New boat help

[kylant]

Not to be a smartass kylant....but isn't that the ONLY thing you can do with transom seats.....since it against the law to sit in them when the boat is moving??? LOL

not sure, i have never been hassled over the years for riding on the stern. and i am in california

[Kenv]

I would be surprised if it's legal....but then again it is Cali

[lucky7t]

People ride on those seats all the time . Drives me nuts . Watched a GS22 creep through long no wake zone with people riding on them . Waiting for one of them to pass out and fall off


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Evening Shade]

Looking for thoughts/opinions.
I will be getting a new boat. I currently own a 2017 GS20, great boat, just not exactly fulfilling my needs. We bought the GS because we still waterski. Although this summer, I have only skied 3 times and my wife has only skied 2 times. Every other time out, we have surfed. All of our friends have only surfed as well. I do not wakeboard anymore. Kids are just starting to get into waterskiing. I do not ski the course, but I do get after it when I ski.

So my needs for getting a new boat:
-a bigger motor. I am getting the H6 regardless of what boat.
-more ballast for bigger wave
-a good/very good surf wave
-room, I want a bigger boat than the 20ft. I had a 21' Air Nautique and always wanted a bigger boat.
-decent ski wake for the occasional tow (I grew up skiing an '83 2001 Ski Nautique: massive wake)
-decent rough water handleing

I am debating between 2 boats that I feel will meet my needs. The 230 and GS22. either will be ordered, unless I can find an '18 with an H6. The "G" is out of the picture; my wife will not sign off on a G

230 pros:
great wave
hull design may provide a better rough water ride.
cheaper

cons:
not as many features as GS
dated??
not very good ski wake

GS22 pros:
multi sport boat, easily change characteristics of wake
new design/features, tech
rear seating (although on the GS20, it's not very useful)

cons:
more expensive
surf wave not as good

please share your thoughts.
Thanks

Based on your usage I would definitely go with the 230. If you and your wife only skied a handful of times my guess is that each year you will ski less and less until up put the stick up for good.

I like my GS20 as well, but my next Nautique will be a 210 in favor of the better surf wave. I would prefer to have a 230, but its a little too big for my boat slip and my garage.

The only draw back I see with the 230 is I don't believe it has a low tow point.

[Paul W]

I would think the Surf wake would be the top consideration here. The 230 and the GS22 each will have a good wakeboard wake, and ok Ski wake. I would think the GS would have a better ski wake since the hull is designed for that. I have not surfed behind the GS, but it being designed for skiing it might not be as good for Surfing as the 230?? All else aside getting a good surf wake would be one of my top considerations.
I am still liking the 230 having been out in it for 7 weeks now. The ride is ok in rough water. If the GS has a flatter bottom for skiing then it might not be as good in rough water?
I still get a some spray in rough water, so if the GS has lower gunnels then it would seem to be greater chance of getting more spray in choppy water.
I like the space of a 23' boat always have. A 21' seems a little small for my needs.
The 230 needs more weight than the factory weights to surf. I do have the pro-ballast in the rear and 350 LBS of shot up front to balance out the rear weight. Without the weight up front there is to much in the stern and it takes awhile to plane out for wakeboarding. I have the H5 motor and like it in the boat. Sure the H6 would be better but by putting the extra weight up front it has helped tremendously. I like the fuel usage of the H5 seems to be very fuel conscience. I am at about 700 feet above sea level so its not an issue. Being in higher elevations would be a must for the H6 with any kind of weight in the boat.
The problems we have deciding between the 230 or the Gs22. Either of them is an awesome boat and at the top of the food chain. : )

[kylant]

Based on your usage I would definitely go with the 230. If you and your wife only skied a handful of times my guess is that each year you will ski less and less until up put the stick up for good.

I like my GS20 as well, but my next Nautique will be a 210 in favor of the better surf wave. I would prefer to have a 230, but its a little too big for my boat slip and my garage.

The only draw back I see with the 230 is I don't believe it has a low tow point.

