Need input on MB B52

Anyone ridden behind one of these? They were a west coast boat but they have finally made it east to the Mid Atlantic area. Saw the V23 Team Edition. 2500 lbs of stock ballast. Heard the wake is insane. Any input on the 23 foot or 22 foot would be appreciated. Thanks.

(Message edited by dudeman on February 25, 2006)

I've ridden behind several. The wake is huge and well formed. The boats are great quality. I have over 830 hours on my '03 190 Plus.

The 21ft wake is ok and the V23 is better.
Both have a really great wake surfing wake.

The tower looks great and has lots of head room but has way to much movement for my taste.
The ballast pumps are really SLOW too and I'm really surprised they haven't changed this for 06.

Over all Mb makes a nice boat IMHO.

That's wild about the ballast pumps Walt. You know sales pitches, but they said those things launch the water out of there. They did say it took a while due to the amount of ballast that it took on.

Just tell Mike when you order your boat, he'll put any pump you want in there. Mike's cool, he'll listen to you and take care of you too.

I'm basing my opinion on the volume of water when pumping out. It's a trickle in comparison to some other boats.

If you want to see fast check out the Mastercrafts pumps.

I think you can find some little things that you don't like on any boat you look at though.

here's a few pics of the v23 wake. http://www.wakepics.com/view_single.php/N/A_1140903556_wakeboarding-photo-image-video.html?medid=15447

http://www.wakepics.com/view_single.php/N/A_1140903662_wakeboarding-photo-image-video.html?medid=15446

21ft wake http://www.wakepics.com/view_single.php/N/A_1140903914_wakeboarding-photo-image-video.html?medid=12008

http://www.wakepics.com/view_single.php/N/A_1140903914_wakeboarding-photo-image-video.html?medid=12004

http://www.wakepics.com/view_single.php/N/A_1140903979_wakeboarding-photo-image-video.html?medid=11991

don't want to start an argument, but those pics of the wake are obviously w/o ballast --am i correct???

Full stock ballast on both. The 21 only had rear ballast but the V23 had the tripleup ballast and they were full.

the 21ft wake looks pitiful

Here is my 05 V3 Triple Up (22') stock ballast for wake surfing. There in one adult in the boat driving and a 100# kid on the port side. My wake seems a lot larger with the ballast full than the pics that walt posted. Anyway..


Board More/Work Less!
J$

Johnny Wad. Looking good for a dead man, so's the wake.

Walt, I would have expected more from the 23 since it weighs in at 4000lbs and 2500lbs ballast. How firm is it?

I don't think it's the biggest or the best wake out there but it's but it's good IMHO and best is all a matter of opinion.

I don't think my photos did it justice.

Randy,
It seemed firm enough to me but I like a steeper wake.

same here... acc to the pics, i realize pics can be deceiving, but my prostar seems to have a nicer wake. i have not ridden in a newer b 52, but have in one a few years old (w/o) the t-up ballast and it had a sick wake... who knows..

Appreciate your input Walt. You're right, pics can be deceiving and a demo is the only way to decide.

Randy,

I think you'll find that it's a really nice boat with a more than adequate wake but I'd go with the 23.
It seemed like the 21 had more bow rise than the 23 and needed the two speed tranny.

Both 23's that I rode in had the two speed tranny but it didn't seem like it was needed.

Good luck,
Walt

You can't go wrong with the B52. The wake is insane. It's great for all levels of riders. It throws a great surfing wake too. Tons of storage. High quality materials. I just think the dash looks cheesey. That is the only downside I can think of after having the boat for 2 years.

I agree with JeremyOG. I've owned two B52's. The ballast pumps are still SCC (puts out approx. 6.5 gpm) but I have seen the "ballast puppy" pumps in a few new MB's. I added this pump with a 400 lb ballast system to the bow under the seats (no more bow rise). I didn't originally have the "triple up" system, so now it's very close. These pumps put out more water (approx 9 gpm) and are quiet, but they can be tempramental due to their "run dry" protection. The 23V has no bow rise at all, and the wake is awesome. I'll get the 23 when I move to a house that has a bigger garage (someday!)....Or maybe I just don't have the cash and I'm blaming the garage.

ive heard at the wake from the new MB boat are the biggest best formed wake..i think its voted #1 in some mag or somthing...i was also talking to a rep at the LA boat show and the graphics are all gelcoat..not stickers like all the other Mastercraft malibus etx

If you like the MB you should check out the new Calabrias... They really stepped up the look of the boat this year. The new dash and tower are waaay better than the currnet MB's. I really like the MB but cant stand the way the tower wiggles around...

Thanks for all of the input. The tower looked pretty stout. I would have never imagined it swaying that much.

