official boat bashing thread

.....well this is to be done in a constructive respectful manner.....it doesn't need to be boat specific (but can be)...........what dont you like about certain boats or what should our expensive boats do or have that they don't. This is to spark some ideas on how to improve boats.....with maybe some comical but not taking ourselves to seriously overtones. 3 point limit....this is your opprtunity to get it off your chest without fear of retribution!

I'll start with a few

1. all boats should have hidden ballast system and none of this gravity 1 system with 1 bag (useless)

2. today a wakeboard boat shouldn't be allowed into production without wrap around seating

3. why do all trailers look the same? (no answer necessary)

(Message edited by absoluteboarder on March 07, 2008)

For the love of GOD, build in a trash can somewhere...

Consider dash design before you build it, some of us want to see where we are going THROUGH the windshield... not over it.

i love every boat. i just really love my boat better.

how about why do warranties on new boats suck so much???

you are telling me Hyundai or Kia can offer 100,000 miles on a $13,000 car, but we can't get a 5 year standard warranty on a $50,000 boat?????

(Message edited by tj_in_kc on March 07, 2008)

I second the dash. There is nothing worse than having to stand up to see over the dash when taking off.

stock ballast should be enough for us regular people.
Only pros can complain about wake size and shape.
Last but not least. DONT BLAME THE WAKE BECAUSE YOU SUCK.

After considering my last post I've decided that not having a boat sucks even more!

Amen to All Eyes

"......thats the fun and dont take life to serious part"

I've tried that, have you ever read my posts. Problem is alot of people don't always see it that way. Good luck with this one, maybe you'll get away with it.

dont mess with something that's not broken.
mastercraft. x 1 great
malibu vlx great
nautique 210. horrible idea to change that boat. bring it back

1) Any boat under 30ft with one motor should not be selling in the 80-100K range.

Things that should be included in every boat

1- Bun: quality may vary but quantity is the most imortant

2- Heater to keep the Bun warm

3- Coolers- to hold booze to keep the bun saturated

kevin.....now thats comical!....

My three things i hate.
1. When nu bu had a moomba he was nice.
2. When nu bu got a malibu he turned mean.
3. Just kidding nu bu. i think your great. dont let the people bother you.

too many things on my head.
1. Make a dam gas gauge that is accurate.
2. When i fill my boat up try to put something that will stop it from over flowing.
3. I think that's it

Kevin don't for get room for your booze if the bun quality is low.

^^

The Malibu LSV at the Dallas boat show had a trash can built in under the seat behind the cooler - a removable plastic one. I'm not sure if it was put in by Waterski America or came from the factory. So easy to do, I don't understand why that isn't an option on all boats.

1. Need a boat with combination of rear underfloor ballast/filling from MB plus ski locker/bow ballast with ballast control/preset memory from Malibu. While I'm at it, I'd also like a boat that had the exterior styling from a Mastercraft with the interior and tower from Malibu.

2. I second the accurate gas gauge

3. A "battery is about to die" warning

1. swivel board racks standard on all boats to prevent people and boards from falling in the water when retrieving or putting up boards.
2. free tow rig with the purchase of any wake boat over 35k
3. and be sure all wake boat manufacturers put out the "perfect wake" before leaving the factory since they are all wake specific boats. no tweaking with trim tabs, wedges, switchblades etc necessary....

I"d go with
(1)better warranty
(2)More Factory Ballast
(3)Some free lube for the ^&* raping you take on boats over 50k PRICING IS REDICULOUS

along with the accurate gas guage accurate ballast guages.

boat operators license

tj,

Supra comes standard with a 5 year warranty/protection plan.

Changes I'd like to see
1. No more runabout mfgs making decals to look like a 3 year old x-series
2. american made boats should have about as many warranty issues as american made cars (little to none, specifically cosmetic)
3. I want someone to invent a big snowplow thingy for the front of their boat, it will plow through choppy water and make a nice smooth area in the flats on both sides so you never have a bad run. (I'm sure they are already working on this)

Mostly great ideas. But they make so many different kinds of boats because people want different things from their boats.

