G23 For Beginner/Kids- Need input

[CCool]

Curious for those of you with G23’s. I am a low level wakeboarder and new to wakesurfing (started dabbling last season- super fun). My wife is a new wakeboarder and also likes surfing. We have a 3 year old who I take out on the board with me to get him use to the sport and he digs wakeboarding and surfing.

Really like the G23 looks, quality and room. Price....not so much but not anything you can do about that!

My question is this: Am I stupid to go with a G considering my wife and I will never be close to pro wakeboarder or surfers and my kid will need a small wake to get used to and move up? I’ve been told by some that the G is overkill and could be difficult to train a little guy on.

I think the Nautique quality is top notch but I’m concerned that I’m spending top dollar to get a boat that won’t quite be what we need. It seems that we might be better served by a GS22 (I doubt we will ski, just board, surf and tube) but I don’t think I can get a surf save stock that matches the price tag and I don’t want bags all over the place to get a good wave.

I’ve been reading about the Supras and it seems they might have just what I need in the SL (space, sub floor ballast, autowake 2, plus clean wake at low speeds for beginner/kids) and for GS22 prices (maybe even lower?).

I know this is a Nautique forum so I don’t expect you all to be Supra fans but I’d like to know what you G owners honestly think about the accessibility of the G for beginners that want a learning wake that can slowly get bigger with experience level and then also the same with surf wave?

Thanks!


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[thejean]

We just bought a G. It’s a steep wave but you get used to it. This is only our second season surfing and we will be ok with it. A better boat to fit your needs might be the 230.

[st68]

You are not crazy at all. Re-sale on G23's vs Supra or other brands make it a no brainer. You are getting top notch quality regardless of your skill level and depreciation on Nautiques is much better than all the other brands.

[ironj32]

I think the G would be just fine for beginner wakeboarders. You can run it completely empty, NCRS at 0, rope at 50-55', at 17'ish mph. As you progress, you can add a little weight, speed, rope length and up the NCRS a notch or two...the wake will be consistent and just grow with your riding capabilities.

[lucky7t]

Is it just you three ?

If so look at a 210. Great boat for what your wanting .





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[ally505]

I’ll second going for a 210. We surf, wakeboard & ski and dare I say it, occasionally pull a tube, so this boat works perfectly for us, especially with young children.

[greggmck]

Remember everyone starts as a beginner. There is a real possibility that you and your kids will progress rapidly. So much so that in a few years your boat may be insufficient for your skill level. I cannot tell you how many families we bring on our G who say, "wow, I wish I would have not purchased my "xyz" boat and gotten a G." If it were me I would get the G23 because you will never want for a new boat...unless it's another G23. You will be very surprised how quickly you and your kids progress. My two kids started Wakesurfing in 2015. Both my son and daughter are now in contention to be in the top 5 in the world rankings. The G wave can be tailored for ANY surfer. Shift ballast to the front of the boat to flatten the wave, to the rear to steepen the wave. You can start with the tanks empty or partially full to keep the wave small. Kids progress very fast. By the end of the first month or two they will want full ballast and a steeper wave if they are surfing, or they will want to keep it flat if they are on a skim board. We compete on and demo many surf boats. The G is the best of the best and while there are other boats that have a good wave, IMHO they are not equal to the G in many respects: E.g. driver layout, build quality, resale value, wave symmetry, etc. My advice: Get the G. Invest in a good surf or skim board (Soulcraft, BluSurf, Kanuk, Phase 5, etc) and enjoy some of the best times you will ever have as a family.

[Shockthis]

It depends on what you are training your little one for, if you are training them to be a wakeboarder , then yes the g23 is too much boat. The wake is massive! I had a moomba outback v , a Nautique 210 and now a SL. I would say the most progression for wake boarding happened on the outback v. We could have a short rope and small wake that most could learn to gap in a short period of time.

