Our 2021 Mondo has arrived

[Chuds]

Welcome Waddle!

We also have the standard A3 tower as my garage is under 8' so we weren't going to make it no matter what tower we chose so saving the cash makes sense for me however like the others have stated my understanding is that the pro tower will fit in an 8' garage door.

As for Martin we enjoyed our experience however I can say it was really the salesman we dealt with that made it enjoyable (we spent 3 years working with him before finally ordering this last year).

Koocanusa will likely be where we spend most of our time for sure.

As for tower height I am not sure how tall the tallest point is on the trailer unfortunately but certainly can measure when we pick it up in a few weeks.

We can totally understand your debate as we were looking at used Mondo's and Helix's like mad however didn't find anything that we were really into, we were always buying someone elses choices and colors and paying for things we wouldn't choose or missing things we would have liked. For us going new meant that we got everything we wanted and nothing more and if you are buying today I would order all day as you are paying a premium for used boats these days and if you are going to spend good money you might as well get what you want. The icing on the cake is that the new design is much more appealing for us, wider beam, 3700lbs of stock ballast, 7 inch touch screen and upgraded creature comforts (walk trough, pop up ski pylon etc) I can say we are happy going new vs used when comparing now.

[Riddler]

I agree with the whole new vs used logic 100%.

Another thought is that ordering now, you still get 2021 pricing, as there will likely be an increase for 2022.

Also, the exchange rate is 10% better than when I did my deal.

[Chuds]

Riddler, another great point on the price increase as there will be one for sure as every year there is one and likely no real changes since it is so new (maybe minor tweaks) it would make sense to jump on it now especially with the strength of our dollar compared to when you and I would have purchased.

Waddle, one other thing to consider as I get the impression that you are hung up on garage storage is how you are going to store it a couple things to consider if you are using the same garage you park in and that garage is heated I have been told that it is hard on the gel coat to have it parked in warmth and then expose it to frigid temps when you are driving in an out and depending on what style of heater you use can also be hard on the boat (infrared style heaters are hard on finishes). What I am getting at is that I would not let garage storage deter you from purchasing vs say shrink wrap and outside storage or getting a shelter to cover it with in the winter. Now if you cannot find somewhere to park it period well that is another issue all together.

[Waddle]

Hey Guys,

The feedback has been fantastic and very appreciated!

Overall, I would say we were quite disappointed to learn from the dealer that they suggest a max height with folded A3 tower at 98" - can you just let the air out of the trailer tires? Ha - We even have an air compressor right in the garage - - desperate times = desperate measures!

And thanks for the tip on the garage heater/garage door opening Chuds - we will definitely look into that. Regarding shrink wrapping - is that something you can do yourself as well - or do you have to bring it in to the dealer/shop? $4K+ difference between A3 and Pro Tower equals a couple shrink wraps! Especially if all you want the Pro Tower for is to sit in your garag.

I understand this is a very personal question - but what did you guys go with for upgrades? We are very new to the surfing world - and don't require all the fancy features - looking to build more of an economical - high value/experience upgrades.

For example

Surfing Upgrades

- Cruise Control?
- 7" Display - allows for the Go Home feature?
- Depth Finder?
- G6 Ballasts?

Boat/Experience Upgrades

- Tower Speakers vs. wiring/self purchase speakers?
- Mirror and Bracket?
- Bimini?
- Flooring Upgrade?

Thanks again for all the help - I hope all of your Easter's were relaxing and full of mini eggs!

[sandm]

we were told kaiyen was not even close with 8ft door so I would bet mondo is the same. for us here in the desert leaving boat outside is not an option. personally I'd pay for the pro tower to keep indoors but I see a ton of boats everywhere we have lived that reside under covers outside so again probably a decision that you will need to make.

for the rest of the list:
cruise? YES. marriage saver and if you ever expect a decent pull YES...
7" display for resale. yes
depth finder. on lake mead yes. on our home lakes in idaho, not needed as we knew the lake well.
g6. yes.
tower speakers. we have not ever purchased on boat new. get tower wired and buy your own. it's not hard to install.
mirror. never used one. observers are mandatory here. when we lived in wisconsin they passed a law that 2 in the boat with a mirror so we would have bought one.
bimini. here it's a MUST in the desert.. in wisconsin I never used it. lived in the garage. my perception is in alberta I would not check the box. will affect resale to some degree later tho.
flooring upgrade. first 3 boats were carpet. current is gator(or one of the knockoffs). I preferred carpet but that's again all personal preference like most of the list.

good luck.....

