Great Machines: Wake Up!
June 2, 2004
Air Nautique 226
Sitting on the bow of an Air Nautique towboat,
watching pro wakeboarder Gregg Necrason perform somersaults in the Florida sky,
I wondered aloud what happened to good old-fashioned waterskiing.
“Skateboarding,” explains Ryan Lamos, Nautique’s 28-year-old marketing maven.
“All the kids today want to do radical maneuvers.” It’s hard to imagine anything
more radical than Necrason’s medley of flips, leaps, and twists, but then it’s
hard to imagine how a company famous for its “no wake” waterskiing boats started
making boats famous for their wake. “Wakeboarding went crazy in the early ’90s,”
explains Lamos. “Teenagers in search of a killer wake would load up Daddy’s ski
boat with bags of cement, five-gallon buckets of nails, breeze blocks, you name
it. Our president saw the trend as an opportunity to build a product
specifically designed for the sport.” Under W.N. Meloon’s watchful eye, Correct
Craft set out to eliminate the hassle and danger of dead weight on deck. At the
same time, its maritime architect designed a new hull that would create the
ultimate nautical launchpad for stunt-crazed wakeboarders.
; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
The Air Nautique eliminates the need to load the back of a ski boat with bags of
cement or buckets of nails to create a sizable wake. (Click image to enlarge)The first iteration introduced two major innovations: an integrated “flight control tower” and a rigid ballast system. The former raised the towrope 75 inches above the deck (for maximum air time), while the latter automatically scooped hundreds of pounds of water into internal holding tanks. The new model, rechristened Air Nautique, became the official towboat of the World Wakeboard Association. Equally important, the tower-mounted wakeboard holders, kicking stereo, sports car–style cockpit, and brash graphics made the subsequent Air Nautique range the hot ride for airborne amateurs.
; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
Lamos credits Nautique’s tower, tanks, and
style for keeping the brand at the forefront of the wakeboarding game, but
claims it’s “what you don’t see” that separates Correct Craft’s towboats from
the competition, and justifies their premium price. “We build our boats out of
AME 5000. It’s an epoxy-based resin that’s twice as strong and 30 percent
lighter than the polyester-based material our competitors use. We’re also the
only company using Novidamp ED, the same sound-damping material developed for
Navy subs.” According to Lamos, the high-tech materials increase the boats’ comfort, performance, reliability,
and longevity. (Click image to enlarge)
advertisement
