206 vs 216

[CD]

I am looking at both these boats, my wife and i like to ski recreationally and i am in the course once in a while. My kids are wakebaording and we all want to surf as well. Would love some feedbakck on both these boats which would be best, would the 206 suffice? What about other manufactures? I have been also looking at the Malibu LXI.

Open bow is a must as well as a tower.

thanks!

[heliskier]

RE: 206 vs 216

I tried both boats. The 206 is just a ski boat with a tower in my opinion. I loved the slalom wake, but my son who wakeboards, did not like the wake at all. When the hydrogate was down and we had a couple riders in the back, the boatwould sit nose up and would rock too much from side to side when he would pull out for my liking.

I bought a 2008 216TE and am very happy with it. I gave up a little slalom wake (I had a 99 Sport I dearly loved). The slalom wake is good, not great,,but my son is very happy with the wakeboarding. We have the tower and ballast tanks as well as the ZR 6 engine. The boat handles rough water well & we have a lot of room. I do wish the 216 had the hydrogate. I don't believe it is an option for the boat. I think it might help the wakeboarding a little more.

[SkiTundra]

RE: 206 vs 216

211TE?

[CD]

I am planning to ski behind the SV 211 but i think the wake for skiing will just be to big, we ski mostly at 30-32 mph. Nice boat though.

[heliskier]

RE: 206 vs 216

I also tried the 211& wanted that boat to work so badly. I love the look & seating arrangement of the 211. I also know it is an appoved tow boat, but I thought the slalom wake was not good at all. It was both a hard wake & high. I ski 32-35 off at 34mph and just could never get comfortable with the wake. We tried hydrogate up, down, etc & 1 passenger to 3 in the boat. I just did not like the wake at all. I am not ready to give up the direct drive slalom wake yet. Maybe a great skiing vee drive is just down the road.

[CD]

RE: 206 vs 216

I just sold my 1990 MC PS 190 and my son wakeboarded behind without any problems, he is a beginner but the boat as this level wasnt being pulled side to side as you described which is due i am sure because your son is much more aggressive? Wouldnt the 206 be better than what i came from? There isnt much diffrence in the beam between the boats but your experience was quite noticable. What is your wake like for skiing at 30-32 mph at 15 off?

[jjackkrash]

Both the 206 and the RLxi (I ski the course behind both frequently) have excellent wakes at 32-36 mph, and the 206 gets better as the line gets shorter. The RLxi stays flatter at slower speeds. The girls in my club complain about the wake behind my 206 at slower speeds because it starts to get bigger in a hurry. So throw a little weight in it at darkside speeds and it will probably be a pretty good darkside towboat. I know it has a good trick table at 19 mph. You can sink most boats and make a bigger wake. The reverse isn't necessarily true. I haven't skiied behind a 216, but my choice was between a 206 and a 196, so that's where my bias lies. Its your boat, tell the kids to deal with the flatter wake. And try and to get a swervy stick on their feet.
My 2 cents.

[SkiBlue]

Swervy stick! That is great!!!!

[BigBald]

Gotta put a plug in for the 216. Had a 99 sport and loved it. Love my 07 216 now even more. The new 216 has the rear ballast...combine that with some "human" weight sacs...and my boy is very happy with the wakeboard wake. I love the room and the storage of the boat. We spend as much time skiing as we do wakeboarding, surfing, barefooting and using the boom. So, for my $$ it's the most versatile boat out there.

I tried the 211 and really feel like it's a wakeboard boat trying it's darn best to pretend it's a ski boat also. Not horrible, but not great. The 211 is very roomy, great storage, and handles choppier water. In fact, if I was more familiar with the Tower boom...and that style boom had more height adjustment, I might have gone with the 211. But, I am really happy with the 216...not a single regret.

[NCH2oSki]

I run my 99' sport thru the course on a regular basis at speeds of 30-34.2 from lines of 15-28' off and have no complaints. I even let a kid wakeboard behind it once, and he liked it. (it came with a Gen 2 FCT on it when I purchased it.)

I can only imagine the newer versions are better on the tsc2 hull then mine, and would be a great all around boat for you, just as ours is for us.

[SkiTower]

two reasons I went 211: operator legroom (6'5") and better 'family boat'. I still eye the 216's and 206's from time to time because they're better wakes and prettier boats, but I'm very happy with the 211.

[M3Fan]

From someone that has an SN and skied a 2008 RLXi through nearly 200 passes this year at 30,31,and 32mph I will say that the wakes are world class behind that boat. They are zero-compromise wakes as good as any boat out there in my opinion. It's big, it's roomy, has a nice walk-through bow and big observer seat and lockers.

However, the looks of it make me nauseous and it handles like an Olds Delta 88 Royale (I've driven HUNDREDS of passes in this boat). For those two reasons, I'll always pass on the RLXi. I also think in general the boat feels "hollow" and has very obvious differences in fit and finish and build quality. However, if you can get over all of this stuff, I'd very seriously consider the RLXi. From the pylon to the end of the rope, it's slalom nirvana. I don't know about the wakeboard wake, however.

[Hollywood]

Re: RE: 206 vs 216

When the hydrogate was down and we had a couple riders in the back, the boatwould sit nose up and would rock too much from side to side when he would pull out for my liking.

The gate should only be down for slalom.

[heliskier]

RE: Re: RE: 206 vs 216

Then let me rephrase.

When the hydrogate was positioned for wakeboarding, the boat was in a nose up attitude. The 216 does not rock from side to side anything like the 206 did.

[SkiTundra]

RE: Re: RE: 206 vs 216

Both the 206 and 216 are much better slalom boats, but the wakeboarders in our crew weren't impressed with either (nor did my wife care for the layout). With the 211 we gave up a little slalom and a little wakeboard and a little surf, but remained within a reasonable measure of our individual ideals. The question would be if you can get enough ballast in the right places to get a good wakeboard and surf wake. We weren't successful, but didn't put hours in to trying. I'd also not remembered that it didn't have hydro-gate which I think for us would be a big deal having used it some now.