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My review of the CC 220... enjoy:
Opening:
There has been much talk about the Correct Craft Super Air 220 in the past few months. Most of us Correct Craft owners were looking for a boat that captured the SAN 210 wake, but was bigger with more storage. With the 226 not quite fitting that expectation, hopes for the 220 have been high. I had the opportunity to take a test ride of the 2006 SAN 220 thanks to Mack at Cobalt Boats of Atlanta. I decided to write a quick review of the boat to give you my view of its performance.
Initial Impressions:
The 220 is larger than the 210, but does not look overly huge like others in its class. The 2 most noticeable features of this boat are the new tower and seating configuration. The tower is quite massive with a substantial “swoop” toward the back of the boat. The seating configuration and sun deck has a “different” configuration unlike any other I have seen on the SAN. Wrap Around seating is back with a twist… it had a moveable back seat and back rests.
Some of the key features I noticed in the 220 are the following:
• The Back seat is moveable from its normal configuration (seat at the back) to a “Viewing” position (seat in the middle, facing backwards).
• There is much more storage room in this boat compared to a SAN 210.
• Factory ballast does not take up all the room in the sun deck storage compartments and in the ski locker even with ballast added.
• Both back rests have more functionality than just back rests. Behind the driver is a trash can and on the port side is more storage. The port side backrest is removable if the need ever arises.
• On top of the engine is a storage compartment. The intent I believe is to store the things you would need to ride (jackets, ropes, soap, etc).
• There is better head room in this boat and allowed you to walk around the without bumping your head on the tower; even with the 2 speakers attached.
• Rotating board racks were added allowing full rotation of the boards on the boat.
• Snap out carpeting was included.
The Wake:
The 220 is 4000lbs dry and had the 900lb factory ballast system included. We decided to add some weight to see what the 220 wake would really be like in a competition setting. We added 1400 lbs of water weight and about 1400lbs of people weight. The result was a wake that was pretty BIG! I calculated knee deep to thigh high on some riders. The shape appeared to be a cross between the 210 wake and those wakes that are more “Rampy” in shape. It did offer pretty good pop but not explosive pop like a 210 offers. The most surprising aspect of the wake to me was the fact that it was still pretty narrow. The 220 is about 5 feet wider than a 210. These 5 feet did not transfer into a much wider wake at all. I actually felt it was very comparable to the width on the 210. I enjoyed the ride behind the boat, but felt it didn’t quite match to a 210 wake. This was a minus for me but may not be for other people. It really depends on what you like in wake shape. One of the riders actually told me in his opinion the 220 offered the perfect wake.
The Drive:
The 220 dashboard represented a standard Correct Craft look and feel. The turning was very good on this boat and it drove very well in choppy water. I felt the driving was much better than the 210 due to it’s handling in choppy conditions (this was confirmed after the demo when I took my 210 out). The 220 is approximately 1000lbs heavier than a 210. Even with this weight difference, I did not seem to notice the 220 as being a much heavier boat to drive. It did have some trouble with “hole-shot” which lead me to believe the stock engine (which this one had) was too small for this boat. Visibility was very good on this boat as well. Perfect Pass had some nice features. You can now turn it on an off while driving the boat. I also offered some throttle control while you were driving turns by adding a slight increase in speed as you made your turns. This to me made driving double ups with perfect pass a breeze. The most interesting feature that impacts the drive was the “The Hydro-Gate”. It is Correct Crafts version of wake shape and boat driving characteristic control. This is accomplished by a vertical mounted plate that slides up and down at the bottom back portion of the hull approximately a quarter of an inch. This quarter of an inch changes the water flow on the bottom of the hull and in turn forces the back of the boat up or down in the water. This became very useful with initial hole-shot or when hitting choppy water. It also seemed to help clean up the lip of the wake when it needed it. As I mentioned early the only minus to me was the stock engine. I would have loved to see how this boat would have performed if it had a larger power plant!
The Ride Inside:
The 220 interior was that most interesting part of this boat. It had wrap around seating with backrests in the port and starboard portions of the boat. To test the seating out, I decided to ride in 3 main spots; the Bow, the Observer seat, and with back seat in “Viewing” model. All locations were relatively comfortable. The reversible back seat is a great feature. It broke the boat in 2 halves; back half for viewing and the front have for whatever else (fluff, etc.). The only issue with the back seat in this configuration was the fact you had to “hurdle” it to get to the front or back of he boat. At one point we had 7 people in the boat. The 220 held everyone with plenty of room to spare. Another drawback to me was the fact that the new seating configuration with the back rests didn’t allow for any true “stretch out” room. This could be overcome by removing the Port backrest. However, if you needed to do that, I wondered why it was offered in the first place and if it added any value other than more storage. I also found that the sun decks configuration seemed smaller than what I thought it should have been. I had to agree with one of our riders during the day… there was just enough room for maybe just one person to lie out (my 210 can handle 2). Although these are issues, I found them to be only minor downsides to the ride. Overall, I found the boat to be very comfortable during the ride.