Wrap around seating? I'd rather have most of the seats facing the rider. It sucks to sit in the middle of the vdrive facing the rear. Even sitting on the same side for a long time puts a crook in my neck.

I haul my garbage out in the same thing I brought it in with..... so having another container is kinda redundant.

Lower prices, good warranties, descent gas gauge, etc..... I second all that!

..... tall midget looks like you have the little man syndrome judging from profile pic

(Message edited by absoluteboarder on March 07, 2008)

Enough with flip up seats, you don't drive your car through your sunroof !

How about a class on how to back your trailor up along with the boaters operators licence!!!

it was a little promo boat I put myself into a couple seasons ago, there's pics of jeff house and jimmy wolf riding it floating around here someplace. Jeff hit a double and it was like flying a kite getting him back down. If all wakeboats had the luxuries and wake of that boat with the fuel economy of a jet ski we'd be lovin life.

I see you've got NAW's boat, NAW and I go back like a throwback

(Message edited by dan lee on March 07, 2008)

Yaw !...no pun intended.....he was great...helped me out good!.....and love the boat.

here are a few more....I have over 14....but lets see what else comes up.

1. towers should not need stabilizers!(mc)

2. all wakeboats should have stainless steel exhaust with inside flaps...not the cheap rubber...considering what we pay.

3.better swim platform material.....fin and chip resistant...no leaching black or turning to powder

(Message edited by absoluteboarder on March 07, 2008)

1. A loaded ski boat should have cap maximum of 60,000 dollars. And if you can't go wake to wake you should not own one of these boats, or pretend that you are a good wakeboarder/wakeskater/surfer
2.How about all boats have a GPS speedo
3.A gas gauge that works

I am the only one that is wondering where all the great looking towers went? Correct Craft has a roll cage now. MC (my personal favorite brand) has a fly high monkey bar leaned against two over fabricated post which all togather make it unstable. Tige, same as MC's just have that unattractive arch on the top. Seems that Supra's tower and Malibu's reverse towers are the only that catch my eye

1. all towboats should take a clue from CC and make the seating more functional...rear facing.

2. all boats should take a clue from epic and have more stock ballast and stock - high H.P. motors. (to take a 320-340 H.P. motor, you should get a rebate)

3. NO 22' inboard with minimal options should cost $80k with the "show discount". I dont need billet guage clusters that blind me and my passengers... can i have that $2000 back please?

4. NO $65K - $97k price tag on a 22' boat should be "trailer not included"...??? seriously? just put it in the back of my minivan?

*it may seem as though some of my negative comments are aimed at the x-star.... thats because they are. That does not change the fact that the x-star is my favorite wake and if i had a million dollars it would be my next boat. I love you, X-star

- all should have hidden ballast, it should come with enough to suit everyone shy of the pro's, and not take a half hour to fill or drain

- they should have usable storage, enough for a day on the water with gear for the number of people the boat is rated for

- if it has a built in cooler it should have a built in trash can or at least a place to put one.

whoever let the prices get out of hand on these boats needs to be shot

also it really gets to me when people spend 50-80k on a new boat and don't take care of it

A Moomba that runs for starters. They have vaporlock problems and skierschoice pretends they don't.

Marty beds,

Indmar and skiers choice have addressed that problem that was VERY rare last year. They are now running both a high pressure low volume and a low pressure high volume fuel pump. Indmar has even developed a fix for those few boats that did have problems. Your local dealer should be able to take care of you at no charge.

1. interior that can actually be cleaned without it rotting the seams, or the infamous "pink" fungus.
2. a way better warranty, and a lot less excuses.
3. bolts that don't have soft aluminum heads waiting to be rounded off.

My 236 has a trash can. my complaint is mostly about owners or Boat snobs as I like to call em. can't we all just get along

i second the water flattening device along with, full auto pilot perfect ride every time so the whole crew can get drunk, and something that has 0 maintainance (dont even have to put gas in it)

Wake boats should not have carpet.

