MB's - B52 V vs B 52 V 23

I am looking at purchasing an MB and looking for opinions from current MB owners only! I have driven the B 52 V and it's more in my price range, but the V 23 is supposed to be pretty awesome. MB is new here so not anybody close to get reliable info from. Any info on driver feel, wake and/or wake pictures, reliability, etc. would be very helpful. Thanks

My boy has an 06 B52 V23. Awesome boat, really solid! wake is very much like my supremes , very rampy and meaty, doesnt crumble as we sack it up more and more, just gets bigger and bigger. Only concerns hes had is the cage being pretty wobbly, but he had his reeinforced and seems to be solid now, and he got the 330 hp engine with his, which works just fine, but he is getting a new prop for it since we usually sack the hell out of the boat and have to floor it for a bit to get it to plane and therefore eats up alot of gas. But i know with the new prop it will be perfect. So you can opt for the bigger motor, but if you choose the 330 hp, then definately youll need to swap the prop. All in all a really great boat, lots of space and great looks, and rides really well in rough waters.

I just got a B52 V23 and have only had it out a few times so far and love it more each time! I think that the only difference is the sundeck is a foot shorter and the ballast. So if those two are not deal breakers then the B52 should work. Here are some pics of the wake I took the other day. Can't remember for sure but I think this one is with full stock ballast (2000lbs) and only three people in boat. I went out with a few more people in boat a few days later and the wake was huge! No pics of that one.

I went with the Zr6 for the following reasons-
More hp
closed cooling
easy of winterzation

Have you test drove them yet.

Boat handles great.

and having 2000lbs stock ballast in the hull is great. All the storage areas can actually be used for storage.

had to add a pic of my baby

Mike,

I picked up an '06 V23 Team Edition (which has an extra 500 lbs. of ballast) and I really enjoy it. I have had a problem recently w/ one of the ballast pumps, but they are replacing all of them in the next week (one was flaky, so they are getting me all new ones).

Here's the obligatory photo op:


If you are looking new, I think the B-52 V is a new hull this year, so don't listen to anyone about complaints on an older B-52 V. And if you go w/ the V23, definitely get the ZR6. I don't have the 2 speed tranny, and mine is up & on plane in no time w/ full stock ballast (2500 lbs worth!).

forgot to mention - when we sack it up, I mean, 2000 stock plus 2 fat buddies in the rear compartments, 1 big sack on the floor, and 1 big sack in the bow - so were lookin at close to 3500-4000lbs.

*Hijack
Man that black and blue MB would look sick with a tinted windshield
*End hijack

The 23 has a kickin' wake. The smaller boat just didn't get it done. Could've been a weighting problem on the boat I rode behing though.. I'd take a 23 any day of the week. Nice boats. Really solid ride, comfy and I love having 2000+ lbs of ballast at the flip of the switch.

I've rode behind both several times and the 23 has a better wake IMO. The 23 didn't seem to have the crazy bow rise out of the hole either.

Great surf wakes on both boats !

Mike O congrats on selling the BU. I hated it didn't work out for me. Thanks for being patient. The fella that is wanting to buy mine still hasn't made up his mind. He can forget it now. That VLX you had was beautiful. Good luck with your MB purchase.

Lance, I don't have money yet, but come Monday the deal should be complete. Wish I could have sold it closer to home. Hope you can find what you want in a VLX.

I have a brand new 07 B-52 V with the ZR it is Awesome! The wake is very big with just the stock ballast (900 lbs a side). You can also surf the wake stock by filling just one side, i'm 200 lbs and the surf wake is meaty enough to hold me up pretty well. Add more weight and it just gets better. If was to do anyhing different I would have got the swoop tower instead of the pro tower becuase it is a real pain to break down and put up. Other than that I have been stoked on this boat. It is an entirely new hull.. my dealer says he can't keep this boat in stock now it's hot, and is trying to buy boats from other dealers in other areas.

pic from the dealer, but my boat nonetheless...