Summarization… the Pluses and Minuses:
Quick summary of what I found to be the pluses and minuses:
220 Pluses:
• The amount of storage was very nice.
• Snap out carpeting
• Moving the back seat to reverse “viewing position
• Rotating board racks
• Wake was big before the added weight and only got bigger as we added weight.
• I liked the drive of the boat quite a bit. It is a bigger and heaver boat than what I am used to, but didn’t drive like it.
• The Hydro-Gate is a cool feature that does change wake dynamics and driving characteristics
• Perfect Pass had some nice on/off recovery features which made driving the boat even easier than in my boat.
• Seating was comfortable
220 Minuses:
• Even though it was close, it was not a 210 wake (which is good or bad depending on your point of view)
• The stock engine really didn’t cut it. I would go for the engine upgrade
• No real “Stretch” room for passengers.
• With the back seat in “viewing” mode, you had to hurdle it when moving from the front of the boat to the back and vice versa.
• It is a big boat. At 4000lbs you would need a definite muscle truck to pull it. With gas prices today, could force you to pay extra at the pumps just hauling the beast!
Bottom Line
I found the 220 to be a very good wakeboard boat. It had more room than my current 210, but did not offer me the type of wake I was hoping for. So I had to ask myself, would I buy this boat? The pluses of the 220 to me seem to out weight the minuses. So yes… I would definitely consider buying this boat. The caveat is that I would probably buy another 210 before buying the 220. If I couldn’t buy a 210 for some reason, I would definitely take a hard look at some of the competitors before buying a 220. I was not overly “Wowed” by this boat. What would have wowed me would have been if this boat was a bigger 210. Even though it didn’t fit that bill it was close enough to put the SAN 220 on my “Strong Consideration” list.
Opening:
There has been much talk about the Correct Craft Super Air 220 in the past few months. Most of us Correct Craft owners were looking for a boat that captured the SAN 210 wake, but was bigger with more storage. With the 226 not quite fitting that expectation, hopes for the 220 have been high. I had the opportunity to take a test ride of the 2006 SAN 220 thanks to Mack at Cobalt Boats of Atlanta. I decided to write a quick review of the boat to give you my view of its performance.
Initial Impressions:
The 220 is larger than the 210, but does not look overly huge like others in its class. The 2 most noticeable features of this boat are the new tower and seating configuration. The tower is quite massive with a substantial “swoop” toward the back of the boat. The seating configuration and sun deck has a “different” configuration unlike any other I have seen on the SAN. Wrap Around seating is back with a twist… it had a moveable back seat and back rests.
Some of the key features I noticed in the 220 are the following:
• The Back seat is moveable from its normal configuration (seat at the back) to a “Viewing” position (seat in the middle, facing backwards).
• There is much more storage room in this boat compared to a SAN 210.
• Factory ballast does not take up all the room in the sun deck storage compartments and in the ski locker even with ballast added.
• Both back rests have more functionality than just back rests. Behind the driver is a trash can and on the port side is more storage. The port side backrest is removable if the need ever arises.
• On top of the engine is a storage compartment. The intent I believe is to store the things you would need to ride (jackets, ropes, soap, etc).
• There is better head room in this boat and allowed you to walk around the without bumping your head on the tower; even with the 2 speakers attached.
• Rotating board racks were added allowing full rotation of the boards on the boat.
• Snap out carpeting was included.
The Wake:
The 220 is 4000lbs dry and had the 900lb factory ballast system included. We decided to add some weight to see what the 220 wake would really be like in a competition setting. We added 1400 lbs of water weight and about 1400lbs of people weight. The result was a wake that was pretty BIG! I calculated knee deep to thigh high on some riders. The shape appeared to be a cross between the 210 wake and those wakes that are more “Rampy” in shape. It did offer pretty good pop but not explosive pop like a 210 offers. The most surprising aspect of the wake to me was the fact that it was still pretty narrow. The 220 is about 5 feet wider than a 210. These 5 feet did not transfer into a much wider wake at all. I actually felt it was very comparable to the width on the 210. I enjoyed the ride behind the boat, but felt it didn’t quite match to a 210 wake. This was a minus for me but may not be for other people. It really depends on what you like in wake shape. One of the riders actually told me in his opinion the 220 offered the perfect wake.