This year, I surfed 95% of the time, only skied 3x. However, when we demo'd the 230, it was quite fun ripping a few turns. We are debating about keeping the boat on a smaller lake next year that has a slalom course on the far end. I can see myself running the course frequently.
the 230 does have a low tow point. it looks more like a grab handle above the platform, but it is designed to tow a skier and tubes.

it seems like I am reading, in order to get a good surf wave out of the 230, the boat needs to have a significant amount of extra ballast. No??

I can surf my 20 with stock ballast just fine. I imagine a 22 with 1100# more ballast (400# hard tanks, 700# pro) would be even better.

[kylant]

I would think the Surf wake would be the top consideration here. The 230 and the GS22 each will have a good wakeboard wake, and ok Ski wake. I would think the GS would have a better ski wake since the hull is designed for that. I have not surfed behind the GS, but it being designed for skiing it might not be as good for Surfing as the 230?? All else aside getting a good surf wake would be one of my top considerations.
I am still liking the 230 having been out in it for 7 weeks now. The ride is ok in rough water. If the GS has a flatter bottom for skiing then it might not be as good in rough water?
I still get a some spray in rough water, so if the GS has lower gunnels then it would seem to be greater chance of getting more spray in choppy water.
I like the space of a 23' boat always have. A 21' seems a little small for my needs.
The 230 needs more weight than the factory weights to surf. I do have the pro-ballast in the rear and 350 LBS of shot up front to balance out the rear weight. Without the weight up front there is to much in the stern and it takes awhile to plane out for wakeboarding. I have the H5 motor and like it in the boat. Sure the H6 would be better but by putting the extra weight up front it has helped tremendously. I like the fuel usage of the H5 seems to be very fuel conscience. I am at about 700 feet above sea level so its not an issue. Being in higher elevations would be a must for the H6 with any kind of weight in the boat.
The problems we have deciding between the 230 or the Gs22. Either of them is an awesome boat and at the top of the food chain. : )

the hull on the GS has design elements from both the ski and the G. it is not necessarily flat. my 20 does decent in the rough, seems like the deeper V of the 230 would do better. The gunnels of the 230 visually only look to be a few inches taller, but on the water, the 230 definitely sits much higher.

believe it or not, the storage on the 230 boats is nearly identical. basically a wash. bow storage on the GS is more. i did notice the 230 may have a touch more on the port side for storing skis because the batteries are up under the observer seat. (by the way, up there where the batteries, amps, and trash can are is a pretty janky mess, GS is much cleaner)

do you only have 350# extra in the bow?

H6 is a must in either boat. I am 6300ft elevation

[Evening Shade]

This year, I surfed 95% of the time, only skied 3x. However, when we demo'd the 230, it was quite fun ripping a few turns. We are debating about keeping the boat on a smaller lake next year that has a slalom course on the far end. I can see myself running the course frequently.
the 230 does have a low tow point. it looks more like a grab handle above the platform, but it is designed to tow a skier and tubes.

it seems like I am reading, in order to get a good surf wave out of the 230, the boat needs to have a significant amount of extra ballast. No??

I can surf my 20 with stock ballast just fine. I imagine a 22 with 1100# more ballast (400# hard tanks, 700# pro) would be even better.

What board are you surfing? We are pretty decent wakeboarders, but are relatively new to surfing. We just can't find and stay in that sweet spot of the GS20 wave to go ropeless. The sweet spot seems postage stamp size to me because the wave is so short and steep.

I'm riding a Hyperlite Shim 5'3" board, but don't have any local places that I can demo other boards. Also, I don't know anyone locally who surfs that could go out with us to give us some pointers.

I have tried all different surf settings including fat sacks in the bow and rear of the boat.

I've pretty much given up on surfing.