Wake boats should have more durable upholstery.

Wake boats should definitely have a better warranty.

Wake boats are way to much $$$$.
I would love to have an X Star SS, however I could purchase a nice cabin cruiser for the money! Malibu also starting to get ridiculous with their prices...

1. Upholstery, (Vinyl skins) that does not come apart at the bead after one and half seasons on the water. (standard ware and tear)
Covered by warranty the first time, but won't next time because I wll be at the three year warranty point.

2. I second the faster filling ballast. 600 lbs filled with a 800GPH pump takes way to long.
Never fails by the time the tanks are finally full and the water is butter. Some tuber comes through.

All wake specific boats should have
1 pole holders
2 BBQ
3 Tower strong enough to pull a tube!
4 Keg-o-rator
Never mind I'll just buy a pontoon boat and save $40000!
Seriously..
1. Hidden automated (fast) ballast
2. Sub boxes "built in" ordered to your cubic foot specs, and an area to specifically mount multiple amps.
3. Boat snobs!!! When I'm out in the boat no matter where we are, people with specifically Nautiques and Mastercrafts are snobs they act like there poopie doesn't stink. I believe most of them have more money than sense and they tend to look down on people with more "moderately" priced boats. Thats not to say all Nauti and Mastercraft owners are that way. I have met some really nice folks out there but the vast majority of them are snobs.

1) taller towers - so you put a set of 8" speakers on, and you won't be hitting your head.
2) no carpet in the rear storage areas! that is where we put all the wet gear, and its a pain to dry out.
3) ?

Nautique puts in such a good quality (team edition) stereo system, but gets lazy when it comes to mounting the subwoofer properly. The back part of my sub housing was a flimsy pos and wasnt even sealed properly. All it took me to fix was some MDF plywood and some silicone... but come on! if your gonna put in a stereo like that, do the sub right!

1) More function less bling. Seriously why do guys go for bling? Boat bling is like stick-on rhinestones on my daughter's cell phone
2) Gas gauge that works would be very - very - very simple and better than bling
3) Switch from regular surf to goofy surf at the flip of a switch

1)Less Bling-more Bang 2)Boat snobs 3)I love my old Supra!

Better quality! For 80k you would expect the type of interior quality associated with a bmw/audi, but you get cheep hinges poorly mounted, relatively poor fit and finish, and 8.5k for a trailer? common. As long as you can get 20 year loans you will see the prices stay in the mesosphere.

And this impeller lake cooled system. Are we living in 1935 still? Any boat over 40k should have a fully enclosed cooling system that does not require unreliable impellers sucking lake water and any thing else through your 10-15k engine. Mabe some type of modified keel cooler for smaller wakeboard boats. Keep the rubber impellers for the bayliners.

(Message edited by frr on March 08, 2008)

....man people are ticked by those prices......me to ...thats why it took me three years to muster up enough courage to take the plunge


3 more

1. can we get some better access to v drive inboard motors......and have some easily accessible drain valve to drain everything easily for winterization.....nobody likes to pull 2 knock sensors to do it.

2. can all inboards have no drip shafts...for god sakes (i know many now do.....but boy did it ever take long)

3.can I have a snap on cover where water coming down the windshield wont leak into the bow......so some kind of overlap between cockpit and bow snap covers.......I mean!!!

(sorry about breaking my 3 point rule feel free as well)

My problem isnt the boats, but the peeps in them , the wallys dont bug as much as the [self proclaimed pros] who think all butter is rightfully thers , wont as much wave to the lessers, give me a respectfull wally any day.

and a gas tank that is always full, notice I said tank not gauge.

....you know brian we dont have many wakeboats on my lake yet.......but when one does come into the bay it feels like another cat is invading our marked territory.....dont know why those feelings come up (but we wave anyway)??.....but it sounds like it is nasty down there in the us of a sometimes

(Message edited by absoluteboarder on March 08, 2008)

I like to watch people ride , I think thats a important part to gettin better, not all but some think its just there for them, I didnt walk one day and then go wake to wake the next, Its a small few, but when you get snobbed it burns bad.
If you see a blue and black VTX on the water and the driver has a big smile and waves, its probably me.

