New to MC: Wakeboarder looking for advice

[BeX]

We are looking at upgrading our boat, and are leaning heavily towards Mastercraft. Current boat is a 2015 G21, so we are used to a shorter transition with a ton of punch. It's a great wake, however it's quite unforgiving if you come up short/long and don't land precisely on the transition... not as much fun as I approach 40 .

We have demo'd the XStar, X22, and X24 (in that order). We demo'd all boats using the same ballast setting (XStar advanced - 100-100-75-75). The X22 was definitely the closest to the G in terms of size and shape; a little bigger, longer transition, and great lip. The XStar had by far the largest looking wake I've ever seen, but didn't have the same punch off the top. In fairness, it was early May, we were still getting our riding legs back, and riding a short line (65' @ 21.5mph). Our dealer also hadn't done a wakeboard demo on the XStar yet and didn't want to sway from the factory "advanced" setting. It was pulling teeth to bump up the setting on the other 2 X's for comparison (X22 advanced is 100-100-60-60 and X24 is 100-100-20-20). We're ruling out the X24 as it's just too big for what we do... most of the time it's three of us taking turns.

Long-story-short, we are leaning towards an X22 (wife loves the transom seats) but as we get closer to finalizing a decision I can't help think that we didn't truly experience the XStar. Looking back at the pictures, it was definitely large, but didn't feel like it had much lip to it. I'm sure our timing was also to blame as the transition is also super long and I'm sure we were leaving early. We plan on having this boat for a while and I'd hate to look back in 2-3 years and say "I wish we went with an XStar". From fourforty's experience, it seems that once you own a star it's hard to own anything else.

My question: At 100% in the Xstar, does the lip build, or does it continue to get bigger and simply extend the transition? Also, I see Rusty runs an extra 4K in his boat... which scares me as I remember having to load the cr*p out of the first gen star to get any lip from it. I'm hoping we can get the lip from the stock ballast or minimal extra weight (like on the X22).

We wakeboard 99% of the time; life happened so I hadn't ridden for 10 years but finally bought a place on the water a couple years ago; we got a great deal on the G and didn't demo anything else. It's taken a while to adjust to new wakes (HUGE) and board technology but we're finally progressing into more advanced tricks.

We only crack out a surfboard when we are too tired or the water is trashed so that's definitely not a determining factor... they set up waves on all boats and they all looked more than sufficient. We ride 7 months of the year and put around 150 hours on each season (not bad for Canada!).

If there are any wakeboarders around (we are a dying breed), I'd love to get your feedback before we pull the trigger on a purchase.

Thanks in advance!

[willyt]

We should be friends. I don’t have answers, but very interested in the comparison of the X22 to G21

[eecyclone]

I'd say it's worth demo'ing the Xstar again before making a final decision. A couple weekends ago I spent some time in an Xstar and really enjoyed the wake while on advanced and fully loaded (100-100-100-100). I felt like it was really big but didn't have as much of a lip (proportionately) as my XT22. At the same wakeboard rope distance as my XT22 I was landing well into the flats so I ended up riding at a longer line length. I have not had a chance to demo an X22 yet.

[maniacmikes]

I am still messing with my wake on 2018 Xstar, I don't have all the answers to the perfect wake recipe.

I took an advanced level wakeboarder out last week. We started with the factory "advanced" settings, at 21.7. It was a big wake, but I knew it had more in it, so eventually I got to just filling everything to 100%, (plus I run 300 pounds of lead in the rear/mid boat, 100 pounds in bow). At 21.7 MPH, the wake stood up and was a lot better looking than when I did the factory "advanced" setting.
It was the first time for this person riding in a couple years, and they were out of shape- and said they wanted to ride faster because they were getting tired and riding faster takes less effort. The wake looked good at 22, but by the time we hit 22.6 it has rounded back out again.

With that said, even when it stood up, it still has a long transition and did not have the a vertical lip on it like you see in the G's. I think it is just a different boat and a different wake - It won't have the same lip as a G.
There is definitely an element of timing too - it takes some getting used to that long transition and when to pop. The wake is deceptive, it doesn't look intimidating like some other big wakes do, you don't expect it to pack that much of a punch, it looks more mellow but once you get the timing down it will surprise you.

