Which Boat Manufacturer First Made Wakeboard Boats?

[slipperyrockTKE300]

Wife asked me this yesterday. She thought it may have been Moomba.

I have no idea. I was thinking MasterCraft

[moombadaze]

Good question, i think it was MC too, i remember a green direct drive Xstar

[jmvotto]

I would think it was the first v drive boat in the mid 90's that really got it started cuz skurfing, now wakeboarding. Got popular in the mid 80's

[boardman74]

Definitely not Moomba. I'd say MC or Nautique. The first V drive I know if is the Nautique Super Sport which became the first Super Air Hull in the early 90's. Nautique also owns the patents for the first tower. I'd say that gives the edge to Nautique.

What are you using do define the first wakeboard boat? In the beginning most were just ski boats they added towers to. The early boats didn't come with perfect pass or ballast or anything else we expect today. The direct drive Xstar referenced was simply a renamed 205i ski boat hull, also around since the early 90's. First V drive Xstar was that same hull(running surface) set up as a Vdrive instead of a DD.

[slipperyrockTKE300]

lets define "wakeboard boat" as one that is non-direct drive and one with internal ballast on both sides of the rear hull.

And how popular did skurfing really become? I'd say not much - at least not in Florida. I have never seen anyone do it, talk about it or promote it.

[newty]

Centurion had some pretty early V-drives with good wake capability. I'd say they were one of the first.

[jester]

This is kind of a loaded question. It really comes into what you call the first wakeboard boat. People have been wakeboarding behind all types of boats and their marketing departing departments have been using wakeboard boat for just as much time. Shoot Bayliner's say they are a wakeboarding boats. If you go with a wakeboarding boat has a tower then Nautique was the first to patent the wakeboard tower back in 1997(?). If you want to go with the first V-drive towboat I think it was the Cenrution Falcon back in 1986.

[slipperyrockTKE300]

really? Bayliner claims to be a wakeboarding boat??

That's a hoot!

[moombadaze]

Bayliner made the wake challenger-just a v drive, no tower or ballast if my memory is correct

[boardman74]

Yep they did. Made 3 models a 20V(2080), 21 DD(2087) and a 22V(2280). First ski boat I owned was actually a 1997 Bayliner Ski Challenger 2087. It was a 21 foot DD. Word was it was the same running surface as the MasterCraft 205(first gen Xstar). Produced a very nice wake with some weight. Paid $22K for it brand new in 98 pretty well loaded. Quality was really poor and had a lot of issue. But quality was also a lot different back then. Amazing what prices have done since then.

Yep no ballast no tower, but that was how most were in that era. Very few towers and factory ballast didn't come alone till a few years later. Fat sacs and pumps were just hitting the scene.