G25 in Rough Water

[btouchstone01]

We have a Sport 200 that we love for wakeboarding and surfing. We also had a Chris Craft 36 Corsair for cruising until the Corsair caught fire (story for another post). We are considering an upgrade to a G25 and are curious about the ride quality in light to moderate chop. (Please refrain from explaining the hydrodynamics of a surf boat) I am hopeful that the added freeboard and weight might create a smoother ride and want to hear about your experiences.

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[Kmayotte]

I can't speak for the G25 but I can speak knowledgeably about cruising in the G23 (I can only imagine the G25 is better with the added weight).

The Good:
We're on one of the largest lakes in New England and often cross the wide open area (called the Broads). Chop here can get up to 4-6 feet on a very windy day. We also deal with tons of boat chop as the lake is very busy summer weekends.

The sheer weight of the boat makes it glide nicely through chop without being thrown around. Obviously without a deep V hull it does not cut through chop but it never slams down and rattles your teeth like my SN or 210 did. With the gunnel and bow height I'm not intimidated by large wakes from the 40+ ft cabin cruisers or a big wind chop.

Lots of comfortable seating. The Bow ride is awesome.

The Bad:
The back seats can get a lot of spray in a cross wind.

At cruising speeds (26 mph+) it chews through gas (we have the H6) I consider the boat very efficient at wakeboard speeds. Above that the efficiency drop off is noticeable. I understand cruising speeds is not the intended design but it worth noting.

In my opinion it's rather loud inside due to the RPM's at higher speeds. I wish we had the dash speakers option because without it you have to turn the music up pretty loud to drown out the engine noise.

I prefer the cruising ride of my fathers 26 ft Cobalt I must admit but that should come as no surprise. Your Chris Craft and the G25 are of no comparison but I'll bet it will get the job done for you and allow lots of fun behind the boat.

[btouchstone01]

Great feedback... I had not considered the fuel burn at cruise. The Chris Craft would cruise at 32 knots at 30 gph in any conditions. (Man I miss that boat already) I wonder what the range of the G23 is if you are cruising at a similar speed.

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[Kmayotte]

Burn rates are relative. I was coming from a 3k lb 210 and you're coming from a 15k lb cruiser so our comparisons aren't exactly the same HAHA!

The fuel burn rate is lower than that I can assure you. My guess would be it tops out at 20gph at WOT but there are some pretty scientific threads on here about H6 burn rates you can search for.

[Infinity]

Your daily AVERAGE between surfing, cruising and idling will likely be roughly 8-10GPH, when surfing you do spend a decent amount of time idling back to fallen rider. Really not that bad for a powerful tow boat

[JieemQ]

No wake boat is going to handle chop well. It all comes down to deadrise to cut through and wake boats are flat hulls

[charlesml3]

No wake boat is going to handle chop well. It all comes down to deadrise to cut through and wake boats are flat hulls

Yep. A wake boat in choppy water is just going to come down to a rough ride. They're not made to handle this.

-Charles

[Kmayotte]

Yep. A wake boat in choppy water is just going to come down to a rough ride. They're not made to handle this.

-Charles

Agree they're not designed for chop like a deep V hull. But my G glides through chop quite nicely (Certainly doesn't cut it). It doesn't get tossed in the air and slam down like my 210 did.

[GMLIII]

Agree they're not designed for chop like a deep V hull. But my G glides through chop quite nicely (Certainly doesn't cut it). It doesn't get tossed in the air and slam down like my 210 did.

Weight of +/- 6,000 lbs without ballast in a G23 does help through the chop.

[Tallredrider]

I think I would want to know additional questions before answering.

Are you asking for a comparison to the giant Cobalt? I think you obviously understand it won't be like a big cruiser in the rough water. Comparing to other wakeboats, I think the G is a home run. Due to the relative high freeboard, and the fact there is a V in the front, it handles chop better than the vast majority of wakeboats out there, IMHO.

What is your definition of rough water? Even though I consider some of my large reservoirs sketchy places to be in a windstorm, it is nothing like the ocean.

I wonder if your local dealer can hook you up with a test drive, or even with a local owner who might take you out so you can see it in the conditions you are concerned about.

[jtryon]

you might fare better with the deep-v of a centurion, the RI257 is a beast of a surf boat and should ride a lot better in chop than the G25.

[Infinity]

My SV244 Centurion cuts thru chop like butter and gives a very smooth ride regardless of conditions, definately a deep V hull, the RI models with the added freeboard are even better. We are on a pretty big lake and our previous boat sucked in chop or waves and my wife and kids hated those cruises to our riding spots....now it does not matter, its been a dramatic difference.