What other dealers say about the G23

[CPT_D]

I just bought a house on Lake Lanier in North Georgia and decided that I was going to get my family (wife and 2 children ages 10 and 11) a new boat. I immediately knew that I wanted an inboard and I like the blunt nose or pickle fork look. I have some experience wake surfing and wake boarding but aside for a lesson or two my family has no experience at all. When I started looking at boats I decided to look at Malibu, Mastercraft, and Nautique. Of the 3 I narrowed my choices to the Nautique G23 and the Malibu MXZ 22 or 24. I love the Nautique and it is by far my favorite but when I told my salesperson from Malibu that I was going to way of the G23 he started telling me these horror stories about Nautique. He said that the G23 with a 450 (what I was/am looking at) will suck my pockets dry at the gas pump. He said that one of his customers has to fill his G23 daily on the weekends and at $5.10 a gallon that could get very expensive. Now I'm not poor by any means but spending upwards of $1000 a month on fuel seems crazy... He also said that even with all the ballast out of the boat it would be too much wake for my kids to learn to wakeboard on. I have to admit that I did notice a wake on the G23 in Beginner Wakeboarding mode but honestly I really didn't/don't know what I was looking at/for. He told me that when I'm surfing and fall, if my wife cuts the throttle immediately the wave will come over the stern and completely swamp the boat soaking everyone inside. I don't know if this is actually true as I didn't try it on the lake... Lastly, he told me that because of the way the boat was shaped my passengers would constantly get sprayed while traveling at speed even with light chop on the water (I ope that makes since). When I went on a test drive, I only noticed the windshield getting sprayed once and that was when we went through our own rollers while traveling slowly. I never got to see it traveling at speed gave the same results because I never got the boat above 35 (plenty fast form me).

So after all this I have doubt about buying the G23, which is why I'm here, so please help me out and tell me if any of you with G23s and the 450 are having any of these problems.

Thanks

[F725]

Was just at a demo event a few weeks ago... very windy and rough water. It was just the opposite for a dry ride, the "other guys" were constantly wiping down their windshields and interior from the spray, the G23 rode much dryer even with the spray.

The G23 is such a solid boat and higher than the others that it offers a safer ride in rough or calm water.

Can't speak on the fuel economy but with the new 2:1 transmission it's gotta be comparable to any others.

If a dealership needs to talk bad about other manufacturers to help their boats look better... something is wrong.

[robertsmcfarland]

you don't ask a pig if pork taste better than beef!! that said, look at my signature that tells you what I think about nautique.I cant type so I will let the other members chime in...

[aZ`]

I wouldn't buy a boat off a dealer that employs those kind of tactics, and I'd make a point of telling them that, and their boss if applicable. If they stretch the truth or even flat out lie to you to make a sale I can only imagine the rubbish you'll be told to evade a warranty claim if you ever needed one.

The G is a very solid boat!




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[scottb7]

I thought i heard the water over the back if you come off plane too quick was real. but others can chime in...

[kneebrdr]

I went on about a four hour demo, because before I drop $120k+ on a boat, I want to make sure that it had a great wake at all ranges because I have two young children and a wife. The biggest thing that I noticed was that at beginner speeds, 16-18, unweighted, the boat had a noticeable wake, but it was super clean. The issue with teaching new riders is not the size of the wake, but how it washes out creating a huge drop off. The drop off is what scares new riders, and makes it difficult to get back into the wake, not an issue. For wakeboarding I did like it weighted about 2000 lbs over stock, but that's just me, and there was no issue with water washing anyone out of the boat. now my 05 210 with additional 3500 lbs of weight does wash over the back. My wife is only 5'3" and she said that it drove like a charm, the bow barely rises on take off and turns, and it turns incredibility sharp for how big the boat is. We ride with the flip up seat up on 210, could sit flat in seat on G23. I thought it would ride and drive like a bath tub, but it is phenomenal. I did not notice any spray coming in the boat. The wake surf wake with the NSS was great, and not having to bias the boat to one side to where the rub rail is in the water is a huge safety consideration for me have two kids under two. Again, no water came in the boat when we stopped. The boat I demoed did have the 550XP, which had more than enough power, and we burned about $60 of gas in 4 hours, not any worse than my 210 loaded. Take the G23 and never look back, you will not be disappointed.

[waveman]

I live in Gainesville and have been to all the dealers many times over the years and the sales people at Singleton have always seemed sleezy. In my visits they have constantly bashed other brands, claimed that known issues with Malibus are not actually problems, and claimed that all the other dealers on Holiday Rd have twice the markup. I have never been on a G23, but I would be extremely sceptical about everything that the Malubu salesman is telling you. The only way I could possibly see going through that much gas and having the wave come over the back of the boat is if you had excessive amounts of extra ballast. Reguardless, go to Marine Max and see either Mike or Konrad, they will take you on a demo and you can find out everything for yourself.

On a side note, I have a buddy who has a comparable Malibu to my Nautique (2007 23') and the difference in quality is excessively obvious, and has been for a while. His upholstery is literally falling apart, everything in the boat rattles, and he has had several motor problems (bad fuel pump, alternator etc). I am sure the Malibu is a little cheaper than the G23, but it is not an apples to apples comparison, in my opinion.

