First boat advices (SN2001/Tristar/Prostar205)

[tilem]

Hey guys,

I'm new here and I'm looking to buy my first boat, principaly to wakeboard and wakesurf. I live in Quebec, Canada. I need some advices on some boats I found.
I was looking at first for a SN2001 but I can't find one in my area, so the only way I could get one would be to import one from the US. Otherwise, I found in the area some Mastercraft Tristar late 80's early 90's and also found a Mastercraft Prostar 205 1996 (but without the trailer). The Tristars are about 7000-9000 $CAN and the Prostar 205 is 13900 (negociable) $CAN.

I was wondering if you could give me some advices on which boat should I go for or if it would be better to find a SN2001 in the US and import it as I think by reading a lot on these forums the SN2001 would be the best one. I can send you the links of the Mastercraft ones if you want to have a look at them.

Thanks a lot, I appreciate!
Phil

[swatguy]

Well I can for sure tell you to stay away from any Mastercraft Tristar. It is quite possibly performance wise one of the worst performing MC hulls to date. The nose sits very low. The ski wakes are not great and due to the transom you can't really get much weight in there to get w decent wakeboard wake.


The Ski Nautique 2001 is a great wakeboard boat and I have seen many people whom have had success surfing them. While not optimal.......For an on a budget boat it's a wake machine.


The Mastercraft 205 direct Drive is quite possibly one of the most highly regarded do all boats. Right there with a Sport Nautique or an Malibu Sunsetter. You can surf it, ski it, and wakeboard it all in one day and be very happy with all 3 aspects. Same goes for the Sport Nautique and Sunsetter. Some things to consider. A Sport Nautique will require the least amount of balkast to get the wakes pumping. I think it has the better wakeboard wake, but that's personal opinion based on shape and likes. It will therefore be the most fuel efficient. The 205 takes a good chunk of weight to get the wakeboard wake boosted. It probably has the best surf wake of the 3. The Sort Nautique is the smallest space and storage wise. If you're set in a budget of low to mid teens those are the boats I would be searching. The other huge huge plus of going with the 205 you are considering vs the ski Nautique 2001 is that 205 has a fiberglass stringer system. Makes the boat much less worrisome long term Maintainence wise.


Couple more just to check out. My all time favorite direct drive wakeboat has got to be the Supra Launch/Sunsport. The thing is huge, spacious, has very high gunwales to keep you dry and allow a ton of weight to be put in the boat.

Another hidden d drive gem in the Mastercraft 195/x5. On the smaller side but for 19ft ski boat puts out good wakeboard and surf wakes.

All these boats have their pros and cons. What are you looking to do besides wake and surf? Hang out all day? Drive on a big lake of a all lake? Will it be kept on water or towed? How many people on regular basis? You can find v drives in the high teens occasionally but you gotta be patient and ready to jump on it

[tilem]

Thanks swatguy for the input!

The boat will be principally used to wakeboard and surf but also just to hang out and put a tube behind. I can't tell about the people on board but if I'll have to go with the SN2001 I don't think yet I would mind about having less space. The boat will be towed in/out on water most of the time.

At first I was looking to pay less than $12k CAN. But if the 205 with the way to go, I could go a little higher still trying to negociate it. The 205 is presently around $14k without the trailer and I didn't do my research yet to know how much a trailer would cost.

Would it be possible to have more opinions on the Tristar ?

By all the reviews/comments/videos on the web the SN2001 '88 really attracts me, but the thing is that I would need to find one first, import it and I can't tell yet about how much would it cost. And I would need someone to inspect it at distance to make sure of the condition of the boat..

[pe4me]

Tristar could be full of issues that you cant see- hull will have wood stringers, dated motor (carbed) and host of parts that more difficult to find. I am bias to the 205. Slammed it was awesome, but it seemed to require more weight that I felt comfortable with to get what I would consider surfable. Handled like a sports car and with 285hp motor would pull just about anything. Loved it. Space was limited but our crew made it work for 7 years without any major issues. No question its the best package of the 3 IMHO. A trailer can get pricey fast so do your homework. Not sure of the exchange, but for 14k it should be a pretty solid example of a 205 without a trailer. I sold my 205 for 13k with a trailer 5 years ago. Good look and happy hunting.

