Looking at an older 211 SV

[kwinm]

I have been riding nautiques for years as a skiier and I am making the move to expanding to a crossover boat to suit the family of 5. I am an avid skiier, but my sons and daughters like to wakeboard. I have read and ridden in a 211, but am interested in knowing about the older 2004 model. I have read the issues with the ballast tanks on the '05. Does anyone know about the '04's?

[SkiTower]

The 211 was never changed (except cosmetically), so all years should functionally be the same. I haven't heard about the tank issue, though.

As for skiing, do you need an older boat? The new Sport 200 is supposed to rock both skiing and wb. If a new one is out of reach, the 211 is the one for you. I love mine, though I don't have tanks (but do have a TON of storage).

[MikeC]

The 211's came out in '04 as '05 models, my boat was manufactured in 2004 but it is a 2005 model - as far as I know there are no true 2004 model 211's. With that said there was a recall concerning the shutoff valves, http://www.planetnautique.com/Correc...Manuals/sb.pdf, mine have been repaired and have never given me any trouble. There is a problem with the pumps priming though, this is fixed easily enough by motoring slowly after you open the valves in order to prime the pumps. Also some owners have replaced the original pumps with Jabsco pumps and replaced the manual valves with electric valves- both of these mods are well documented on here: http://www.planetnautique.com/vb3/sh...ht=jabsco+pump.

If you have any questions just ask, I've owned my 211 for 6 years and I'm in Georgia - let me know if you need any info.

[shag]

All I can say is that they seem to improve the ballast tanks every couple of years. I had an 05' SAN and had to have the valves replaced (warranty) but other than that, no real problems. The new Jabsco pumps seem to be the way to go.

[Mikeski]

The 04-05 models had ballast valve issues. There are two good fixes for this, replace the fill pumps with impeller pumps and abandon the valves (my solution) or replace the valves with solenoids (Jeff's solution). The cusions in 2004 models were thicker than the 05's otherwise identical. Other change were the ballast pumps in 06 and the different v-drive unit resulting in the prop spinning the other direction in 07 (my years might be slightly off). The hull of the 211 has never changed. In 2005 it was probably the best crossover the industry had to offer, in 2007 or 08 Malibu introduced the VTX which I think is a better crossover boat, this year Nautique introduced the Sport Nautique 200V, I suspect bettering the VTX's crossover capabilities.

In the past 5 years I have became much more critical of my wakeboarding wakes and no longer feel they are that good. The 211 is really too narrow to build much ramp and therefore makes it very difficult to stick a nice landing on the down ramp. Booting jumps out into the flats toeside and heelside all day long makes for a very sore body the next day. I am enjoying wakeboarding behind my buddies MasterCrafts and Malibu's much more these days after a couple back surgeries.

Do I dislike my boat enough to dump it and buy something new??? No way, it still drives nice and looks good. I just realize that it's no longer the best tool for the job. If somebody were to dump $30k in my lap then I would consider a boat upgrade.

My biggest problem was the spider cracks under my tower feet but that was corrected under warranty. My deck was just shy of spec thickness under the feet. My boat was also built as a Sport SE then optioned up with all of the team equipment (ballast, PP, tower, racks, etc.) so that may have had something to do with the build?

[TRDon]

The 04-05 models had ballast valve issues. There are two good fixes for this, replace the fill pumps with impeller pumps and abandon the valves (my solution) or replace the valves with solenoids (Jeff's solution).

There is another option to what Mike said and do what I did and keep the aerator pumps, ditch the valves and install anti-siphon valves like in the malibus. It is fast, quiet and it beats the heck out of running dedicated power circuits to relays to still use the buttons on the dash

[Mikeski]

trdon,

Your issue must have been different than mine. The intake scoops under my boat provide positive pressure when the boat is at speed thus filling the tanks when there is no valve to block flow (or when the flap of the flo-rite gets pushed open). The the anti-siphon solution would not prevent the self filling issues I had before making the change. I also had priming issues which the anti-siphon valves would fix but my main concern was the keeping the tanks from filling when I was waterskiing or barefooting. Not much fun having get bigger as your body tires during a good slalom set. The interim fix that many still use is just leave the drain pumps pumping while you ski or cruise, hokey but it works.