[Shockthis]

I think that you have to look at the company. They donated a boat and a house to charity this year. I have been screwed over by another boat company. It seems like a company that has values like Nautique, will take care of you.
When looking between Malibu and Nautique, the sales people representing Nautique did not bash the other boat brand, but the Malibu dealers felt that it was there duty to bash the other brand instead of just telling me the advantages of there boat. anyway I bought my first Nautique the 210 and it has been awesome.
The nss surf wave is great and the wakeboard wake is amazing. I just pulled a bunch of mastercraft and malibu guys who competed and they loved the wake. For me the g23 seamed like over kill for most people but would be the boat I would go with if I had a bigger crew and lived on a bigger lake.
I would go Nautique all day long.

[s_kelley2000]

I thought i heard the water over the back if you come off plane too quick was real. but others can chime in...

I remember hearing about this a little bit too. I think it's only when heavily weighted and chopping the throttle right back to neutral. Coming off plane a little slower and/or making a slight turn as you come off plane avoid this and the wave helps to turn you around to get back to your rider without power turning. Similar tactics were needed in the early 90s models that had sloped transoms.

[wakeslasher69]

I'll chime in since you are asking....I have had MC, Malibu and now a G23. I will say I LOVE the Nautique over the MC's I have had in the past. The boat just prior to my Nautique was a 2009 Malibu 247 LSV. Aka lake limo! I will say I really liked that boat a lot and could not bad mouth Malibu overall. Just for me, the G23 was what I was looking for overall to move up to for surfing and wakeboarding. My G is the 2013 version with the XS550. It is little more thirsty than my Malibu but I chalk that up to a smaller gas tank. I will say that if you are worried about gas "mileage" don't look at any of these boats! LOL! But I suspect if you can afford a $120K boat then paying for gas for 3-4 mos out of the year won't break you. (I notice WAY more consumption with tubing the kids than I do over the same period wakeboarding or surfing.) Yes if you "slam on breaks" when coming off plane then yes you can get water over the back. I learned that and now just come off slower and turn a little as I do, problem solved. For me I LOVE the walk through so its not a issue for me.

I also agree with PP that as long as the beginner wake is clean there isn't a problem and mine is clean on the G. Sooooo bottom line drive both and buy what you like better. FWIW and IMHO I'd lean towards the Nautique. When I was selling my Malibu early last year I was starting to have a few "gremlins" pop up here and there but nothing that would make me say stay away from Malibu. Like you I considered the MXZ line and in the end went G23. Again for my opinion the "blade" sticking out the side of the Malibu just didn't seem the best solution but I'm not an engineer either, I prefer the blade closer to the hull for more support. Good luck!

[Dukeboiler]

You won't be sorry. Too much to type but my wife and I have 3 kids that are all pretty beginner-ish and took delivery of our 450 G23 6 weeks ago and love it. Haven't kept a keen eye on fuel but doesn't feel like i'm at the pump any more than i was with my I/O although I'm sure I am. Wake is great, surf is great, stability of boat in chop is great, etc. That's the main reason we went with G23 over X30 and Malibu - those boats are great but felt very toy-ish compared to G23. Even though we have a lake house with a dock, we spend a lot of time on the boat swimming, cruising, tubing, seeing friends, etc - on top of wake/surf - so having something that felt almost as smooth and stable as my cobalt was important. Feel free to private message me / call me if you want to chat as I'll walk you through my entire process on purchase, test drive, etc. By the way - i'm nearby - based in Nashville.

[ddipert]

I'm in a sales role (I don't sell boats but sales is sales) have you ever heard of FUD (see link below)? Most of the time when a sales person feels they are going to loose the deal to brand X they will throw out the FUD. I would question why any sales person puts down brand X. Sell on the merit of your own product. Do your own research and drive/ride them all only you can chose what's best for your families needs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear,_u...inty_and_doubt

We have a Malibu dealer just down the road from me, I like the owner and people working there. They know I own a Nautique, but have never said anything bad about it. I doubt they ever will.

[AllianceBJJ]

Thats funny....The Malibu dealer here in DFW does the same thing when trying to "sell" their product....Them bad mouthing the other brands and dealers in the are was the biggest thing that drove me away from Malibu at the time.....

[NMNautique]

Just purchased a 2014 G25

We have been out on our boat 5 weekends now and not once have we flooded the boat. The boat will not disappoint you. Memorial Day weekend we had quite a bit of bad weather and did notice the over spray but everyone else in our group did too on the good weather days it was not an issue. The Hull on the G series is massive and I would think it would be less than any other boat. We have a whole range of guests from beginner to intermediate wakeboarders and all of them love the wake and the versatility. Beginners will only be beginners for so long and then they will want more. One of the biggest benefits of the G series is the built-in ballast which in turn gives you an incredible amount of storage. Our friends have a Master Craft and are in the process of adding some ballast which will eat up about 1/3 of their storage and still not even come close to the stock ballasts the G has. Go G and never look back.

[seth]

There is absolutely no better boat on the market than the G23 right now. I love Nautique, but if there was a better boat I would not deny it. That dealership must be getting hit pretty hard by the G23 in sales to employ these tactics.