The smaller boats like a 210 are great for teaching( i own a wakeboard/wakesurf school) because you can see the rider. I find with the G and the SL even with cameras , it is hard to see the rider and hard to communicate (especially for surfing)with them as the boat is so large. The surf wave and wakeboard wake are still great and you save a ton of cash.

The supra Sl is a great boat for surf wake as it has a ton of transition, it also has a clean wake down to 15 mph for wakeboarding . The G23 is the go to boat for many as they have been told it is the best for years. There are now other boats out there that compete with the G and are similar and in some people opinions are better. as for depreciation, will the g hold it's value a bit better , maybe. I would put the Sl against the g for wakeboard and surf wake? yup

Go demo them and see what you like the most

[jphdrake]

I agree with greggck, I have had personal experience with my 3 girls that all learned to surf and 2 out of the 3 learned to wakeboard behind the G23 starting at age 4. No ballast NCRS at 0 and short line will give you a good wake at 17mph. The 210 is a great boat as Shockthis said but if you want a G23 do not think you cant get it to do exactly what you want it to do for kids and skill levels for both surf and wakeboard. I will tell you my girls quickly learned to charge the wake of the G with absolutely no problem.

[greggmck]

It depends on what you are training your little one for, if you are training them to be a wakeboarder , then yes the g23 is too much boat. The wake is massive! I had a moomba outback v , a Nautique 210 and now a SL. I would say the most progression for wake boarding happened on the outback v. We could have a short rope and small wake that most could learn to gap in a short period of time.

The smaller boats like a 210 are great for teaching( i own a wakeboard/wakesurf school) because you can see the rider. I find with the G and the SL even with cameras , it is hard to see the rider and hard to communicate (especially for surfing)with them as the boat is so large. The surf wave and wakeboard wake are still great and you save a ton of cash.

The supra Sl is a great boat for surf wake as it has a ton of transition, it also has a clean wake down to 15 mph for wakeboarding . The G23 is the go to boat for many as they have been told it is the best for years. There are now other boats out there that compete with the G and are similar and in some people opinions are better. as for depreciation, will the g hold it's value a bit better , maybe. I would put the Sl against the g for wakeboard and surf wake? yup

Go demo them and see what you like the most

You are right there are many good boats on the market. We demoed the 2017 and 2018 SL. My good friend wanted a G but the price of the SL made it more compelling to him. I will say after surfing the 2017 and the 2018 SL it now has a much improved wave. However, the 2018 SL has a more asymmetrical surf wave than the G. The goofy side is massive and steep. But even with autowake on/off and 600lbs of lead on the regular side, plus four people, the regular side wave on the SL is not equal to the G and not nearly the same as the goofy side. The wave on the 237/257 Ri Centurions is great, nearly symmetrical and the boat is less money than the G. But IMHO it is also less boat. I don't care for the split screen, no real arm rest, the platform is too low in the water, RAMfill will leave you stranded with a full ballast if you have an engine failure or prop strike while full.

So yes, these are all good boats, Nautique needs to continue to improve the wave / wake of the G but if you can afford it, IMHO the G has the best features, build quality and a top quality wave on both sides.

[Shockthis]

You are right there are many good boats on the market. We demoed the 2017 and 2018 SL. My good friend wanted a G but the price of the SL made it more compelling to him. I will say after surfing the 2017 and the 2018 SL it now has a much improved wave. However, the 2018 SL has a more asymmetrical surf wave than the G. The goofy side is massive and steep. But even with autowake on/off and 600lbs of lead on the regular side, plus four people, the regular side wave on the SL is not equal to the G and not nearly the same as the goofy side. The wave on the 237/257 Ri Centurions is great, nearly symmetrical and the boat is less money than the G. But IMHO it is also less boat. I don't care for the split screen, no real arm rest, the platform is too low in the water, RAMfill will leave you stranded with a full ballast if you have an engine failure or prop strike while full.

So yes, these are all good boats, Nautique needs to continue to improve the wave / wake of the G but if you can afford it, IMHO the G has the best features, build quality and a top quality wave on both sides.

Well I am not sure how you surfed a 2017 Sl as it didn't exist. Maybe you surfed a SA?
I have surfed the g a lot and find the sl as good or better depending on what you are looking for. If you like a longer transition for surf then the SL is your boat, if you are looking for a super steap waves then the G is your boat. I can ride way out into the flats on the SL and Carve back in and I couldn't do it on the G.

[greggmck]

Sorry, the 2017 was the SA. Below is a pic of both boats during our demo. I suppose our opinions have a lot to do with personal preference, surf speed, style and side of the boat you surf. On the regular side I find the SA wave very short, not nearly as long as the G23 or RI235/237.




Here is a pic of the SL regular and goofy sides. In my opinion the wave is much shorter in length on the regular
side at 11.5mph than the G or the RI237/257. But it is better on the goofy side.




\
And here is a picture of our G wave on the regular side. Sorry but I can't boost this far back on the SL....

[Shockthis]

Well I have to say ours looks a lot longer and bigger, I will take some pics this week, maybe some dealing in needs to happen.

[greggmck]

Well I have to say ours looks a lot longer and bigger, I will take some pics this week, maybe some dealing in needs to happen.

Yea, don't get me wrong the SL is a very nice boat. If money were my top priority it would clearly be on my short list. My buddy purchased the blue one in the pictures above in March. I'm not sure he has it dialed in yet but he did add 600lbs of lead total with 400lbs on the regular side. We still surf together and I would love to learn what you might have done to make your wave longer. Do you surf in the 11.3 - 11.5 mph range? I know the wave gets longer if the speed is increased but that does not work so well in competition because it reduces the time one has for tricks between the pylons.

[Infinity]

Lol, turned the thread into a faceoff! They are both awesome boats and it always turns into what you personally like the most since everyone is different and what one person hates, the next guy is gonna love. I got an afternoon behind the SL with the Wake9 crew not that long ago and I was really impressed with the wave, stock ballast plus 600lbs of lead and there was around 8 of us in boat. He was running 10.8-11mph and wave was nice and long with great pop and push.
Over memorial day weekend, I spent an afternoon behind a new G25 and have ridden a couple G3's since last year, they seemed pretty similar to each other, just bigger. He was running bone stock, so wave could have easily gotten bigger, but for a stock G25 boat with 6-7 people in it, was also a great wave. Excellent shape, push and pop for someone with my limited experience.

I think you need to DEMO both boats and see what you like and agree that you should get exactly what you like and want NOW, or I guarantee that next summer you will be thinking about trading in, happens every time without fail (rates and prices will be higher next year, lol).
My personal take on the 2 if I were buying:
SL obviously is going to be priced better (you do not get the super high level of finish but by no means is it sub-par), resale remains to be seen tho so far the SL seems to be highly sought after and the things I love about that boat are the power tower, the redundant backup switches so you are not 100% reliant on a computer screen, sub-floor ballast, and sure there are a few other things I am forgetting...
Cons: Raptor power plant...uggg, enough said! The motor/gear noise is also louder for sure in cabin. (have a buddy with new SA that has the 575, if you are sitting in the back when he throttles it, forget hearing anything else going on around you). No way to get to transom without stepping on back seat.

G3 you are going to pay more, but you will also get more back...depreciation does seem to be a less with Nautique and they are highly sought after without any doubt. Fit, finish and boat layout is excellent in all ways. Great wave that is very adjustable with excellent surf system and fairly quiet boat in cabin (thanks in part to the PCM engines which are #1 IMHO). I also LOVE the way the G3 has the walk-thru in transom PLUS the seat step, drives me crazy when people have to step on seats to get to back of boat.
Cons: DRIVES LIKE A PIG

The monkey wrench in all this....maybe you should go check out and demo the Centurion FI23!! Good luck in your search, fun phase to be in so enjoy it while it lasts and don't get suckered.