Buying a 2021 max very excited. Previous owner of a 2014 20 foot boat that just never lived up. Hoping for a different experience want to surf. Suggestions?
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Buying a 2021 max very excited. Previous owner of a 2014 20 foot boat that just never lived up. Hoping for a different experience want to surf. Suggestions?
buy it...you'll love it
RyanE, I have a 2020 Max. We love our boat and have not regretted purchasing it at all. You will love it as well. Just know that she is a big boat and needs a lot of weight to surf really well. We worked our way up to 5500lbs of ballast and the wake came alive. We have push way further back and are able to up our surf game quite a bit. Right now we have the 4,000lbs of stock water ballast with 400lbs of lead in the nose and 1,100 lbs of lead midship. It has been the best recipe that we have found. Good luck and have fun!
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If you are buying a Max. Here is what you need to know...
Gator step is Awesome. Gator Step in grey will be forever dirty.
Gator step walk through is a must.
If you are buying to surf. you WILL need to upgrade ballast. - WakeMakers.
If you upgrade ballast, you WILL need to add engine divider panel support. I am using 3/4" plywood set in loosely
If you are buying to surf. Be choosy about your Prop NOW!! - I have 2419, but new max may have different transmissions and need something else.
you can have a surf prop and go tubing, but...you'll eat gas.
I never user Auto Wake
G6 ballast is a must
We never use center "stadium" type seating and dont miss not buying back rest for it. I would be killer if it made into a table like the supras though.
Buy the extension platforms on the trailer. Shit I wish I did.
Finally, I will never own a White trailer or tower again. Cant keep it clean.
Hope this helps.
I haven’t had any issues with my stock dividers using the Wakemakers kit. My dividers appear to have support already. Agree with everything though. For sure get those trailer steps or you’ll need a trampoline lol. Be sure to option with the 7” dash screen instead of the small screen the 18-20 Max’s came with. Stock ballast for 2021 Max is 4K lbs so you may need some lead to get you close to 5k lbs or more of you have a light crew.
Awesome thanks for the info.
Ditto from another Max ownerQuote:
Originally Posted by flienlow
Also have a 2021 coming. Agree with all the statements. Went with a color scheme that allowed brown gator step for that very reason—Gray is perpetually dirty.
And I went 450 just because, well, power. I had the 450/1.76 on my SL and it’s an animal. Especially in full ballast wakeboarding. I will be running the Acme 3337 on that boat (16x15 .075) because it was a gem on my SL.
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Dakota you going from a SL to the Max?
Probably $50K difference in price if you are just looking at just using it for surf wakes?Quote:
Originally Posted by Prospersigman
Does the 2021 offer underwater lighting?
Yessir.Quote:
Originally Posted by Prospersigman
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This is correct. I have a 450 equipped 21 coming in a couple weeks and about 50 grand in my pocket. Well not literally in my pocket. It’s in the bank mostly. And in my wife’s purse. And a few other places.Quote:
Originally Posted by MJHSupra
Light graphite, fancy trailer, the whole works. Wakemakers bags arrived already, as well as a 600 bow bag.
Working on the Flow 3.0 addition as we speak.
Pretty excited!
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I also have a 2021 Max coming. All great advice, thanks! So newb question here but what makes the WM bags better than the stock bags? We will have a light crew most of the time (2 adults, 4 kids)...probably 500lbs....so any advice on getting a better wake (aside from the obvious of more lead) out-of-the-box is appreciated. Also, we got the stock Indmar 400 option but there's still time to upgrade to the 450. Any reason to? Mainly trying to save money for other options....
450 is for wakeboarding heavy mostly. 400 fine for surfing. Most of the torque difference is above 3700 rpm.Quote:
Originally Posted by zruvalcaba
Bags are bigger. 1345# vs 1000#. But you can’t use the rear storage trays. I didn’t even order them.
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The Wakemakers read bags are 1,340 lbs versus the 1,000 lb stock rear bags. The Wakemakers midship bags are 540 vs 500 stock respectively. In the end Wakemakers nets 4,770 lbs vs 4,000 stock. This could also be achieved with lead/steel shot bags. If I had a newer Max with 4,000 lbs I would maybe just upgrade the rear bags and use lead for everything else.Quote:
Originally Posted by zruvalcaba
As far as the 400 goes the new boats come with better gear ratio which should make the 400 ideal for most people unless you live in high elevation. I’m at sea level with the 400 and Wakemakers kit plus longer ratio and have no issues. It has great power!
