Compare the GS24 with the Pro Ballast to the 230

[Mike B]

Hi guys, looking to purchase our first Nautique. We are torn between the GS24 and the 230. I have a 12 year old son and an 18 year old daughter. They both enjoy skiing and tubing. (We are not professional skiers, just recreational skiers). We demo’d both boats and are still a torn. They learned to surf and enjoy it and their parents are looking forward to doing a little surfing as well. We currently have a Monterey 234SS, and love the boat, but we want to start surfing and doing some more wake boarding.

My main questions –
The GS24 with the Proballast vs the 230

How is the storage? Can I get a couple sets of skis on it either or both? (I felt like the 230 had very limited storage)

Can you ski behind the 230, again not competitively, but standard weekend slalom skiing? My son did it, but the water was rough, and asking a 12 year old how he feels about a new shiny toy, you get the obvious answer.

Not including the obvious price difference, how do they compare over time?

Comfort, handling, wake boarding, anything else you wish you would have known prior to making your purchase.

Thank you for your help.

[charlesml3]

Many of these questions can't be answered until someone here or a dealer gets a new GS24 with the Pro Ballast option. There are precious few GS24s here on PN.

You cannot get skis in the rear lockers of the 230. They'd have to go under the port-side seat. You should go see one and check it out for yourself.

As far as slalom skiing goes, the 230 is not a slalom boat. I would think the GS24 would be better for that but I've never even seen a GS24, so I can't say for sure.

I can tell you a lot about the 230. I've had one for 2 years now and I know the boat very well. I'm happy to go over the good and bad points of it. Shoot me your questions...

-Charles

[BigAirBearWake]

On the GS24, I have never tried to put skis in mine. But I do have wakemakers piggypack system which is similar to the new pro ballast option. You will not be able to have full pro ballast and skis in the same compartment. If you took out the stbd cooler and trashcan you could run in it the stbd cockpit seating.

[surroundsound64]

Storage is a funny thing... My first boat (and still have it) was a 1981 Ski Nautique. Since then I've had a 2000 210 and 2011 200V, each boat had progressively more storage. In my 81, you could store stuff under the nose... kind of. Compared to that, my 230 will hold the entirety of the infinite universe. But the GS24 looks like it will hold even more. At what point do you not need any more stuff? I can bring 3 families and it all stores fine, but when everyone starts getting their crap out that they really don't need, it's a nightmare.

A ski or 2 will fit under the port side seats.

Never been on a GS24, only sat in one, so I'm not much help on the performance questions. Let us know what you get!