[tilem]

Thanks! The boat will be principally used to wakeboard and surf but also just to hang out and put a tube behind. I can't tell about the people on board but if I'll have to go with the SN2001 I don't think yet I would mind about having less space. The boat will be towed in/out on water most of the time.

At first I was looking to pay less than $12k CAN. But if the 205 with the way to go, I could go a little higher still trying to negociate it. The 205 is presently around $14k without the trailer and I didn't do my research yet to know how much a trailer would cost.

By all the reviews/comments/videos on the web the SN2001 '88 really attracts me, but the thing is that I would need to find one first, import it and I can't tell yet about how much would it cost. And I would need someone to inspect it at distance to make sure of the condition of the boat..

[tilem]

btw here's the link of the '96 Prostar 205 plus some pictures. The boat has about 760 hours.

http://www.kijiji.ca/v-view-details....dId=1072317708

[wawasee]

I like the 205. You should be able to sell pretty quick when you are ready to upgrade. Good luck and enjoy

[pe4me]

Tower: since you are clearly mindful of your budget, thats a another few grand plus pain and suffering if you have to put it on yourself. Light sanding with some teak treatment and it seems you could into a decent boat.

[Boardstiff]

Saw this ad on kijiji. Looks clean. Boat is in Ontario, but probably easier to get it from here rather then the States. I drove to Quebec last year to get my SAN. Only thing that was even remotely difficult was licensing the trailer to drive it home.
Good Luck

1987 Ski Nautique on Kijiji http://www.kijiji.ca/v-powerboat-mot...que/1063926540


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[tilem]

Thank you, I'll take a look at it!

If I could find a SN2001 either this one or one in US, compared to the PS205 which one you guys think I should go for ? Presently the exchange USD and CAD is not so good so I don't think it would be a good idea to import one from US... I understand the 205 is bigger and I guess better but also a little more expansive. I think I could get the PS205 (itself no trailer) approx 11k or maybe less.

And the 205 has a tower compared to this ski nautique..

[swc5150]

Agreed, the 205 would be a solid choice. Tristars were good for nothing; I have a buddy who owned an '89 for years. My family had a '92 205 for a few years, and it was a nice boat.

[pe4me]

Open bow.
HUGE IMHO, when my friend had a new Sammy PS190 closed bow there no room for anything. Now the slalom guys preferred it that way for the obvious reasons, where the 205 just seemed to have a little more room for everything.

[gome123]

I am going to write a bias opinion. I had a '98 PS 205 as my 1st boat. I LOVED THAT BOAT! Remember that PS 205 is the original x-star hull (Look up that up, it was a Green PS205 with a fat sac in the rear) then they went V-Drive, then X-2 then X-1. So that hull is tried and true. That 96 may be carburated, not sure if it matters to you or not. I believe '97 or '98 they went EFI. Which is why I went '98.
Price: that price should be with trailer. I sold mine 2 years ago with trailer for $14,500. It was a very clean boat and had 650 hrs. I would think no trailer should be about $12K. (USD that is..)
Space: 6 people i found to be the optimal amount, more than 7 it begins to get crowded. Loading 7 people, gear, coolers it began to get crowded. Although, we did have 12 people on it one trip and it was a hoot.
Power: That boat handles like sports car. It will tow your arms off all day long and have plenty of power.
Wakeboard: I had a 750 lb bag in the rear, 400 in the nose and it thew a great wake. Granted doesn't compare to my '05 SAN 210. But, I am no pro, and that wake was big enough for me and my friends.
Surf: Portside cleans up quickly and nicely. You will need a fair amount of weight for this flat bottom boat to surf. The wave was nice, clean, not very huge, but very surfable. With enough weight I was able to easily surf ropeless. Now i see there are aftermarket surf systems... that may be all you need to get a big wave on this boat.
I don't know much about your other options. Which is why this is a bias post. PS 205 is my choice.

[swc5150]

All MC's went to standard EFI in '94, so no carb on that 205.

[tilem]

Thanks a lot guys!!