2014 NZ Gear Guide
Review: Nautique G23
REVIEW: G23
Nautique G23 2014
T
he G23 seens to have have almost legendary
status after being launched just 2 seasons! To
own one in the US you are going to need to join a
waiting list, and here in NZ we have just recieved our
first (which has now sold by the way), but before we
managed to snag a test ride, along with some of NZ’s
best riders. Here’s what Forward thinks about the
G-Banger.
Unlike a regular review, we’ll cover things off in a
strange order, as let’s be honest, this is a completely
different breed of wake boat from anything we have
seen before!
The sheer size of the G23 takes you by suprise, even
though you have seen the pictures, there is something
about not being able to see into the cab of the boat,
even when you stand on the trailer’s wheel arches.
The rub rail is a solid foot over head. Every proportion
of this boat is truely super-size, the storage under the
passanger seat would comfortably sleep a 6ft man, we
had 7 big guys in the boat, and it felt empty.
just different! The wake is a constant shape right
through to the very peak of the wake, there’s no huge
trough, no steep spine, just a constant really long ramp
to the sky with a neat peak at the end. This means
that you get pretty high without that sharp kick feeling,
which is going to make spinning alot easier. Jamie was
throwing 5’s that looked like he could stick another 3
on the end without too much hassle. It takes a while
to figure the shape out, but what we did discover was
that you can knock the boat speed right down to about
34/5, lengthen your line to about 80ft and the wake
stays constant, no frothing or rolling. This means you
can get the most extreme hangtime of your wakeboard
life, and still have time to put a backside 180 on the
end and spot your landing.
We did find that we came up short on the landing a
few times, but the lip of the far wake was suprisingly
soft, instead of a knee breaker we were expecting. It’s
important to take a wide cut at the wake in order to
maintain your speed up the long rampy wake.
One criticism is that the wake is a little sensitive to
movement of weight within the boat, which I didn’t
The boat is very well presented, every detail has been
expect to see on such a large boat. Much like the 220
made with premium quality in mind. Nautique know that from a few years back you need to have your weight
this boat is a flagship model, and they have equipped it balance dialled, but when you do, the wake won’t crisp
this way, they know that anybody that can afford to buy, and curl with the pull of the rider.
fill, and tow this premium monster will demmand the
best on offer, so Nautique have provided. Nautiques
The NSS (Nautique Surf System) is probably the most
NZ are importing these puppies with a good range
refined of all the surf systems on the market, it looks
of extra’s, including the factory tower speakers, NSS
neat, and at the flick of a switch, whilst in motion you
(which we will cover later), full electronic dash display,
can shift the huge surf wake from side to side. The
and to be honest, you should get it a high spec as you
NSS creates a huge hip height long barrel, your never
can, because then you actually could move into this
getting tired of this surf wake.
thing.
In Summary: The G23 is much more than just hype,
Now lets move onto the most important thing, the
and it is a game changer, it delivers on all levels, both
G-Wake. This wake is known as the game changer,
for families looking for an on water range rover with all
now whether that is clever marketing, good use of
the comforts and space you could require, and also
sponsorship or whatever- this wake is by far the world’s the biggest factory wake on the market. The wake is
most famous. It has claimed the top spot from the
undoubtably one of the biggest wakes out there, but
X-star as the pro’s monster wake of choice. Ever since what is more impressive is that we tried where the
it’s first competition we have seen double’s and 10’s off wake starts and it was still on par with the biggest
the wake, where as they were previously only seen on
wakes any of us had ridden. If you start adding extra
double-ups. We tried the wake with full factory ballast
weight to this, you are going to get a truley huge wake.
and between 5-7 people onboard, here’s the verdict.
It is an expensive machine, but you have to pay for
quality, and that’s what your getting here. The only
When people say the G23 wake is a game changer, it’s slight negative points are the dry weight for towing, and
also a style changer, you really do have to adapt your
the side to side weight distribution is a little sensitive,
riding style to the size of wake. Watching David Stubbs’ but once you have a monster tow vehicle and get
(who frequents wakes of the larger variety) face as
the weight distribution dialled your on your way to
he hit the wake for the first time was enough to tell
Wakeboard Nirvana.
us to be prepared. And it’s not that the wake is overly
daunting, it’s just a different wake. A different shape,