[Chuds]

Well I don't mind sharing the upgrades we went with and why:

- GPS Cruise, personal preference and possible resale premium/differentiator, however a lot of dealer stock that Martin orders (well when everyone is not using up all their slots) go with the standard paddle wheel and there is plenty of discussion on its value on here and you can go either way ang GPS was the way for us but certainly not a must if you are looking to save money
- Surf pipe, reviews are that it makes it quieter and the safety factor as we have a young kid and the boat is not massive so you are seated far back in the entire cockpit but again this has been debated and is certainly something you can not get however if you are on the fence factory is supposedly the way to go so might not be worth skimping on if you think you may want it someday. Side note they seem to be more standard on a lot of boats now days so again resale image might be helped here
- Audio - We went highest factory as we are not audiophiles and this will be more than ample for us. I would price out a package aftermarket and it really wasn't a spot that you saved much in money unless you go lower end however this might be another area you could save money I would think but then you are getting what you pay for I am sure
- Depth finder, a must in our opinion just not worth a prop strike because you are not paying attention and adding one later would be a challenge unless you go with an unsightly aftermarket option
- G6 ballast, yes faster fill times and more responsive Autowake
- 7" display, for ease of use and just a better experience but again is a place to save money, I am not sure that the go home feature is exclusive to the 7" display though
- Mirror, yes I like being able to see my rider and what's behind me when you are cruising incase a jetski comes flying up behind you etc.
- Did not get the transom remote, the head units come with a puck standard that you can place anywhere and the Mondo is not that big and we did not use our old one very much
- Bimini, yes when it is 30 on Kooc you will want one and the surf pockets are a better way to carry boards IMO
- Flooring, we went with the floor and deck kit as it saves the gel coat when stepping on the sides and more importantly is not slippery when standing on the sides while wet
- Adjustable seat base, so my wife and I can both get the right height while driving
- Heater - I am not going to explain that we live in Alberta
- Quick release for the board racks is a must for ease of use
- Walk thru screen - for the cool air cruises
- Dual battery - does anyone not do this?
- We went single axel trailer as we are not towing a ton, we went back and forth on this one but just felt that for the cost for how much we tow we decided to save the money but Riddler is going to tow lots and went with the dual and brake upgrade so it is all about how much you will tow I think and what you tow with
- Various trailer upgrades but these are personal choice
- Did not get the seat back for the bench because a lot of people on here suggest that you won't use it because it is a pain and blocks movement around the cockpit
- Did not get the sundeck filler, we spend most of our time parked in the water or in the bow if we want sun but rarely on the boat we like to just float in the water and a stack of towels to fill the gap would work in a pinch and what do you do with it when you are using the walkthrough

I think that is just about everything, we also chose not to go with metal flake paint which saves you money and was just not something we cared about but it does look nice though really nice.

[Riddler]

Budget wasn't the primary concern for me, so my approach was one in which I took two things into consideration:

1. what I wanted
2. Resale (as the dealer told me that while I might think I wont be buying another boat for years, their experience tells them otherwise. And I think that sentiment holds true given what you see on this forum, and my discussions with friends and acquaintances who all seem to find reason/justification to "upgrade" to a new boat with some regularity.

So here is what I went with

- G6 Pumps - I think this is a must for both personal enjoyment and resale
- GPS Cruise - Chuds and Sandm covered this off
- I went with Metal Flake and upgraded Hull and Deck colors - I wanted something that stood out.
- Black Chrome logo
- Docking lights - resale primarily
- Gatorstep floor and Deck kit - Chuds covered this off
- 7" display - personal preference and resale
- Transom remote - didn't know about the puck when ordering
- Heater - as Chuds says - we live in Alberta!
- I did not order the mirror as I thought I wouldn't use it. The boat actually comes with a standard mirror (which I also did not know) the mirror on the build site is an upgraded mirror.
- Depth Finder - no brainer IMO
- A3 Tower appearance upgrade - personal preference mostly - it turned out really well, and has a backlit Moomba logo which looks quite cool. IMO the Pro tower didn't add anything I wanted/needed other than side tow points (which I hope to source aftermarket somewhere).
- Bimini - personal preference and resale - board storage and the fact I am a bit of a pasty white guy, so a little shade for long days at the helm will be welcome.
- Triton swivel board racks - personal preference and resale.
- Audio - we went with the top of the line factory offering
- Adjustable seat base - same reason as Chuds
- Removable seat back - wife and kids wanted it - it is quite slick and stores underneath the sliding seat! Time will tell how much we use it.
- Walk-thru screen - cold air cruises and for towing
- Full boat cover - no brainer
- Dual Battery - agree with Chuds
- Side Storage bins - personal preference and resale

Trailer -as Chuds said - we are going to be towing a lot, so I went with the tandem, electric/hydraulic brakes and 18" wheels with spare (personal preference mostly, but also because of the torsion upgrade) - not going to hurt resale either.
- Swing away tongue - for storage and resale.
- Transom steps - personal preference and resale
- Transom Trailer Straps - personal preference and resale
- Gator step - personal preference and resale

There was no charge for it, but the pinstriping on the trailer looks good - IMO.

