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Thanks to Stancraft Marine up here in North Idaho I got the chance to spend the day on the X24 yesterday. The dealer said it was one of only 10 in the nation so far...so new, he didn't even know the exact pricing of it yet.
We had 7 adults and two children on the boat most of the day - and I am going to preface this by saying that the two children were mine (3 week old and 2 year old) so I was caught up doing dad stuff - so I didn't get to really dissect the boat as much as I would have normally.
First off - the boat itself.
Wow! and I am not just saying that because I own a MC, I have not been a fan of the changes in recent years, but this boat is really something. It seems like they have incorporated all of my favorite features of every boat into one boat!
The bow seating is amazingly comfortable in any position, big enough for me at 6'2. The large swooping backrest at the very front can easily accommodate 3 people, armrests for the front loungers - so you can sit forward or backwards in complete comfort. Both front seats/backrests flip up gulwing style for access to tons of storage, which I really like.
It has the trashcan door in the walkthrough which is also one of my favorite features on the newer boats. The main cabin seemed deeper, with higher backrests and more plush/thicker cushions than the other boats. Maybe that was just my perception, but it just seemed more comfortable. The two flip up backrests (one behind driver and one in front of observer seat) were AWESOME! best seat in the house*, super functional without blocking traffic like the rear convertible seat does. This is what the G's have that I wish MC did, and now they do.
* With exception of the rear transom loungers, very similar to the X23, but with an improved armrest area - so somehow they are just ever so slightly more comfortable - which I didn't think would be possible...and now there is even room for significant amount of storage even when the bags are full!
The rear transom area was just awesome - pull handles to help get out of the water, pull out swim step since the platform is so high out of the water (was not under water with full ballast). The really wide walkthrough made it so people actually step on the seadeck instead of the vinyl. There is a warming drawer above the engine, which is much bigger than I thought it would be, probably 6" deep and 16" wide -enough for two (maybe 3) comp life jackets.
Also throughout the boat were tons of little cubbies and storage areas for people to put their phones, wallets, etc. That was super nice, and something I really like about the G's, which MC was lacking...but again, not anymore.
Even down to the pull out cleats being recessed into the fiberglass so they are almost flush mounted - this boat is very well thought out. These little things all add up to just a boat that is way more functional, comfortable and easy to use.
The boat we tested had the 6000gdi and 17.5 inch prop. It also has a really large rudder, by eyeball/memory, it did not look as big as the Xstar, but big. This boat did not have dockstar, but it handled really well for a big boat. Very tight and consistent turns when picking up the down surfer, easy to dock... I even had the guy at the dock ask me if I was using thrusters to help me park it. We also got up on plane with full ballast/people and single tab auto launch - no problem at all. Triple tab auto launch I just about submarined the thing.
Two things that really stood out to me is 1) the bow was down during surfing. More than any other MC I have been on. Easy to see over the bow, even with full ballast, no center tab, and 7 adults all sitting in the back at surf speed. 2) they got rid of that annoying spray that came off the back of the X23 and onto the wave (X23 owners know what I am talking about).
The Surf wave:
So I have surfed the Xstar, sacked out X23's, G's etc.... and I got to say, while the wave was good, it did not blow my mind. Don't get me wrong, it was up there ranked as one of the craziest waves I have been on, but not a whole different realm. The two X23 owners who were on the boat with me agreed that the wave was probably about 4 feet longer than their X23's...but not really any taller. We surfed at 11.8-12mph- with that much weight, you just have to go faster to get the wave to feel "firm". You also have to surf the new Star much faster than normal to get it to feel right.
The crazy thing to me was that going that fast, with that long of a wave, how much freaking power it had... especially back in the curl. I am over 200 pounds and am on a 4'7 soulcraft just playing around and airing off the curl... it was a very weird feeling. This extra power in the curl literally hurls you back into the wave rather than sucking you in. This has two effects, 1) you get a little boost to gain speed for tricks, 2) when you think you are about to lose the wave, it pushes you right back in. I have not felt that kind of push in the curl on any other boat.
I guess what I didn't like about the wave was more of the shape and consistency. Maybe something that can be improved with more tweaking, but it didn't seem to have a consistent shape... just kind of blah - and sometimes it seemed really nice, but the next run it seemed really flat with no curl to it. It also was a busy day on the lake, so I don't know, I will have to surf it again sometime. No doubt it has the potential.
