gs20 tower and steering

[ngs20]

I bought my gs 20 new and was wondering if this is normal. it takes 2 people to put the tower up because it is so heavy. had a G21 and i could easily lift it myself. also when we surf port side if you let go of the steering on 1/10 of a second it spins to the right. boat lists to the starboard like crazy on ski mode?

[CincinnatiCC]

Should not take 2 people to lift the tower. We've demoed a GS20 and my wife could lift the tower by herself. Can't speak to the steering issue while surfing.

[ngs20]

thanks. there are also other issue that the dealer has no clue! in slalom mode it lists to the starboard side even if someone of equal weight to the driver is in the observer seat, it kind of digs in on the bow starboard side. also when surfing on the port side you can not let go of the steering wheel for a split second or it will immediately turn right

[azeus17]

What year is it? I just got my 22 and I have the opposite problem, actually, with the tower. It will not stay in the down position. The gas springs are so strong, it just pops right up. Dealer said they should wear in, so we'll see.

For the steering, have you tried adjusting the rudder? You should have a tunable rudder that you can move so it doesn't pull like that. 2 screws on the rudder itself.

[bturner]

The tower is definitely not right and sounds like the counter balance mechanism is not working properly.

I don't have a GS20 but I have found several Nautique models I've driven to be more sensitive to weight placement which in turn causes listing and a tendency to bow steer in slalom mode if the weight balance in the boat is not correct. That said it is not anything to the degree you describe and is typically resolved by moving people or gear around. Almost sounds like your NSS is being deployed or not retracting completely. Either way this is not right and IMO should be addressed by the dealer.

[kylant]

so i have a gs22. when surfing port side, the steering is much more difficult. there is a spot where it feels like a "notch" where it becomes harder to turn, then frees up. i believe this is just from the prop thrust on the rudder. i don't remember if the boat turns hard right if I let go of the wheel. I think it does.

as far as the list. both gs boats i have owned are very sensitive to weight distribution. make sure the boat is evenly weighted. the port side seems to actually be heavier because of the batteries, amps, sub, etc... on that side (at least my boat)

have you tested the boat at ski speed NOT in slalom mode? does it still list? if it does not, then perhaps a surf tab is deploying for some reason. The NCRS tab would not make the boat list.

also, ensure that the ballast tanks are completely empty. sometimes they do not empty all the way even though the sensors tell LINC they are empty.

as far as the tower, that could depend on the shock weight installed in the tower. I am pretty sure there are different lift options when ordering the tower

[North Woody]

also, ensure that the ballast tanks are completely empty. sometimes they do not empty all the way even though the sensors tell LINC they are empty.

I totally agree with this point. Do NOT trust that your ballast pumps have completely emptied your tanks when your Linc screen shows 0%! On our 2020 GS22, while our tanks typically fill fairy consistently with the % indicators on the Linc screen (we get water overflow through the vents at roughly 100% on screen), emptying them tends to take significantly longer. If you have semi-full and uneven tanks when you ski, the boat feels unstable and will definitely pull to one side. I address this in 2 ways:

1. The ballast senders are not always accurate, so when I empty the tanks while we're still on the water, I continue running the pumps after the Linc screen shows 0% until I hear the pump make that signature change in noise when the pumps start running dry (the sound makes a definite change to a high-pitch sound). Only then can I be confident that I have fully emptied the tanks. This was actually a key piece of advice that the Dealer gave me when we were doing our on-water training when they delivered the boat to us, and it's been a great tip.

2. At the end of the day when we put the boat back on the covered hoist and lift it out of the water, I again drain all three tanks individually until I no longer see and hear any water being pumped out. This is 100% foolproof as you can see the water being pumped out.

To ensure that we ski with the best boat set up, we always ski FIRST once we're off the lift so we know that our tanks at 100% empty. After that, we surf 100% all around anyway so we just pump until we water flowing through the vents. I wish these ballast senders were more accurate, but you can overcome it with a little extra work to make sure that you can ski with a completely optimized set up with no rogue ballast sloshing around!

[ngs20]

it does list at ski speed not in slalom mode. i agree the shocks are probably the incorrect size. i just would think the dealer would know if these things are normal.