Opinions: GS22 vs 230

[fwd_loop]

Hi Whitecaps,

Thanks for your comments - very helpful as I am in the market for a replacement for our 211 for all 3 sports (slalom, wakeboard and surf).

I know you said you had a 196 for slalom, but have you tried skiing behind the GS22? If so, what were your thoughts around size/hardness of the wake and suitability for intermediate slalom skiers skiing in the 25 to 32 mph speed range.

[whitecaps]

whitecaps Thanks for the write up on your experiences with the GS22. I haven't had as much time in my GS20 as you have had in your 22 and I appreciate your explanation on how and when to use NCRS and NSS. It seems a little counter intuitive to me, but at least I can take your info and start experimenting with my boat with a little less trial and error.

Evening Shade, Glad to help. I think you will find that the more time spent in your GS20 the more you love it. My first outing was very strange due to the fact that I didn't have a clue about the NCRS or NSS. Don't be a afraid to turn the NCRS to Off rather than Auto low or high. And set it at 5. Thats the fully up position, non-active, but it carries the setting of 5(weird, counterintuitive). The boat will perform really well tracking wise and planes off fine (but not as quick as when using the lower number NCRS settings). Wake surfing and wake boarding will use the 5 setting anyways. Slalom skiing may be the only time other than turning or getting onto plane with a heavy load that you'd really need any other setting.
I have been told by several folks that the GS20 is actually a better surfing boat than the GS22 so I think you're going to be very happy after some time. I am very pleased with the surf wave even though I'm not much of a surfer at all. Also don't feel the urge to fill your tanks completely- at least not the belly. We ended up running it either empty or 50%. That seems to be all thats needed.

[whitecaps]

Hi Whitecaps,

Thanks for your comments - very helpful as I am in the market for a replacement for our 211 for all 3 sports (slalom, wakeboard and surf).

I know you said you had a 196 for slalom, but have you tried skiing behind the GS22? If so, what were your thoughts around size/hardness of the wake and suitability for intermediate slalom skiers skiing in the 25 to 32 mph speed range.

I have not skied behind the GS22 yet. Having the 196 , I just haven't tried it yet. I ran it up to 32 mph and took a look at the wake and it looks skiable for sure. To some, I'm sure it would be just fine. I would think the GS20 slalom wake would probably be better than our Gs22.

[MikeC]

I've skied behind our GS22 quite a few times - it's certainly not a 196 wake, but it's miles better than the 211. With the 211 I was always bracing for impact before hitting the wake, the GS22 has a decent sized wake, but it's very soft and you ski right through it. One thing I have noticed though is that it's very sensitive to weight laterally, with only the driver in the boat I put 150lbs of lead under the observers seat to balance the wake out, if not it has a curl on one side. Obviously shorter line length and higher speeds make the wake better, but my wife skis at 28mph and 15 off, she's far from a wake snob and even she says it's completely different and much softer and easier to ski than our old 211.

[kylant]

vacooley,

no that you have had time with your boat, do you care to comment about your experiences with it? how is it working out for you? how are the skiing and surfing going?

[thejean]

GS22 can surf well.

230 cannot ski well.

GS22 100%

[sbaird4000]

My wife and I were in your exact position this past July when we purchased our 1st Nautique. We ended up going for a demo on a GS22, 210 and 230. We surf 90% of the time so the surf wave was most important to us. The GS22 produced a mediocre surf wave at best. No offense to anyone with a GS22 (this is solely based on our personal preference). The 210 had an improved surf wave to the GS but the boat felt a bit unstable in rough water. The 230 had a great surf wave and was far more stable in rough water. We ended up purchasing the 230 and haven't questioned or decision a single time. We now have it dialed in and even my buddy who owns a 2017 Malibu LSV is impressed with the surf wave. We ended up replacing the 400 pound rear sacs with wakemakers exact fit 650's and added a sac under the seats in the bow as well. I will say however, we rarely ever use the bow sac. We also added 500 pounds of leadwake which is distributed 100 pounds on the starboard side and 400 pounds on the port side. The surf wave is beyond amazing! Our 2 favorite settings thus far are rear 650's full, midship / bow sub floor tank full, 400 pounds of lead wake on the port side spread (250 lbs under the 650 sac) and (150 lbs under the rear seat as far back as possible) NSS 1 or 2, hydrogate at 2, cruise at 11.2. The other setting is exactly the same with the exception that we set the NSS at 4, Hyrdrogate at 3 or 2 (adjusted to clean up the wave) and the cruise set at 10.4. The first setting produces a very long wave with a huge amount of push far back and a massive pocket. The second setting produces a very tall and steep wave that isn't nearly as long but still has a great amount of push. Hope this helps you! Enjoy your boat, we sure do love ours!