[Paul W]

As far as weight goes in the 230 for surfing. I have the factory, then I think 400's in each locker over the factory. Not totally sure of those sizes since they came already installed in the boat. The boat was heavy in the stern with that weight and needed more up front to get on plane quicker for wakeboarding and to lengthen the wave for surfing. I only put the extra 350 shot bags in the front for now. Its a good balance but I might put another 100 to 200 more to see how it does? I don't think it needs much more up front than I already have as far as balance goes. The weight up front did lengthen the wave out nicely. The lakes and river that I am on are shallow so I am dealing with a whole other issue getting a good surf wake, but the set up that I have is good for the shallow waters. We do have a lake that is deeper and I took the boat out on that twice last week. The WAVE was much taller, longer and had more push. I don't think you will need as much weight as I have in deeper waters for the 230.
Again with the weight and higher elevations you will need the H6 for getting up on plane for wakeboarding. For me the H5 does a nice job and I like the numbers at the gas pump. : )
The wakeboarding wake for the 230 is awesome…. Its a huge ramp that has a great curve and a little pop off the top to send you flying. Sometimes when I hit it just right I am a little freaked out on how high I get. I have been on a bunch of wakeboard boats in the last 16 years and this has the best wake that I have been on. Its a very easy wake to ride and it does a lot of things right as far as that goes. This is one of the reasons that I bought the boat. I boarded behind a few 210's over the years and there boarding wakes were very good. I figured the 230 would be similar to them and it is. Its a world class wakeboarding wake!!

[kylant]

What board are you surfing? We are pretty decent wakeboarders, but are relatively new to surfing. We just can't find and stay in that sweet spot of the GS20 wave to go ropeless. The sweet spot seems postage stamp size to me because the wave is so short and steep.

I'm riding a Hyperlite Shim 5'3" board, but don't have any local places that I can demo other boards. Also, I don't know anyone locally who surfs that could go out with us to give us some pointers.

I have tried all different surf settings including fat sacks in the bow and rear of the boat.

I've pretty much given up on surfing.

Riding the same board, Hyperlite Shim 5'3". I would like to get a faster board though, but no where to demo. Looking at Phase 5 and the HL varial series
For me, starboard side, I generally go NCRS 4, NSS 2, 100% starboard, 80-90% port, 90% belly, 11.5mph.
Pocket is short, but fine. I would like to get further behind boat though. Sometimes I go 3/3, if there are more people in the boat. Wave is longer then

[kylant]

[QUOTE=Paul W;n568817]As far as weight goes in the 230 for surfing. I have the factory, then I think 400's in each locker over the factory. Not totally sure of those sizes since they came already installed in the boat. The boat was heavy in the stern with that weight and needed more up front to get on plane quicker for wakeboarding and to lengthen the wave for surfing. I only put the extra 350 shot bags in the front for now. Its a good balance but I might put another 100 to 200 more to see how it does? I don't think it needs much more up front than I already have as far as balance goes. The weight up front did lengthen the wave out nicely. The lakes and river that I am on are shallow so I am dealing with a whole other issue getting a good surf wake, but the set up that I have is good for the shallow waters. We do have a lake that is deeper and I took the boat out on that twice last week. The WAVE was much taller, longer and had more push. I don't think you will need as much weight as I have in deeper waters for the 230.
Again with the weight and higher elevations you will need the H6 for getting up on plane for wakeboarding. For me the H5 does a nice job and I like the numbers at the gas pump. : /QUOTE]

so it sounds like your boat essentially has pro ballast with an extra 350# in the bow. that seems pretty reasonable. lake depth is not an issue for me. our lakes get pretty deep fast. I have 700# of steel shot bags sitting in the garage from my old Air Nautique

[kylant]

I took my boat down to the same lake I demo'd the 230 at. I even put the same prop (1235) on the boat. I wanted to compare, as best as I could, the performance of my boat to the 230 at low elevation. I wanted to see how mine performed and see if there was a motor issue. My boat ripped. It was a rocket. It was nearly identical to the 230. The ZR4 had plenty of power. I now know the lack of performance is clearly due to the 6500ft elevation. The H6 is a must.
I skied twice, the boat ripped me up, no dragging.

We also looked at the 230 and the GS22 side by side again. There actually appears to be more room in the 22. The gunnel heights are nearly the same. The 22 is definitely taller than my 20. The whole family is leaning 22.