1. CC should bring back the 210, come on just make the original hull but bigger and throw a bigger engine.and ballest. that boat would be boss.

2. fire all the •••••• sales people

3. put a better prop on so the wakeboats plain out better. the are ment to be stop and go their not jet boats that just go.

4. And for the 60k for my boat why the hell dont they come with tower speakers??

1. Dual props. Great hole shot and holding with small motor (V-6)
2. Bigger alternators
3. Dual batteries with automatic switches (starter, deep-cycle for tunes at mooring).

---

quote:

whoever let the prices get out of hand on these boats needs to be shot

---

The consumers should be shot??

-Steve

....steve....yup...so be it...line up......................and now we are getting fleeced with these new (but cool looking wraps) not good value for the money

three grand for a big sticker is a joke.

I know the consumers aided in the price increase but they are not totally to blame

1) 95% of the boat wraps I have seen are fugly - all brands - I am not so much into trendy styles though
2) mc sale tactics are lame - I'll never buy one simply because of that (a decision I made before buying my first boat)
3)I probably won't buy another boat since the prices are so out of whack.

Mines not about the boats but more the people in them.

Where I live ( outside Vancouver, Canada)I need to start seeing more people with the expensive ass boats ie Malibu's, Mastercrafts actually using their boats for wakeboarding instead of a party boat. Seriously these people should have bought a party bardge. I also need to see the people behind these expensive boats be actually good riders....and I mean clear the wake.

Done Rant....Yes I'm jealous.

Listing the amount of cupholders on a $60,000+ boat as a "feature" is ridonculous. Flat-out ridonculous. This effect is even worse when a big deal is made of it, when 5 bullet points are listed and one of them is cupholder quantity.

No ballast is needed sentiment from salespeople, is my #1 bashing/peeve though. But we've been through that on here...

I'm with ED

1. More function (diesel, 2 speed trannys) and less bling.
2. Putting on asbestos suit for this one: Obnoxiously loud stereos. No need to share your musical tastes with everyone in your cove. If you have a ton of hot boat fluff this rule can be temporarily overlooked though.
3. The cost of ownership...the initial outlay and gas. I pay it but it still peaves me some times.

Dave, I think those people account for 75% of the buyers. If they weren't buying MC's and Bu's, etc then we probably would only have one or two brands. If someone wants to pay 70k for a boat to cruise around on, that's great for them... not sure why that would bother anyone.

1) Make it easier to get access to the engine to perform maint / change out the slow ballast pumps
2) Accurate gas gauge
3) Stronger / better lasting interiour.
4) For $50k, Tower Mirror, wind dam, Swivel Racks and decent Tower speakers should be standard
5) Internal / Hidden ballast that is upgradeable in size by changing bag A for bag B.
6) Faster pumps
7) Ballast guage

Ill pay the $50k (and did last year), but the dam thing should make me feel like I just bought a BMW, not a Ford. All that bitching asside - I LOVE MY BOAT

Onlyinboards.com

As I mentioned... I'm Jealous that I can't afford to have one of those boats and use it for what it was made for.

well, i'm jealous of you guys that rip behind anything and everything.

My biggest bitch is PRICE. People keep buying them and I dont know who, but I am an average guy with an average mortgage and car payment with a wife in the same boat. I am 27 and she is 25 and we are starting out. I would like to get a sick V drive but the thought of one at 10-15 years old at 30k+ is insane to me. I bought my truck at that price 5 years ago and would do it agin because I need it and I need the function. A boat ia a damn toy, that is really all it actually is. I cant justify 70k for a damn toy, I just cant. /rant

Other than that the rest is peanuts to me. I have a boat with limited plastic cupholders, no belly ballast, and a dd engine. I can still ride it. Would i like some bling on it, hell yeah I would. It is just too frivolus so spend money on though. I will just have to keep trading up as funds allow, but it will be a while to get to that V drive

Can I get less? I just want a boat that's legal on the water and puts out a decent wake. I can do the rest myself. I don't care about build quality. I have an 18 year old boat with one of the worst build qualities on the planet and it's still holding together just fine. Chopper gun it, cut corners on fit and finish, do whatever you have to do to get me a boat cheap. I'm talking Aztec or Gekko with a decent wake.

