196 options

[j2nh]

Looking at selling my 02 196 for an 05 and need some help. My skiing has been limited to slalom and jump for the past million years. My teenage daughter has added trick and from time to time I do pull a wakeboarder. The 196 offers a ballast system as an option. My question is, is it worth it? What kind of weight does it add? How long to fill and drain? Does this option eliminate the rear storage compartment?
One other question. For 04 the 196 had an option for an "bow module/cupholder/starboard hotplug". What the heck is this?
Appreciate anyones help and great job to the webmaster for such an informative site.
Jim

[get6]

i have an 04 196 with the trick tank and i presume the 05 will have the same tank. the tank adds roughly 220 lbs of ballast, and the tank sits in the bottom of the rear storage locker. as such it does take away some of the room in the locker, but i am guessing my locker is still about 10 inches deep with the tank underneath. in terms of the utility of the tank i'd say this. for tricks, it definitely makes a more defined wake and elevates the table slightly. we do not ski tricks, but i am guessing for that it is certainly a plus. only the rank beginner wakeboarders will be satisfied with the wake for wakeboarding. the tank does make a wake where there is essentially none with the tank empty, but it is pretty small. you'll need an incremental fat sac (or two) to bring it to higher wakeboarder expectations for size and shape. fill time is 3 or so minutes, and the trick is you have to prime the pump a little (if you have not used the trick tank in a while) by idling the boat forward for a short while (20 seconds?) once you turn the infill pump on. emptying it takes about the same amount of time and only requires a push of the pump button. we have the helm balast control but it seems to leak a little so we always close the valve under the engine cover. i understand this is not umcommon. frankly, the helm balast control is a bit of a waste. overall, i'd say we use the ballast tank less than anticipated but it is nice to have it. but to be clear, while i love this boat and it is perfect for what we use it for (99% slalom course), a wakeboard boat it is not.

as for the bow module question, i have no idea.

hope that helps.

[skinautique]

I would not get tanks in that boat. Just use cynder blocks. You can achieve the same thing without taking up storage. The hotplug you are referring to is on the limited and team models. It is a 12v hook up and there is a cupholder molded into that console for the driver. The signature models don't get cup holders in them.