2011 Sport Nautique

[flapjack]

I'd love a v-drive. I can imagine a v-drive would give a decent slalom wake at 34mph. The problem is teaching folks to run the course. How is the wake at 26 or 28mph?

I'm not looking for world class wakes; I'm looking for a fun boat (comfortable, decent wake, surfable) that isn't crazy to drag my wife and kids through the course.

[Noelb]

I'd love a v-drive. I can imagine a v-drive would give a decent slalom wake at 34mph. The problem is teaching folks to run the course. How is the wake at 26 or 28mph?

I'm not looking for world class wakes; I'm looking for a fun boat (comfortable, decent wake, surfable) that isn't crazy to drag my wife and kids through the course.

I had the chance to try the Sport 200 last winter. At 15 off, going anything between 26-34 MPH, you'll be just fine for teaching people to do the course. It's 22 off that I found brutal, but other lenghts were very acceptable.

[brodym]

Anybody use a boom on the sport 200 yet? Just curious what boom you got and how well it fit/worked.

[Dinsdale]

Surf wake behind Sport 200. Belly and port ballast tanks full. Only 280 lbs of people in the boat. Dramatically better with more people.

[bscott]

Anybody use a boom on the sport 200 yet? Just curious what boom you got and how well it fit/worked.

Just wondering if anyone has used a boom on the Sport 200 as well.

[sportnautique200or226]

I am also thinking to buy the new 200V for the next summer. I am also curious about barefooting and the wakeboard wake.

[CD]

Have you been in a 216 DD? If so how would you compare the overall experience?

[14adrnln]

We have just had our new 2012 Sport 200V delivered and put 8hrs on the clock on the weekend. It has the ZR409 and I couldn't be happier. I ordered it without the graphics which wasn't a problem. The attention to detail is outstanding. Overall thoughts, this boat pretty much ticks all the boxes for our family and friends. The slalom bump in the wake at 34mph was a little more pronounced than I was used to in my mates Ski 200 OB but in saying that we had a full tank of gas plus loaded with gear so I do expect it to soften a little with only a quarter tank and minimal people and gear. Might even look at putting trim tabs on and see what difference they make. The boarding wakes are very satisfying for the intermediate riders and the surfing wake was very impressive. This one is a keeper for sure and I am a big believer that if you expect this boat or any other crossover to do everything at the highest tournament standards then you are being unrealistic. Crossover boats do require some compromise and that's life.

[TRBenj]

Might even look at putting trim tabs on and see what difference they make.

I would NOT recommend that. Im guessing that youre thinking that a trim tab might force the bow of the boat down at slalom speeds, spreading out the weight over a larger area, reducing the size of the wake, right? You should understand that CC has already modified the hull on the 200 Sport (relative to the 200 DD) to get the nose down despite the rearward weight bias. Take a look at the hull of the boat over the last 2-3' of the running surface. You'll notice that there is ~1/4" of hook added to each side to accomplish this. Judging by how nose-low the boat already runs at skiing speeds, I really dont think the tabs will help much- in fact, they may make the boat handle dangerously (bow steer).

The boat rides pretty bow-low, as evidenced in this pic:


Besides, why would you want to drill into a brand new boat?

[dihrdskir]

I'm brand new to this site and came here to have a look at what I could find out about the sport 200. I have never considered nautiques in the past having owned a succession of Malibus, Lxi's, VTX with my current drive being a MC 197 TT. I think the styling of the newer models is finally getting close to where it should be IMO, and that has piqued my interest. I have found this post very interesting reading and am a little surprised at some of the feedback considering the hype surrounding the marketing of this boat. All of my previous boats have had their strong points and likewise some limitations. I seriously miss the interior layout of the VTX, hence my quest to find the ultimate crossover. Like most of the posters here, we like to do it all and the more comfort and style the better. Nothing wrong at all with the PS 197 mind you, just that the interior space would be nice. I am yet to drive the Sport as they are in short supply down here. Having said that I requested a demo with the local dealer at the Melbourne Boat Show in June, but he is either selling too many boats to care about me or is it a strong indicator that he is an incompetent putz? Anyway, is this the point where I abandon my quest? 42 MPH is just too slow at WOT for BF and at skiing speeds this thing may just be a fuel pig. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[14adrnln]

Thanks for your words on the trim tab. Yes you are right in my thinking as I am hoping to accomplish softening the bump just a little. First test though is to run the boat with 1/4 tank fuel and see what difference that makes. I am always a bit reluctant to drill into new hulls but if it does add benefit then I don't have an issue. Is there anyone out there that has experimented with trim tabs with the new Sport 200? Maybe taking the risk might open some new doors to performance...and maybe not.

[14adrnln]

42 MPH is just too slow at WOT for BF and at skiing speeds this thing may just be a fuel pig. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Sad to hear about your Melbourne dealer. We are in SA and deal with Twister and they have been fantastic to deal with.

On the weekend we easily topped out at 72kph (44.74mph) at 5400rpm with the factory setup ZR409 engine. Because of the extra horses we also found that short distance Slalom deep water starts leading into the gates of the course were achieved without a struggle and actually required throttle control instead of some lower hp boats having to throw down the hammer. I am a believer that a bigger or heavier boat will use more fuel but the horsepower relaitivety will equal the same fuel consumption between the same size boat with different hp engines (thats of course keeping the comparison of say a 343hp v a 409hp or similar) because you don't need to push a stronger engine as hard to achieve the same performance. I would think that the 409 would have enough in reserve to play around with different props to gain a few more mph if you really need it. For myself, I am more than happy to barefoot around the 40mph mark. If I really wanted to barefoot at 45mph+ then I would just buy a barefoot boat or if I wanted a slalom boat capable of the lowest wakes possible then I would buy a hardcore slalom boat or if I wanted massive wakes for boarding then I would buy a 230. IMO the Sport 200 is about as close as you'll get to a crossover that does everything to a satisfactory standard.

[dihrdskir]

Agreed. It's the flexibility that makes it a true crossover. Propping for specialist applications is not the fix for me. We live and ski on the Murray and load up and go for the day, one minute your skiing at 36 mph, your next barefooting at 40 (no more required jsut don't want to do it at WOT) and the following you may be loaded with Ballast for a break with the wakeboard, skate or board. The VTX with the 340 was good for near on 50 with less than 10 hours on it and did it all very well but the skiing wake was not ideal. You see, the trade off is the still the same, the less hook, the less it drives on and the less fuel/power required to move it. What does hydrogate do for the sport 200 if it requires a significant hook in the hull to achieve a decent wake. Many companies have tried eg. Tige' and TAPPS 2. Is the 200 any better?

[14adrnln]

What does hydrogate do for the sport 200 if it requires a significant hook in the hull to achieve a decent wake. Many companies have tried eg. Tige' and TAPPS 2. Is the 200 any better?

The Hydro gate in trick mode (engaged in the lowered down position) makes the most difference at slower boarding speeds by changing the wake shape to fill out the ramps and make it a little more solid. At slalom speed it just increases the size of the rooster tail (bump) if it's engaged in the trick mode. Lift it out into the slalom mode and it just returns the hull to a standard flat bottom. It does make a big difference to the bow attitude when engaged and disengaged so it obviously does something.

[viperjuice]

I know a guy who got one last spring. It has a sick wakeboarding wake, did not try the slalom wake. He did break his pylon plate got damaged trying to pull few too many guys on skiis. Looks like the removable pylon just goes into a weak plate. other than that the boat is awesome.