Easier access to engine (check)
Swivel Racks (check)
Standard 5 yr Warranty (check)
Wrap around seating (check)
Tower w/o braces (check)
Built in cooler (check)
Standard Hidden ballast (check)
Automated ballast like some of the big guys (need to work on)
Pure Vert (I wish)
A dash thats not in the way (check)
Decent tower speakers standard (ARC Audio) (check)
BBQ (I'll just put it on my black gel coat at 3:00 it'll cook anything)
Standard 409HP from PCM (check)
Three outlet heater w/ pull out
Standard 2 battery w/ perko switch (check)
Awsome build quality (check)
Custom gel scheme (check)
Appropriately propped (check)
Free trailer (just kidding its part of the pakage, also has 20's Beotch's (check)
Tons of storage (check)
Probably could have the 2 speed trany but I dont want the whip lash you get from switching gears (dont get pissed from that comment MB guys I love those boats just not that option)

Has carpet, no keg-o-rator (sp?), no BBQ trash can garbage disposal, head, sink, fridge, bunks etc...but I dont want all that anyhow in a wake boat.

Ahhh Ed, the Holly Grail would be a flip of the switch regular to goofy invent. Im sure its comming though. But for now I'll take a hull design that both sides are the same when weighted the similar.

All this for a descent price mid 50's. Just having fun reading this thread guys, Dont taze me! Summer is a commin!

1. Pickle forks - Blegh!

2. Raw water cooling... Why is closed cooling not standard on every boat? I really like that Epic is doing this for performance reasons as well as a maintenance and corrosion prevention stand point.

...boats with built in platforms..cant stand em (just keeping you honest kevin....cant have it all you know)


...oh what makes the access to the engine easier on that wakecraft?

(Message edited by absoluteboarder on March 11, 2008)

post some pics of the engine access in a wakecraft. It's incredible!!!

ah yes Michael that is a little different isn't it. Thanks for keeping me honest.
The hatchlifts by a flip of a switch giving access all around the engine and drive train. Forgot to mention closed cooling (check). Lol just in fun.

Here are the photos of the Wakecraft engine cover I wish my boat was like this life would be so much easier. Trying to fit in my ski lockers is like trying to pack 10lb of sh** in a 5lb bag.

don't taze me bro!
Seriously though I'm working on a keg-o-rator!
Trying to work out how to keep it ice-less, and 12 volt. Maybe good for another thread.

Put it in a blanket of dried ice maybe? Look in some tailgating catalogs (if they exist) I’m sure you will find what you need. Just remember when shaking a keg you get foamy beer.

I'll keep it close to the back to reduce shaking. may be a jockey box for the tap.
http://www.kegworks.com/home.php?cat=831
Been doing a lot of thinking!

Put the tree so its coming out of the port side dash and run a line from the rear of the boat where the keg is. Be clean. Good luck with that.

How big a stretch is the port side dash to the rear of the boat? 8' or so? That's too long to be running an uncooled line even if you insulate it. It's ok as long as the beer is flowing, but if there's even a few minutes between pours, someone is getting a warm pint. And you had better make sure to clean out the line between lake trips.

Ice-less and 12V just aren't going to happen. Can you put an AC compressor and its proper belt on a marine engine? Doing that and running your cooling to a jockey box is the only iceless scenario I see working for something as big as a keg. I don't know where you'd put the other AC parts though. I don't think there's enough air flow in the engine box.

I'd start simple and get more complex as you identify issues. Build yourself a nice insulated box to fit a keg in that has a line in for CO2. Ice it down and just run a cobra tap. When you figure out placement, you can figure out what kind of proper tap you need (side or top mount) and where to run your lines.