At the moment we have an old 210 supersport, and its time to upgrade. I've been reading everything I could for several months, and I am just as confused today. I need some help in narrowing down my choices. Whats making it hard, is that we surf just as much as wakeboard. Thats right, I'm the first person thats 50/50. With the 210 hull, the wakeboarding scores a 10, but the surf is pretty poor. Let's say a 6. I've got 2 main issues that I would like to take care of:
1) I don't like surfwaves that are too close to the back of the boat. When barneys come out on the boat, I don't want them riding into the back of it and bouncing off the swim platform.
2) I"ve had it with tsunami pumps and bags on the seats (I fill everything manually).
Alot of the time its just me and my wife. So piling everyone to one side of the boat is not an option. I need either a tube sac on the seats, or something under the floor in that area, or elsewhere, to make the boat list. What boats have hidden ballast under the side seats, stock or custom, for this purpose? Like my boat, most configurations i see are beside the engine, under the walkway, and bow. Is the avalanche the only boat to fit this bill?
I'm trying to avoid going over 22ft which I know limits my choices quite a bit. But I said trying, and wouldn't rule out a 23 footer as long as we're not getting into burning '8 gallons an hour of gas' territory. I've got no problem suffering a little with the wakeboarding wake, but I don't want to take it down too many notches.
My price range upper limit is $40 000. But I know what happens to these limits. Heres whats in my brain so far:
1) Avalanche - Seems to fit the bill. But I've heard too many complain about finicky weight placement for the wakeboarding wake, and a washy wake under 23mph. I"m nervous its straying too far from the quality in the wake I have now.
2) 2005-2008 Malibu VLX. Maybe an 05 in my price range. I"ve seen videos of surfing pretty far back. My head is still spinning trying to find out what weight and where for that wave. Everybody's different.
3) MB. I"m lost. I don't know what year they changed hull shapes, ballast, when gravity ballast started etc. What is TWB? Is a b52 widebody the same as a normal b52?
4) splurge a bit on an AXIS a22. I know with stock ballast there's nothing under the side seats, but is there a way to customize one for there? does it need it? Can the boat list enough with no passengers and stock ballast? I'm not sure if this is a wave that is ridden right off the platform. The company promo video was a good, but a slap in the face when it got to the end and described wakesurfing: "the wave is long, and its green. Bye!"
Sorry about the endless dribble. Thats 4 months of internet searching. I appreciate any input - especially from those who surf with only a driver.
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