I ride behind the 230 Wake and I like it.
Perfect Pass:
When it comes to wakeboarding the thing this boat has that I've absolutely come to love and need is the Perfect Pass (Cruise Control)
The most annoying thing when your getting towed is an inconsistent driver...if the speed changes, the tension of the rope changes, and that totally messes you up when your setting up for a trick or cruising alike. Not to mention, the size, width, and shape of the wake change with minute speed changes. So you need your driver to not only go straight, but maintain that speed.
Now for a good driver, thats do-able. But the driver's in my family are noobs so the Perfect Pass is essential.
---
Ballast:
1,000 lb of ballast is legit, I don't know if i can honestly say I've noticed a huge difference though. I'll pay more attention this summer and get some video for you guys to check it out. I think it does make a difference though because everytime we pump the ballasts up I get injured...lol so I guess it must be boosting me higher.
---
Tower Speakers:
I just like having them, its like a status thing out on the lake...like ay what up, look at these speakers we got on this tower. I mean, when your at wide open throttle they do help you hear the music, but when your wakeboarding you generally could care less, you're more focused on what you're doing. In most cases, when we're blasting the music through the speakers it causes a lot of confusion on the boat because people can't communicate on deck. The PA system is cool tho, you can actually communicate well back to the rider if you need to.
---
That basically sums up my thoughts on the main three differences I see between the wake edition and the regular ones that add to the wakeboarding experience.
It depends how far your son wants to take that wakeboarding, if he wants to cruise, you certainly don't need to pay extra for the wake. If he wants to throw down on big tricks, it may be something to look into, however as mentioned elsewhere you might be better off w/ Mastercraft, Nautique, Tige, Malibu etc...but the problem with those boats is a comparable boat (with those cool wakeboard features) is waayyyy more expensive than the wake 230 (but the actual wake they put out should be a lot better, rampy, adjustable, etc.) But yeah so it goes back to how much your son cares about the wakeboarding. If its not that big a deal, don't worry about the WAKE edition,unless you can get a good deal on it or something.
I recommend the "wake" edition, but you might not need all the extra stuff.
