Pro Wakeboarders Upgrade Super Air Nautique 220 Ballast System

Posted by Jason Craveiro on February 1, 2011

Estimated 3 minute read

(AllianceWake.com) In this edition of Over Weight we will be looking into the wake and weight configuration of The Projects’ brand new Correct Craft Super Air Nautique 220 Team Edition. Pat Panakos and Rob Jacques were like two kids in a candy store when the new boats arrived and have spent several days since testing out different weight configurations to get the wake dialed. The unique thing about the SAN 220 is that it has a wake-shaping tab attached to the stern of the boat that can be dropped down to different heights and significantly change the shape of the wake. Here are some of the details on how these guys weight their new boat.

Boat: Correct Craft Super Air Nautique 220 Team Edition
Additional weight: ~4,000 lbs. (no driver or passengers)
Speed: ~ 25.5 MPH (Rob Jacques)
Rope length: 88’ (Rob Jacques)

The new SAN 220 from Correct Craft is a big boat. You wouldn’t think one extra foot would make that big of a difference in the appearance of a boat, but the 220 looks a lot bigger than the 210. A bigger boat, though, also requires more weight to sink it down and create the bigger wakes the pros like to ride. Both Pat and Rob are stoked on the 220, even though it takes more weight than The Projects’ old 210 to make the wake super big.

The first thing I noticed when I got into The Projects’ 220 was the lack of Fat Sacs normally seen filled to the brim in pro riders’ boats – there was only one Fly High Fat Sack visible in the 220, and it was in the walkway of the bow. I just figured Pat and Rob were using a lot of lead. I was wrong, they had a bunch of Fat Sacs filled, but they were hidden.

“My favorite thing about the new 220 is that we have six Fat Sacs filled in the boat, but only one is visible because all the others are hidden in the storage compartments,” said Jacques.

Up front in the bow of the walkway is a big 50" x 20" x 20" Fat Sac that holds about 650 lbs. of water. This is the only Fat Sac you can see in the boat, the rest of the floor space and seats are totally open.

As far as the hidden Fat Sacs, they are scattered evenly throughout the length of the boat. Under the passenger seats on both the port and starboard sides of the Air Nautique, another 350 lb. Fly High Tube Sac is filled. Behind the seats, in the rear storage compartments are another pair of 500 lb. Fly High V Drive Sacs. The last hidden Fat Sac is actually underneath the one visible one in the walkway of the bow. It is the Fly High Tube Sac hidden in the ski storage locker below.

Of course, the internal nautique factory ballast system is always full, which adds an extra 975 lbs.

There is also about 350 lbs. of lead weight distributed throughout the boat, some of which is on the floor to move around and customize the wake depending on how many people are in the boat while a rider is shredding.

Where the 220 differs from the original 210 is in the wake shaping plate. This plate has three levels and is controlled from a lever located right above the boat’s throttle. Rob took some time to explain to me how the wake changed at each of the three levels.

“The first level, number one, is a really steep wake, kind of like the 210, but not as steep. With the plate dropped down to the second level the wake mellows out some, but still has the signature Nautique kick at the top. The third level really mellows out the wake, it almost eliminates the trough and makes it kind of like an X-Star wake. The wake shaping thing is a really option to have on the boat. Keith Lyman and I have both been riding it at the second setting and like it a lot. This is definitely one of my favorite wakes to ride behind now, I’m stoked we got this boat at The Projects.”