how is handling on MC X30?

I'm looking at a 2006 X30 but am hearing that handling is poor when compared to the Malibu with their Gorilla fins - anyone have any input on the manuverability of the X30?

I havent driven the 2006 but i have a 2003 X30 and it is a big boat, but with that said i have had no problems getting it into any spaces. I think it just takes a time of adjustment to get use to it, and it handles fine in the wind which can sometimes be a hassle on our lake.

what engine do you have in it? we are at high altitude and the one I'm looking at has the MCX 350 in it and a friend of mine is telling me that if I have the boat loaded up it may struggle with hole-shot on a slalom skier......you have any thoughts?

"Poor compared to the Malibu with their Gorilla fins" I might have to question that? 2006 rudder is supposed to be a lot better. Go drive both of them and decide for yourself. I haven't been in the X30, but I have been in a VLX. It actually rudder locked on my a couple times. The wake rocked, tho. I have the MCX in my X2 and it screams, probably need more juice in an X30, though. X30 is a big boat.....

"a friend of mine is telling me that if I have the boat loaded up it may struggle with hole-shot on a slalom skier"

ANY boat that is loaded down, and at high altitude is going to struggle with a fast holeshot.

my 2 cents not that it matters= we took out this guys 2004 x30 after we did some repairs to his ballast system.. evening set everyone else was coming in boats every where around the ramp.. i can honestly say i was extremly nervous! i felt like i was trying to parallel park a battle ship.. granted i had never driven the boat before but i was amazed at how poorly the thing handled at low speeds, i know its a big boat etc etc. ive driven other big boats but this one just seemed to be worse than most.. i let my buddy put it on the trailer lol now that was just straight up hilarious! besides this it seemed to be an awesome boat and im sure one could get used to the poor low speed handling...

I have the mcx in it and I definitely think that it is worth the extra cash. Like Richard I was extremely nervous at first but with time it seems like a breeze to drive and I never have any problems.

Jeremy, I bought the 06 x-30 after taking the Malibu and the x-30 out two times each. The first time I took out the x-30, my wife complained bitterly about the turning, particularly to the left as it took her two hands. We talked to the dealer about this and they put a bigger rudder on it. We took it out again and it was a totally different boat. Like butter. The malibu is also an awesome boat but in the end, we went with the x-30 b/c it fit more of our needs. It's a beast but it drives like a dream. We've got 16.5 hours on it since we bought it a little over 2 months ago. We love the boat and can't wait to be able to fit all our friends in it when it warms up. If you get the bigger rudder (which I think might be standard now), handling won't be an issue.

Jeremy,

I saw in your other post you were asking about the Nautique 226. Don't rule this one out either. I would definetly say try all three. Turn em', stop em', back em' and dock em' to see which one you like. You won't go wrong with any of these choices. I went with the 226 due to no Malibu dealer in the city and one drive in the 226 was all I needed. Note, I was coming off of a 2000 Super Air but most of my wakeboarding/kneeboarding was behind a VLX since '98.

Ryan - what engine do you have in your X30?

Guys - that is helpful info - I appreciate it. I think we've ruled out the 226 due to seating layout and have it narrowed down to the X30 and Malibu 23. The X30 has the MCX350 and the Malibu dealer here only stocks everything with the 8.1 and then rips on everyone else, saying their engines are underpowered. We are at high altitude here and I tend to take a lot of people out when we go (4-5 adults and 4-6 kids). Do you think the MCX350 will be enough juice in the x30?

Jeremy, I have the MCX350. The engine has plenty of power for the boat. If your at high altitude I think you have to get a prop with a diffeent pitch. There was a discussion about this on MC Team Talk. I will try and find you the link. When I test drove the Malibu LSV the dealer told me that all I would ever need is the Monsoon 340 engine. If your going to have the boat sacked out all the time I would get the bigger engine. I did drive a Mastercraft direct drive in Tahoe (about 5500 ft elevation) last summer and the altidude did affect the permormance of the boat. What elavation will you be using the boat?

I owned a Nautique Open Bow and was looking for a bigger boat. I was in between 226/x30/wLSV. The 226 was ruled out early because of the layout and price. I have always been a fan of Mastercraft and always thought I would buy one someday (which still maybe true).

Basically I told myself I would be happy with either boat. Then it came down to the dealer that I would be dealing with. They were both very cool. Then it was price. We went with the wLSV.

The coolest thing was we at about the 5 hour mark on the boat. It was just my wife and I, but I wanted to try the wake. It was January and put on the dry suit and rode without any ballast or wedge. It wasn't the wake that was cool... it was the fact that my wife was taking pictures of me turned around with glass water and not a soul on the lake. The boat went straight as an arrow. Great memory.

I am not tell you not to buy the X30... Buy the boat that fits you best. I just wanted to share my experience and my thought process.

Try this

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