Mastercraft almost got it perfect
 

I just picked up a '09 X-Star and was going through it familiarizing myself with it and cleaning everything. Now, I am a diehard Nautique guy for life, but I think that MC has done a pretty awesome job with what they are putting out in the X-Star these days. I just had a 2003 X-Star, and it's pretty crazy to see the similarities, and how it has evolved over the years.

Everything seems to be pretty thought out. There is a ton of room to work on the engine changing impellers, and the access to the engine compartment couldn't be easier. I think the amount of storage on this boat is nothing short of amazing. The port side locker is so big you could literally put a freaking kayak in it.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...5318Medium.jpg

So on to my gripe. how is it that over 10 years, they haven't figured out how to make the observer seat one piece and open up just like the front ones do (or any other manufacturer for that matter)? that area is the most used one, and it's just a pain to have to take the whole cushion out, or crawl through a tiny hole to get anything. Make it ONE PIECE!!!

Amen to that observer seat... couldn't agree more!

all the storage space is good to store all the water toys for a day on the water...

That would be a good idea to have that seat one piece...
The other thing that I would like is no carpet in the back storage lockers. Can you say wet = moldy. How about some rino lining or something soft and not affected by water??

Other than that I’m still loving my 06 Star….Don’t even get us started on the huge rampy wake out back

The X2 has a one piece flip up observer seat, but the bow seats are two piece! Go figure...Ive always wished the X2 had one piece bow seats, I guess you cant have everything. :rolleyes:

They didn't get the front seats that flip up right either... they need to make the cushions seperate and NOT STITCHED TOGETHER like CC does on the Super Airs from 02-06. Check out any of the new style Xstars with 100 or more hours and I bet there is a tear in the vinyl at the seam line between the lower and back rest cushions on those flip up seats. They need two seperate cushions so there is a tension release mecahnism when you sit on them. It is too bad because when you spend over 65K for a boat, you hope the vinyl won't tear after just a couple of seasons.

Love the wake though !!!

-Uj

I'm gonna have to call you out on the die hard "Nautique guy" you can't own two X Stars in a row and be a die hard ;)

Not a single tear or sign of stress on my 06 X2 flip up. 350 hours and looks as good as new.

I a pretty sure they had a couple years where they had that problem but I kind of want to say they fixed it.

+1 :confused:

I still can't get past the retro gauge cluster anyway.

Hate....Lol, no, I actually would consider owning this X-Star (maybe). But I am a Nautique guy till the end. I do respect what MC does though. Awesome boats. These two-xstars are ones that I help a friend of mine sell. I got the '02 as a trade on the CC 230 (Sweet boat BTW, my wife's favorite so far). This '09 I got at an auction from a car dealer that was their personal boat and done using it, and didn't want to mess with selling it on his own. I do hope I get to ride on it one more time before I sell it. When we were done with our set and going in, we looked and the tanks were empty (the kiddo must have been playing with the switches)...efff!

They actually grew on me. They look pretty clean next to the carbon fiber. And then the contrast between old tech and the LCD screen.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...5369Medium.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...5367Medium.jpg

OH okay well that makes sense, I have little loyalty when it comes to making coin too.

Speaking as another die hard Nauti owner . I too can admire some of the MC feachers mainly the board racks . But I will never own any boat with a Indmar power plant.

Michael.....You might like to know that for 2011 they are using ILMOR engines. Yeah, the people that make some sick motor/drive packages for fast boats.

http://mastercraftblog.com/?cat=4

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3.../123952_13.jpg

While we're on the subject of MC's "near perfection"... there are few things about the above pic that don't make sense to me from a design perspective:

1) Why do they mount a hand rail right in the middle of the backrest? Think of the poor guy who has to sit there with that metal bar digging into his back.

2) Why do they mount a speaker right in the middle of the backrest? That probably isn't comfortable either (although better than a metal bar) and it can't be good for the tunes either.

3) Why do they mount a long hand rail down below the seat? Who is down that low to even grab onto it? It looks like it's 10x more likely to hit me in the shin than it is to be useful down there.

4) And finally, I've never understood why MC takes the Moomba approach to the pylon... large and in-charge where it's sure to be tripped on, or knock out a tooth. Why not make a removable or colapsable pylon standard (like many others do). I know some (but not all) of MC models offer it as an option, but how does the most expensive brand in the industry overlook this?

These may seem like nit picks... but the devil is in the details. Since I spend more time in the boat than in the water, how the interior performs is the most important thing.

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p.../Capture-3.jpg

Brandon
Its all about reliability with me. Not sure about the race engine in a boat that doesn't need to go faster than 40 mph. Time will tell if its a real improvement or just another gadget to get more money for an already overpriced boat.

Hey ixfe. You are right...about your year. For
09 at least gone are the useless grab rails and the speakers are in the gunnels and no pylon. Sorry, didn't have the exact same pic.

Michael....yeah, I was shocked that they would depart from what they (MC) has known for years and go with ILMOR. From everything that I have head in the powerboat world, ILMOR is the $hit. Their engines and new outdrive (Indy) are works of art. I guess we can only hope that if they can build a 1000HP that only needs freshening at 250hrs that they can build one with less than half that power and make it last 2K hours.

But like you said, only time will tell. Then they might get smart and switch to PCM...bwahahahahaha

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...5343Medium.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...5340Medium.jpg

Oh, and no ski pylon :)

Need need for my needs... if needed I use the ski eye.


As for hours... I have over 260 hours on my 2008 40th anniversary and it looks new... seats are in awesome shape and no tears.

People who abuse their boats get tears. People who use their boat for a booze can and party boat are bound to have issues no matter the brand.

Have they never made the 2004 and newer X-Stars a one piece flip up? Our 2005 X-45 has a flip up observer seat. I want a new boat. I will take a 2011 X-Star with the NorthStar V Engine. All White with white tower. Someone make it happen.

I think I see a new product idea. Take the dumb seats and convert it to flip up. Would take some serious brackets and struts, but could probably make it work. I think the issue will be on the sides where the bottom cushion goes up underneath the side ones.

Roger Penske

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2007/au...ms-for-growth/

http://www.ilmor.com/profile/index.html

ixfe, as far as your observations on 1 & 2, i have a mastercraft and the seat cushions stick out further than the rail and the speaker so this is not really an oversight. As far as the lower grab rail I have no idea why it is there but it is recessed from the edge of the seat cushions so again this is not in the way of anything. In my boat the ski pylon is removable so again no issue. My boat has a flip up observation seat as well, however there are drawbacks to this setup too. This tends to be the most frequently used storage seat so when retreiving gear the passenger often has to get up and move for a second to access the storage not a big deal but just an obsevation from the other perspective. My main complaint would be having the cooler stored underneath the seating and not in a floor hatch so everytime someone wants a drink the person sitting above the cooler must move. Minor inconvenience but if you spend alot of time on the water you start to notice the small things.

Cooler in the floor, yes!!! I believe my 83 2001 had one of those by the battery box. Maybe it was my 77. I can't remember now.

Rick...thanks for the link. I had forgotten that Penske invested lots of cash into MC a while back, and Penske is part founder of Ilmor, thus the push to change from Indmar.

I have always wondered the same thing on the one piece observer seat because nothing is more of a pain then to lift one cushion and have to pull another one out. I have received a bunch of pictures from my local dealer and saw this on the 2011 Tige's I have been looking at and believe this is exactly what you guys were looking for. Check it out!!!