I am looking to find out from owners of the X45 how it rides. I own a X30 and I am looking to upgrade to an XStar, but have given some consideration to the X45. We are family oriented and take several family vacations a year. The reason that I have given some consideration to the X45 was because of the extra length. I thought that it might ride better in the rougher water. <BR> <BR>I am guessing that the wake will still be good behind the X45, but perhaps not as good as the XStar's. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. I thought that there might several owners that might have had a chance to use their boats by now.

Kenny, <BR>I am not an owner, and have not rode in one, but I have been in one, and they are huge. Tons of storage over the X-Star. I have heard that they ride really well in rough water, but that was from a kid that works at the dealer.

Kenny - I have been demo riding the x45 and x80. like you... I am upgrading from a standard wakeboard boat. The 45 is an amazing product. Like Paul said.. it is really smooth and fast out of the hole. Of course, it comes at a cost... but I believe well worth it.

Actually the X-45 does not have more storage than an X-Star. I have been in an X-45 numerous times and I own an X-star. The 45 is much more shallow, and the rear compartments are much smaller. It is longer, but that's it. If you want an all around boat, go with an X-45. If you want a wakeboard boat, go with an X-Star. X-Stars also ride GREAT in rough water.

Thanks for the input. I plan to test drive both boats, but I didn't want to overlook something when I did this. This is why I was asking for the help. I will most likely base my decision after the test drive, I just didn't want to miss something that someone with the boat might already know. Thanks again, and any further information is still appreciated. I wont be able to test drive until next week.

I own and X45 and it is an incredible boat. The wakeboarding wake can be huge if you want it to be and smaller for the kids if you need it to be. The ride is better than the X30. It has a better ride than any other v-drive I have ridden in. It is great out of the hole. The ski wake is excellent for a boat of this size but as you would expect not as good as an inboard boat. It has a great surf wake as well! It does not turn as well as your X30. If you have a family like we do, this is a great family boat. It has plenty of room for everyone and their gear. We just spent 3 days in it with two families (11 people) and we were comfortable. So far so good.

Russell is actually incorrect on his storage assessment. The storage compartments are shallower because the ballast tanks are in the floor but they are wider than the X-Star's. The cubic volume of storage in an X-45 is greater than that of an X-Star. Not to mention the roominess in the boat for the passengers. I pick mine up this week and should be able to give more input in a couple of weeks after I break it in.

The 45 I was in held a full size cooler under the seat in the wrap area. I have not seen that on a Star.

Damn! I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. The storage on an X-Star is better suitable for wakeboarders(stores more gear/sacks)in MY OPINION.

Phil, post some pics of your boat/wake. <BR> <BR>Russell, you did hurt my feelings. Please be a little more sensitive<IMG SRC="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/happy.gif" ALT=":-)" BORDER=0>

No problem Russell I was just piping in. The X-Star is a sweet boat, the two determining factors for me in going with the X-45 were ease of steering and roominess because I have kids. Mastercraft is the best no matter what model you have so we are all brothers.

Let's see that wake. I would love to hear an opinion from a good rider that has ridden behind an X-Star and and X-45 with 2000+ pounds of ballast. I really like the design of the X45 and if the wake was as good as the X-star, I'd be all over that boat.

The X-45 definitely has more seating, and I think it would be a better family boat. The wake is not quite as big, plus it is a little more narrow, so that is very important when learning. Nothing sucks worse than casing the wake over and over while trying to learn something new. Also, wake pics are deceiving. You need to actually ride the wake to tell how it is. I should be able to ride behind the X-45 within the next couple of weeks, so I'll let you know what I think the difference is.

I would love to hear the opion of a good rider comparing the X-Star and X-45 as well. I'm not a pro wakeboarder but I can tell you the X-45 can put out a large wake with the 90 gallon gas tank being full and no ballast being used. The wake plate also helped me shape the wake the way I wanted it. We ran the boat 13 hours without filling it with gas. We have the 8.1 in out boat. <BR>

Hey Phil, what is the top end on your boat? I have the same setup coming. Also, what is the diameter and pitch on the stock prop? <BR>

Barefooter, I have not put it to a good test yet. But with 11 poeple in the boat and the tank more than half full we top off at 45 on a GPS unit. The speed odometer does not work real well and it needs to be adjusted. The prop that came with the boat is a 14.5 X 22 VC OJ. I think we are going to exchange that one out for one that works better at our elvation.

Thanks Phil. I am picking mine up tomorrow. Pretty exciting. I ordered a stainless prop and rudder but was told that they won't be "available" from MasterCraft for a few months. My thought process behind that was thinking that a stiffer material might be better with a boat of that size. I will let you know if I see a dramatic difference when I change it out <BR>

Barefooter - Did you get your boat??? If so, have you had it out and what do you think? I'm going to play with the under water gear. Our lakes have some elvation to them and I will have some trial and error. I don't think you can go wrong with the stiffer material unless you hit something.

I picked it up yesterday. Pretty stoked on it. I will post some pictures later in the month after I get some tower speakers on it. I had it up to 46mph with a fulltank of gas so Barefooting should be great. That was at about 4800rpm. I think a 21 pitch might be a better choice to take advantage of some higher rpms. <BR>