Hey guys.... Those pics are really deceiving as is that wake. I never really got down with the wake behind the smaller boat, but the wake behind the bigger boat is GIANT with tons of pop. When you are rolling into it the wake doesn't look big, but you drop into a trough at the foot of the wake and then get booted. It took a while for me to get used to it, but then I really dug it. I'm also talking with only stock ballast and 3 people on the boat. I usually wont ride a boat with just stock ballast, but was very impressed. I was also impressed with how solid the boat fealt.

Other than that, I don't dig the 2 speed especially at the delta where you are turning a lot. Seems like you spin the poo out of the motor and I agree with Walt the ballast takes a long time. Again, you are pumping in a ton of water.

All in all a boat that is totally worth looking at. That and the (new) Malibu VLX. IMHO those are two of the only boat that you can ride with just stock ballast.

The 23 has a monster stock wake and definitly bigger and steeper than those pics. I went out on a demo yesterday in the '06 B-52 V23 Team with the ZR6 and no 2-speed. With full ballast and 5 peeps in the boat, hole shot was not only good, but impressive, they changed the prop for '06 and added more cup. I took some pics of the ballast emptying that I can post later, but I think they have changed the pumps, these things were like fire hoses, shot a good 10 feet away from the boat, and it was windy. My favorite part of the demo though was the handling. Full ballast at 24 mph and the boat turned like a comp. ski boat, worlds better than my '03 Super Air.

Here is a picture of our company demo boat. Sorry no wake pics. I would agree with Alan 100%. We got the ZR6 and no 2 speed. 6 to 8 people and full ballast and it will still get out of the hole with ease. Tons of power. Handling is by far one of the best I have driven. Tons of storage since the ballast is built in. Wake is nice and big. Overall, MB is a great boat.

Nice boat!! I think I am going to go with black, only something more like this....

That black MB is beautiful !!! They build a sweet looking boat no doubt !

That black is sick. That is the best color scheme and pattern that I've ever seen.

Wow that is sick. We were originally going to do all black with graphics in white and red pin stripe but went for above. Decided that the Texas Heat would just be too much for the black. But have to say that one looks great. We ordered ours with the old tribal and decided to take their word on the new graphics and ordered it sight un seen with these new graphics and am really glad we did. Still love the tribal but these are very clean and look killer in the water.

If you are still checking out MB crawl underneath the dash, behind the seats, check out the wiring and attention to detail. I know on my MB '03 190 Plus everything is neatly placed and held down, all mounting points are reinforced, and everything is solid. I have had some stress cracks at the tower mounting point and at the rear tie downs. I think the previous ownered tied it down to the trailer to tight with ratchet straps or something. They are easily fixed though and haven't come back. The dealers have been good (we have a kick butt new dealer here in Arizona), but Mike has been more than helpful and accomidating with my particular boat. I would buy another for sure. My PCM engine has been great too, 830 hrs in two years and no problems yet.

Red and Black isn't too bad either

alan, good to see you on here... talked to you (actually randy and i both) at the Central Carolina boat show last weekend. as i stated to you the older boats had a decent wake--which seemed to be nicer than the posted link pics. post up some pics soon and hopefully we can get up soon for a demo,, we are definitely not counting MB out. the graphics are way cool, and i like the idea of all of them being in the gel-coat....

Just my two cents. I personally think that the wakes suck ass. With that much ballast most times ANY boat should have a good wake. Not in this case. Have fun waiting 40 minutes for the tanks to fill and empty. Have you seen the discharge, its like a 1/2 inch line. Weak. The pics above of the wake are crap. That wake is small.
Don't even get me started on the two-speed tranny that they have. Sounds like your gonna lose your v-drive right out the back of the boat.
Not worth the money. There are two many other boats out there for less money that have better quality, wake, and looks.

Thanks for letting me vent.

What type of trailers do you all have? I just purchased a 2005 MB 190 Plus and the trailer looks like it has taken a beating.

I ordered my 04 B52 V3 (22') with an Extreme (Tandem) trailer. Great boat all throughout and the trailer is also well built. No real problems after 250+ hours. Dealer and factory support have great.

Yea, the factory MB trailers are really nice, no problems at all, and I tow more than 1000 miles a week (boatshows). Have you guys checked out this month's Alliance, pretty nice pic of the Ennen Bro's first MB. I was talking to Cobe last weekend and he says that none of them are adding extra ballast at all, unless there are only like 2 people in the boat, then they will add a little bag to go in the back seat. Here are some ballast emptying pics. A little more than 1/2 inch. Fill is around 7min, and empty is about the same. Joshua, give me a call, I am pulling a lot of demos these days, everyone is super impressed with the changes for '06 and the wake is really amazing. Already taken 2 '05 Malibus on trade this season.


(Message edited by Alan-s on March 04, 2006)