The Drive:
The 220 dashboard represented a standard Correct Craft look and feel. The turning was very good on this boat and it drove very well in choppy water. I felt the driving was much better than the 210 due to it’s handling in choppy conditions (this was confirmed after the demo when I took my 210 out). The 220 is approximately 1000lbs heavier than a 210. Even with this weight difference, I did not seem to notice the 220 as being a much heavier boat to drive. It did have some trouble with “hole-shot” which lead me to believe the stock engine (which this one had) was too small for this boat. Visibility was very good on this boat as well. Perfect Pass had some nice features. You can now turn it on an off while driving the boat. I also offered some throttle control while you were driving turns by adding a slight increase in speed as you made your turns. This to me made driving double ups with perfect pass a breeze. The most interesting feature that impacts the drive was the “The Hydro-Gate”. It is Correct Crafts version of wake shape and boat driving characteristic control. This is accomplished by a vertical mounted plate that slides up and down at the bottom back portion of the hull approximately a quarter of an inch. This quarter of an inch changes the water flow on the bottom of the hull and in turn forces the back of the boat up or down in the water. This became very useful with initial hole-shot or when hitting choppy water. It also seemed to help clean up the lip of the wake when it needed it. As I mentioned early the only minus to me was the stock engine. I would have loved to see how this boat would have performed if it had a larger power plant!
The Ride Inside:
The 220 interior was that most interesting part of this boat. It had wrap around seating with backrests in the port and starboard portions of the boat. To test the seating out, I decided to ride in 3 main spots; the Bow, the Observer seat, and with back seat in “Viewing” model. All locations were relatively comfortable. The reversible back seat is a great feature. It broke the boat in 2 halves; back half for viewing and the front have for whatever else (fluff, etc.). The only issue with the back seat in this configuration was the fact you had to “hurdle” it to get to the front or back of he boat. At one point we had 7 people in the boat. The 220 held everyone with plenty of room to spare. Another drawback to me was the fact that the new seating configuration with the back rests didn’t allow for any true “stretch out” room. This could be overcome by removing the Port backrest. However, if you needed to do that, I wondered why it was offered in the first place and if it added any value other than more storage. I also found that the sun decks configuration seemed smaller than what I thought it should have been. I had to agree with one of our riders during the day… there was just enough room for maybe just one person to lie out (my 210 can handle 2). Although these are issues, I found them to be only minor downsides to the ride. Overall, I found the boat to be very comfortable during the ride.
Summarization… the Pluses and Minuses:
Quick summary of what I found to be the pluses and minuses:
220 Pluses:
• The amount of storage was very nice.
• Snap out carpeting
• Moving the back seat to reverse “viewing position
• Rotating board racks
• Wake was big before the added weight and only got bigger as we added weight.
• I liked the drive of the boat quite a bit. It is a bigger and heaver boat than what I am used to, but didn’t drive like it.
• The Hydro-Gate is a cool feature that does change wake dynamics and driving characteristics
• Perfect Pass had some nice on/off recovery features which made driving the boat even easier than in my boat.
• Seating was comfortable
220 Minuses:
• Even though it was close, it was not a 210 wake (which is good or bad depending on your point of view)
• The stock engine really didn’t cut it. I would go for the engine upgrade
• No real “Stretch” room for passengers.
• With the back seat in “viewing” mode, you had to hurdle it when moving from the front of the boat to the back and vice versa.
• It is a big boat. At 4000lbs you would need a definite muscle truck to pull it. With gas prices today, could force you to pay extra at the pumps just hauling the beast!
Bottom Line
I found the 220 to be a very good wakeboard boat. It had more room than my current 210, but did not offer me the type of wake I was hoping for. So I had to ask myself, would I buy this boat? The pluses of the 220 to me seem to out weight the minuses. So yes… I would definitely consider buying this boat. The caveat is that I would probably buy another 210 before buying the 220. If I couldn’t buy a 210 for some reason, I would definitely take a hard look at some of the competitors before buying a 220. I was not overly “Wowed” by this boat. What would have wowed me would have been if this boat was a bigger 210. Even though it didn’t fit that bill it was close enough to put the SAN 220 on my “Strong Consideration” list.
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