Sixeye,

Repost this in rec.sports.waterski.

There are a lot of knowledgeable folks over there with tons of boating
experience.

--
'03 S2000
'94 Accord

It's just about going fast...that's all...

http://home.insight.rr.com/cgreen/
"Sixeye" wrote in message ...
I am in the market for a new wakeboard boat. I just returned from the
local boat show and spent six hours visiting all of the pertinent
displays/dealers. My notebook in hand seemed to really attract the
salesmen! Normally at our local show they lay back unless you seek them
out, but with notebook under my arm, they were quick to offer their
"help" and spend endless amounts of time with me. I have to credit
them. When window shopping, I want to be left alone. When seriously
shopping, I want the attention!

My prospective new boat (on the trailer obviously) needs to fit in my
garage (22'6" deep and 6'11" tall). I want V-drive, tower, lots of
storage, lots of seating, all the cool gadgets and amenties, etc. (Who
doesn't?!) It's a plus if it happens to have decently flat water at
waterski speeds for those times I or others with me want to ski. But
this falls lower on the priority list. I'm not going to buy 6 or 7 or 8
liter engines unless you tell me intermediate wakeaboarders need them. I
would think 320-350 HP would be enough for me.

Mastercraft seemed unable to offer a boat that would fit in my garage
without jacking down the trailer, maybe even reducing tire pressure.
Sheesh.

That left Nautique, Moomba, Tige, Centurion, Supra, Malibu and I have to
admit, even Sanger gave an impressive presentation (they were not one I
had been seriously considering previously). If there are others, they
weren't at my local show. (And I don't want to drive for hours on end
for warranty work.)

I don't have an unlimited budget but am willing to stretch or wait an
extra year or two to get the boat of my dreams. This is pretty obvious
by my consideration of Mastercraft and Nautique, two that I think are
probably neck and neck in the category of most expensive. They are
impressive boats but value comes into play here too. Based on rough
quotes, I could topple the $70k plateau for a super top of the line, all
options Nautique. Yikes!

Each salesman had unique things to say about their particular boat and
most did not pick on the other brands. In fact, most went out of their
way to say that all the other boats were very good boats. (Oddly,
several mildly attacked Malibu. Malibu advertises super high customer
satisfaction. Do the others feel threatened or were their attacks
justified?)

Bottom line, I didn't come away from the boat show narrowing down the
field except eliminating Mastercraft since they could not definitively
guarantee a boat and trailer that would fit in my garage. A shame since
I have long dreamed of owning one. Since we don't all have an acre on a
lake, Mastercraft might want to consider a garageable boat for 2005.

I now seek out *your* feedback about boats you've owned or heard about
or have an opinion about. I'm hoping some good feedback will help me
narrow the field.

I signed up for on water demos/trials but I suspect that too will not
narrow the field.

If you have real experience, please respond. If you are like me, just a
reader of reviews and attendee of boat shows, pipe down and listen up to
everyone else. Let's hear from those with real world experiences.


Thanks in advance!