Axis, Nautique, Supra, Moomba or Mastercraft
 

I am looking at upgrading from our 1989 Mastercraft Prostar 190 (great first boat) to a newer wakeboarding boat. I have narrowed it down to 5

1. 2011 Axis A22 for $46,000
2. 2011 Moomba Mobius for $47,000
3. 2007 Supra Launch 24 ssv for $40,500
4. 2004 Mastercraft X Star for $45,000
5. 2000 Super Air Nautique 210 for $23,000

All of them are in good shape. I don't know a whole lot about the boat market. I'm looking for opinions on which of these 5 will bring the most bang for the buck. The budget is not a huge issue, but I don't want to have to spend a lot of money if I don't need to.

Any information would be appreciated.

If you wakeboard and wakesurf I really like the 2011 Axis A22. If you only wakeboard it would be hard to decide on either the X-Star or the A22. Sounds like a fun journey.

I'm an MC guy, but I might opt for that '11 A22 if its in good condition and throws a nice wake. The '00 SAN I know for a fact throws a nice wake. And of course the Xstar does. I'd narrow it down to those 3.

This is tough to answer without more info.....
-How will you use it?
-How many people in your crew?
-Condition and history of each boat?
-Hours on each boat?
-Options in each boat?
-Colors of each boat related to your preference of colors?

You should be able to get a 2012 Axis A22 for that price if is not a Vandal edition and has the typical options. If it is loaded with Wetsound tower speakers and quality audio equipment and extra goodies then that price may be on target. My buddy sold his 2012 Axis A22 at the beginning of this season for 45k. I wished I would have bought it.

Are u planning in just hitting the water to ride? Surf? Cruise the lake? Break it down to percentages.

Do you plan on hanging out? How big is your crew? What size body of water are you riding on? Of those choices I would eliminate the Moomba right off the bat. No matter how pristine or loaded it is. In you price range you can get way more performance out of any of the boats you mention. The only upside to the Moomba is its newer. If you were going brand new Moomba. The call would be a little different as you factor in warranty, custom boat you want, brand new, vs used. Here in this case though used Moomba vs any of the mentioned boats it's an easy call. Ditch it.

I myself came from an 89 prostar as the family first boat. I had been following Axis for a few years now and found a 2011 A20 that fits all my familys needs be it cruzin, wakeboarding and surfing and it also fits in my garage. You cant go wrong with any of the Axis boats. That urge to see what else is out there for sale has stopped and I can just enjoy the boat I have. Never any fun making a monthy payment on something and wishing for something better.

I will be using the boat for Wakeboarding mostly. I would like to get into surfing eventually, and would love to have a good surf wake to do it on. Cruising is not a huge part of it, but I live on a chain of lakes so there will be cruising involved. I ride with a wide range of people from 1 or 2 buddies to my 14 cousins. If That helps everyone.

85% wakeboarding
8% surfing
7% cruising

I'd opt for the newer boat, and I think the Axis wake is going to be hard to beat for the money.

The Nautique. Hands down. Is the Axis wake nice? Yeah. DOUBLE the price of the Nauty nice? Not by a long shot.

For the money? Hands down the Nautique. How many hours does it have? They throw a awesome wake !

Nautique has 580 hrs

out of those 5 the axis will be the better surf wake. and axis throws a killer board wake. its really wide and has a steep wake with a pretty smooth transition and a good lip. the boat looks the best too has an edgie look to it and is built for riders to ride. and i know first hand the the boat can handle 6000 lbs plus 6 people for surfing. hahahahaha. the surf wave isnt as long as i would like but very big and steep with a lot of push.

Also think about which one would have better resale value. You dont know your situation in 5-10 years and maybe in a bind or looking to upgrade. IMO the 2011 Axis or Moomba would sell a little bit better than a 2000 Nautique.

I've ridden behind all these boats besides the axis. The nautique and xstar would be my top two wake wise then very close behind the 24ssv then the möbius which I used to have. I have a decent bag of tricks and never had a problem doing any of them on any one of the wakes. That being said the biggest drawback to the nautique is storage space and seating space. It's just a smaller boat then all of the rest.

Let me ask the stupid question... All these boats are very similar in price and age but one, why? I don't understand looking at 3-9 yo boats all in the $40K+ price range and then throwing in a 13 yo boat at half the cost. You can look at much newer Nautiques for similar prices as the others within similar year range. You will gain more interior room, better FACTORY ballast system, as well as all the other advantages that come from a newer boat. Just something to think about.

My vote is CC 1st, MC 2nd. Both have very similar wakeboarding wakes and can put out decent surf wakes too.

Similar wakes? I would put these on the opposite ends of the spectrum. With that said, I would consider which wake suites your liking.

My bad, I was thinking the 2004 was still the X2 hull style... I would still rank them the same though as I like the abrupt pop the Nautique hull offers.