The dealer said they just put a 24 on the water with the pro ballast and the surf wave was very big. They are guessing the 22 with pro ballast would be very big as well

[ScooterMcgavin]

I took my boat down to the same lake I demo'd the 230 at. I even put the same prop (1235) on the boat. I wanted to compare, as best as I could, the performance of my boat to the 230 at low elevation. I wanted to see how mine performed and see if there was a motor issue. My boat ripped. It was a rocket. It was nearly identical to the 230. The ZR4 had plenty of power. I now know the lack of performance is clearly due to the 6500ft elevation. The H6 is a must.
I skied twice, the boat ripped me up, no dragging.

We also looked at the 230 and the GS22 side by side again. There actually appears to be more room in the 22. The gunnel heights are nearly the same. The 22 is definitely taller than my 20. The whole family is leaning 22.

The dealer said they just put a 24 on the water with the pro ballast and the surf wave was very big. They are guessing the 22 with pro ballast would be very big as well

Only one way to find out about the weighted 22 and not guess..... Load it down and ride out for another demo with weight and the 22
you don't want to be guessing on this one.

[Zlcutler]

Kylant, i feel your pain, i have been demoing and shopping for the past 3 months to replace my Malibu VTX. My family loves to ski and surf. I used to belong to a private lake and ski'd the course for years, never got great, just 28' off at 34.2mph. I have been a big Malibu guy but the GS line got me interested in the their crossover ability. My experience with Nautique is surfing and skiing behind my friends 210 and two of my buds 230's (both with extra ballast). The other day i demo'd a GS22 with pro ballast and here are my thoughts.

The ski wake - ( i ski'd at 36mph and 35' off, my usual free ski speed and length on my VTX) and it was better than my 08' VTX, the wake size was similar but the GS is was much softer through the prop wash... i have had heard that both Nate Smith and Chris Parrish cant tell the difference between the ski wake of the GS20 vs GS22. I will say that it was weird skiing behind such a large boat after years behind my Response LXI and VTX, so much so that i couldnt believe the wake was so soft and flat... seems like an anomaly.

The Surf Wake - Most of my surfing has been behind my VTX, my friends LSV23 and 2 different 230's. I am 220lbs and i can honestly say that with pro ballast and only 2 people in the boat the GS22 gave me one of the best surf wakes i have ever surfed. It honestly had more push and a deeper pocket than my friends 2015 LSV 23 and a similar size to my 230 experience. The one thing i really like is the lip on the GS22, while it was similar in size as the 230 it was more fun to play on that lip... I will even go as far as saying that while the size was similar to the 230 it seemed like it had more push deeper in the pocket than my 230 experience...

I hope this helps... and by the way, the H6 at 3000' elevation was an absolute rocket, almost over kill on this boat. At your elevation is will be perfect.

[mikenbike211]

Well I guess it’s my turn to say a little something about the gs20. This boat by far has been the best surf wave I’ve seen in awhile thanks to 700# of lead ( 300 in bow and 400 in rear) honestly, people are usually pretty impressed with the wave behind that boat. Stock it’s ok but nothing compared to more weight and an upgraded prop. I work for a Nautique dealer and spoke to Wensink about how much and where to weight the gs20. He was spot on, you can’t just shove it all into the rear on that boat due to hull design, and efficiencies. Every boat likes it somewhere different. I since sold the 20 and am ordering the 22. I didn’t like the styling and bow of the gs series at first but I’ve grown to love it. The only downside to the 20 is it does feel cramped inside and I hate where the battery switch is located. That said, I have obviously run the gs22 and was very unimpressed with the surf wave. Spoke to Wensink again and he said the 22 has more weight toward the front than the 20 so that is why the optional pro pkg is all in the rear. Excited to see the 22 wave with the extra weight. Going to be a long winter to wait! As far at the 230 is concerned, I’m not a fan. Waves are alright out of the box, extra is always better. Not crazy about the dated styling either. Something tells me the 210 and 230 are a dying breed. Anyways, I personally feel like these boats should not need extra weight added to make a killer wave, should be available to do that from the factory... I love the room in the 22, I would (and I am) go with the 22. It will be around a long time