About to pull the trigger on a Helix or Max

Just looking for some advice. We currently have a Starcraft SCX 231 Surf boat which we dearly love for it's massive layout. It is the crazy reverse Volvo drive and we have been surfing on it for two years. We have a decent wave with all the extra ballast (3k plus stock of 1380), but it is not very long and the pocket is small. We achieved this by putting 3 800lb Sumo's on the floor...the boat interior is massive. We have fallen in love with surfing and are now ready to get a real surf boat and get even better at it. Our oldest daughter has moved on to college and even though we offered, she has not brought her group of new friends to come and surf. Our youngest two are 11 and 12 and they may bring a friend or two every now and then. We have a place on the lake and a dock, so we are not loaded up in the boat, but we would like to have the floor free and be able to set up the surf wave easier...I surf goofy, wife and kids surf regular...always got to be one clown in the group! Anyway, after a ton of research and looking at several options, we have decided the Helix or Max is the way to go. The high freeboard and beam is identical to our Starcraft...the kids love jumping off the boat since it sits so high in the water....countless hours of "Dad, judge who does the best dive, cannon ball, can opener". We don't really care about the fancy options on the more expensive boats either. As much as we love the Starcraft layout, the quality of the Moomba boat is way above the Starcraft.

So, the Starcraft with the swim deck is about the same length as the Max...24' and change. Our dock is only 20' long and is just a floating platform dock. The Starcraft doesn't quote fit it and we are on a busy part of the lake so we get a lot of waves. I have a really good whip system that protects the boat, but I feel the boat is a bit too large for our dock.

It appears, from all the research and videos I have watched, that the Helix can make a great wave. Being an engineer, I am not stick on the "bigger boat, bigger wave" thought process...we have a pretty large boat now and with all of our effort, we can't make it anywhere near what the Helix or Max waves look like in the videos.

I'm leaning towards the Helix simply for the ease of docking as compared to the Max. If anyone has been in both boats with upgraded ballast and set up properly, I'd like some convincing that I won't want to kick myself for not getting the Max, solely looking at the wave. We don't need the biggest and baddest wave ever, but something we can start working more tricks on and be happy with for a while. We are 45 year old life long athletes and both ski and wakeboard, but surfing is where it is at and way less painful, so we plan on surfing our days away until we can't anymore.

Thanks for any help and looking forward to becoming part of the Moomba family and part of this forum...I am part of many forums and modify all my vehicles and recreational toys, so I'll be on here a lot!

First, if your pocket is short, speed up. Faster speeds make a longer wave. It does flatten the wave out but will likely be better even though the wave is less tall.

As far as a Moomba, have you looked at the new Kaiyen? Both are heavier boats with more ballast when compared to the Helix. The Max and Kaiyen will both make a better wake compared to the Helix. I would only go with the Helix if you need a boat that small (i.e. size restriction on the lake). Can you throw a buoy in the lake behind your boat with a reflector on the top so people see your boat better? The buoy would need to be off to the side a bit so you can back out but it will help make the boat more visible. Can you extend the dock? I don't think you want to limit yourself to the Helix due to the size of your dock. Check out the Wake9 review of the Kaiyen on Youtube. It may help your decision (or confuse you more). https://youtu.be/GgUqDAMfmhI Personally, I'd take this over the Max but that is just my 2 cents.

Yea, I looked at the Kaiyen, nice boat, but I liked the Helix and Max better to be honest.

Again, just my 2 cents. I'd take the max all day over the Helix. More ballast. Make sure you add the Gen 2 surf system and 6 pump ballast system as well as zero off cruise and autowake. Note sure why but you can get the gen 3 surf system on the Kaiyen but only the gen 2 on the Max. Still, I'd take the gen 2 on the Max all day over the Helix. You'll get a much better surf wake from the Max vs the Helix and that is why you are buying a new boat after all.

I started out in a 20ssv supra. 20ft long. similar to the helix but not as much freeboard. best move we ever made was selling to get into a 22ft. we now have a 24ft and I miss the 22ft but never have you heard any of us say we miss the 20ft boat.
it'll be easier to drive and maneuver but in the end the 20ft boat market seems to cater to those on an extremely tight budget, parking issues or lake restriction issues.

I bet you will be happy with either boats surf wave but seems based on the comment not wanting bags laying all over the max will offer more space to keep your interior clean for people ballast.

and if you do decide to sell down the road the market seems to lend itself better to a slightly larger boat than the 20ft'ers.

as always this is all imo :)

Thanks. It's not a price issue between the both, we planned on spending more than either of them cost. After looking at all kinds of boats, these make the most sense and we like them the most. So, it's looking more and more like the Max is going to be the boat.

The Mojo would be my boat of choice in the Moomba line because I like it's lines and interior the best but the Max is a close second. My dealer has a demo one loaded up with extra bags and for the price really hard to beat this boat. Not for me but definitely for someone that wants a really good surf boat at a really great price.

I've got the Helix, and the wake is excellent for the size, I'm sure you would love it. That said, the bigger options will give you a bigger wave.

I have just the same issue as you. Thank you for the excellent advises, which were very usefull to me.