I'm a hard-core skier so a good ski boat is a must for me. I slalom and trick so I want a great wake, a solid pull, and a boat that drives well. However, I've found myself on the water a couple times this year with friends in wakeboard boats and, my god, it is so nice to have the wrap around interior seating, a tower with racks on it to get gear off the floor, and an engine in the back of the boat. I wouldn't want to compromise skiing performance so I've just been daydreaming of what the perfect crossover boat would be. For me these are the requirements:
- Excellent ski wakes (slalom & trick)
- A pull that feels great when skiing
- A boat that drives great in & out of the course
- A tower with racks to store skis, wakeboards, wake surfs, etc
- No engine in the middle of the boat & wrap around seating
- Open bow
- Some ballast for wakeboarding & wake surfing
- A ski pylon that's either in the back of the boat or is retractable
- A decent price
I'm sure that a single boat with all the features above is nearly impossible but I'm just wondering, from a physics and design standpoint, what is possible? For example, someone posted in the Waketractor thread about the idea of using an inline engine instead of a V-8 so that the engine could go underneath the floor, thereby getting the engine box out of the middle of the seating area. Could this be done while achieving the same performance as current ski boats?
Also, if a ski pylon was put at the back of the boat would it compromise the handling? Is there a way to move the pylon back there and still get a pull that's as good as the current crop of tournament ski boats? Or, could the pylon be retractable so that the boat could be taken out for slalom and then, when the family/friends show up you stow it away and get a nice, roomy interior for everyone to enjoy?
I'd be interested to see comments from all the smart ballers out there that might have some knowledge of how feasible this could be and/or what major technical constraints would arise (e.g.
@Than_Bogan et al.). Is this idea possible? What aspects would be detrimental to skiing performance and could engineering resolve these issues? I'm not looking for a large boat; I'm basically looking for a boat with the same size and exterior shape as the current crop of tournament ski boats but with an interior that's totally redesigned to make it look like a wakeboard boat interior.
What do you think?
P.S. This should obviously not be in the 'skis, fins' category but I don't know how to change the category after the fact.
Comments
Surfing is tough but it's doable with ballast. However still won't be great.
Supposedly the new XT21 has a decent ski wake and does all the other things you've mentioned including surfing. There is a video on mastercraft's site of someone skiing it.
We have an x14 and while it likely won't meet a skiing purest wake needs it's pretty damn good and the space/ usability is excellent. I picked up a used one last year and vs our '95 PS205 it is a much better all around boat however at the expense of a slight loss of ski wake.
Not a mechanic but I play one at home
With an electric boat the weight is now in the batteries which can be evenly laid out across the bottom the the boat. The motors are small in comparison yet incredibly powerful. The new Tesla is faster or comparable 0-60 to Porsches & Ferraris.
Correct Craft had a prototype boat the eNautique, not sure when it will materialize for sale.
Ski pylon still needs to be behind the drivers seat though as skier will waggle the back from the pull if its in the rear like vdrive boats.
The 200v wake is okay at shorter line lengths, but it not great at 15 & 22 off. My friend had one I would hands down rather ski the older direct drives on the lake.
I'd be thinking sport 200, realizing it won't ski as well as a direct drive none of 'em do and a trade off has to come somewhere if you want the motor in the back.
For a bigger direct drive, the 2000 or so Sunsetter does a remarkable job at people space plus ski wake.
Most of my skiing time is split between an '08 TT and an '01 Sunsetter VLX, which is widely regarded as one of the top slalom v-drives of all time. VLX wakes are larger, but soft at 34 and 36. Don't notice a huge difference if you're skiing well, especially at 28 off or shorter. Slowing the boat down though means physics catches up with you. ANY V-drive will make a big wake at 30 or slower, so if you have kids to teach, I'd suggest staying away from the V-drives.
I like having both!
These are prettyy large, high sided boats that are very roomy inside, they displace a lot of water at low speed and have a lot of space in the compartments for some pretty large ballast bags. I've surfed quite a lot behind the 7.1 and it surfs very well, but once you get the speed up around 28mph and higher, the crazy hull takes over and the wake flattens out very nicely.
I've only been behind the 7.1 (23 footer), but they make a 6.7 (22 footer) as well. Surfing and skiing definitely demand exact opposite characteristics in a boat, but I'd never have believed that this one boat could do both this well if I hadn't experienced it first hand. There aren't a lot of Revos out there but they're generally priced really well if you can find one.
What you are describing doesn't exist. Best compromise would be the MC X14 or the SN sport 200 as others have mentioned.
A test bring ur slalom ski. As you go bigger 22+ feet the beam maybe too wide and not fit through boat guides in the slalom course
Dog <> cat
Wilma <> Betty
Chicken <> Dragon
Burger <> New York Strip
Must choose.
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I actually have a really nice used 2001 REVO 7.1 on consignment on my lot right now that we originally sold new back in '01 or '02. It has a 6.2 Scorpion with only 120 hours on it and a nearly flawless interior. If it doesn't sell soon I may have to start crunching some numbers and figure out if I can buy for myself.