[Conrade]

I too had to make the decision between the 230 and gs22 last year. After looking online and not being able to find any clear comparisons, my friend put me in touch with the Nautique factory rep. I asked him to compare the surfing of the 230, gs22 and G23. He told me that even though the G23 has the largest wake, he preferred surfing behind the 230 over the gs22 and G23. Because surfing was the most important consideration for me, I chose to order the 230.

I have now surfed behind the 230, gs22, g23 and lsv 23. While all the boats are great, there are differences between the surfing that you will notice if you switch from one boat to the other.

Here are my thoughts:

1. 230 – The 230 is the most difficult to dial-in. I was disappointed with the wake until I put in 750s, added 500 pounds of lead and dialed back the speed. Now that I have everything in place, the wake is the smoothest of the 4 and in my opinion the most enjoyable to ride. It was frustrating that I had to spend the money and effort to modify a 100k boat.
2. G23 – The G23 has a great wake out of the box. It has more push than any of the other boats and is the longest. The drawback is the wake is not as smooth and nicely shaped as the 230. Both of the G23’s that I’ve surfed behind had stock ballast…so I’m sure you could really create a monster wake by adding lead.
3. Lsv23 – I spent a couple summers surfing behind the Malibu before I bought my 230. I really liked the simplicity of the surf settings vs. the Nautiques. It is easy to find a good wake that has a lot of push. If I had to choose a boat to surf behind it would be close to the 230 and G23 and ahead of the GS22...of course I would have to be willing to overlook the Malibu’s annoying bow rise.
4. Gs22 – The GS22 is a really nice boat that does everything. The trade-off is that the surf wake is not as nice as the other boats. If you haven’t surfed the other boats you won’t know the difference and will have fun surfing. If you have surfed the other boats you will notice the surf wake is closer to the boat. The wake also has a weird lip that I personally don’t like. I will mention that my friend’s GS22 that I surf behind only has pro ballast. He is adding 750s this summer, so it may change my overall opinion.

Overall my opinion is this:

1. If money is no object buy the G23.
2. If you have a budget and primarily care about surfing, buy the 230.
3. If surfing is less important and you want an all-around nice boat, buy the GS22.
4. If you can’t find a Nautique buy the Lsv23.

Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a magazine or website like Car and Driver or Motortrend that tested boats and provided unbiased comparisons?

[Adrenaline1]

Thanks for the review. So your friends GS22 must be a 2019? Isn't that the first year of the pro ballast option on the GS22? He is adding another pair of 750's on top of that? Just trying to make sure I understand correctly. thanks again.

[Conrade]

No. We ordered our boats last January at the same time. I thought he had 400s and was going to switch to 750s this year. I just asked him about the ballast and you are correct. He only has the stock hard tanks. The Pro Ballast was not available last year.

[Adrenaline1]

Ok, I am interested to see how it does after the upgrade then.

[kylant]

i went with the GS22 with pro ballast. I really liked the 230, but not really a fan of adding a bunch of additional weight to it to surf. I still waterski, so that was a huge consideration. The 230 was skiable, but if weight was added, it would not have been.
I was able to surf the GS20 all summer, so I feel with the additional ballast of the 22, it should be fine.
If you are dedicated to surfing and don't mind adding a bunch of weight, go 230 (or G)

[Evening Shade]

Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a magazine or website like Car and Driver or Motortrend that tested boats and provided unbiased comparisons?

That would be great! Unfortunately it doesn’t exist and never did. Even before Wakeboarding magazine went the way of the dinosaur, the magazine boat tests never offered objective opinion. They read exactly the same as the manufacturer’s brochure so they were really no help to the buyer. I guess the magazine didn’t want to make their advertisers (boat manufacturers) mad. I wonder if this lack of objective opinion ironically ended up being one of the death nails to wakeboard magazines.

[Chuckfzs]

Kylant....you mentioned you have a GS with pro ballast. I have seen the surf wake without the pro ballast. Is it a huge improvement? I don’t need the extra storage so I would love your feedback on surfing. Thanks in advance.

[mikenbike211]

Kylant....you mentioned you have a GS with pro ballast. I have seen the surf wake without the pro ballast. Is it a huge improvement? I don’t need the extra storage so I would love your feedback on surfing. Thanks in advance.

I’ll be running my gs22 w/ pro ballast this year for the first time.ill be taking lots of pics ... plus I’ll be adding 700# of lead also


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