Looking to move from a OI to Mastercraft

[Jim Kreider]

Hello all

Look for some wisdom from the group. Long time lurker here thinking about moving from OI to a Mastercraft of some kind. Currently have a Sea Ray 220

We have a small cottage on Potamac river close to Hagerstown Md. I have 6-7 foot of water off my dock and about 10 miles of deep water that gets us good glass almost every morning and evening.

I am 43 with 3 kids that are 10,8 and 4. We are looking to upgrade the Sea Ray sometime in the next 2 seasons.

Due to having to take docks in and out for the season we have to have floating docks. We have a double decker dock with a roof over boat. We want to install a lift in our dock next year so we don’t have to keep trailering every weekend. I won’t let boat float in water longer than a weekend because of the dirt and algae

So what models of Mastercraft do we look at to replace Sea Ray. I currently wakeboard but I am getting tired of the.missed jumps that lead to hard falls. I really want to surf and maybe slalom
Ski as well. Kids will mostly likely do a mix of all three

I think we need a 2 point tower that easily folds down because of the inside dock height of my dock if we want to use a lift.

Models under consideration. All boats used don’t think we can afford a new one. Budget 50-70k .
X15 - similar in size to current boat well within budget. No two point tower available

X30 - wife thinks this boat doesn’t have enough freeboard It definitely is not as deep as the current boat we have. 2 point tower is available and I hear it surfs well. I hear wakeboard wake doesn’t clean up at slow speeds? We did sit in one at a boat show several years ago when new.

X35 - deep freeboard ,big boat , good surf wave with some work GSA? I am thinking no Slalom skiing 2 point tower in later models

XT23- really nice boat. Meets most of the criteria but way out of budget right now. Concerned about some of the issue I have heard about from surf actuator problems.

Any other models I am missing. I didn’t include the x25 because I hear it has a pretty intimidating steep wakeboard wake

Thoughts?

[mca1710]

I did this back in 2016. We had a chaparral 220 and we ended up with a used x23.

I think a used x30 with gen 2 on it would be a good place to start looking. I was trying to decide between the X30 and X23.

You will have to see how the used market reacts this winter. There are not a lot of boats available right now.

I would break it down two ways 1. If you want to save money go for the used x30 out of warranty. 2. Watch for the used boats this winter and find something with 3 years of warranty left on it.

Just don’t buy something underpowered.

I bought both of my Mastercrafts used. The last one I found the day after thanksgiving. You got to watch the used market closely good boats will go fast.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Jim Kreider]

I did this back in 2016. We had a chaparral 220 and we ended up with a used x23.

I think a used x30 with gen 2 on it would be a good place to start looking. I was trying to decide between the X30 and X23.

You will have to see how the used market reacts this winter. There are not a lot of boats available right now.

I would break it down two ways 1. If you want to save money go for the used x30 out of warranty. 2. Watch for the used boats this winter and find something with 3 years of warranty left on it.

Just don’t buy something underpowered.

I bought both of my Mastercrafts used. The last one I found the day after thanksgiving. You got to watch the used market closely good boats will go fast.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

There is not a lot of options on the used market right now. Boat we have now was bought in Nov. I am thinking in 1- 2 years there should be plenty of used boats on the market again.

What is considered underpowered for a X30 or XT23 . Boat I have now has the 5.7 and is underpowered in my opinion.

What is difference in freeboard between the x30 and XT23.

FWIW we did demo a XT22 at our local dealer but they didn't have a XT23

[2RLAKE]

you might want to look for a X10/X30 ... post 2014 they will have gen 2 for surfing ... they are great all around boats and if you want for this winter my view is that you will find some at reasonable prices with the boat show and trade-ins

The towers drop down in about 30 seconds for your dock

Good luck ... hope to have you in the MC family

[bcd]

X2 would be a little smaller boat, but would be better on the slalom wake. If you want to ski, make sure whatever model you get has the center trim tab (attitude plate).

You can get an x15 with the 2 point tower, but I think the only year is 2012 which is a different control system than all other years and has a few negatives associated with it.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[robadele]

I think you need to be realistic about your list. You will not get a great slalom wake on those larger boats. There's a reason the 19 ft. competitive slalom boats continue to exist. The smaller hull and emphasis on a 'flat' wake are not the same as the larger hulled boats. If you have a searay 220 now, the slalom wake of the larger boats you list might be a bit better, but it will not be fantastic.

It seems like you want a boat that will do well in larger chop, so I think your focus on a 23 foot boat is the right direction.

Be aware that an inboard will not steer like the IO. I urge you to water test one of the boats before you make a purchase.

[88 PS190]

Ever have to trim up your I/O in normal operation?

[kwoody51]

If you are looking to ski (and surf) the X10 should be toward top of your list. Can find nice options in the $60-70k range.

All the other boats on your list will surf but skiing will be tough if you want to cross the wake and not take a jump

Skiing is a priority for me and when I replace my DD x14 with a vdrive it will be with an x10 or xt22.

Make sure you get gen 2 surf tabs (late 2014). This will also get you a modern tower that is much easier to drop. I loath the 6 knobs I have to take off to drop my ztf3 tower, its not hard it’s just the design for dropping is so poor.

[Jerseydave]

Here’s my $.02

I have less than 3 ft at low tide but that doesn’t stop us, we just play the tide.
Our surf spot is 5 mins away, 12-15 ft.
North East MD

I just wakeboarded behind my friends searay 220 yesterday, the wake was tiny so you’re thought process of getting a MC is spot on.

XT23 gets my vote if you can extend your budget a bit. Best choice for everything and the little ones won’t have such a huge wake to learn on. My X23 wake is too big and too washed out for beginners.

X25 would be a good choice too.

Since you leave the boat in the water sometimes, look for a black hull on the bottom. White turns tan overnight, black stays black. Closed cooling would be good for you too.

Happy shopping!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Jim Kreider]

Ever have to trim up your I/O in normal operation?

No water is deep enough to never have to trim up for shallow water.


I am going to add the X10 to the list. It appears after some research it is almost exactly the same size as our current boat. 220 Sea Ray is really a 21 ft boat with big swim platform.

Jim

[Thrall]

I’d be looking for a nice X15.

[JohnE]

I’d be looking for a nice X15.

Me too.

[ttu]

couple of good looking x15's in your part of the country on onlyinboards.com

great all around boat