G23 Versus Xstar

[Ride Lab]

So will there be one on the river this year?

If My 210 sells there will be!

[shag]

I have worked on the M/C tour, and can tell you that they overweight (IMO) the boat to make the wake as big. I also know very well, someone that is servicing the new X boats and they are having some various issues. I have personally seen some of the aforementioned items broken or not working right. (arm rests, latches, etc) Again, for the money, M/C should not have these quality issues. I think CC has them beat with quality, fit and finish. IMO

[ironj32]

As a bonus, can anyone comment on the G wake (general shape of the wake overall) versus a 2008+ SANTE 210 (sacked out) and a SANTE 230 (with Factory Ballast full). I'm wondering if the G wake is steeper than these two boats. I have a 2008 SANTE 210 and when I run full Fly High, the wake is pretty steep IMO....a bit steeper than my buddy's 2008 230 with Factory Ballast only.

The G will be a more mellow and much longer transition, way taller/beefer, with a "kick" at the top. It's not as steep or as abrubt as the 230, but it's got just as much buck at the top. If you want to a visual of the G23 compared to the 230 check out this video. All riding was behind my SAN G23 and SAN 230. The :57 sec and 2:09-2:27 marks (along with a few other spots) are behind the 230 - fully weighted w/ 5000 pounds of ballast, the rest is done behind the G23.

[Andrew14]

IronJ - thank you for posting the vid....man, you guys can rip! Nice riding. Great looking G too....top two color combo's I've seen on that boat (I think N3's white/black G they have in inventory right now is totally sick too). Both wakes are massive, but I can definitely tell a difference in the scenes with the 230 and with the G. Out of curiosity, how do you have the G weighted in this vid? I remember seeing some pics of Fly High sacs when you were waiting for your new G to come in.

Ridelab - thank you for the additional commentary on the G wake. Its good to hear that normal people can ride this boat too and not just pro-level riders. I can't wait till I get a set behind one some day.

On the 7.4L Ilmore vs. 550 PCM discussion, I can attest to the 7.4L drinking gas like a mofo. I went to The Boarding School for a few days last year and rode in Moye's 2011 Star with the 7.4L and 5-blade OJ prop. That thing was a total hauss, sounded really good (I'm a fan of Cigarette boats as well...reminded me of one of those) but we had to hit the gas pump each morning before going out (appeared to use a full tank of gas each day.....6 riders, 4 twenty minute sets each, everyone rode ballast tanks empty aside from one pro-level rider who got full factory ballast plus the Fly High kit). It was a really nice boat, threw a great wake but the fuel consumption was insane. I feel like I never use gas in my 343Excal powered 2008 210.

[Mikeski]

I never really wear owner glasses, I've been around watersports all of my life and have seen the good and bad from every boat manufacturer.

Generally there are years when CC will have the latest and greatest and there are years when they are behind the times. With the G series wakeboats and 200's for water skiing I can say that Nautique is currently serving up the best wakes in the business. Prior to the G series I felt the MC and Bu were much better wakeboats for most of us than anything from Nautique. I would expect it to take a few years for MC, Bu, and the rest to answer but they will. Wakeshaping is here to stay, versatility to have a boat that can be programmed to serve up different wakes for different levels and different sports is where the industry is going. Ballast only wake tweaking is history.

[scottb7]

I have to disagree...my friends 2008 mastercraft fit, finish, gelcoat etc, parts everything is every bit as good if not better then nautique. flame me if you want...i am happy with my boat don't get me wrong, but i thought i would share my opinion...

[perry386]

The G will be a more mellow and much longer transition, way taller/beefer, with a "kick" at the top. It's not as steep or as abrubt as the 230, but it's got just as much buck at the top. If you want to a visual of the G23 compared to the 230 check out this video. All riding was behind my SAN G23 and SAN 230. The :57 sec and 2:09-2:27 marks (along with a few other spots) are behind the 230 - fully weighted w/ 5000 pounds of ballast, the rest is done behind the G23.

That wake looks AMAZING and super fun to ride. It looks like it is has a really smooth transition. What line length are you riding at? I ride 75' and when I look at pics of my self I get a lot higher in the air than a few of those jumps (granted I can't do half of the tricks but i go pretty big ).

[perry386]

I am going to the boatshow the 24th and MC and Nutique will be there so I'll give you guys my honest opinion about the interior quality and what some of the pro riders think of the 2.

