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Old     (maxx_wake)      Join Date: Sep 2003       05-14-2012, 11:22 AM Reply   
I am looking to upgrade to a V-drive and so far these two models are jumping out at me. I have found examples of both in my price range (low 20's) and they both seem like they would fit my needs. Would one be better than the other? Anything to look out for?

Some of my top priorities when it comes to what I am looking for in a new boat are something with plenty of interior room so it doesnt get crowded/cluttered, deep freeboard (I am tall and like tall seats plus we will frequently have small children out with us so somewhat of a safety factor), reliability, and a good rough water ride.

I also want a good wake. I have a roughly 2000lb ballast system in my 97 Supra SunSport and I am happy with the wakeboard wake but not so much with the surf wake. It is surfable but I would prefer something bigger/cleaner. What are the thoughts on the wakeboard and/or surf wakes with these two hulls?
Old     (pierce_bronkite)      Join Date: Jul 2003       05-14-2012, 12:06 PM Reply   
Pros of the 23V
  • Produces one of the best surf wakes
  • Deep free board
  • Tons of Storage

Cons
  • Depending on the year some of the towers made between 99-01 had crappy towers that will break. If its white and has black pads on it this is an old model Metcraft and all towers made that year will break.
  • Wake board wake will wash out with any ballast over 1500 pounds. The lip of the wake isnt crisp and washes over because of the cut outs on the chines of the hull transom. However the wake will still get the job done.

Hope that helps. I had a 2001 23V. Great surf wake decent wake boarding wake.
Old     (bobbysky)      Join Date: Aug 2010       05-14-2012, 12:10 PM Reply   
Matt is correct on the 23v. I just sold my 2002, which had the updated tower. If the tower looks like a K when looking at it from the side it's the bad tower. If it has more of a swoop to it then it's the updated tower. He is also correct about the spray pockets, I had them filled in by a fiberglass guy and it ended up producing the best wake board wake I have ever ridden. We ran around 4500lbs of water at 25.5 mph and it was truly a great wake. But by filling in the spray pockets the surf wake lost a bit of height, still a good wake though.

I know nothing about the maristars.
Old     (duffymahoney)      Join Date: Sep 2008       05-14-2012, 12:34 PM Reply   
Robert can you email me some pictures and info on your cutout fills? duffymahoney@hotmail.com

Duffy
Old     (maxx_wake)      Join Date: Sep 2003       05-14-2012, 1:47 PM Reply   
Thanks for the info so far. Robert, I would also be interested in the info about how you filled the spray pockets, how much it cost and how it held up if you are willing to share.

Also, did the boat need all 4500lbs to have a good wake? I am looking for something that will have a nice wake with all hidden weight so I am guessing that means 750's in the lockers and another 600 or so under the front seats. I also have another 500 of lead that I am sure I could hide under the seats but that still only comes to around 2600 lbs. Do you think that would that be enough to get a good wake out of it?
Old     (maxx_wake)      Join Date: Sep 2003       05-14-2012, 1:48 PM Reply   
Anyone else on here with experience from the Maristar/old X30 hull?
Old     (Jeff)      Join Date: May 2010       05-14-2012, 2:36 PM Reply   
I don't have any experience with Tige but I do have an '00 230 which I'm a fan of. I run 2,700 lbs for wakeboarding and the wake is big, poppy, and everybody seems to like it. It's pretty decent for surfing too.

If it has the 330 HP LTR that's the better engine but there were a couple of minor belt alignment and alternator support issues that should have been corrected with recalls. These affected "early" LTRs from around 99-00 and maybe some '01s. If the fixes weren't performed you can do them yourself for pretty cheap.
Old     (bobbysky)      Join Date: Aug 2010       05-14-2012, 2:38 PM Reply   
here is the thread I started in the tigeowners forum on my spray pockets. I don't think you will have to be a member to see the pics.

http://www.tigeowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12135

Yea, it had a good wake with spray pockets with 400lbs sacs on each side of engine, and 650 horseshoe in the front. Then as we started adding more weight the the spray pockets started to roll the wake over. It was around 2000-2500lbs that it started happening and would get progressively worse with more weight. So I had the spray pockets filled in that made the wake great with as much weight as we wanted to run. The one thing I've found with the tige is that they do like front weight. So if your going to be running 750lbs in the back, you may want to run the horseshoe and a 550 in the walk way.

Our setup was as follows if your interested in a HUGE WAKE. 650lbs horseshoe, 550lbs in walkthrough, 1200lbs triangle in bow on top of the seats, two 900lbs on each side of engine, 750lbs up against backseat. So that is 4950lbs water weight.
Old     (maxx_wake)      Join Date: Sep 2003       05-15-2012, 7:22 AM Reply   
Jeff, is the LT-1 motor the same as the LTR? I found a 98 Maristar 225VRS that says it has a 328hp LT-1. It has the corvette cover on the top of the engine. I think this must have been the first year of the updated hull that doesnt have the integrated swim platfrom and from what I can tell they changed the name to 230VRS in 99 and then eventually to the X30. Also, are there any known issues with the original zero flex tower? I thought I remembered Mastercraft having some issues with some of their towers at some point.
Old     (maxx_wake)      Join Date: Sep 2003       05-15-2012, 7:23 AM Reply   
Picture of the 98 225 VRS.
Attached Images
 
