hurt to start a relationship with a dealer that you may use in the future for service work you don't want to do .

Then there is local Craigslist and Facebook market . I think what you are looking for is a true inboard setup is that correct ? Generally that means a V8 engine mounted near the center of the boat . They are excellent pullers , turn very well and leave a controlled wake .

Typical GM or Ford engines hard to go wrong with either . Not sure when it started but a composite stringer setup is preferred over wood due to rot potential . Also the trailers are made specific to the drive system so get a good trailer if needed .

I personally would not purchase without a lake test regardless if being sold by an individual or a dealer . You want to hear/witness a cold start . Pay attention to how smoothly it goes into gear in both directions . Inspect the bilge is it a filthy mess or look like it has been cared for .

Enjoy the hunt and keep us in the loop .

wilnj · 06-30-2020, 08:17 AM

How about the Yamaha jet boats? My brother has a 21 footer that’s been relatively trouble free that he picked up for about your price range.

I would second the recommendation to look around the lake to make sure whatever you buy is well supported.

vash · vash's Garage

i dont know squat about vintage boats in general, but a buddy of mine just picked this up for very little money. yesterday. it looks beautiful.

nota · 06-30-2020, 09:03 AM

neighbors will love the wakes as it bashes their boats against the docks and erodes the shore line

asphaltgambler · 06-30-2020, 09:05 AM

Oh man - how cool is that?^^^^^^

3rd_gear_Ted · 3rd_gear_Ted's Garage

Big wakes are frowned on rivers.
Recent Parker AZ accident had a boat drive into a dock due to mishandling a wake

Tim Hancock · 06-30-2020, 10:11 AM

FWIW, a couple years ago I bought a 1996 21' Larson from an old friend's aging parents. Boat looked pretty nice, but once I dug into it, I found it had some wood rot damage in the floor stringers and bulkheads. They were the original owners and always kept boat covered and on a trailer. I ended up gutting the thing and totally replacing all the bad wood. It is solid now but it was an entire winter project. Had the boat been a year or two newer, Larson switched to all fiberglass stringers, bulkheads and floor. I advise anyone looking at older used boats to research when the company switched to all glass/foam vs wood and do not buy anything with wood even if it looks nice now. Most of the companies all switched late 90's to early 2000's.

None of the companies did a good job at the factory in regard to sealing end grain and joints of the plywood used for stringers and bulkheads.... if the boat saw some use, water eventually leaks through seat attach screw holes and poorly sealed plywood in the fuel bays, bilge and ski lockers.... then the rot starts.

I would much rather face mechanical repairs over rot repair when considering an older affordable used boat.

My "project" boat
Another project.... a boat with soft floor

Chocaholic · 06-30-2020, 10:32 AM

The mid 70’s Mastercraft Stars and Stripes is a classic and a great boat. Nice ones are about half your budget.

Chocaholic · 06-30-2020, 10:35 AM

Vipergrün · 06-30-2020, 11:38 AM

It's likely you'll need to add water ballast bags to something from that era to get a big wake, but I'd look for a Ski Natique, Mastercraft, or Malibu

Eric Coffey · 06-30-2020, 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chocaholic

Yup. Or for a bit more modern, a ProStar 190/205 would be my choice. OP: Check out boattrader.com

pavulon · 06-30-2020, 01:28 PM

If wake surfing is the desire, you'll not want a ski boat with the engine mid-ship. Their design is intended to minimize wake.

Eric Coffey · 06-30-2020, 03:10 PM

^^^ Not many v-drive "vintage-ish" ski/wake boats to choose from though, are there? I've wake boarded/surfed behind a PS205 (direct-drive "mid-engine") back in the day that had ballast bags and it was definitely "ample" for my skill level. The 190 might be a bit too small, but the 205 would be a good all-rounder I'd say, especially with wake tanks/tabs.

The newer wake boats are crazy, but they are also stupid-expensive. YMMV...

CarreraDan · 06-30-2020, 05:43 PM

The problem with older ski/wakeboard boats is rot. Unless you want a massive project or want to spend a ton of money check the floor and stringers out very well before purchasing. I grew up with a 76 Stars and Stripes Mastercraft and we currently have a 1980 Ski Nautique that needs stringers and floors. We bought a used Super Air Nautique 230 last year so it is our main ride now. The old boats are special and very simple, when we take the Ski Nautique out it makes me feel like I am 8 years old. For watersports our 230 does it all, pro level wakeboard wake and an awesome surf wake. Yes, newer wake boats are stupid expensive but fuel injection is so nice, it simply just starts up and away we go for the entire day with tons of room and storage.

Nautique went all composite in 1993 or 1994, Mastercraft followed soon afterwards and it was many years later Malibu (Skier's Choice followed). The older Nautiques have fiberglass around the stringers and look on youtube to see how to check them out. Our 1980's stringers have rotted from the inside out. Motors are relatively simple and maintenance is easy. Our 230 is a bit more complicated but for a v-drive it isn't too bad as it has good access.