[ironj32]

That wake looks AMAZING and super fun to ride. It looks like it is has a really smooth transition. What line length are you riding at? I ride 75' and when I look at pics of my self I get a lot higher in the air than a few of those jumps (granted I can't do half of the tricks but i go pretty big ).

I ride at 77' and my friend rides at 85' and my fiance rides at like 57'-65' (depends on what she's working on). If I'm working on a new trick, I'll sometimes drop the speed to like 21mph and ride at 65'-70'.

[swc5150]

I have to disagree...my friends 2008 mastercraft fit, finish, gelcoat etc, parts everything is every bit as good if not better then nautique. flame me if you want...i am happy with my boat don't get me wrong, but i thought i would share my opinion...

We've owned 8 Prostars througout the years, and agree they are nice boats. We actually still have an '86 for the kids to beat on. Some years were definitely better than others for fit and finish, and we did experience some little quirks, and even an engine failure in one. We're now on 5 CC's and the only issue to date was a bad fuel pump in my '08. From our experience, it seems CC's are much more consistent from boat to boat, as far as how they drive / ski. There is one particular 190/197 mold that produces a pretty sour wake. We switched to CC as they've simply been producing a better product for our needs. We will, however, be checking out the new Prostar hull due out for 2014, as we'll go where the wake and quality reside. The competition between the big 3 is a big plus for the consumer.

[Andrew14]

A bit off topic, but does anyone else think that MC has slipped in the last few years (maybe 4-5 years) with their build quality? My first boat (on my second boat now) was a 2000 MC X-5 DD and I always felt the build quality of that boat and some of the other early 2000 model year MCs were about on an even par with CC's build quality, but over the last few years, MC appears to have cut corners, put out a lesser quality product and the prices have gone through the roof. The last few 2007+ year MC's that I've been in had towers that rattled, transmissions that "clunked" when you put them into gear, sunpads that had caved in, cheap vinyl, etc. and just seems like they've dropped the ball lately. Owners goggles or not, in my opinion the big 3 use to be a pretty tight nit group when it came to fit and finish, build quality, etc. but in the last few years CC has just run away with it and MC/BU are a very distant second.

[biggator]

A bit off topic, but does anyone else think that MC has slipped in the last few years (maybe 4-5 years) with their build quality? My first boat (on my second boat now) was a 2000 MC X-5 DD and I always felt the build quality of that boat and some of the other early 2000 model year MCs were about on an even par with CC's build quality, but over the last few years, MC appears to have cut corners, put out a lesser quality product and the prices have gone through the roof. The last few 2007+ year MC's that I've been in had towers that rattled, transmissions that "clunked" when you put them into gear, sunpads that had caved in, cheap vinyl, etc. and just seems like they've dropped the ball lately. Owners goggles or not, in my opinion the big 3 use to be a pretty tight nit group when it came to fit and finish, build quality, etc. but in the last few years CC has just run away with it and MC/BU are a very distant second.

Didn't spend a lot of time with it (just a demo) - but the quality of the X-star I was on was fantastic. Yes, the power-tower isn't quite as rock solid as the FCT, but otherwise - I thought the build quality looked pretty comparable.

[Ride Lab]

Ridelab - thank you for the additional commentary on the G wake. Its good to hear that normal people can ride this boat too and not just pro-level riders. I can't wait till I get a set behind one some day.

If you ever find yourself in Chicago area please hit me up come take a session on our G23!

[Ride Lab]

Im not here to bash any one but yesterday at the chicago boat show they have the X-star set up next to use (nautique) and that is one UGLY boat. finally got to play around in it and for a 24 foot boat there is more room in my 210. there is a switch that says left right and one that says up down. i asked about it and they said its for the wake plate (up down) and the surf tabs (left right) but they said they do not offer surf tabs on the xstar they just put that in there because its on every boat. WHHHHHAAAAAAT! witha 160k price tag you better no have useless buttons in the boat. There was just a lot of "fluff" that was useless in the boat and made it look terrible. the flip around seat handle is on the top to when you are walking into the boat bare foot you can trip on it and bash your head on the tower that sits back way to far! i will update with photos. i cant say anything about their wake but from a user stand point they got a C - on the Xstar. if you really want to go with a mastercraft look into the X10!

[perry386]

I ride at 77' and my friend rides at 85' and my fiance rides at like 57'-65' (depends on what she's working on). If I'm working on a new trick, I'll sometimes drop the speed to like 21mph and ride at 65'-70'.

Ok, I dont know what the deal is then. Maybe thats why you guys can do a few tricks that I cant...bc you hit the wake with more control.