MasterCraft X25

[Ian Brantford]

I have seen one of the motion cameras on a boat. it moves with the rope as it swivels with the rider. it's attached to the top of the rope hook on the tower.

I have seen some sample videos in the past, for systems that are mounted on the tower and mechanically follow the rope. I was not impressed. Any tower shake as the boat hits even modest wakes messed up the video. If the rider falls, there is more intense tower shake and then the camera stops tracking correctly because the rope goes slack.

The failure to track after a crash might not be an issue for expert riders who just want a record of their tricks. However, my boat has lots of beginners at various sports. The crashes are extremely entertaining. If the camera doesn't accurately capture 5-10 seconds following the crash, I cannot edit together a good video of the day.

I can see how modern stabilisation technology might smooth out the tower shake. However, there are limits to this. In addition, the high inter-frame compression that most consumer-grade cameras feature, having the camera in fast motion is a problem. I have put off buying a high-def camcorder because most consumer-grade ones use this compression and cannot reliably isolate passable-quality still shots from video sequences during editing. My Canon S2, which uses M-JPEG (a series of JPEG's with no interframe compression) yields better-quality stills of action shots, at only 640x480 pixels, than most modern camcorders.

I would rather have a motion-tracking system that is mounted near the back (say, on the pylon) and that simply aims whatever camera I want. If I have to put it together myself, so be it.

[cab13367]

Here are some pics of my brother's actual X25.



That's my brother enjoying the transom seat.


His old boat (a Crownline runabout) and the new X25. Yes, he is partial to red.


One more. Good shot of the onboard pylon mounted camera.

[cab13367]

Al, awesome.

let us know how it does comp to the LSV.

My buddy is getting a new x45 in two weeks so we should be able to check out the surf tabs and the monster wake. also i thin i can park my OBV in the main cabin LOL

tried to bring him to the SC side moomba or supra, but the pickle fork won out side

Funny, I was trying to talk him into an XLV GG or a Supra but he's a huge fan of the pickle fork so that's what drew him to MC. Yeah, I will definitely post up more pics as well as my impressions of the boat once I've spent a week with her.

just watched the vid. nice boat, but I bet it has a nice price to go along with it.

Yeah, I'm guessing he paid in the $80k range for it? That's just a WAG. You know he didn't get a great deal since he ordered it.

[sandm]

I'm guessing he doesn't live anywhere real sunny and hot. I would think those seats, as nice as they are, will be scorching hot once out in the sun for a few hours?

very nice boat tho..

[kaneboats]

I would think those seats, as nice as they are, will be scorching hot once out in the sun for a few hours?

I'm sure he keeps the A/C on to keep everything cool.

[newty]

For the life of me I don't get the fiberglass fenders either. They look kinda gaycheese to me.
Boat is sexy though. I'd have gone all red no graphics and no red accents in the interior.
The X-25 is a really well thought out boat. I spent a lot of time at the one they had at the Portland Boatshow. Really a nice boat, especially for a new design.

[KG's Supra24]

Up until this thread i always kinda laughed at myself for saying i like my boat and it is just as good as a MC. MC is the originator and the "king" of wakeboats is how i always felt but they are slipping fast in my book.

Simply my opinion and everyone is different but each time i see one i start liking my boat more and more. For instance ...

Not a fan of the giant X that supposed to look like someone cut it into the side of the boat? What is going on with the dash in your cluster of pictures and what the heck is with the steering wheel? I agree with the above comments on the trailer. I'm not real sure how that tower made it out of the drawing stage. I was a fan of the picklefork at first but it is wearing on me, especially when its on every boat from x1 to x99, and now that MB and Tige are doing it, it is loosing its appeal.

On a brighter side, the transom seat kicks some serious butt. That is cool. I am undecided on the seats. Nice idea but just makes it seem way more luxury (cobalt) than wakeboat.

Anways, still a kicka$$ boat (not trying to knock it). Just puttin my thoughts out there on MC and how they are making me feel great about my purchase everytime i see one.

[jmvotto]

That x -25 is cool. he get the surf tabs too?

I can't wait to break in the boat and surf behind that monster

[volfo]

I really like that boat. For a long time, all MC seemed to offer was a boat very similar to a moomba, with a ton of chrome, silly looking wraps, crazy speakers designed to make you the enemy of everyone on the lake, and all at a price whereby you could buy two or more "similar" moombas.

This boat, however, has some really nice features. I looked at it and thought, wow, maybe I would consider a mastercraft. There are real, nice, substantive features built into this boat that me and my family and my friends would appreciate, whether cruising the lake, wakeboarding, tubing, relaxing and swimming, or learning to surf. All things we regularly do and enjoy on our moomba (except surfing because I just can't bring myself to put bags all over teh floor of my family boat).

Then I did a search for the price. According to a thread on wakeworld, they had one at the Seattle Boat Show for $116,500 with a boat show discount of $4,500 for a total of $112k. The dealer bragged that he sold it for that price. Someone said the MSRP is $78,800 for that boat, plus options, and someone said the trailer was an $8,000 option. I'm sorry, for $112k I could buy a new XLV to wake behind, an OB to ski behind, two new hydrohoist lifts and a reaosnable 2 year old tow vehicle. I could almost buy 3 new leftover LSVs if I looked hard enough and bargained hard enough. Apparently there was one at the Portland Boat show less loaded for $75k. Still ridiculous.

Moomba, please don't follow suit. There is a reason that the LSV is the best selling wakeboard boat. To paraphrase a political debate: "it's the price stupid" My 2001 Moomba is a nice boat. Not perfect, but nice. The 2010s are way better. Moomba, keep making quality boats with quality components. Consider functional innovations like lounge seating and expanded swim platforms and more storage if and when you can build it in at a reasonable price structure. When I replace my boat, I will look at Moomba first. I may also peruse a vride or a centurion, but last I did, I preferred the price/value/quality proposition of the moomba. I probably will next time, too.

I also wonder why, when you see these prices, quality I/O manufacturers like Sea Ray, Chapparral, etc. don't throw a v-drive in their big deck boats. I know there is more to it than that, and those boats are expensive too, but the big MCs are starting to look like a Sea Ray sundeck with a Vdrive in my opinion. I know they had ski rays in the past, but the hull/inside design of a wakeboard/wakesurf boat are far more compatable with a typical wake boat than a competition ski boat.

[KG's Supra24]

This boat, however, has some really nice features. I looked at it and thought, wow, maybe I would consider a mastercraft. There are real, nice, substantive features built into this boat that me and my family and my friends would appreciate, whether cruising the lake, wakeboarding, tubing, relaxing and swimming, or learning to surf. All things we regularly do and enjoy on our moomba (except surfing because I just can't bring myself to put bags all over teh floor of my family boat).

Features such as? I havent looked in depth too much but would love to hear the little things that i dont know about.

What Moomba do you have? Vdrive? The ballast moomba/supra has makes it super easy to get more weight, plenty for surfing. I run 2500 lbs surfing without one bag being visible or taking up space. I have a big boat but any v drive could run the same (or close to) the same amount.

Do the surf tabs allow the pickleforks to throw a good surf? From what i have read, you can't get a great surf wake from any of the pickleforks. Not trying to be too negative, just what i have read.