Old     (bass10after)      Join Date: Feb 2010       05-15-2012, 8:02 AM Reply   
My uncle has the 225vrs just like the one in the picture. You are correct that was the first year with the new hull. I don't know the horsepower number, but with the corvette engine there is plenty. We've had 15 in it and does just fine but the handling leaves something to be desired. Notice there's not a tracking fin on that boat. On the plus side it rides great and feels super solid it will get pulled around a bit more on hard wakeboard cuts and slalom skiing than other boats w the tracking fin so that might be something to think about. It wouldn't deter me though -they're a great boat for the money.
Old     (polarbill)      Join Date: Jun 2003       05-15-2012, 8:20 AM Reply   
That is a good looking Maristar. I like that they went with the OEM style tower. Gives it a nice factory look.
Old     (maxx_wake)      Join Date: Sep 2003       05-15-2012, 11:06 AM Reply   
Sounds like if I can get them for a good price I cant really go wrong with either option. All of the Tiges I have found are at least a 3 hour drive from me but that Maristar is local so I am going to go take a look at it tomorrow. I think they are a little high on the price but if I can them down to a number I am happy with and it all checks out ok I might pick it up.
Old     (Jeff)      Join Date: May 2010       05-15-2012, 11:27 AM Reply   
The LTR is a 330 HP multiport fuel injected engine with distributorless ignition and vortec heads.
It's not the same as the LT1 (AKA Corvette engine). The LT1s are great and offer a little more power but seem to have a bunch of more obscure and expensive peripherals on the engine vs. the more common truck components on the LTR. They are both 5.7L GM blocks but I think the LT1 is an aluminum block vs. the common cast iron block of the LTR.

That generation of MasterCraft tower is great and solid with no common points of failure. The problematic towers were the '07-'10ish ones where they had to add aftermarket gussets in the corners due to a lot of sway.
Old     (bass10after)      Join Date: Feb 2010       05-15-2012, 1:35 PM Reply   
Yea closer to the 20 mark than the 25 mark seems more like a real world number to me- depending on the interior condition. The hrs are low enough though to justify being a little high, theres lots of people trying to sell the same boat for more $ with about 4x the hours
Old     (Jeff)      Join Date: May 2010       05-15-2012, 2:30 PM Reply   
Unless it's totally mint with perfect pass and low hrs I'd have trouble paying $20k for it. I bought my 2000 w/ 277 hrs with some minor engine problems (Bad starter and alternator, leaky water pump, etc.) but in great cosmetic condition for $13,300. I had it running like a champ and mechanically sound for another $1,500 or so (DIY labor). I'm in it for about $19k now after adding a tower, decent stereo, StarGazer Perfect Pass and 2,100 lb fully automatic ballast system.

Something else that has happened with mine is that when I bought it the vinyl was about 95% mint. However I've really started to put a decent amount of hours on it for the first time in its life. A lot of the vinyl has started to split due to it becoming brittle over the years. I pretty much need all new seat bottoms behind the windshield now. So, if it's got low hours and 12-13 year old vinyl you may end up in the same situation after a season or two of actual use.
Old     (polarbill)      Join Date: Jun 2003       05-15-2012, 4:02 PM Reply   
Jeff, when did you buy yours. If you bought in 2008-2010 area then all wakeboats were seriously cheap, especially compared to today. The used market is really bad for buyers right now, at least compared to the last 2 or 3 years.

I would expect a stock equipped(tower maybe, no PP, no ballast, crappy stock stereo), good all around condition, 2000 Tige 23V/2300V to be right around 20k and mayeb up to about 25k if it has a tower(an upgraded newer style), PP and ballast.

I would expect a 2000 Maristar 230, with no ballast, PP, tower, in good condition to be right around 20k as well. Now with a tower, ballast, PP probably around 25 and up to about 30k for an X30 that is 100% loaded in great condition.

Personally, I think if Chris can get that 98 225 for 17.5-20k he is doing pretty damn good. Especially if it is in good shape and has any extras like PP or ballast. It has a great tower, with board racks, bimini, nice looking tower speakers, etc... Find me another 23 foot v drive wakeboard boat for under 20k. Really the Tige might be the only other 23' boat even close.
Old     (Jeff)      Join Date: May 2010       05-15-2012, 5:37 PM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by polarbill View Post
Jeff, when did you buy yours. If you bought in 2008-2010 area then all wakeboats were seriously cheap, especially compared to today.
I think it was May 2011.
Old     (cwb4me)      Join Date: Apr 2010       05-15-2012, 5:57 PM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeff View Post
I think it was May 2011.
I sold my old Tige in April 2011.Now boats like my old one are in NADA for 6k to 8k more since last year.Now if they will sell for that is another question.
Old     (phillywakeboarder)      Join Date: Sep 2008       05-15-2012, 9:45 PM Reply   
I've ridden about 50 hours behind my friend's 230 VRS. Here are my thoughts:

1. It handles rough water really well. We used to ride all the time on the Delaware River, which can get a little insane - tug boats, barges, tankers, navy ships, cruise ships, and probably pirate ships - and it blasted through just about everything. I have a 99 x star, and he'd always have to lead the way to our riding spot.

2. In my opinion, it takes a decent amount of weight to get a really nice wake. We usually ran it with about 750 in each rear locker, about 500 in the middle, and about 1000 in the bow. With this setup, the wake is really nice, but it really works the motor. He has the mtx motor, which I believe has 310 hp. I think the other engine options have a bit more power (the LTR has 330 hp), but even with those you'll probably want to go with a lower pitched prop if you wanna run the weight comfortably.

3. The boat swallows up people and gear. 5 or so people is nothing.

4. The boat is super comfortable to drive. Everything is where it should be.

Good luck!!
Old     (maxx_wake)      Join Date: Sep 2003       05-16-2012, 10:57 AM Reply   
Well I went and checked out the Maristar today. As I think is usually the case it wasnt in as good of shape as the pictures made it look. Most of the issues appeared to be mainly cosmetic but I just got the general feeling it had been somewhat neglected. I thought about throwing out a low ball offer but he has it priced pretty high so we would be pretty far apart and I want to check out a few other options like the Tige before I get locked into anything.

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