23 versus 30 Question

[turbosdad]

For similarly equipped boats should there be a 33,000 dollar difference between new X-30 and a new X-23??

Kicking some tires.............

[DocPhil]

If you can get an x-30 for 33K less than an X23 jump on it. I will help you build a surf wave that smokes the X23

[MC25]

I will help you book flights to real surf for the extra 33k too lol

[turbosdad]

So I guess that means you would go with the 30 over the 23 straight up??

[DocPhil]

So I guess that means you would go with the 30 over the 23 straight up??

I would. You can still ski the x30, it throws a good wakeboard wake and the surf wave is superior IMO

[kscrib]

I had a 2006 X-30 and now have a 2015 X-23 using only the stock ballast in both. The X-30 has notably more storage. X-23 has a better surf wake. The kids were initially intimidated by the X-23 wakeboard wake, but quickly got used to it and really enjoyed it. I unfortunately endured two different partial calf muscle tears this season, so NEVER got to salomon behind the X-23 (I am the only one who salomons in our boat). The X-23 likes to porpoise, so it takes a bit more driver attention and use of the trim tabs. I love the rear facing seats of the X-23 as we cove a fair amount and those are GREAT for that.

So you asked for an opinion - at $30K+ difference in price, I would go with the X-30 and then use the savings to add the ballast to improve on the X-30 surf wake. Both are great boats and you can't go wrong with either.

[kscrib]

Re-read your post....

At straight-up cost, it would come down to how you use the boat. If storage is vital, then make sure the X-23 has enough for you. I miss the convenience of carrying spare life vests of all different sizes for our guest. If surfing is significant, then the X-23 (but you can definitely surf behind the X-30). X-23 rear facing seats are awesome, but at least in our state it is not legal to ride in them when the boat is moving.

Really comes down to what is important to you for feature/function.

[Lakelife]

I have had 3 x30's 2006, 2012,2013, we enjoyed all the x30's, greats wakes and waves. with our x30's we added a lot of extra ballasts, 750's in the lockers and 2x400's on the seats. With the x23 we use stock ballast and in our opinion have a much better surf wake. we love our x23, it is by far the best boat we have owned.. is it worth the extra $$$. not sure i can really justify a $100k boat. Paid $60k for the 06 and we had a lot of fun with that boat.

[TassieMC]

33k...Down here that equates to over 50k. Buy the 30, take the missus on a holiday, take Aric with you and pocket the cash. I'd say but a new tow vehicle and you can probably do that in the US but 50k won't cut that in OZ.....I love Australia more than I can say but it costs to live here and really costs if you want nice toys.

I've never ridden a 23 and where I live will probably never even see one but there cant be that much difference in the boats. From all accounts it the 23 is an absolutely fantastic thing and I would love to ride one, however, as Kscrib points out, both boats have different strong points and for my needs, the 30 is easily the better boat. I'd have one as my first choice, not as a poor relation.

A lot of people will tell you that the 30 can be made as good or better than the 23 surf wake and it probably can be but it requires changes (albeit really simple ones) and, one assumes that similar changes to the 23 will make it better again so you'll probably never get the 30 as good as the 23 for surfing "like for like" and you may not want the inconvenience of having a non stock boat. The feedback on here suggests that the 23 is significantly better out of the box for surfing and it probably always will be able to be better for the same amount of modification, BUT..... as Doc Phil says, you can make the 30 into an awesome surf boat, not that it isn't pretty damned good to start with.

We both have 1100's in the rear lockers on our boats and different stuff happening up front but the surf wakes on the 30 are pretty awesome. You don't need bags on the floor or seats but extra weight in whatever form just ramps it up. I can surf my boat easily anywhere to 20 feet back with just a driver and observer and I can barely stand up on a board. The beauty is that the 30 is so versatile. Last weekend we went from slalom to surf to slalom again with a little over ten minute change overs.

My understanding is you cant really slalom the 23 and even if that doesn't matter to you, the fact that you can get a really flat wake means that with the 30 you can teach people to ski, get a crew behind you on disks, do things behind the boat without scaring little kids, even cruise the lake without upsetting people on the shore if that matters to you.

If the little differences like quicker fill times for the ballast matter, spend a day in the back of your boat and install extra pumps, you can even increase the storage capacity of the 30's lockers very easily and they are already pretty impressive.

You will get people comment who are die hard one way or the other but the fact is they are both beautiful boats. Work out what you really want to do with the boat, what you plan to do with it down the track, ie, which boat will be easier to sell if you intend to turn them over, and what else you can do with 33k if that is important to you.