I am sure I am forgetting something. Long story short, amazing boat. Tons of power in the wave that needs a little more refinement.
We had 7 adults and two children on the boat most of the day - and I am going to preface this by saying that the two children were mine (3 week old and 2 year old) so I was caught up doing dad stuff - so I didn't get to really dissect the boat as much as I would have normally.
First off - the boat itself.
Wow! and I am not just saying that because I own a MC, I have not been a fan of the changes in recent years, but this boat is really something. It seems like they have incorporated all of my favorite features of every boat into one boat!
The bow seating is amazingly comfortable in any position, big enough for me at 6'2. The large swooping backrest at the very front can easily accommodate 3 people, armrests for the front loungers - so you can sit forward or backwards in complete comfort. Both front seats/backrests flip up gulwing style for access to tons of storage, which I really like.
It has the trashcan door in the walkthrough which is also one of my favorite features on the newer boats. The main cabin seemed deeper, with higher backrests and more plush/thicker cushions than the other boats. Maybe that was just my perception, but it just seemed more comfortable. The two flip up backrests (one behind driver and one in front of observer seat) were AWESOME! best seat in the house*, super functional without blocking traffic like the rear convertible seat does. This is what the G's have that I wish MC did, and now they do.
* With exception of the rear transom loungers, very similar to the X23, but with an improved armrest area - so somehow they are just ever so slightly more comfortable - which I didn't think would be possible...and now there is even room for significant amount of storage even when the bags are full!
The rear transom area was just awesome - pull handles to help get out of the water, pull out swim step since the platform is so high out of the water (was not under water with full ballast). The really wide walkthrough made it so people actually step on the seadeck instead of the vinyl. There is a warming drawer above the engine, which is much bigger than I thought it would be, probably 6" deep and 16" wide -enough for two (maybe 3) comp life jackets.
Also throughout the boat were tons of little cubbies and storage areas for people to put their phones, wallets, etc. That was super nice, and something I really like about the G's, which MC was lacking...but again, not anymore.
Even down to the pull out cleats being recessed into the fiberglass so they are almost flush mounted - this boat is very well thought out. These little things all add up to just a boat that is way more functional, comfortable and easy to use.
The boat we tested had the 6000gdi and 17.5 inch prop. It also has a really large rudder, by eyeball/memory, it did not look as big as the Xstar, but big. This boat did not have dockstar, but it handled really well for a big boat. Very tight and consistent turns when picking up the down surfer, easy to dock... I even had the guy at the dock ask me if I was using thrusters to help me park it. We also got up on plane with full ballast/people and single tab auto launch - no problem at all. Triple tab auto launch I just about submarined the thing.
Two things that really stood out to me is 1) the bow was down during surfing. More than any other MC I have been on. Easy to see over the bow, even with full ballast, no center tab, and 7 adults all sitting in the back at surf speed. 2) they got rid of that annoying spray that came off the back of the X23 and onto the wave (X23 owners know what I am talking about).
The Surf wave:
So I have surfed the Xstar, sacked out X23's, G's etc.... and I got to say, while the wave was good, it did not blow my mind. Don't get me wrong, it was up there ranked as one of the craziest waves I have been on, but not a whole different realm. The two X23 owners who were on the boat with me agreed that the wave was probably about 4 feet longer than their X23's...but not really any taller. We surfed at 11.8-12mph- with that much weight, you just have to go faster to get the wave to feel "firm". You also have to surf the new Star much faster than normal to get it to feel right.
The crazy thing to me was that going that fast, with that long of a wave, how much freaking power it had... especially back in the curl. I am over 200 pounds and am on a 4'7 soulcraft just playing around and airing off the curl... it was a very weird feeling. This extra power in the curl literally hurls you back into the wave rather than sucking you in. This has two effects, 1) you get a little boost to gain speed for tricks, 2) when you think you are about to lose the wave, it pushes you right back in. I have not felt that kind of push in the curl on any other boat.
I guess what I didn't like about the wave was more of the shape and consistency. Maybe something that can be improved with more tweaking, but it didn't seem to have a consistent shape... just kind of blah - and sometimes it seemed really nice, but the next run it seemed really flat with no curl to it. It also was a busy day on the lake, so I don't know, I will have to surf it again sometime. No doubt it has the potential.
I am sure I am forgetting something. Long story short, amazing boat. Tons of power in the wave that needs a little more refinement.
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