spent some time at the competition yesterday

[sandm]

just thought I would share this.. sorry it's kind of long.

went to the competing dealer yesterday to pick up some rope, as the skiers dealer is 30 miles away. this dealer used to sell skiers products years ago, but has been the local centurion/mc dealer for the last 10 years. last spring, they picked up nautique and this winter, picked up mb. had a very interesting chat with the salesman there. They haven't sold a single new mc since the boat show last year, ordered one 2011 centurion last fall and no bites, and have yet to order a nautique, while having mb only 3 months, have sold 7 boats, delivered out the door. talked that 2 of the last mb sales were to guys that had someone else doing their purchasing(a "handler") and were heading up to cabins on the lake 100 miles away(very high incomes). 4 years ago, he stated that these would have been 100k mc customers, but are now scaling back spending what is the minimum for a recreational towboat realizing that the family doesn't use it 24/7 and looking for value. I have always thought of Moomba as a pricepoint boat and one of the best values for the $$, but it would appear that mb is out after that crown. they are selling either the 21tomcat(picklefork) or the b52(standard bow) for $49,000 otd(bet there's some wiggle room) and that's loaded minus tower speakers. included 2axle loaded with fulton f2 gear, tow cover, spin racks, dual battery, bow filler, gps zero off, 2amp stereo and the list goes on.. that seems to be quite a bit of competition for the lsv/xlv. I haven't ever ridden behind one, but looking at the hull design, it appears to be very similar to the centurion in it's ability to list for surfing, much more so than the xlv/lsv hulls. looks like the 1800lbs of internal ballast(and fills in under 2 minutes) would surf well with no additional sacs. they had a 2009 demo there with 24hrs on the clock, had every option mb offered and sold it for $38500 otd. I climbed around these for a minute and the fit/finish is really on par with every other boat out there. gel is extremely clean, interior fit/finish is top quality and everything seemed to close/open nicely. my only complaint would be graphics behind the gel so you are essentially stuck with the same pattern forever unless you wrap(guy that bought the '09 was wrapping it as the color was not the most attractive, but for 38k, lots of cash to do it)..

from a mc and nautique standpoint, I wonder how much longer they will be a dealer if they are not ordering any new product and really carry 2 of the top 3 "premiere" boat lines. I would think that both companies would want to get their brands in the hand of a dealer that will order new product to try and sell and not one pushing a new line hard..

as a future boat shopper(hoping in 2 years to be ready for a new one), it is both good to see that there are other companies that don't see the need for another 75k wakeboat, but on the flip side, looks like there are others out there that are coming up to challenge the value statement that built moomba into the bargain it is today.

I hope skiers is watching.

[csm]

I love my LSV, but IF I was in the market right now, I would be leaning heavily towards the MB F21 (also digging the Axis A20). I love the thought of having no pumps to have to deal with, and having ballast fill so quickly, with no bags in sight.

MB's big disadvantage in my area is that the closest dealer is over 200 miles away, while we have a great Skier's dealer in town, so that is a big factor as well.

[Razzman]

MB's are very nice boats, well thought out and of great quality, fit and finish. They ride extremely well too, solid and stable. They really listen to what people want and you really get a lot for your money. I though the Tomcat was one of the ugliest boats i'd ever seen whe it first came out a few years back but after really going through one i've changed my mind and would def consider buying one if i ever sell the Moomba. The MB factory is about 30 minutes from my house, in fact I used to work right around the corner from them and passed all the boats out front every day.

[jmvotto]

Sandm,

Funny you say that but the closest MC nautique dealer in NY pulled the plug on MC a year ago and now does Supra, so the moomba and Supra dealers are abot 50 miles apart. in our part of the world seems like pontoons are selling like hot cakes at IHOP.

[ian ashton]

The fit & finnish on the MB boats is super nice, but the hull design is just odd, they look so weird in the water.

With regard to the Axis statement above - the fit and finnish is terrible, they just look and feel cheap, but it seems like they have a ton of big fans on WakeWorld. I dunno...

[jester]

The fit & finnish on the MB boats is super nice, but the hull design is just odd, they look so weird in the water.

With regard to the Axis statement above - the fit and finnish is terrible, they just look and feel cheap, but it seems like they have a ton of big fans on WakeWorld. I dunno...

Ian, I agree with you the MB's are nice boats. If they are dropping in price i might have to stat looking at them. If i do then the question is what will I do with all this Moomba gear.

I took a ride in and behind an Axis. I was not impressed. It is cheap but they are still trying to sell them for over 50K. It is also Loud. I would never buy an Axis.

[Razzman]

I'm also not impressed in the least with the Axis. I've looked at it very close as well and not only is it plain as can be inside, it also looks cheap. The things Malibu did to cut costs also makes it clear they did so to lower cost, it's blatant in fact. The cheap looking cutout storage, no windshield side wings, spartan interior, etc.

What kills me about Malibu and their way over priced boats is that while they charge exuberent amounts of money, they probably don't incur much more costs than many of their competitors. Malibu has a factory a couple miles from MB Sports, Centurion is down the street from them as is Calabria. Wakecraft is almost next door, all in the same city, Merced CA. Sanger is an hour south in Fresno. All build quality boats for way less, go figure.

[kaneboats]

I spoke to a dealer the other day who said used boats are selling like hotcakes. In fact he doesn't have any at all.

[sandm]

^same story. you can get a well taken care of vdrive in the 30's now. that's where some of these boats sat new 8 years ago.
that same dealer had an '06 centurion avy for 36. has under 100hrs on the clock and looked brand new. talk about a surfboat

I was quite impressed with the mb. if pricing stays, it'll be on the short list in a few years.
here's to hoping the value of used boats continues to stay high.

[csm]

The fit & finnish on the MB boats is super nice, but the hull design is just odd, they look so weird in the water.

I think they look pretty sweet on the water, and seem like they would handle rough water really well with that hull. The only thing that is a little weird about them to me is their platforms sit really high off the water compared to other inboards. Might make getting in and out of the water difficult for older family members.