Now just waiting for the ice to come off...

[got2skigrl]

We tried to stay somewhat budget conscious when building our new Craz. Not that we had to stick to a budget, but rather I am not a fan of spending money unless there is a perceived value. We went with the following upgrades:

-Flow 3 surf system - we will most likely have this boat a decade, so I thought it was best to get the latest technology now vs. starting out with the older version.
-GPS - we actually stuck with the paddle wheel. We went back and forth on it, but from research, it appears the paddle wheel does slightly better where there is a steady current, and as we boat on a river, that was enough to help us decide to "save" on that upgrade.
-Metal flake - I love metal flake, so that was an easy one for us, but totally a personal preference
-Gel accent and deck colors- again a personal preference, but I love color
-Gatorstep floor and deck- we boat weird. We stay at our dock most of the time, and use the boat only for rides or sports. We do a lot of getting in and out of the boat at the dock, and having a non-slip deck to step on seemed like an easy choice. Also, went with brown. I had read that the grey was harder to keep clean if you boat in dirty water (and ours will be if there was a recent rain). No clue if that is true or not, but brown went with our colors anyways.
-Mirror upgrade - I dont want to have to turn around to see what my riders are doing. Now that the kids are getting big enough to ride, I want to see them
-Transom Remote - seemed like an ok price to not have to get out of the water and into the boat to change a song we dont like
-Tower appearance upgrade - stuck with the basic tower and was not going to add an accent color, but my dealer wanted us to have it bad enough to throw it in for "free"
-Wakeboard racks with quick release swivel - we dont have a ton of wakeboards and wont be using it too much, but for the price, seemed like a good option vs, hanging over the side of the boat when we are changing out boards
-Premium wetsounds audio - this one was a must for the husband. We probably could have pieced together something better for cheaper, but we knew ourselves... we would never get around to it/put the time into it.
- Bimini top - we are in the south, and it gets HOT. The littles are just learning to do water sports, and a lot of time is spent at idle or slightly faster getting them to ride. Shade is needed. Plus, extra storage
-Depth finder - the river goes from 60 feet to 3 feet in no distance, plus it is 5+ feet lower at labor day vs memorial day. It is a must for us
-Dual battery - more for resale as it is basically expected nowadays
-Spare tire - I dont like going anywhere without a spare

[Hayden]

I can't imagine being on a wakeboat without a bimini in the Cranbrook/Invermere area. Elevation + more northernly latitude makes it feel like although the air temp is only 25C/77F, the higher UV index burns you up much faster. As well, kids (and adults) never drink enough water, dehydrating even faster without shade.

We are normally on Windermere but it's an absolute zoo on weekends in July. I expect a major accident is just around the corner as people are trying to stuff 12 people into a 6man hot tub. I'm curious what the differences are between Windermere/Columbia/Koocanusa. I've heard Wasa is too small for wakeboats. For me, Windermere is warm and as long as you're going midweek, or really early (with the skiers), it checks all the boxes. South end gets pretty weedy by the end of July.

Congrats on your purchase btw and keep coming back to the site when you have questions. So much to read and learn here.

[Waddle]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks again for the incredible feedback!

However, within the larger family unit - 'Team Used Boat' has come out strong - and I need some ammunition to fight back. Against what I see as rational decision making, the used boat crew found a 2016 Mondo out in Central/Eastern Canada for sale.

It appears to be a well equipped boat for 2016 - but I feel the asking price is a bit steep (But as a Seller - why not shoot for the moon - my neighbour is buying a boat and he asked me the other day - 'Are there lakes around here?' - so if people like him are buying boats - its a good time to sell = bad time to buy).

So 2016 Mondo - worth pursuing? Pretty good boat? Or more of a "I wouldn't spend more than 50K for a boat like that" kind of boat.
- 200-300 Hours, 2700ish Ballasts

I don't know - doesn't seem to make any sense to me - 2021 Mondo remodelled, can get 2021 prices...

If anyone has any advice on how to sway this battle back my way - it would be greatly appreciated - or if anyone has suggestions on how I can cope with a 2016, it might be my only saving grace

(I'm being overly dramatic about coping with a 2016 - I'm sure I would love it non the less!) - but don't tell Team Used Boat!

Thanks again.