196 to Air / 216 Opinion

[CD]

I will take some pics tomorrow and post. The boat is beautiful! I also up graded the trailer to a fully boxed frame with torsion bar suspension...when I was towing it home today you could really feel the difference from the leaf spring setup.

[CD]

here is a pic

[CD]

here is another...

[sodbuster88]

Awesome...congrats...!!

[CD]

Thanks...did you find much difference going from your MC to the 216?

[toddrswenson]

That's what I need. One day when the right one comes along. Let us know how she rides. Congrats

[saceone]

beauty!

[CD]

Thanks guys!

[sodbuster88]

No comparison. Of course the prostar 190s of that vintage are a much smaller boat than the 216, so you are comparing apples to oranges. But, boats aside, there is no comparison in the dealerships, the companies, the support, and of course the crowd that uses these tools..! CC is better...hands down.

[sodbuster88]

By the way....after owning both boats and over a number of years. No comparison on the boats, performance, handling, fit/function, etc... CC is better...hands down.

[CD]

Did you notice much difference when skiing?

[sodbuster88]

At the risk of being crucified on this site, the early MC 190s, particularly the '92 - '95 hulls, arguably crafted some of the best slalom wakes ever. Over time, customer requirements included the need to satisfy the family without sacrificing the performance....and now you have the open bow tournament boats. So over time, the boats have gotten bigger and heavier and technology has come to bear some fantastic innovations with the hulls. The 196 stays true to the old school and I would classify it's wakes at all line lengths as good as the '92-'95 MC. The difference is in the softness at longer line lengths.

The 216 is much like the 196, except the wakes are taller and you have a bump/trough at 34 - 22/28. I liked to ski the 216 at the shorter line lengths and at the faster speeds to keep things quieted down....were as the 196 gives you great wakes at any speed and line length.

You are going to love your 216. It's good at doing everything.

[CD]

good comments thanks..cant wait to go out just need the weather to cooperate.

best!

[toddrswenson]

I found a 99 Sport in excellent condition local to me. I was wondering how hard it is to add ballast tanks if I wish to do so later. I know there are a lot of posts pertaining to ballast installs, but I can't find one on the Sport. I don't really care about the ballast tanks, but the kids might at a later date. Would it be better to keep searching and waiting on a Sport or Air with ballast tanks already installed? I guess I need to try and sell my 97 196.

[kflee]

I will give another nod for the Air 216. Cradsv1104 convinced me this was the boat for my needs. I have recently skiied behind a MC 197, MC 214, and my new to me, 08 216. I ski slow these days (30mph) at 15 off primarily and the wake is almost as good as the 197. It is waaayyyy better than the 2008 MC 214. I hope to try out the wakeboard wake next week...

Kirk