99 Pro Air vs. 2008 210 SAN

[hardknoxnautique]

I was hoping someone would be able to help with some info on how the pro airs would compare to a 2007 or newer 210san. Are the wakes bigger, steeper, rampier or wider than the pro airs? I ride at 70 to 75 at around 23mph with 2100lbs in my pro air. I am more concerned with being behind the boat rather than in the boat and don't know if the extra 30 grand for a newer boat is really justified by a much improved wake. I also don't want to have to sack it out to get a really good wake because I already have a boat I have to do that to. Any info on the surf wake and what goes into making it decent would be very helpful as well. I have done some searches on this site and wakeworld but the pro airs are just so old that I am not finding any good info comparing them to the newer stuff. Thanks for any advice y'all can throw my way.

[DanielC]

I may be wrong on this, but I would think that if you are putting 2100 pounds of weight in a Pro-Air, the wider beam on a 2008 210 is going to need as much or more weight to get the wake as big.

I have seen some inverts and 360 spins behind my Ski Nautique, without additional ballast, and sometimes with only two people in the boat. This is going to be blunt, but maybe your technique needs changing.

[tke104]

I've never ridden behind a Pro Air, but I have owned an Air Nautique for the past 10 years. I would assume that their wakeboard wakes are somewhat similar when weighted. I usually add about 1500lbs + people + gear to mine, so probably about the same weight you are running. I got a chance to demo a 210 this year and it was an amazing difference. The difference is that the 210 is a wakeboard boat made for wakeboarding, not a ski boat retrofitted to wakeboard. The 210 is designed to ride lower in the water as opposed to my DD Air Nautique, thus it displaces more water and requires less weight to produce a large wake. I know the Pro Air was designed to ride lower than the Air though, but I don't have any experience with those. I rode behind the newer 210 with stock ballast, but even at that, the wake was larger and better shaped than my Air Nautique fully weighted. The wake is much rampier and has a longer transition, which makes takeoffs and landings much more fluent. My Air Nautique has a steep hard wake that pops me straight up, and I definitely preferred the new 210's wake to mine. The 210's wake has much more mass to it and in my opinion makes riding easier because it requires less effort. I would definitely add additional weight over stock to it though if I owned one; however, you could easily add enough weight and have it all out of sight. You're best bet is to get behind one though. Good luck.

Also, in response to DanielC, I used to own a Ski Nautique, and I've done plenty of inverts behind that, but that doesn't mean it can compare to a newer 210. I've done inverts behind a Bayliner without a tower, and I've seen people ski the course behind an Invader, but that doesn't mean those boats are great for that either. The new 210 (and 230) wakes are insanely better than anything else I've ridden behind.

[Miljack]

Hey, I think that I can help! I have a Pro Air that probably is setup very similar to yours, removed hard tanks and put two 500+# bags in trunk, filled the ski locker with a custom sack that takes up all the space, so close to 600# there. My boat has the Python engine, so at least 200+# heavier than a GT40. My boat has a very fun boarding wake, I prefer it to a 'Bu VTX, and '06 SAN, with my wake right in the middle as far as steepness, goes, "justt righhht."
We have recently been riding behind a friend's '08 210, and I've ridden it stock, and with a fly hi, add on system, and the wake behind this 210 is AWESOME! It's actually overall my favorite wake, it's a little more rampy (not as much as the VTX) than my wake, but it has a lip at the top that gives a great boot. In other words, you can edge right to the top of the wake, and stand tall and get a great boot up, my wake can be a little harder to "time." 06 SAN is REALLY hard for me to time.

Hope this helps, BTW, the '08 210 tracks awesome w/ a rider in tow, and I don't think the wake is any different width wise. I ride both around 70-75' @ 22mph-23mph.

Let me know if I can answer anything else.

[hardknoxnautique]

Thanks guys for the info. I am going to try to demo a 210 and get a good look at it loaded and unloaded. I just don't know if it is a big enough difference to justify that extra price.

DanielC, I not exactly sure about changing my technique. I'm not having trouble with my riding or style. I'm just looking for a nice, large, well-shaped wake because even though I can ride a small wake -- why would I want to? I'm not at all offended by your comment, I just don't think we communicated very well about what the issue actually is. I'm also a bigger guy and like to ride a little faster so unless you weight these boats they get alot flatter at greater speeds.