The reason one is so much older is because I threw it in there just to see which one is the better deal at the set price. My top two were the axis and the nautique and I threw the other ones in there because they seemed to be popular brands. I was just looking for some guidance from more experienced boaters/riders.

If u wakeboard 85% of the time get the nautique 210 and save your money for ballast and a stereo.

Ride the 210 first. For many, that is not their favorite wake.

honestly the 210 wake is really steep once you add about 2k worth of weight, it just becomes a wall, although you will get a good wake out of it with less weight because of the narrow hull. Personally i would rather have the original x star than the SAN, even though SAN doesn't get pulled around as much x star when loading the line.

Now 45k for a 04 x star when an 2011 A22 is a grand more i would definitely go with the A22. more room, the wake is really nice, wake variation(wedge). i rode on the a22 65' off about 23mph. it had plug and play with 750s in the back, wedge, and i very was impressed with the wake. its got such a good transition with some nice lip at the top, but its going to be wider than the 210 which may be good or bad depending on what you like. 23 grand is such a big difference in price though.

Where is 'Other'? (but I voted anyway)

The Nautique is the safest bet with the least amount of depreciation potential and the best "investment". Those boats as well as those PCM motors are solid. Newer boats have gotten bigger which is convenient but I don't see the value in that when my crew is only 4-6 people plus it takes so much more weight to get a big wake from the newer/wider boats relative to the 210. Over 7+ and it gets too crowded. Factory ballast and 4-6 people in that 210 makes a huge wake. If you buy the Nautique and don't like it for whatever reason, you can always get your money back out of it because it's done depreciating for the most part. Plus you get a wake that will rock your world for 23K and continue to stand the test of time. Not a bad deal. In fact it's by far the best deal you've listed. For the record, I have no bad words for any of the other boats listed. It's just when you assign the prices to those boats that the winner is a no brainier. Just my .02.

I am assuming the 210 is in there because you could probably pay cash for that or have to finance the difference to get to the 40 k mark

The 210 boosts a legendary wake. Of all the boats it will require the least amount of ballast and bd the most fuel efficient out there. I own a 2000 X Star. Ver similar make up. Bit different wake. The 2000 San has a single engine access hatch which can get annoying from time to time getting a quick vest or top out of there. In 2001 they swapped to a 3 piece. The wake can get big and it handles the weight well. Again tho won't need a ton of ballast. If you ask me depending in options this boat should be had for more like 20k


I would put the star ahead of the Axis while I know some would argue the Axis is newer and roomier .....the Star is still the Star. Even an 04 star will have better vinyl , thicker plusher seats and bit more of a well refined look inside. It also has the MC name for resale. People are not snatching up used axis' however people are always looking for used 'top 3 boats. The wake will be killer. As mentioned its very similar to the Axis with respect to the factory wake not being impressive at all. It also similar to the axis in that you have to throw minimum 2500lbs in there to get if meaty. So it will suck gas like no other. Again same for the axis tho. You need to weight it down. It's not a fun boat to get out of the hole loaded up. It's surf wake is marginal. It decent on the regular side but below average on the goofy side for boats it's size. It can still be surfed just to have a good time. At best you get a couple decent slashes and a 360. More a skim surf wake than a surf style wake for sure.

Axis well it's wake is great, it has a ton of room compared to the above two boats, It will surf the best out of the 3 boats I mention. The 11 just has a cheap feel to it. The vinyl did get an upgrade after 11, the dash also did, some of the hardware did and now the 14's have surfgate. So it's already been updated a couple times in its short time frame. The used market at least in my area for an axis is slim. At that price point you can slide into a newer style used 210 or MC and you are not that far off from a brand new Axis. I just don't see the used demand for them kicking in yet. The performance without a doubt wake wise is top notch. It just needs a bunch if extra weight like mentioned with the start.

The only boat off that list would be a used 07-up 210 hard

If it were me. i would have a hard time choosing between the 210 and Xstar. If one meant a payment and one meant financing. It's nice to not have tht payment and have extra cash to spend on gear, stereo stuff and whatever else. If both required a payment tho. XStar.

You could always ad a 2012 MB 21 Tomcat for upper 40's in the mix too sir. Just so happen to know where you can get one.

Go with the Nautique 210 if it means you don't have to finance. I just got a 99 and love it. The wakeboard wake has tons of pop and I was honestly very surprised at how nice the wakesurf wake can get. My interior is not clean at all, its torn up but works for me when throwing fat sacs everywhere and having a golden with sharp nails (disaster I know lol), but it's all about being on the water and fun. Plus the boat drives amazing. If you want the luxury and electronics of a new boat, go with either 2011 I don't think you'll be disappointed, but if you go with the older boats, go with the 210 please you won't regret it. Oh and my buddy surfing looks retarded in this pic haha!

2007 Supra 24SSV

129hrs.

$44,900

http://www.onlyinboards.com/Details.aspx?ID=40208