X2s Vs X10

[jaoneil]

Hello. New to the forum and soon to be a new Mastercraft owner. Hoping for a little perspective on my decision.
Background, experienced boater but this will be my first inboard/sport boat. Kids are 10 & 12, looking to tube, ski and learn to wakeboard and surf. I ski and my wife and I want to surf. Here are my options:

2012 X2 loaded, trailer, heater, tower speakers the whole nine yards. 200hours. Love color scheme - $54K

2013 X2 - no heater, no tower speakers, trailer $55K. 145hors. Color scheme is ok, has some black trim and carpet which I am afraid will get hot. I haven't been able to inspect this boat visually and likely won't be able to though I could have a friend check it out.

2013 - x10 Loaded, don't like colors so much but not terrible. 220hours $60K

I understand that you can install Gen2 on the 13's but will I need/want it? $60K is a bit expensive for me for this first boat.

Would love any and all thoughts. Thank you!

[ap77]

Finding a boat with Gen2 will make your life a lot easier and better for future resale. If a Gen2 boat is in your budget I’d go that way. Be care with 2012s, they are known to have software issues...

Here is a 2014 X2, with gen2, for $56K

https://www.onlyinboards.com/2014-MASTERCRAFT-X2-WHITE-VIPER-RED-for-sale-Hampden-Maine-93039.aspx

[bcd]

The X2 will have more room in the bow. The X10 will have a lot more room in the main seating area. I've never ridden behind an X10, so I can't comment on performance differences.

Does the 2012 have any extra ballast added? They have fixed the software performance issues on the 2012s. Biggest issue with them now is you can't easily add extra ballast and integrate it into the factory fill system.

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[bcd]

Also the heater sucked in my 2012. So much so that I didn't get the option on my 2014. I wouldn't put it as much of a deciding factor that the 2012 has one and the 13 doesn't. You can add one pretty easy, and it would probably work better than the crappy factory one.

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[JohnE]

2012 - electronics that were a one year production and could become a problem. "Supposedly" the glitches are solved with the latest updates, but I wouldn't take that chance. Great boat though.

2013 X2 - one of the best hulls ever, without the electronic issues (potentially) of a 2012.

2013 X10 - that is the newest generation X10. Completely different from the 2000's versions. I'd take this over the X2, all day. It will slalom, board, and surf better than the pickle fork ('06+) X2.

[bturner2]

I agree with John. I have personal experience with the 2012 X2s. They were offered with and without the large screen. Without the screen the boat is fine, add the screen and you're likely to have a world of hurt with a very glitchy system. A lot of owners eventually give up on the system and remove it entirely. Once gone it's back to being a fine boat.

I'm two years into trying to fix one and have done everything I can think of to eliminate any potential environmental issues but the system still hangs or reboots which causes everything to go back to zero (dumps the ballast, delete's the profiles and puts the auto launch back on). It truly is a turd system which is only challenged by Medallion's other turd gauge package from the early 2000's.

[FoggyNogginz]

I'm in John's camp as well with this one. I currently own an X10, after owning and/or skiing/surfing behind nearly every crossover boat out there under $100k. I also owned a 2012, and while I did have the electronics issues that everyone talks about, I eventually got them resolved. However, considering that the touch screen electronics for that model year of MasterCraft were only made for one year, AND they are notoriously problematic, I would not recommend buying another one.

For your wants with a family of ski/surf people, the X10 is a great choice in that price range. The X2 is an awesome boat as well, but is not my preference of the two. John and I have both owned the X14 also, and they are great for crossover owners who prefer slalom, but the surf wave is much more finicky, smaller, and requires very careful positioning of the ballast.

As for Gen 2, I don't think I could ever go back to a boat without it. When you first get a water sports boat it seems okay to save a few thousand dollars and not get the optimal ballast, prop, and wake shaping devices. However, eventually you realize that you're spending more time on the water "working" to optimize your wave/wake instead of actually enjoying the boat. Gen 2 makes an enormous world of difference, and it's highly recommended. There are aftermarket versions of this as well that a few folks on this forum can speak to if interested, and your Mastercraft dealer can retrofit some of the older boats as well.

I would also like to suggest that you open up your search to a larger geography. I've bought at least three boats that were over 300 miles away, and the last one that I purchased was 1600 miles away. If you're willing to open up your geography and drive a little farther, or have the boat shipped to you after a thorough inspection, you can get exactly what you want and save a substantial amount of money. Used boats are generally cheaper while it's still cold outside in the US, but you can still broaden your selection dramatically to make sure you get more of what you want for your money.

As an example, for my last purchase I literally had one of the factory-preferred MasterCraft trucking companies ship it to me on a backhaul for $0.50/mile (Ronnie Belcher Trucking). When you consider that my own truck averages $0.23 per mile when towing ($2.30/gal @ 10mpg), and I would have had to drive the trip twice and get a hotel overnight, it was not even worth it to consider going to pick it up myself. Anyway, this is a really long-winded way to say that there are a lot of used boats out there and if you're going to spend $50,000 that you should be sure and get what you want. So don't be afraid of a slightly longer distance to find your toy.

Good luck!

[JohnE]

Well stated, Foggy. And maybe an obscure reference, but I also have had Belcher back-haul a few boats for me. I don't remember specific pricing, but it was definitely a "deal" and hauled by people I completely trust with my boat(s).