I am getting close to 40 years old. For me, it is a great wake. It's huge, It gives plenty of pop but it doesn't beat you up. I have landed stuff that I would have for sure eaten S*** on behind a different boat.

It also stays clean at slower speeds, so my wife can ride and enjoy a clean wake, Great boat that I can teach my kids to wakeboard behind too.

[maniacmikes]

A shot from Harley’s IG. I’m sure he runs a ton of extra weight, but the shape is more dependent on the distribution of weight, not the overall capacity. You can get that shape out of it with less weight... just not the size.

I find that its not really a "lip" but there is just a fat bolus of water at the top of the wake that gives you the pop.

I am curious to hear other people's input. I only really started wakeboarding later in life and don't have the history of boats, boards and wakes that other, more experienced people do. I don't have any friends that are really hardcore, so its just my impressions based on the handful of boats I have ridden behind.


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[BeX]

We should be friends. I don’t have answers, but very interested in the comparison of the X22 to G21

Haha I'm always looking for people to ride with in my area! But for comparison, I found the X22 to be a really nice mix between the G21 and the XStar. It had a longer transition than the G, but still packed a pretty nice punch off the top. We demo'd it a week after the XStar and weren't expecting much, but we were definitely getting booted by the X22... it surprised us a bunch and we came away liking the X22 better.

I'd say it's worth demo'ing the Xstar again before making a final decision. A couple weekends ago I spent some time in an Xstar and really enjoyed the wake while on advanced and fully loaded (100-100-100-100). I felt like it was really big but didn't have as much of a lip (proportionately) as my XT22. At the same wakeboard rope distance as my XT22 I was landing well into the flats so I ended up riding at a longer line length. I have not had a chance to demo an X22 yet.

I've heard that you can ride a longer line on the Xstar. It actually makes sense when you see how big and long the wake is; there's not much distance to travel once you actually get to the top of that wake. We're definitely going to do another demo and bringing out an extra 5' (which takes us to 75' - 77.5').

A shot from Harley’s IG. I’m sure he runs a ton of extra weight, but the shape is more dependent on the distribution of weight, not the overall capacity. You can get that shape out of it with less weight... just not the size.

I find that its not really a "lip" but there is just a fat bolus of water at the top of the wake that gives you the pop.

I am curious to hear other people's input. I only really started wakeboarding later in life and don't have the history of boats, boards and wakes that other, more experienced people do. I don't have any friends that are really hardcore, so its just my impressions based on the handful of boats I have ridden behind.


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That wake is incredible! I imagine Harley is running a fair amount over factory. Before my hiatus, I had ridden all of the 2002-2006 boats; back then all of the flagships were in the 21' class. Nautiques were always 'peaky' @ 75'/24mph, and the Xstar took at least 1500lbs extra ballast and could be ridden 80'+ at 26-27mph... obviously this was before the days of GPS perfectpass and no one really knew how fast we were actually going.

I might have the dealer pull out the X22 beside the Xstar so we can ride them back-to-back. I'm liking the idea of a super long transition to dissipate the landings, and I'm sure if you wait all the way to the top, it should still get you up there

[BeX]

And you're absolutely right about the "user friendliness" of the XStar. When looking at it from the boat, I was completely terrified to get in the water and my first few approaches were very cautious. But the huge face and lack of punch quickly inspires confidence to charge it and next thing you know... you're landing in the flats

Again, we'll add a little more weight, increase the line length, and dial in the speed and hopefully we hit that sweet spot.

[sp00ky]

wrong post sorry

[theboardingschool]

Feel free to give me a call and I can talk you through all of the X-Star stuff. Honestly the most user friendly wake on the market! There's not another person on the planet even close to the time I have put in that thing.

Thanks,
Travis
407 484 5525

[BeX]

Thanks Travis! I appreciate the offer and I'll definitely take you up on that later this week... plus I've got a few questions about the RXT which you are quite familiar with

[Kramer]

I think you are on the right tack. Demo both of them side by side and just see which one you like the most. Everyone has different tastes on wakes so it comes down to what you like and what boat best fits your needs.