Most decorated slalom boat.

[Horton]

Thinking about this thread more... all time means nothing to me.

 

If it was my money and I was buying a current year boat I would get the Centurion, 10 year old boat would be a 196, and 20 year old would be a ProStar 190

 

(nothing against Bu - they are my second choice twice)

[Wish]

I interpreted "decorated" as the boat with the most world records (including all 3 events) from the boats inception. Can that stat even be established with any accuracy?

 

@solski Gekko tracks like no other boat I've ever driven. And if they could lesson the hardness of the small wake, with the price point it's at, accommodations inside, open bow, and rocket ship speed, it would be hard not to have it on a very short list of boats to buy.

[303Skier]

Do Gekko's have Zero Off?

[oldjeep]

The new ones do

[So_I_Ski]

Re the Gekko, the 15 to 28 off wake on my boat is much smaller and not "hard" at all in comparison to all the other boats so prop may have been an issue on the boat you skied behind. And I have been told by a friend that distributed them for years that the right four blade prop really resolves the issue with any hardness at long line. From 32 off and shorter, nothing even comes close to the flat wake behind a Gekko. And you're absolutely right about the tracking cause it's fantastic.

[oldjeep]

I'm expecting to see more Gekko on the water this year. Noticed a few days ago when I was driving through Mound that they now have an office or dealership on the water on Lake Minnetonka.

[6balls]

Gekko tracking, spray, looks etc great. Wake is small but hard. I skied it 28-38 off and do not agree it has the best wake.

[oldjeep]

Out of curiosity - which gekko? There is the GTS-20 (tiny little closed bow) and the GTR-22 (open bow)

[B_S]

I think this would have to get my vote.

 

[rodltg2]

A little birdie told me that Gekko lost its manufacturer. Do not know if they found a new builder or not.

 

My vote for the least decorated is the as Svfara SVone / Infinity. I had to practically give mine away to get rid of it.

[303Skier]

@rodltg2 I've know a few ppl with Infinity's and the all hated them!

[Horton]

@303Skier there is an Infinity here in Bakersfield that is absolutely fantastic. It was a promo that KLP set up. Before we all switched over to ZO it was one of my favorite boats to drive in ski behind. It is the first boat I ever ran 38 behind.

[rodltg2]

You must have had too much kilo Kai

[Dsully]

I was thinking of a Nautique 196 or Mastercraft's mid nineties 190's

[So_I_Ski]

To Mega Baller, I really don't know how you could say that any other boat has even a comparably flat wake from 32 and up. Mine is truly flat with no dip in all the short line lengths. I would be really curious to know which boat has even a similar wake never mind a better one. Maybe I have never skied behind it like the new MC or the Carbon Pro. And for Crazy Baller, the Gekko I am referring to is the full size ski hull which is the GTR 22 not the little Gekko.

[Wish]

@solski I have to get a ride behind your boat.

 

According to WS mag boat buyers guide (when it was more lagit), the Infjnity went through some changes to make it a great slalom wake before it became the SVone

[Horton]

@rodltg2 i did some research: Gekko manufacturing is expanding and previous business partners are still in place

[303Skier]

@Horton I wasn't taking away from the fact that the Infinity is a good skiing boat. I was implying that all the ppl I've know here in Colorado hated them because they would breakdown all the time.

[So_I_Ski]

Re Gekko boats, they never did have their own manufacturing. It was always outsourced and for a long time it was made at the Fineline Industries plant in CA which was the Centurion boat builder. Then the molds were purchased from the original owner and developer, Mark Overbye back in 2006 by IMAR group, a pleasure craft manufacturer out of North Dakota. They didn't know what the f... they were doing and I have one of their boats to prove it. Really shitty quality interior and instrumentation and downright stupid engineering like when my rudder came all the way around and pranged the prop as I backed away from a dock about a week after I got the boat. Thankfully they went tits up when the crash came and Mark got the molds back a couple of years ago. I believe that the boats are now being manufactured at the Larson plant in Minnesota. I understand the quality of the interior and gauges has improved greatly. Anyway, great hull, great looking, great ski boat, PCM motor so no complaints there. All my friends love to ski behind it but would never buy one because of the shoddy interior workmanship and cheap instrumentation in my boat. And oh yeah, mine has wood stringers and wood flooring but the new ones are finally all fiberglass.

[Horton]

@303Skier i have heard plenty of negative about infinity. The one i know is awesome

[Gloersen]

[gman]

Yes, much has changed at Gekko in the past 2 years. We started shipping Larson built Gekkos in January 2015 and they do look good. If you want to see an impressive boat factory, you should check out Larson's plant, it's one of the best in the world. A 53 acre boat building campus with over 450,000 SF of manufacturing with some of their boat builders being 4th generation Larson people. Up until 2008 they were building about 50 boats per day, the bulk being Larson stern drives. The stern drive business has taken some big hits and there are still too many players chasing dwindling numbers in that category. Larson's quite well managed and we're anxious to see how they navigate the future. Their boat building processes are excellent. As for Gekkos, our V drives were always all glass boats, and the GT direct drive series (GTS 20 and GTR 22) were upgraded with synthetic stringers and floors in 2015. Every aspect and element was overhauled- new dashes, new Indmar power, new digital controls, new engine beds with integrated pylon brackets, new interiors, new rigging practices, new fuel systems, new amenities- everything got touched from top to bottom. But we also need some new energy and we've bitten off 3 massive projects. For any manufacturer, a new boat is a significant project, and expensive too. Tooling alone can cost well over $200,000, engineering costs and new tooling for windshields, handles, custom parts, etc can add another $100,000. Gekko currently has 3 new boats in process. This is causing major anxiety for our CFO! This is a big deal, especially for a company our size. These new boats are going to be different from what's out there, otherwise, what's the point? We're committed to refreshing the brand and doing it from a fresh perspective.

[rodltg2]

My little birdie must have been wrong! Sounds like Gekko is strong and expanding

[oldjeep]

@BrennanKMN OK - I actually saw 3 older Nautiques today one that is always sitting outside a few blocks away under a purple cover and there were 2 of them at the pole barn in Prior Lake when I went to pick up my in-laws boat today. More than I've ever seen before ;)

[BrennanKMN]

@oldjeep

They are around, just usually pretty well hidden from my experience. I think most of them are either on a lake full time or frequent the same small lake. Of Nautique owners I know personally in the metro area 2 are on semi-private water and 3 only go to one lake out in the west metro a few miles from their house.

 

I was heading down hwy 7 last night to go skiing and I saw a newer MasterCraft 197 just past Excelsior. I was pretty supersized. Around here direct drives are few and far between.

[oldjeep]

@"Jack Kinne" skied the course there many times and only seen Rogers mastercraft and my in-laws Malibu.