Midship bags are not for the 21s—they have a floor in the side compartments now. Maybe 20 was the same?Quote:
Originally Posted by haknslash
Anyway, the Bagbuster is rears only now.
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I thought you could get the false floor last year if you optioned for the 4K ballast. Are you saying the 2021 Max is more like a big Enzo bag instead of separate rear and midship? I have a buddy who ordered one and it should be here middle of this month and can’t wait to crawl over it. My dealer has literally zero boats on their lots and it’s been a good year for boat sales lol.
Damn this is great information. The side storage bins are a $630 upgrade. That pays for the upgraded WM bags and then some. Thanks guys, I'll be calling my dealer and removing that option ASAP. I assume those can be ordered after the fact if needed anyway right?
No. Same setup, just that the false floor doesn’t allow for a larger bag. So the stock 500 bag is it. It fills the space under the false floor.
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Of course. You could get later.Quote:
Originally Posted by zruvalcaba
I personally want the water weight. Plus there are a few inches yet still above the big rears when full that a guy could rig a net or some other deal for a little storage of a jacket or 2. And the max still has the center over engine tray that holds a lot.
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Yea I would not get the side storage bins if you want to upgrade midship bags. The bins were an option last year as well. We still use our side storage to store boards when the boat is out away or when I’m not filling any bags so adding the side storage bins would cut into available storage space. However if you want a clean look like you have subfloor ballast then option the side storage bins but just understand you’ll be stuck with the stock bags (or pop out the storage bins and lay some lead under the stock bag and stuff lead in the narrow tunnel leading up to the helm).
Lots of confusion here:Quote:
Originally Posted by haknslash
“Side storage bins” option is the rear storage bins. From my understanding.
Side storage is a false floor. Period.
Again from my understanding.
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I believe the nomenclature is probably derived from the fact that the max has a center storage bin.
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Ditto what Dakota saying. With the WM rears I still have plenty of rear storage space even with bags full and rock hard. I keep my Exile balls in there while inflated which I would guess to be 15” at least and still have room for two of those balls on top of the bags. This is a big reason why we chose the Max knowing it had super deep storage enough for upgraded ballast bags and still be able to store things. As he mentioned you can use netting like in the murder Max thread to keep from having to bend way down in the canyon sized rear lockers lol.Quote:
Originally Posted by dakota4ce
So in summary, skip the side storage bins option and order the upgraded rear bags.
Double check this with your dealer before you pull the trigger, but that is how I understood the set up.
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Check me if I’m wrong, but your rear bags are probably the 1200s, is that correct?Quote:
Originally Posted by haknslash
The 1340s are a bit taller.
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I'd like to avoid adding lead if possible. I'm already beginning to dread towing this thing with my 1500 Suburban....adding lead will just add to the overall weight of the boat when towing. The lake we usually go to is 6 hours away and the Colorado River is 4 hours away so the lighter I can keep my boat when towing the better. I'd rather trade 600lbs of extra ballast from these WM's for 600lbs of lead any day.Quote:
Originally Posted by haknslash
They use the same rear bags as the Makai which are 1,345 lb bags. I know the image they use for the Max bag buster says 1,200 lb but when you get the bag the box states they are Makai/Max rear bags. Also if you go on WM site and do the bag buster kit for the Max you see you only get a rear bag option (because they come with midship bags) and that it says 1,345 lb rear bags. Perhaps early on the first WM Max kit used 1200 lb bag or they had a typo and never corrected it? I don't know which to be the case but I do know the Makai and Max share the same rear locker bags which state they're 1,345. This kind of gues inline with what Jason (I think his name is) on the FB owners group said the new (at the time 2019+) kit is almost 5k lbs. If you add it up that brings it to 4,770 lbs.Quote:
Originally Posted by dakota4ce
https://i.imgur.com/QPCruNZ.jpg
Here's a pic of the box label. Notice it says 2019+. I know they made some changes to the overflow and fill ports because Skiers Choice changed things for 2019 so perhaps they went from 1200 lb bags in 2018 to increasing size slightly for 2019+ to 1,345 lbs.