Its a nice position to be in having to decide eh!!

[turbosdad]

Great info. I guess I could update my boat ownership in the profile. I have a 09 X-star. Absolutely takes a ton of weight to surf, and it is very short and finicky. However the wakeboard wake is 5 star. I dont want to give up a quality boarding wake. I have not.iced the 23 is almost 700 or 800 pounds heavier than the 30. Does it drive like a lunker ala the 55? Visually I like the picklefork....but that's not a deal breaker.
thanks for all the help

[clrussell]

Great info. I guess I could update my boat ownership in the profile. I have a 09 X-star. Absolutely takes a ton of weight to surf, and it is very short and finicky. However the wakeboard wake is 5 star. I dont want to give up a quality boarding wake. I have not.iced the 23 is almost 700 or 800 pounds heavier than the 30. Does it drive like a lunker ala the 55? Visually I like the picklefork....but that's not a deal breaker.
thanks for all the help

Just saw this. I've drove all 3, star and 30 were piss slammed, x23 was full stock ballast

X star and x30 out drive the x23 2:1 in my opinion.

If I had to pick between x23 or 30 it would be a x30.

X23 was an awesome boat but I was kinda disappointed on how it drove. Everyone says the stars drive like a tank but I honestly think my 05 star drove better than the x23 at surf speeds. I just thought the 23 didn't turn as tight I guess.


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[Mastercraftdave]

Both of these are great boats. The great thing about the X23 is the fact that you don't need to add any ballast to have an incredible surf wave. The X23 to me drives better than my X45 did but it is a heavy boat with more of a V hull than the X30. It will ride way better in Chop but the X30 will probably turn better that the X23 due to hull shape.

Doc seems to have really found a great wake and from the pics I have seen he is right. But that takes time and sometimes space in the boat. For the X23 you don't need any ballast at all. You pick the side you want to ride and the wave style and your good. The ballast fills in about 6-7 minutes.

I love my X23. Its a great boat and ride amazing. I get so many compliments on the boat and everyone that I taught to surf this summer was doing so by the second try due to the amount of push the X23 has.

The wakeboard wake is great. It may not have the pure size of the G but I get just as much Height and distance as I do behind my friends G. The wave has so much pop and great shape/size.

I cant say enough good things about the X23. However the X30 is a great boat as well. The X30 that is 33K less must have a smaller engine and less options because I know when I was shopping they were alillte bit closer than that.

[DocPhil]

Doc seems to have really found a great wake and from the pics I have seen he is right. But that takes time and sometimes space in the boat. For the X23 you don't need any ballast at all. You pick the side you want to ride and the wave style and your good. The ballast fills in about 6-7 minutes.

1100s in the rear lockers (which actually fill about 850-900 according to 440)

400 lbs of lead in the bow.

Done.

[Wake Faller]

There is another option..... Spend 5k on Go Surf Assist and some addtl ballast and keep enjoying your Star. There is a recent thread on here about this. I think Aric started it with some pics.

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[maniacmikes]

I have spent significant time between both boats this summer, 150 hours on my X-30 and 75 hours on my buddy's X-23 (I was not there for all of those,but a lot of them).

There are pro's and cons to each boat, so you have to decide what is important to you.

if surfing is important:
The X-30 out of the box is a really nice wave, but with some added ballast and some tuning it turns into a top notch performer. Likewise, the X-23 is top notch out of the box and with a little tuning it turns into an absolute MONSTER.

It takes about #4,500 of ballast in my X-30 to get the similar wave to my buddy's X-23 with 200 extra pounds of lead in the back. At that point, you don't have much storage left in the X-30...and if you remove the rear PNP ballast in the X-23 and replace with lead, you get a lot of storage back (and I like the fact you can access it from the rear).

Wakeboard wakes are completely different spectrum's. X-30 good for slower speeds, and is more mellow... in my opinion a little too mellow. The X-23 has a super nice wakeboard wake, but is washy at low speeds and a little more finicky.

What I don't like about the X-23 is the gas consumption, terrible top speed and overall it just weighs more and it feels like it, driving, towing, etc. The higher RPM's at surf speed make me nervous for engine longevity (I should mention both of our boats have the 6.2). The storage in the X-23 is not all that great, but like stated earlier, neither is the 30 if you sack it out.

Bottom line is that the X-30 is a more well rounded, user friendly boat. Super reliable, setup doesn't change, its always great. The X-23 is a little more hardcore, you sacrifice some stuff in order to get the opportunity to make a better wake.