210 SANTE 343 vs 409

[ruckman03]

I am looking at used 2012-2014 210 SANTE. I enjoy wakeboarding and wakesurfing. Do I need the 409hp engine for an improved wake? Any advice on year/engine will be appreciated.

[Austin179]

I have a 2014 210 with the 343, pro ballast, and NSS.
For surfing and riding around the 343 is great.
If wakeboarding with all of the tanks and additional ballast full the 343 struggles a little to get on a plane. Not terrible, but noticeable.
If the 409 is a possibility (availability and pricing) and you are going to be doing a lot of wakeboarding I would say do it.
If you will be mainly surfing then the 343 is good.

[scottb7]

just get a bigger prop and keep the 343. http://www.wakemakers.com/nautique-w...oat-propellers

[Austin179]

just get a bigger prop and keep the 343. http://www.wakemakers.com/nautique-w...oat-propellers

What kind of top speed would you get with a bigger prop?
I was told by my dealer that the 2014 with pro ballast and NSS comes with a large prop.
I havnt looked into this much, but would be interested if what they told me was wrong.

[bradw]

I am looking at used 2012-2014 210 SANTE. I enjoy wakeboarding and wakesurfing. Do I need the 409hp engine for an improved wake? Any advice on year/engine will be appreciated.

If you're going to slam your boat with lots of extra weight then you'll need the 409 if not you'll get away with the 343.

IMHO you there is nothing worse than driving and/or riding behind a boat that's struggling to get onto the plane after its been slammed.

[Paxdad]

The 343 is fine under all conditions provided you have it propped correctly and weight distributed accordingly. I have seen some folks weight their boats heavily in the rear and do nothing in the front and the 210 suffers until weight is added in the front. However unless you are a pro level rider the wake from a 2012-2014 with stock ballast full is more than most anyone on this forum can manage. Hence the 343 is more than enough.

[Evening Shade]

I agree with Paxdad. I have a 210 with ZR450 and it struggles a little to plane with stock ballast plus 600# sacks in the rear. Obviously, I need weight in the bow, but haven't gotten around to that yet. Hopefully, ballancing the ballast will make a word of difference. BTW, my prop is a 1579.

[Paxdad]

Evening Shade,
Did you buy the your 210 recently from Marine Max? If so that was a great boat and the ZR450 is a rare find. I run a 1579 prop as well.

[OKWAKEBDR]

Note...the boat changed in 2014, so comparing a 2012-2014 is not the same thing. I have a 2012 with about 2k lbs of ballast (total approximately 2800 lbs) on top and the 343. I run the Acme 1617 and have zero problems getting out of the hole even when the boat is loaded with people. I can't imagine needing any more than a 343 in the boat unless you are at elevation or want to go 40+mph (it is a wakeboat...why do you need to go that fast?)

[Evening Shade]

Paxdad,
Yes I did buy my boat from Marine Max in Buford in May. Don't know if the story is true, but what I was told is that my boat was ordered with a 409, but when the boat came down the assembly line there were no 409s in-house at Correct Craft to install so a 450 got installed instead. The boat has been great except for an overheating issue right after I got it home (less than 4 hrs after a flawless 20min test drive).

[Evening Shade]

Paxdad,
I told you wrong. My boat came from Singleton Marine Used boat center which is directly across the street from Marine Max. The original owner bought the boat new from Marine Max.

[xrichard]

Frankly, it's hard to know. Even if folks tell you the weight they've run and that the 343 got them on plane easily or not...that doesn't tell you much w/o knowing the weight distribution. For instance, I ran a 2008 210 for years typically weighted with 2400lbs-3000lbs. I had a fairly strong bias toward rear weight (e.g. about 60% of the weight in the rear lockers, 20% mid (under the side seats...a bit toward the back) and 20% up front). The boat was difficult to get on plane with 3000lbs. But if one person sat in the bow, that was enough to make a difference. Anything above 1000 ft and I'd drop weight (another option would be to move more weight forward, but that changes the shape of the wake).

Also, keep in mind that the 409 and 343 have a similar torque curve under 3500 rpm...so I'm not sure how much more power you'll see with the 409. At the end of the day, I think the 343 is adequate and, if you do have an issue, a new prop should resolve it.

As an aside, while Paxdad is correct that the stock wake is really all anyone is going to need, in my opinion the stock wakeboard wake is weak. If you're working on wake-to-wake, then stock is all you really need or want. But a bigger wake allows for an easier edge in, easier pop, and overall less work while behind the boat. It's simply more enjoyable especially once you're beyond just clearing the second wake and you start with grabs, 180s, etc.

[SuperAirHokie]

I have a 2014 210 with a 343 - no problems. For wakeboard, I just use the Hydrogate to get it on plane and then pull it back. I only run stock ballast though.

[migs]

FYI - for the 07-Current 210's, 1500-2K above internal ballast is a MAKIN wake. There is no need to go over 2K above stock ballast on these boats.

[flounder]

Why do so many people keep on stating you need the 409 over the 343. They are obviously speaking from ignorance and not actually trialling. I can speak from experience and actually tried it today. 2 of us have the 230 one has 343 the other the 409. We have both tried many combinations with the pro ballast set up from 450, 750 and even 900 in rear. There is not a problem with either of these motors for this weight at surf or wakeboard speeds. They perform identical except at top end around 40. Both have 1235 prop. Today we had 4 adults and 4 kids. I'm not 100% sure but I believe we were both around 3300 rpms. I will say without the bow ballast with the 900s you will notice it is somewhat under power with both the 343 and 409. With that being said I prefer the 750s in the rear and that is only because I often ride low on fuel and with only a driver and rider. The 450s are great but when low on fuel the surf wave suffers. Bottom line if you are really going for a sunk boat type of wake then neither the 343 or 409 are going to work. Understand none of that is necessary. You will be better off and have a better experience picking a boat with your preferred color scheme and right price then going with the 409 in a boat that doesn't meet your wants. If you want to slam your boat you need to go bigger then the 409 or you will not be satisfied. Of course all my experience is in a 2014 230 not 210.