I was interested in buying a 1991 Mastercraft Maristar 21SC and I noticed that it doesn't have any tracking fins on the hull in front of the shaft and propeller. Does anyone know anything about this? Was the hull designed to perform without them, or is this boat going to drift all over? Any help before I buy this boat would be greatly appreciated.

I dont think Maristar has tracking fins. I'm no expert, but the MC dealer here said the newer ones don't at least.

The boat will drift. Very poor design on Mastercraft's part in my opinion. If you choose to pull with this boat it will drift. It also won't turn as good as most inboards. I think they meant for this to be a family boat and forgot to put fins for people that do watersports.

the maristar boats(x-10 & x-30) turns very well but not like a tournament skiboat.We are wakeboarding and not hardcore slalom skiers so we don,t really need tracking fins we are not running a course,but the boat handles better if you do have tracking fins.

If you don't do a lot of slalom, and are not planning on making the PWT. The fins won't be missed that much. The boat may not turn quite as good as it would with fins, but I'll bet that you won't notice the difference.

Thanks for the great comments. They are very helpful. I do not water ski at all, strickly wakeboarding and some tubing when it's too choppy to board. I live on a river that is typically really calm with little boat traffic. I just didn't ever notice that the Maristar didn't have tracking fins. Will there be any problems with stuff in the water hitting the prop since the tracking fins are not in front of it to hit first? Has anyone ridden behind one, good wake or not? I am a beginner so I don't really need the best wake, just a good family boat that I will be happy with as well when it's my turn behind the boat.

Tournament inboards have tracking fins because the hull is very flat. This give them a great slalom wake, but they don't turn as well and can be pulled around by an advanced or heavy skier. The solution to this is tracking fins. With more V in the front 2/3 of the hull the Maristars don't need fins. The boat will roll a bit more in turns than a direct drive with fins (which feel like the boat is on rails), but not nearly as much as the average i/o. The advantage to more V is it's much smoother in rough water. This is nice for wakeboarding because you won't feel like you're being pounded when you cross your wake for double ups.

Thanks Bird, that makes sense and helps alot.

flying frenchman <BR>did you make a deal on that '04 absolute? just wondering how everything turned out.

No I didn't. I am still looking for something cheaper, around $250. I love my DNA Byerly, but I wanted to try an Absolute this season since I've heard so many good things about them. SOmeone offered me an ABsolute Platinum 2002 model new for $250 shipping included. What do you think?