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Hickman
Sleek Ride
Recommendations:
Core Slalom
Family
Gekko brags about the fact that this boat, with its open bow and 96-inch beam, performs as a full-blown tournament ski boat. They call it a world-class ski boat with unique appeal in that it is extremely low-slung like a sports car, but has the room of a station wagon. Plus, they say it offers unquestionable value at less than $30,000.
Just because the GTO 22 is a value performance boat doesn’t mean it can’t have great features. Gekko is highly innovative with its copyrighted bottom design. This boat features Gekko’s split radius pressure relief flutes that run the length of the hull for reduced chine spray and quicker acceleration. Its interior design is also innovative with its gull wing two-person observer’s seat, low step-over transom, giant integrated swim platform and a rear seat that quickly converts to a sun deck. At the helm are custom gauges by Faria, including dual tournament speedos driven by a magnetic thru-hull paddle wheel pickup.
This is a true skier’s boat. Its performance through the course is nearly perfect, and the wakes are small throughout the range. Even though this boat has a tower and can give the intermediate rider a decent pull with the boat loaded down, we don’t recommend it as a primary wakeboarding boat. However, slalom and three-event skiers will find this boat a great combination of performance and roominess.
UPSIDE
Its tournament-level slalom performance delivers fairly soft and manageable wakes with no-excuse tracking ability for the driver.
The racecar-like handling combined with the sleek profile.
Molded-in swim platform is equipped with a non-skid surface and allows easy entry into the water.
Plenty of power for quick recovery in sharp turns.
An electronic multi-functional gauge allows optimal throttle corrections.
DOWNSIDE
The tower is sturdy, but the side-mounted speakers restrict visibility from within the cockpit.
No cooler to keep your drinks cold on a hot day.
12-volt adapter is not a standard feature.
For such a responsive boat, there is no grab rail availability in the main cockpit.
Length 21 ft. 7 in.
Beam 96 in.
Seating Capacity 8
Fuel Capacity 35 gal.
Test Prop Acme 13 x 12.625 3-blade
Test Engine MerCruiser Black Scorpion MPI, 330 HP
TOP SPEED 44.5 mph 4,800 rpm
ACCEL. TO 30 5.3 SEC. 123.6 FT.
ACCEL. TO 36 7.0 SEC. 206.6 FT.
NOISE LEVELS (db)
Neutral 64 D 67 R
36 MPH 94 D 102 R
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I have this boat with the tower and it's been a very good boat…espcially for the money. It has a super soft wake for slalom and the tower makes it a versatile boat for other watersports. It's true the boat isn't very fancy. I call it a poor man's Mastercraft. It's unfortunate that Gekko no longer exists. I think they made an excellent boat for the family looking to get into an inexpensive towboat.