Looking for a solid family boat. 210,211, or 206 OB

[RacingSims]

I have read through numerous post also thanks to those that have reached out through PM's. Looking to introduce my 7 year old son to skiing/boarding as well as nice afternoons on the lake with wife and friends. I admit I feel in love with the direct drive however the extra room in the v drives are nice too. Considering the little guy in not competing I did find a ridiculously clean 07 sv211te with factory ballast. Boat has under 100 hours . Also the is a 2002 sante in town, clean but 750 hours. Soo many choices. Thx for your advice.

[River Monsters]

Price range would help. The new 200 sports are nice for instance.

[RacingSims]

Sorry, 40's

[SkiTower]

if you're not hardcore skiing, you'll love the 211. If you are, a V-drive won't cut it (except maybe the new 200 Sport)

[River Monsters]

211 is a great family boat. The older SAN is going to have a hard core wake. Won't work for skiing and will be intimidating for some younger riders. Not sure about the 206, but you are pretty close to a 200 ski if you are ok with DD. that would be world class skiing and could wake it up with some ballast.

[Dave D]

We picked up a super clean 07 211TE last year. My kids are 2,4,6. Boat works great for everything. Seating is a bit limited compared to other v-drives but we couldn't be happier with the boat.

[Mahoo]

We have our 2005 211TE for three years now and still love it. Not the greatest at wake boarding or skiing, but great all around boat.

[NCH2oSki]

206 is working great for our family, we have a girl soon to be 9. Direct Drives are unsurpassed for handling, performance, and ski wakes. If your on big busy water then you may want to look into a 216, but you will have a larger ski wake.


I really dont think a V drive vs a DD offers more room in the same size boat, just a different seating arrangement.

[SkiTower]

I really dont think a V drive vs a DD offers more room in the same size boat, just a different seating arrangement.

the biggest diff is the rear seat on the DD can't be used when you're skiing off the pylon. Otherwise you're right.

[RacingSims]

We have our 2005 211TE for three years now and still love it. Not the greatest at wake boarding or skiing, but great all around boat.

No not the greatest, but usable for both, correct? And still better than a I/O.

[ES]

We had a similar dilemma and opted for a 210 SANTE. Our 7 year old picked up wake boarding and he is really enjoying it. They have a low center of gravity and are still fearless, so they progress so quickly...I wouldn't be surprised if he starts jumping wake-to-wake by next year, if not earlier.
Another consideration for us was having extended family and/or additional friends. The 210 offered enough seating for everybody, without feeling too squashed.
Lastly, we also started taking up wake surfing (factory ballast + 1 fat sac into the rear locker). So overall, we are loving the versatility of a 210!

[jmo]

I went through the same dilemma you have awhile ago, I originally bought a used super sport (if you add ballast, tower, and graphics you have a SAN - 210) and while the space and storage was awesome, the wake at the speeds you pull kids who are just learning is monstrous and atleast for my kids was very intimidating when trying to cross the wake. I also found for those trying to learn how to do a deep water start on one ski (like my wife) it was very challenging as when skiing off the rear pylon on a v drive the tow rope momentarily pulls you down slightly into the water as the boat takes off given the back end drops down a bit until the boat gets up on plane.

The SAN/210 handling is like the SS Valdez in comparison to the DD boats, the DD is much easier for my wife to handle driving and docking (aka: better for my marriage).

I love my DD now and would never go back, granted I am an old school slalom skier, but the loss of space is so worth the performance, wake and handling.

Its a dilemma though as no one boat is perfect for wakeboarding and skiing. Take a few different models for test drives, when I test drove the 196 I traded my super sport in for I brought my ski and took a few runs behind it to feel the difference in the wake dynamics before buying. Any dealer worth his salt will accomodate these types of requests.

[dfoster]

I agree that you need to ride behind the boat before buying it. I just purchased a 2004 SV211 with only 130 hrs and love it. I wanted to ski, but the family didn't like DDrives. So, I test skied one and it was great compared to the i/o that I was used to. Yes, it isn't nice as the current DD nautiques, but it is 10x better than anything I have ever had. The layout was important to the girls (10 and 13) and they like the SV with the walk through. Some don't like that, and again, you have to walk on the boat and see what works for you.

We are planning on adding some more ballast soon for wake surfing... I probably won't be doing as much slalom unless the weather is perfect, but you can always surf.

Good luck with your purchase. stick with a nautique and you will be happy!

[Surfsmith]

Our family started with a DD Sport - the wake was a bit too big for slalom, pretty good for wake boarding, we weren't into surfing at the time. Moved to a 206 with tower and PP, much better for slalom, but wake too small for wake boarding, kids started getting into surfing, wake way too small for that. Loading the 206 with ballast bags wasn't really an option as we load the boat up with gear and food and spend the better part of the day on the water. Spent the kids college fund on 200V - now were rocking all 3 activities. Kids are a getting used to the much larger wake - they're pretty pump that their old man can go wake to wake...

So it depends on how you use the boat (ski from a dock with unloaded boat or load the boat up and don't come back until the end of the day) and the type of skiing you and the family do - understand that it may change over time.

[HS]

So it depends on how you use the boat (ski from a dock with unloaded boat or load the boat up and don't come back until the end of the day) and the type of skiing you and the family do - understand that it may change over time.

Excellent and very candid comments with sound basis. I especially agree that needs change over time.