What do I gain by going with the 216 vs the TSC-1 era hull. The boats seem nearly identical inside. I can buy an 02 for 30k and it will cost me about 35k to get a 216, is it worth it. Is the slalom wake better on the 216? How about at 28-30 mph, because my wife is critical about the slalom wake on the my friends 02. I have a slalom boat already that I am keeping, I just want something with more room, still skis well and can handle the waves/chop.
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In my opinion, the 02-03 change for this boat was one of the biggest/best/most important model changes by CC in recent history. I would say its worth the 5K--its your call in the end, but here's why I strongly reccomend it...
For one, the stretched TSCII hull is a great hull for slaloming. I do not have much experience with the previous TSCI hull, but I did slalom behind it in 01 I think. One of the famous advantages of the TSCII hull is that it "flattens" the rooster tail, it literally looks like someone flattened it down along the wake. When I cut across the wake behind my fams 216, I see what looks like two small, wider, rooster tails. Overall, there is unarguably much less of a "hump" behind the '03 216 wake. Besides the rooster tail aspect, it is extremely soft as well. However, it is wider (b/c its "flattened," of course).
Besides the wake aspect of the boats, the 03 216 surpasses the 02 Air in room, comfort, storage, etc, by far... That year CC thinned out the gunells (sp?) along the sides of the boat. You will notice, if you sit in the 02, that you are sitting pretty far away from the side of the boat, esp. compared to the 03 216. Due to this, the new 216 appears to have a much wider beam (while still being a narrow 91"). the USCG approved the 216 for 10, while the 02 AIR is only good for 9 people. The bows of the boats are also very different, in the same way. B/c the 03 has a wider interior, the bow is even on both sides and long enough to comfortably stretch and lie down in. I dont think the 02 is like this. Also, you'll notice in the 02 that the walkthrough is not centered. This caused the starboard side of the bow to appear to be smaller in the boat. If you take out the miniscule cooler in the 216, you can fit a couple skis in the center. I'm not sure if this is the same in the 02. In the rear storage, you will only be able to fit a 68" ski diagonally in it. This is b/c 03 was the last year that the ballast tanks in the rear actually curved up the side of the boat, making it very difficult for skis to fit there. They changes this in 04 to make the storage totally flat.
Regarding the MC 209/X9, if you really want to disregard quality, tracking, etc.., you will find that the MC wakes are almost always wider than CC's. In all fairness, the last time i was behind one was in '99, and I remember it being nice. However, you don't have that "flattened" rooster tail that the 216 does. You will have the normal MC rooster tail (something better than CC's classic/infamous rooster tail, while probably not as good as the TSCII's flattened tail). In addition, the 209 is simply a much wider boat. This, innevitably, will create a wake wider at all speeds.
For the 216, the faster you go the better. Don't forget, the boat wants to create a "wakeboard" wake at slow speeds--thats what it was made to do--its a "crossover." The best wakeboard speeds are 16-21, so during the mid-20's, the boat sucks at everything, to be honest... the wake is too big for slaloming but rediculously small for boarding. For slaloming, the advantages of the DD and hull really can be seen once you get into the 30+ MPH range. At 30 MPH, the boat really startes to plane out more than at 28, and the wake really starts to diminish drastically. If you wife skis at 28, I'd recomend bumping the speed up just a little, the sacrafice might be worth the better wake.
Hope this helps... we got the 216 in 04 and have no regrets... neither do the other people on the lake who got them...
Austin[color=blue][size=2][b]I Nautique, therefore I am.[/b][/size][/color]
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Austin, thanks for your input.
The one big thing that I don't like with the 216 is the spotters seat. WHy don't they make that for 2 people like everyone else does? I know I can get a jump seat, and I would, it just seams ridiculous to have a 1 person spotters seat. I want a 216, and my wife prefers the seating of the 209. The only thing I like on the 209 is the seating, ie: the wide spotters seat, and the rear seat that converts to a sunpad, but all other things considered, the 216 is a much better boat. It is going to be a battle.
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The extended spotters seat is an option that was originally used in the first SNOBs to make it just like the closed-bow's as much as possible, I think. For this reason, it is only offered on the 206 (new SNOB, technically). I guess it is an option that is used primarily by hardcore-slaloming families.. i.e. the families that would NOT be having large(r) crowds and NOT be using the bow. The market for the 216 is such that does not include this type of family. I can assure you, however, that you will be totally satisfied with putting the jump seat there, I do it all the time. If you would leave it there full time, you might consider getting a second for right behind the drivers seat.[color=blue][size=2][b]I Nautique, therefore I am.[/b][/size][/color]
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