Tweet
handful of quick thoughts:
1. starboard leanback/convertible seating---i much prefer the the 230 style lean back to the tilt up lean back used on the 210 and now G23. the footwell created by leaning the seat upright reduces storage and reduces available support for your legs while lounging. in my opinion, you can fit two adults (semi) comfortably on the 230 observer's seat while under way. you lose that ability with this setup.
2. sunpad walk through ergonomics---one of the keys to enjoying anything is convenience. on the 230, filling in the walk through was a two step process: lift starboard locker cushion, pull out filler pad, lower starboard locker cushion. on the G23, that same end appears to be a 5 step process...PER SIDE: open locker, crawl into locker, disconnect cushion, reattach cushion, close locker. so 10 total steps to accomplish the same thing? at the end of the day, all of the little extra steps add up to become a PITA. seems like a design regression to me.
3. sunpad walk through depth---at first i was indifferent to depth of the walkthrough...untill i saw the size of the filler cushions. on my 230, the filler cushion is approx 4" thick. that is almost enough to roll an ankle if you happen to step both on the locker and filler cushion at the same time. at what appears to be at least 8" thick and having a slit between the two, i suspect that issue will be exacerbated as vinyl becomes wet, boats are rocking, and people are standing/walking on the sundeck. i smell a recipe of ankle injuries.
4. sunpad filler size---if they made them a 1% bigger, they would completely fill the entire locker, hahaha.
5. cabin cupholders---i am guessing there are only 5-6 from what i could see...hoping there are more...
6. on board battery maintainer---every boat should have one.
7. locker storage---it appears that the floors in the lockers and port/starboard storage under the side seats are pretty high. i know to get to 2850lbs of onboard ballast, you have to give up something, but with 800 stock in my 230 plus the 2250 i have plumbed on top, i can make my storage as big as it needs to be. i guess that sparks the hard v soft ballast conversation that has been debated ad nauseum....
8. tower---rather than focus on a non issue of excess rope in the boat, i wish somebody would design one of these new towers to accept a second set of INTEGRATED board racks. i ride 4 people total. thats 4 x wakeboards, 4 x wakeskates and a surfboard. i am pretty sure that the .01 cubic feet of storage that my excess rope takes is the least of my concerns. it would be especially rad if said board racks would remain in the horizontal position when lowering the tower (similar to MCs power tower)...
9. transom cooler---it appears to be a better design than on the 230. it looks like they took the time to integrate a lip that hopefully keeps lake water out better than the design on my boat.
10. self supporting hinges---why tout them if the are not good enough for the whole boat. the rear still uses air struts...and we all know how often those fail.
11. in floor cooler---looks like a perfect location for stereo batteries...i am keeping my cooler within reach.
12. being in the middle of my spring cleaning on my 230, can somebody please start using black gore tex thread for stitching the vinyl? it would add great contrast and be much easier to return to "looks like new" condition...
overall, i dont dislike the boat (just have a critical eye being an enthusiast) other than what i fear it will do to the value of my 230. ultimately the proof will be in the pudding, as the wake will be what creates the experience.
1. starboard leanback/convertible seating---i much prefer the the 230 style lean back to the tilt up lean back used on the 210 and now G23. the footwell created by leaning the seat upright reduces storage and reduces available support for your legs while lounging. in my opinion, you can fit two adults (semi) comfortably on the 230 observer's seat while under way. you lose that ability with this setup.
2. sunpad walk through ergonomics---one of the keys to enjoying anything is convenience. on the 230, filling in the walk through was a two step process: lift starboard locker cushion, pull out filler pad, lower starboard locker cushion. on the G23, that same end appears to be a 5 step process...PER SIDE: open locker, crawl into locker, disconnect cushion, reattach cushion, close locker. so 10 total steps to accomplish the same thing? at the end of the day, all of the little extra steps add up to become a PITA. seems like a design regression to me.
3. sunpad walk through depth---at first i was indifferent to depth of the walkthrough...untill i saw the size of the filler cushions. on my 230, the filler cushion is approx 4" thick. that is almost enough to roll an ankle if you happen to step both on the locker and filler cushion at the same time. at what appears to be at least 8" thick and having a slit between the two, i suspect that issue will be exacerbated as vinyl becomes wet, boats are rocking, and people are standing/walking on the sundeck. i smell a recipe of ankle injuries.
4. sunpad filler size---if they made them a 1% bigger, they would completely fill the entire locker, hahaha.
5. cabin cupholders---i am guessing there are only 5-6 from what i could see...hoping there are more...
6. on board battery maintainer---every boat should have one.
7. locker storage---it appears that the floors in the lockers and port/starboard storage under the side seats are pretty high. i know to get to 2850lbs of onboard ballast, you have to give up something, but with 800 stock in my 230 plus the 2250 i have plumbed on top, i can make my storage as big as it needs to be. i guess that sparks the hard v soft ballast conversation that has been debated ad nauseum....
8. tower---rather than focus on a non issue of excess rope in the boat, i wish somebody would design one of these new towers to accept a second set of INTEGRATED board racks. i ride 4 people total. thats 4 x wakeboards, 4 x wakeskates and a surfboard. i am pretty sure that the .01 cubic feet of storage that my excess rope takes is the least of my concerns. it would be especially rad if said board racks would remain in the horizontal position when lowering the tower (similar to MCs power tower)...
9. transom cooler---it appears to be a better design than on the 230. it looks like they took the time to integrate a lip that hopefully keeps lake water out better than the design on my boat.
10. self supporting hinges---why tout them if the are not good enough for the whole boat. the rear still uses air struts...and we all know how often those fail.
11. in floor cooler---looks like a perfect location for stereo batteries...i am keeping my cooler within reach.
12. being in the middle of my spring cleaning on my 230, can somebody please start using black gore tex thread for stitching the vinyl? it would add great contrast and be much easier to return to "looks like new" condition...
overall, i dont dislike the boat (just have a critical eye being an enthusiast) other than what i fear it will do to the value of my 230. ultimately the proof will be in the pudding, as the wake will be what creates the experience.
Comment