https://i.imgur.com/biF81MS.jpg
Yes the earlier version of the max bag buster was 1200. How long have you had yours? The reason I ask is 15 inches of room above them seems like too much. That would almost allow for the bin to be used?Quote:
Originally Posted by haknslash
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I ordered my 2019 kit during Black Friday last year. Installed them in the spring of this year. They made me new replacement bags this year because the first ones they sent were incorrectly made like many others which had "short" fill hoses. My new bags are about 8" longer and taller in the "pocket" area in between the rear and midship area of the locker than the original bags they sent me. The bins changed from 2019 to now according to some people on the FB group. The old bins I don't think would fit but I've heard the 2020 bins and newer are shallower so they could fit. I can't say for certain as it seems conflicting from those that have the bins and no telling when SC changed bin depth.Quote:
Originally Posted by dakota4ce
It's also worth mentioning that my 15" ball statement may not be entirely accurate as my Exile balls are not filled to maximum inflation levels. They have lost some air over time so maybe they are more like 12" now idk. All I know these are the newer bags because the ports and everything are of when they made the changes to 3 ports on the bottom for the 2019's and up.
https://i.imgur.com/mql1p5R.png
https://i.imgur.com/dN2d7OD.png
I was having a discussion with the aftermarket guy at wake makers and he swears these bags could not be any bigger and I thought for sure they could be bigger. Looks like they could be a lot bigger.
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Based on the confusing information they were telling me I would not be surprised if your 2019 kit is a set of 1200 pound bags. Are you positive they are not? They changed them for the 2020 boats. I think.
All in all it was really difficult to follow I must admit.
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They changed them in 2019 when Skiers Choice changed the overflow from top to bottom of the bag. They were pulled off the WM website as they retooled and redesigned the bags and were off their for several months. I had kept in loose contact with them during that time as I was waiting to order bags and had to wait until they offered them again. It would seem silly for three to offer different size rear bags at this point. All I have to go by is what their website says when you place an order for rear bags and what the box says when you order them which says Makai/Max rear bags. Makai has always been a 1,345 lb bag. I agree it is confusing. I don’t think I would want s taller bag though simply because we use the storage a lot since you lose the midship when putting bags in there. I plan on adding 100 lbs of lead bags under my rear bags at some point and 400 lbs in the bow. I don’t want to get the 859 lb bow bag for the Max because then all of my storage would be gone except for under the helm. My lake gets rough and we usually fill front ballast to 50% or so to soak up the bumps so I won’t mind having 400 lbs up there in lead instead.
Roger that.
Bryan at WM swore to me the 1345 bags fill the compartment. I insisted they do not—using mainly photos from owners as evidence. It was an interesting debate.
But it sure looks like they don’t even come close. They could be 1550 easily it appears.
Which is what I wanted—given I don’t want/need the storage. Seems silly to make them just tall enough to eliminate the tubs, but then leave an big awkward gap that invites a net or something. 6” seems ok, 12-15” seems like wasted space.
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I also was speaking with Bryan lol and he is the one who handled the issues I ran into. Not once but twice on their bags (they sent me mismatched midships too). I have a garage full of WM bags never used that I should sell off lol. Really nice guy on the phone and in emails. Maybe he was thinking the Makai locker has no room because that I could see being the point since Makai locker is nowhere near as deep as the Max since it has subfloor ballast. Interesting and yet confusing topic for sure haha.
dakota4ce can you list out the full spec of your 2021 Max with all the intended engine/ballast/prop options you're going for and where they will be located? I get the sense that you are attempting to min/max the boat to be the absolute heaviest possible and that is also something I would like to do. Are you primarily surfing or wakeboarding?
A follow up question for anyone who's gone beyond nameplate (passenger/gear/fuel/ballast) weighting for their boat - Is there a point where overballasting (say, 1000lbs, 2000lbs over nameplate), would cause short or long term damage to the engine, transmission, Vdrive? I realize you can counter this to some degree with larger engine and prop upgrades but for anyone that's gone beyond nameplate, and felt like they've had success or felt that it was or wasn't worth the money, what experiences have you had?
Off top of my head 2021 MaxQuote:
Originally Posted by Hayden
, 450 motor, 7 inch screen, heater, light graphite exterior everywhere and interior, light graphite trailer, 18 inch wheels, electric over hydraulic brakes, 7 inch screen, did I already say that? Light graphite of both fabrics on the interior, honey accent, brown gatorstep, rear trailer steps, no Bimini. Gonna build a Sewlong type bimini.
Ordered wake makers Bagbusters for the back. Also ordered 600 pound bow bag. G6 ballast. Pretty much every option honestly. I suspect in the end I will run 500 pounds or so of lead. I am also going to install flow 3.0.
Going forward we will be 50-50 wakeboarding and surfing.
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Did you not like your SL?Quote:
Originally Posted by dakota4ce
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