Sport 200 Options Questions

[DLarva]

For any of you out there with a sport 200, can you please answer a couple questions I have. I am just about to place an order on a 2012 and want to make certain I've got the options I want.

The options I'm trying to determine if I need are:

Battery Maintenance System
Easy-Fold Platform Bracket
Docking Lights

What does the battery maintenance system do?

Can the platform be removed relatively easily, if I need to do it, without the easy-fold bracket?

Are the docking lights really helpful when navigating at night, or am I better off sticking with the nice spot lights I already use on my other boats?

Thanks for your input.

[TxJole]

Docking lights are illegal to use to navigate at night. They are made for night time docking and trailering. I have yet to use mine on any of the last 3 boats that had them.

[Nautiquehunter]

Docking lights Useless
Battery maintenance system I think is a built in battery charging system. Might be useful for long layups I remove the batteries and use a battery tender[$ 40.00] in the winter
Folding platform could be useful if you have a small storage space. The platform on my 210 takes two men to remove.

[DLarva]

Perhaps I'm using the wrong terminology then. I'd still have the appropriate red and green lights lit, I was just wondering if these docking lights are as bright as headlights on a car. Sounds like they are pretty useless though, so I can save myself a bit of money there.

[swc5150]

TJ & Hunter are with you on the docking lights. They are not like car headlights, but are great for attracting mosquitos (at least in WI)! I wouldn't bother with them. Battery maintenance I'd pass on too. The fold-down platform brackets are awesome for garaging your boat, so I'd recommend that.

[Nautiques_NZ]

I would leave the dock lights and charger out. As for the brackets....... the folding ones are good, but when folded the platform still sticks out about 5" more than taking it off all together. the platform on the sport 200 is super light and an easy one man removal and can just be sat grip side down on the back of the boat. Depends where you are storing it more than anything, if you need to make a boat as small as possible then keep the normal ones and just lift it off. if you just need a few inches the folding ones are fine.

[swc5150]

The 200 platform isn't that light, and you'd need a pretty large wingspan to lift it off. Heck a 196 platform is tough to get off alone, and the 200's is quite a bit larger. I had a teak platform on my '06 and composite on the rest, and I don't think there was a difference in weight.

[erkoehler]

As most have said, skip the docking lights unless you just want to have them on the boat for looks. They will light up about 15ft in front of the boat at idle speed and only come in handy going down dark channels at night or docking/loading.

Battery maintenance system is great, we use them quite frequently.

Platform brackets could go either way, bottom line is you'll need two people to fold it or remove it......might as well remove it at that point and get maximum space savings.

[pzthk6]

Platforms have gotten much lighter the last couple of years with the new processes at the factory (about 1/2 the weight), so don't compare it to a 196 or any model 2010 or older.
Docking lights, never used them so not much help there.
Battery charging system is nice if you're a stereo guy and use a lot of juice that doesn't have a chance to get recharged while you're running or if the boat sits for long periods of time.

[swc5150]

I stand corrected! Just talked to my brother, who has a 2012 200, and the platform is really light. Very wasy to take off with one person. No need for those brackets.

[DealsGapCobra]

I have a pretty deep garage but would still like a folding platform on my 2010 OB200 for increased walking space. If you remove it, you have to store it somewhere and risk dinging the boat on install. Not a really problem but enough for me to leave it in place.

[SkiTower]

Also, to further complicate the decision, the new (non-folding) brackets are a great design for removing and installing the platform compared to older years like my 2007. I'm fighting the urge to upgrade my brackets since I remove my 211 platform (by myself) every time I put it up.