The Boater’s Valet High end Surf Boat of 2025
The world of surf boat’s is a confusing one. Tons of options at massively different price points, conflicting information from different dealers, media outlets etc all trying to sell you on one brand. We are here to clear up some of the haze. This is the first article in a series where I will do a dive into each and every brand then later break down specific lines and models of boats.
So I am abundantly clear- I am not a sales person and do not have any incentive to persuede you to buy one boat over another- The Boater’s Valet also has no affiliation to sales departments of dealerships. However I will let it be known that I am personally a Mastercraft owner and used to work at a Mastercraft/ Natuique dealer. I may be biased in this way. However will remain as true to fact and my personal experiences as possible
The G23 paragon is a tride and true formula of a boat being one of the best sellers in the market year after year and Nautique sales champion, this boat is an all around package and an incredible surf boat. Here I will dive into several aspects of the boat and highlight it’s upsides and flaws.
Nautique G23/ Paragon
The Wave-
The new hull generation passed down from the previous paragon launches this boat into a performance league of its own. I was a part of a surf competition a number of years ago when this hull first debuted in the paragon, the competitors were quite literally asking the driver and organizers to make the wave smaller because it was too big. This was coming from some of the best riders in the world that are riding boats that are extremely dialed in throwing massive waves on a daily basis. The performace of this boat is just ridiculous. It does have its pitfalls in this area though, the wave a g23 puts out is not exactly what we would consider family friendly. It throws a massive, steep, high level wave all the time and is relatively difficult to tone down compared to competitors in this segment like Mastercraft’s x24 and Malibus M240. This is not the easiest wave to learn on or put your kids on. Frankly just because of how agressive it is. With that being said, If you are looking for an out of the box show stopper of a wave that takes virtually no set up and will consistently perform at the highest level, you will be extremely happy with the wave performance of this boat.
Side Note- our opinions on the wave of the g23 do not carry over to other boats in the G series lineup, the G25 takes significantly more weight and effort to get to perform at the same level as the 23.
Interior and Build Quality -
I don’t think much needs to be said here. Go get on a G23, then step over to another boat of your choice in this segment. Nobody really comes close to Nautique when it comes to fit, finish and quality aside from maybe the Mastercraft X series boats. The G23 is a comfortable boat, maybe not the best in class for this but it feels very well laid out with its rear facing seats, well designed flip back seat, comfortable captains chair, ridiculous amounts of storage and the telescoping power tower that alone was enough to get me to fall in love with this boat. If there is one option you are going to get on a G23, let it be the telescoping tower. It truly transforms the on water experiance into something entirely new, a little cockpit protected from the sun, insulates heat etc… You just need to get out and try it.
Technology
Going to keep this breif, Natuique has a very good screen, and driver interface sysyem with an easy to use sound system, surf settings, lighting etc… It does the job while looking elegant and maintaining simplicity. My one big complaint though, the thruster control. These are just god awful, you either have to use the screen, or the dinky little buttons by the helm control. It is just not intuitive and I find myself not using the thruster much simply because of this. It also does not help that the thruster in the G23 is underpowered.
Drivability
I am going to put the G23 in the just ok categority for driveability, my buddy that owned G23’s for the better part of a decade described them as “surf tractors” instead of as boats. Turning radius is poor, and this boat just drives bigger than it is. It is defenitly not as bad as many boats in the space, but this one is not an easy driver. It does track straight meaning you do not always have to have a hand on the wheel when surfing, and it does have a very dry ride with deep gunwalls and little spray that kicks up at passangers. It just drives large and clunky when compared to boats like the Tige ZX23 and Mastercraft X series (these drive like absolute dreams if you are looking for a boat with better driveability)
Conclusion
The G23 is an incredible boat intended for surfers. If you are just getting into the watersports space or new to boats, this likely is not the pick for you with its agressive wave and just ok driveability. However if you are established in the space, are comfortable driving boats and have a solid already established crew of experianced surfers. I can’t think of a better boat. If you were to give me a $300,000 check tomorrow to buy a boat with. This would be my choice.
Do not Hesitate to reach out to The Boaters Valet for help on your boat search, We love nothing more than to nerd out on wake boats. Happy to get you into your dream boat.