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I spent the day Thursday with the guys at Nautique on their private test lake testing out the G21. Hanging out with Murray, Byerly, Mike Dowdy, Danny Harf, Meagan Ethell, Bob Soven, Emily Durham, BT, Rattray, and the rest of the Nautique team riders is always a blast, but this was an especially good time since it was the first time that some of them had ridden behind the G21, and none of the rest of us had even seen one before.
The G21 is the real deal. It has room for 14 people, the interior is very similar to the G23, and yes, it has the same amount of stock ballast as the G23 and G25 (2,850 pounds). The interior is missing the in-floor cooler and the compartment in the driver's dash, but other than that, it looks just like a smaller G23. The sliding rear seat is still there, and works well even in this smaller boat. The beam is the same as the G23 and G25. The two-foot difference in length (vs. the G23) comes by way of an 18" shorter main seating area, and a 6" shorter bow. The bow still feels roomy, probably due to the depth of the seating.
The wake is similar to the G23, thanks to its similar hull shape and identical ballast configuration, but it is a bit more vertical than the G23 at the top -- think pre-2007 210. I know lots of you will love hearing that! It was interesting watching the pros hit the wake for the first time. They were booting pretty hard and going straight up, sometimes coming up a little short on the second wake. I heard a few people say that they were caught a bit off guard by the extra pop that the top of the G21 wake gives you.
Tommy Czeschin was out with us as well, and he was tearing up the surf wave. With the rear ballast full and the center at 1/2, the surf wave was great. Tommy was showing off all of his crazy tricks, including effortless transfers.
You can get a G21 with any engine you want, from the 343 all the way up to the 550. I was in one with a 409 first, and it was great! That boat (the purple one) pulled a bunch of the pros with full ballast and a good number of people onboard, and the 409 handled it just fine. After that, I spent some time in one with the 550 (the red one), and it was just a rocket ship. I am going to ride in one with the 343 (the gunmetal/yellow one) on Friday at OWC.
I didn't ride behind one on Thursday, but I might on Friday. For some reason I just can't bring myself to ride after all of the pros have just gone out and thrown down. I can't imagine why.
Here are the specs:
Length Overall
21’ 6” / 6.55 m
Length with Platform
23’ 9" / 7.24 m
Lifting Ring Spacing
20’ 1.75" / 6.14 m
Beam
102" / 2.59 m
Draft
25" / 0.64 m
Approximate Dry Weight
5,200 lbs / 2,359 kg
Fuel Capacity
46.5 gal / 176 l
Maximum Capacity
14 People / 2,200 lbs / 998 kg
Horsepower Range
343 to 550
Gear Reduction Ratio
2.0:1(343, 409, 450) 1.48:1 (550)
Maximum Factory Ballast Capacity
2,850 lbs / 1,293 kg
Here are some shots from Thursday:
The G21 is the real deal. It has room for 14 people, the interior is very similar to the G23, and yes, it has the same amount of stock ballast as the G23 and G25 (2,850 pounds). The interior is missing the in-floor cooler and the compartment in the driver's dash, but other than that, it looks just like a smaller G23. The sliding rear seat is still there, and works well even in this smaller boat. The beam is the same as the G23 and G25. The two-foot difference in length (vs. the G23) comes by way of an 18" shorter main seating area, and a 6" shorter bow. The bow still feels roomy, probably due to the depth of the seating.
The wake is similar to the G23, thanks to its similar hull shape and identical ballast configuration, but it is a bit more vertical than the G23 at the top -- think pre-2007 210. I know lots of you will love hearing that! It was interesting watching the pros hit the wake for the first time. They were booting pretty hard and going straight up, sometimes coming up a little short on the second wake. I heard a few people say that they were caught a bit off guard by the extra pop that the top of the G21 wake gives you.
Tommy Czeschin was out with us as well, and he was tearing up the surf wave. With the rear ballast full and the center at 1/2, the surf wave was great. Tommy was showing off all of his crazy tricks, including effortless transfers.
You can get a G21 with any engine you want, from the 343 all the way up to the 550. I was in one with a 409 first, and it was great! That boat (the purple one) pulled a bunch of the pros with full ballast and a good number of people onboard, and the 409 handled it just fine. After that, I spent some time in one with the 550 (the red one), and it was just a rocket ship. I am going to ride in one with the 343 (the gunmetal/yellow one) on Friday at OWC.
I didn't ride behind one on Thursday, but I might on Friday. For some reason I just can't bring myself to ride after all of the pros have just gone out and thrown down. I can't imagine why.
Here are the specs:
Length Overall
21’ 6” / 6.55 m
Length with Platform
23’ 9" / 7.24 m
Lifting Ring Spacing
20’ 1.75" / 6.14 m
Beam
102" / 2.59 m
Draft
25" / 0.64 m
Approximate Dry Weight
5,200 lbs / 2,359 kg
Fuel Capacity
46.5 gal / 176 l
Maximum Capacity
14 People / 2,200 lbs / 998 kg
Horsepower Range
343 to 550
Gear Reduction Ratio
2.0:1(343, 409, 450) 1.48:1 (550)
Maximum Factory Ballast Capacity
2,850 lbs / 1,293 kg
Here are some shots from Thursday:
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