Great looking boats. My plan is to get all black below rub rail, light grey above with black pinstripe and light grey puzzle pieces with of course grey/white/black interior on black trailer.What's swoop tower look like?

Pete,

Yeah, a buddy of mine has offered to set me up w/ a great tinting deal this summer. I just need to tow it up to MD for a day. There's supposed to be some really smooth water up that way also (I think its called BSW), so I may take him up on it & get in a ride while there...

Mike,
I think the swoop tower basically has a curved support tube instead of the fancy 'throwing star w/ board racks' support. Look at http://mbsports.net and select the 220V model.

(Message edited by dan.smith on April 06, 2007)

I have an 06 B52 V23....I did not get the ZR6 or the two speed and I dont think you need it. It pulls you up out of the water no problem at all. Great boat I love the wake!

Miquel - how many people do you have when sacked out like that? That wake has got to be HUGE with all that weight.

Larry nice boat!

You to Dan.

Two different boat ones a 23 and other 22. But if you of the money go with the 23.

the swoop tower looks very similar but it doesn't have those blade looking racks that hold it together. My only problem with it.. is there are 5 screws to put in per side and it's very akward to put together, definitely takes two people. If you don't need to break it down often, the Pro tower is definitely cooler looking.. but swoop way easier to put up and down. If you look at the mb website look at a MB 220V, they come with the swoop tower standard.

Larry,

Did they add a screw for '07? Mine is an '06, and I only have 4 per side. Not that it makes any difference, its still a pain to put up & down. And believe me, I know. I have to do it EVERY DAMN time I go out.
Before I had tower speakers, I could actually manage it by myself. But once I added that extra weight, forget it. Def. 2 person job.

well, there are 3 on top of the blade, one on bottom, then the last one is the one that goes into the tube in the front. Man.. that would be tough to do every time.

Ahh yes. I forgot about the one in front. I guess that does make 5. And it is a pain to do every time, but with 2 adults you can get it down to about 5 minutes.
I'm next in line for 1 of 2 slots at the Valet where you can keep you tower up all the time. It costs a bit more, but I think its worth it to not have to put it up & take it down each time I go out.

Mike O- So the boys in Bristol are still hooking you up? You know you will never be happy with anything other than a MasterCraft!! Come on brother, when are you going to join the dark side?? Give me a shout sometime...I might not be able to wakeboard much anymore because of my bum knee but I am still one heck of a driver...

Let's break out that X-2! Call me when your free! I sold the VLX to a guy in Seatle! Leaves tommorrow.

I have a 07 and cant say enough good about it. They are incredible boats built better than just about anything. The only reason I didnt get a 23 is it wouldnt fit in my garage.

Dan Smith, your buddy sounds like he must be one awesome guy, you should def take him up on the tint. Never heard of BSW I'll have to look into it

cdl- usually have 4 heads on the boat, when we sack it up fully. The few times weve had more than 4 people, we dont use all the sacks, but when its just the regulars - which is pretty much always, we fill up all our sacks. And yes the wake is HUGE - only way to ride isnt it?

Pete,

I just heard they (BSW) have a new "Summer Compound" AKA "BSW HQ West" AKA "BSW Summer HQ". Definitely look into it...

Yea, I had the classic swoop installed on mine for that very reason beside the fact that I prefer the way the swoop looks over the pro. Either way I still have to remove the tower completely to park it in my garage( see profile for pic)

Everyone is correct about the pro-tower being a pain to put up and down. In order to take it up and down by myself I cut a 2x6 to fit snuggly between the tower and the floor of the boat when the tower is up. This allows me to remove boat sides and then lower the tower once they are stored. To put it up I just lift the tower with one hand and then put the 2x6 under with the other. I covered the ends of the 2x6 with trailer rail felt and it stores nicely in the either of the back hatches.

Brian, that is a killer idea... got any pics of that set up? shoot, I figure with something to snugly hold up the tower it wouldn't be so bad.

Ditto on that. I have been toying with that same idea, but I was envisioning a set of U-hooks to hold the tower, like this: