G21 vs G23

[OxDoc]

For those of you who have owned or ridden behind both, which do you prefer for wakeboarding and wakesurfing.

[JoeA]

+1 for the G23 but I have never been in a G21 on the water.

[ajulian3]

I own a 23 so I'm probably being biased, but we spent a lot of time in both before pulling the trigger on the 23.

[KTM525]

2015: Wakesurfing with stock ballast: G21, Wakeboarding with Stock Ballast: G23

Don't know how much better the 2016 G23 is...

[JoeA]

Oxdoc

You're going to get varying opinions on what model people prefer. If you can tell us what's important to you, how large your crew is, if the in floor cooler is important, storage capabilities etc.

I don't think you can go wrong with either model.

[OxDoc]

The size of our crew varies, but I have a family of 5, so 5-9 people usually. Storage is definitly important and is one of the big reasons for looking at the G. I love the idea of no sacks in the lockers. We wakeboard 40%, surf 40%, and float and let the kids swim 20%. Wakeboarding we usually do not fill up ballast, but obviously we slam it for surfing. In floor cooler is nice but I've managed this long without one, so it's not a big deal to me. I have three kids so if one boat gets a clean wake at a slower speed than the other this would matter. My current boat is 21.6 feet and we never feel cramped, so if we go bigger it's just to get the better boat. Are the differences in wake and surf pretty small or more night and day?

[migs]

with a usual crew of 5-9 id say the 23 is better for you.
If you have a usual crew of 3-5(like myself) the 21 would suffice.

[Kenv]

I agree with migs above....that's why I went with the 21 also . I think the width of the G boats is where it really shines on the interior space.

[Wayward]

I own a G21, and a close friend has a G23. Probably spend as much time in one, as I do the other. Both of us prefer the surf, and wakeboard wake, on the the G23, as does the rest of our crew. There isn't a ton of difference between them, but we find the following things about the G21-

1- Surf wave is steep and narrower. Listing the boat slightly helps a lot with this, and makes it more like the evenly weighted 23. However, we can't transfer with that setup. We tried a bunch of different speeds and NCRS settings, but can't quite get the wave just right. Still an awesome wave though.

2- G21 Wakeboard wake has a tricky sort of lip on the top. It just takes you by surprise at the top of the wake, and can tend to throw you off your game a little bit. We found that running NCRS plate down a couple clicks gets rid of that, however, it takes a little bit away from the size of the wake. All in all, this is being hypercritical, because both wakeboard wakes are exceptional, and 90% mirror images of each other. Just a tiny little advantage to the G23.

[Beg4wake]

I own a G21, and a close friend has a G23. Probably spend as much time in one, as I do the other. Both of us prefer the surf, and wakeboard wake, on the the G23, as does the rest of our crew. There isn't a ton of difference between them, but we find the following things about the G21-

1- Surf wave is steep and narrower. Listing the boat slightly helps a lot with this, and makes it more like the evenly weighted 23. However, we can't transfer with that setup. We tried a bunch of different speeds and NCRS settings, but can't quite get the wave just right. Still an awesome wave though.

2- G21 Wakeboard wake has a tricky sort of lip on the top. It just takes you by surprise at the top of the wake, and can tend to throw you off your game a little bit. We found that running NCRS plate down a couple clicks gets rid of that, however, it takes a little bit away from the size of the wake. All in all, this is being hypercritical, because both wakeboard wakes are exceptional, and 90% mirror images of each other. Just a tiny little advantage to the G23.

I agree with Wayward....To me, the G21 wake reminds me a LOT of my friends HEAVILY (4000lbs) weighted 2008 SAN 230. very "poppy" but that little nudge at the top almost makes it hard to really charge the wake or boot out into the flats. GREAT for learning inverts though such as backrolls, spins, etc. I think that with your specifications, you will ultimately be happier with a G23. And if you're in the realm of looking at 2016 models, then pretty much ALL aspect of the 23 are better (maybe sans wakeskating). IMO!

[mooseknuckles]

I have surfed behind a '15 G23 and G21 with 9 people in the G23 and 8 in the G21. The push, steepness and length of the wave was exponentially better behind the G23 vs G21. Granted we had an additional 1800lbs of added ballast in the G23 (2200lbs vs 400lbs). The interior seating space was comfortable with a full crew on the G23. It felt cramped in the G21. No passengers were in the bow on either boat. With your family and crew size, G23.

[Whitetail15]

I disagree. I own a 2015 G21 and run a 1100 lb in port locker. The wave is very long. Long enough to surf two riders at the same time. It also has enough push for me at 185lbs to surf my ronix wakeboard without the rope.

I was in 2014 G23 last week. It had extra 400 sacs in each locker. The wave was not as long or clean at any setting, but did transfer better and quicker due to the even weight.

[Wayward]

I can see how you would like the G21 with that setup, whitetail....... That was why I mentioned that listing a G21 made it a lot better. The more you list it, the wider and longer it gets. However, most of the crew is all at the stage of playing around with transfers, riding switch, 180 transfers etc...... And we can't get the wave that we love, and still be able to transfer constantly. In the G23 we can.

Listed, the G21 definitely puts out one **** of a wave. Loaded level, it's just a bit steep for our liking, it's fairly narrow, and has a board swallowing pit at the front outside edge of the wave!

[mooseknuckles]

...Loaded level, it's just a bit steep for our liking, it's fairly narrow, and has a board swallowing pit at the front outside edge of the wave!

THIS! That board swallowing pit is prevalent and extremely frustrating on the G21. I have never experienced it on a 2015 G23 or 2015 230. I have not surfed either the G21 or G23 listed as we too ride switch and play with transfers.

[Kenv]

LOL.....I hit "The Pit" last Saturday......just surfing along smooth and GA GOW...board gets "CHOMPED" !!!