Sanger V237 v V215
 

Probably a Q for Dennis.
I'm thinking about moving up to the bigger boat. Mainly for the extra freeboard. I only want a Sanger so am not interested in SAN's, Bu's or anything else.
How do the 237's handle compared to the 215? I'll only go with the 330 BS as not many around with the 6.2lt. How does the 5.7 go in the 23ft'er?

Ian,

Im running the 330 BS in my 05 v230 and when i have a few people and the ballast bags full it pulls out of the water alright but id deffinately get one with the bigger motor in the next boat only becasue it will jump up out of the water much easier.

You're looking at a boat that is just shy of 1000lbs heavier so if you do go with the BS 330 then be sure and get either an Acme 653 or a 911. I run a lot of weight in my 215 and use the 653 which provides plenty of hole shot.

Great question, my next boat will be a 215 or 237. A friend here just had his new 215 delivered this month, pretty freakin nice. What is the 237 wakeboard wake like, I have had disappointing reports about it.

I would love to get a 6.2lt but you just don't see them in used boats. I would go with Hates suggestion of running a 911. I'm ordering one for the 215 anyway so I'll just keep that for the 237 if I go that way.

Darren your friend will love his 215. We absolutely love ours it just the best boat. I am only wanting to step up for the freeboard.

Somebody must have a 237 that has also ridden in or behind a 215?

I've got a 237, however I have never been in a 215. I just wanted to chime in and say that it's true that the 330 BS is a little sluggish once you put enough weight in the back. When I really sac it out for surfing, I've got about 1500 lbs in the back corner and around 750-1000 lbs on the back corner seat. If I don't have weight upfront, I have a hell of a time getting on plane. Because of this, I want to look into a different prop. I'm expecting it would help quite a lot as I'm sure the boat's factory prop wasn't made for the weight I'm running in it on one side.

I don't usually like putting all that weight back there though. That is more than it needs. I've just found this to happen when experimenting with weight placement.

@Taft: A new prop will make a world of difference. I run an Avy with the 330hp Scorpion in it with avg 2,500lbs for surfing (as much as 3,500lbs). When I 1st had ran it with the stock prop it was very sluggish out of the hole. I upgrade the to a ACME 1647 and have zero issues. My buddy just put on an ACME 1571 (same prop a lot of the Enzo guys run) and it is night and day. You will loose 3-4 mph but it is well worth it. The other thing I noticed is that it really help clean up his wave (compared to stock prop he ran last two seasons).

You do not need a 400 hp engine to surf. All you need is $400 for new prop. Call ACME and let them know what you mainly do with your boat and what altitude and they will point you to the right prop for your boat.

Note: if you get a new prop, take the old one to a prop guy and he can rework it to make it much closer to your new prop.

Thanks Andrew, how have you found your 237 overall? Space, storage, do the bigger rear hard tanks take up to much room in the lockers? How is the standard wake? Would a skier be happy with the ski wake? What made you choose the 237 over say the 215 or was that never in the equation? Is yours the Surf edition? What options would you have added in hindsight?

I can answer some of your questions for Taft. His boat is the first Surf Edition boat made. It has the twin Surf tabs on it.

i have a V215 and was responsible for the changes made on the Surf Edition. I love my V215 but would have a V237 in a second. I love the additional freeboard on the V237. The surf wakes on both are exceptional. The v237 is safer when really loaded. Both boats handle well as do all of the Sangers.

Thanks Dennis. Couple more Q's please. On the 237 hull is it just a wider & longer version of the 215 running surface? I would consider the 215 to be a very nibble boat unloaded. Does the larger 237 have the same responsiveness as the 215? The 237 weighs 1000# more which is about 30% more than the 215 does the 237s handling reflect this weight gain in the handling percentage wise? I would also consider the 215 to be a very spacious 21fter how would you describe the interior space of the 237? Sorry for so many Q's but I'm on the other side of the world which makes it hard to just drop down to the dealer to check one out.:)

the hull shapes are the same except as you stated longer and wider. Not sure if I noticed any handling differences between the two boats. It didn't feel sluggish at all. The interior setup is similar. The seats are the same height off the floor. The 9" added freeboard makes the seats feel very deep in the boat. Some people wished the seats to be raised as the Sanger seats do feel close to the floor. I felt the depth gave added security for kids. Hope this answers your questions. Feel free to ask more.

Thanks Dennis. I will probably have a few more over the next few days. One of the biggest issues I have is coming to terms with selling our 215. Not really sure if I'm willing or able to part company with it yet?:confused:

Next Q
 

Next question Dennis. Is the bow seating area also 9in deeper than the 215 or have Sanger tappered the bow down a little?

I haven't been in the front but I don't think it tapers down at all.

I'm a 237 owner, previous boat was a Supra 21v. I can't compare directly with the 215, but will offer a few comments that I hope are helpful.

1) if you are going to add weight, definitely re-prop to a 911, not sluggish at all with the 330 once you re-prop (I run with 1200lbs on top of standard ballast, usually with a small crew of 2-4 people). Slight impact on top end but not much. gas mileage improves as well.
2) My usage is about 50/50 on surf/wakeboard use (starting to lean more to surf) and have no complaints at all about the wakeboard wake. I'm surprised by the 'bad review' comment as I think it is an extremely good wake (I like it a little better than my loaded 21v which I loved.) I run stock ballast + 400lb bag in the front and 800lb in pop bags in the back. Wake is big with 'medium' steepness (not as steep as a SAN, but steeper than a Malibu)
3) I've never seen a wake boat handle better in chop. Sanger's have a reputation for this already and the longer length makes it that much better. This is great if you are on a big lake.
4) the seats do sit a little low and that took a little getting used to coming from the 21v, but now that I'm used to it I like it. Certainly I wouldn't like it if the freeboard was lower as I like high freeboard in boats from a safety point of view. One thing I don't like is the middle seat on the port side pops open easily if you sit on the edge of it. This happens a lot when I have people on who are unfamiliar with the boat. I probably should rig a latching mechanism of some kind.
5) I have the surf series tabs but not the surf series platform. The tabs are handy for smoothing out /evening out the wake but not critical for getting a good surf wake. The standard platform cuts into the surf wave a little, but I think it is primarily cosmetic. Not clear to me that it actually impacts the wave at all, but if I'd had the option I might have gotten the surf series platform.
6) I primarily surf the port side and I think the port wave is a little better. But, I may just be that I haven't spent as much time dialing in the starboard wave. The right side is definitely surfable, just slightly shorter and steeper (but that may be my weighting.) Port wave is awesome, way better than my supra and this surf wave was my primary motivation for getting a new boat. I surf with 400lb bag on the surf side and 800lb in pop bags in the surf side locker, front and surf side ballast full. If I have others in the boat besides the driver, I don't use the 400lb bag and have the people sit on the surf side instead.

Overall, if you were coming from a 215, it would definitely be a smooth migration to something arguably slightly nicer, but not dramatically different from what you have today. If you are pretty happy with your boat, there may not be a big motivation to change, but if you are definitely upgrading and considering 215 or 237 I'd personally recommend stepping up to the 237.

-dave

Is the V237 a different hull than the V230 ?

Yes the V230 is different than the V237. The V237 is a stretched and wider V215