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I am looking to upgrade from my 196 to a SV211 or 226, but can't really decide which would be the best choice. I have grown up competition waterskiing on small lakes. I spend most of my time now wakeboarding behind my 196 with a sky pole on some large lakes and rivers, it's just doesn't have enough room for our family of 4 and friends that join along. I like the idea of having a cross over to be able to go from wakesurfing to a skiable wake for teaching others. Also I like the 226 for its room, just concerned if it would handle as well as the SV211. I have grown to like the smooth rampy wake of the 196 even though it's small, so I want to stick with that. just bigger. I would appreciate any advice that anyone could offer that has had experience behind both boats. Thanks.
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Well, I can't comment on the 226, but I can say that a 211 has a nice smooth rampy wake. It is good for beginner to intermediate wakeboarders and still has a decent enough slalom wake at 32 or so. You can ballast it up for a bigger wake or to surf.
I like the size for about 6 or 7. Once you have 8 or nine, people have to be in the bow and you need to make sure you have good racks to keep boards up off the floor. I also have one of the single seats that we put right behind the driver, which is helps. I needed room for 9 as we are a family of 4 and our best friends are a family of 5. We've only wanted more space when hosting big parties.
If you don't care about the slalom wake, then the 226 would give you a bit more breathing room and will have a bigger surf wake, closer to the 230's.
If you want to slalom, then I would test ski each boat. I would offer you a pull if you were in the area.
Good luck with the search!
Doug -
I agree. The 211 is a class "C" ski boat, the 226 is not. If skiing is one of your activities, try before you buy. Coming from a 196 is going to be tough.
2007 SV211 SEComment
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Thank guys for the great feedback!! Very helpfully. A salmon wake isn't top priority on my list, but close to having room and a nice smooth wake. So I would love some feedback from some 226ers. I have rode behind a 08 210 for a short time and with out tweaking the wake it seem steeper than what I would like. I know the real test is riding them both, so hopefully I could get the chance down in Naples in February. Thanks and Merry Christmas!Comment
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I would guess that if you're coming from a 196, you are a pretty decent skiier..so I would say the ski wake of the 226 would be no problem for you to enjoy skiing. Like Skitower said...211 is better...but 226 is not bad. I have a 226 and used to ski the course back in the day...15/22 off...and the slalom wake is just fine. I went for the 226 for the room, which is feels a little roomier than the 211. I can say this, it does handle pretty good overall as far as holeshot, speed and trackingin turns. I would try to go with the post 2009 226, which is considered the Gen 2 226 after the restyle. I've had both an 05 and now a 10 and I love the 10 much better then the big booty 2005...lol. I have the 343 in the 10 and had the 330 in the 05. I'd don't sack it heavy so I don't need the bigger HP motor. I've got a neighbor with a 211 and he surfs all the time, but really loads that boat to the brink on the surf side. Let me know if you have any more specific questions about the 226.
KenComment
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I grew up competition skiing behind Ski Nautiques and went from a 1995 Ski Nautique to the 2005 SV211. A few years ago I started skiing again a bit more seriously and decided the SV211 was hurting my slalom skiing so I picked up a 98 Ski Nautique to compliment my SV211, even found one with almost the same color scheme as my 211. The 211 wake does not really get big and rampy, it's either small and rampy or steep depending on where you add the weight. It does most of what you ask from it but it does not really shine in any single area. In 2005 it was the best thing for my needs but almost 10 years later there are better options. If you are sticking with a used boat then the 211 is probably a good call. For some reason I never really liked the 226 styling?Comment
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I definitely agree with everyone's suggestion to test drive and ride your boat options. Plenty of spring boat shows coming up!
With that said, I'll throw out some info and opinions based on my search and final decision on our 2005 226. The 226 is definitely more comfortable for the 9 to 10 (or more) person range over the 211 just based on the longer length. The bonus for us was the extra depth in boat with the consideration of stability for kids in the boat, and the side walk-through is great! If you are now riding in bigger water, then you will appreciate the deeper and sharper forward hull of the 226. It handles rough water great, and is relatively agile without full ballast. Steering can get a little heavier when fully weighted, but that seems typical for any wake boat. The 226 does a good job for recreational skiing, and we have taught multiple new skiers behind ours. Very good skiers can probably slalom behind it, if absolutely necessary. The skiers in our group usually just choose someone elses boat in the group when they want to seriously slalom. As for wakeboarding and surfing, the wake is a solid ramp without ballast and can get progressively steeper with additional weighting for advancing skills. Speed is also helpful in adjusting the wake size and shape in our boat. The variation in the wake has worked great for beginners to experienced wakeboarders behind our boat.
Overall, we love our 2005 226! It has served as the perfect family/friends/ski/wakeboard/surf/relax boat for us. So, I guess that it does exactly what it was intended to do for us. We definitely look forward to upgrading to possibly a newer 226 or maybe even G boat in the future, but have always enjoyed the styling of our boat also.
Anyway, these are just my opinions and experiences. I hope that it might be helpful to you. Best wishes in finding your perfect boat, as long as it is a Nautique. ;-)Comment
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Thanks for all the great advice...and yes emagine it will be a Nautique. We have had 4 Nautique's in my family and all have been to good to go else where. Looking forward to boating season!Comment
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