What do you think after driving/riding in the X80

I have a relatives looking at used 27+ ft boats and they are consiering the X80. Primarily they want a boat that can handle rough water conditions, go up to 60mph, hold lots of people, and be ok for occasional water sports. They are looking at the X80 as it has some nice features in the seating and the bow entry/exit which is good for beaching on the mississippi, that is comparing it to fountain, scarab, etc. They currently have a 24ft Mirage cuddy and dont want a cuddy anymore. Also what are opinions on single 500hp vs twin 350hp for those that have been in both configurations? It saves at least $10k getting a single engine one. Sorry if i have any of my facts wrong, i am not an expert on boats like this. I searched the archives and read some posts on here already. Thanks in advance for any info and your help and/or links will be appreciated - Jon

From what i have heard and my experience the single screw is a complete waste of money and the twin screw is out of control.

I'm going to chime in with my 2 cents if its even worth that much. I think if they are looking for all of those features the only option they have is the X80. I think the dual engine is a waste, twice the gas, twice the maintenance, twice the number of things that could go wrong. I mean imagine if you hit an underwater log. 2 props gone instead of one, 2 drive shafts instead of one, impellors etc...Not to mention the fact that instead of one spare, you now need 2 to be super safe. The only advantage I have heard in having 2 motors instead of 1 is that once you get used to having 2 motors they actually are easier to control the boat than just one. My buddy has a Magic with two motors and he plays the motors against one another to help move the boat in the water.

one good thing about the x80 is that you can right it off as a 2nd residence cause it has an enclosed head

only ridden in/behind one once. it was the two 350hp set up. the wake was ginormous but a little washy and seemed to be sensitive to weight distribution. i really don't have much to say about it other than it was huge in every way and totally sweet...that probably doesn't help you too much...

It will not go 60 MPH, that's approaching go-fast boat speeds and pure inboards are not designed for top speed.

You most likely to only get 45-50 mph tops....

Hull isn't meant to be trimmed out of the water..

I test drove one last summer out in mid-day lake Michigan chop. Very solid and well built boat, nothing rattled and it cut through the rough like nothing. It had twin 350's and was a blast to drive. The wake was huge; you could probably surf it with no ballast, but once dialed in would be sick. With the twin screws you gain some low speed manuverability, but as others said you also gain many more possible problems to encounter with twice the engine. But you do get to say your boats pulling 700 horses...

If they really need to go relatively fast and be able to handle rough water, maybe they should consider a Cobalt 272.

Yea, word is the X-80 isn't going to do 60MPH. Well, this one reportedly does....but they will have to spend a little cash aftermarket to get to 1000HP...

Then again, it may still be for sale....

http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/3183/435473.html?1176482022

http://onlyinboards.com/Details.aspx?ID=1037805

(Message edited by Deuce on May 10, 2007)

Nice boat, for sure. But did anyone notice what it took to haul that thing?

ya that rig is over kill... a X-80 isn't that heavy... any 3/4 ton truck should be able to haul with no problems.

That supercharged X80 was also on ebay, i don;t think anyone was bidding on it.

Get 2 engines!!! One SUCKS. Single engine is very under powered, I have driven both. The X80 will run about 50mph. I dont even think you can get an X80 with one engine anymore. BTW I saw 1 or 2 X80's at the Orlando MC dealer Liquid Sports Marine for sale, they were New 2005's all warranty and everything. I dont remember the price but it was cheap.

I was out with a friend lookign at one over a holiday weekend (had 4 days on the boat) Handled the chop great, but we only got it up to abotu 45-47. Twin engine. Holding speed was difficult...maybe something to do with the twin engine??? Took a few times to get used to being pulled out of the water so quick. I didn't think the wake was that big with stock ballast. Teh rubber mat on the platform cam eunglued and is not at the bottom of Lake Travis. Based on this description the x-80 is proabbly not hte baot for them. I agree for that kind of money look at the big cobalts.

"I have a relatives looking at used 27+ ft boats and they are consiering the X80. Primarily they want a boat that can handle rough water conditions, go up to 60mph, hold lots of people, and be ok for occasional water sports."

First off, Don't get a single engine boat. It will have serious power issues, and the single engine has to work very hard all the time.
Second, if you can afford a twin engine boat, repairing the props is not going to be an issue, plus it is usually covered by insurance.
Third, someone mentioned Cobalts. They are very nice. We bought a twin engine 292 last summer and love it. It will actually hit 65mph. If they are looking for a new boat, Cobalt just came out with a 302, which of course, is very nice(these are all open bow).

One advantage of two engines is if something goes wrong with one engine while you are out on the water, you have another engine to take you home--you won't be stranded. This depends the body of water you will be on and how busy it is because you could get towed in. It may mean some more maintenance, but there is much less chance of something going wrong with both the engines at the same time.

Its true the single engine is just not a good option on such a big boat. Resale is another consideration. The local dealer here has a gorgeous red one and has had it for over a year but can't give it away. It may have something wrong with it but I would guess it's more because it's a single engine.

One problem with 2 engines that i have heard of is that you can't run Perfect Pass. This may have changed.

I had to drive a SWS X-80 this past summer with twin crusader diesels and it topped out at 57. With 12 people in the boat there was still a lot of space. The water conditions were a bit rough so we didn't play with the wake to much but the boat handled great for a boat of it's size.