Newbie - boat for boarding and skiing

Trying to decide on a boat: twin 13 year old girls want to learn to board. Dad's 53, skied years ago and wants to board if he can, ski if he can't. Have heard that Mom will have an easier time driving a v-drive with cruise than trying to keep an IO at proper boarding speed. Looking at MC X-1, X-2, X-15 and X-30. Question: will the MC kick up too much wake at skiing speeds and make it tough for me to ski? Thanks for any thoughts.

I'd go with the X2 for the extra bow space in the 20'.

Ridden my friends old X-Star (now the X-1) and loved it!!! Absolutly amazing for boarding, good for surfing, but im not sure about skiing, because we never went above 24 mph.

Get a Malibu Wakesetter XTI, best of both wakeboarding and skiing worlds from what I hear. Its direct drive but has the comforts of the wrap around seating. Will drive really well.

http://www.malibuboats.com/Default.aspx?pageID=4&modelID=122

Mastercrafts are awesome boats, but a little spending IMHO.

Doug, It depends on what type of skiing you are trying to accomplish. Are you dad? If you are just recreational skiing, then any of those will be fine because the wake doesn't really matter. If you ski hard and sometimes run the course, then the X1 is a good choice. I use to have a 2001 Xstar(same boat as current X1). We used it in the slalom course all the time. It came from a hull(the old 205 direct drive) that is AWSA approved to pull tournaments(in the DD set up). In the Vdrive set up, the wake has a little bump, but once you get into 34-36mph range, it is gone. I cannot comment on the new X2, or the others because I have not skiied behind them.

Although you didn't mention any other brands, Steve's suggestion is a good one too. They redesigned the XTI, so it now has two wrap around seating areas, that are pretty cool. I have never skiied behind one though.

Paul, Yes, I'm the 53 year old. No pro skier here, just recreational, and not very good at that. Just didn't want to get a pure wakeboard boat for the benefit of the kids, and the struggle skiing behind it. Will check out the Malibu: sounds like it might be a fit. Thanks! Doug

http://www.onlyinboards.com/Details.aspx?ID=981417

brand new xti for under 40k right here. problem is resale, these things don't move too quick... hence the price on this boat.

I am in the same boat, literally. I have a X-9 and an X-1 on order as soon as I move the X-9. Because I run the MI INT, and have great support with the PS 197 Tour Team, I went with the X-1 so I had a reliable wakeboard boat for the tournaments. I skied behind it last Friday. It had a bit of a bump at 28 off as well as 22 off, but did OK. It will not be confused with the 197 wake, but it did fine.

The X-9 wake for skiing is a bit bigger than the 197 and has a great wakeboarding wake. It does not have the size of the X-1 wake when fully ballasted. That is because of the engine placement. The X-9 tracks a lot better than the X-1 and is very easy to drive for my wife and daughter. The X-1 will be a bit tougher, not not a problem after some getting used to.

Slalom and wakeboarding are at opposite ends of the wake spectrum. You cannot have both extremes.

Buy my X-9 (shameless plug).

Doug

Faced the same situation a few years ago myself. Like you I still ski, not very good, but I enjoy the ride. I have 3 boys that are now 10,16, and 18. They all are into boarding, both snow and wake. We chose a Wakesetter DD (direct drive) which also has the "wedge" and center ballast. The boat has the same hull as the old VLX so it has a decent wake for boarding and is very nice to ski behind without ballast and the wedge. Monsoon engine is very smooth and dependable, and the boat has plenty of seating/ storage/ high gunnels.
Overall I couldn't be happier with it and would highly recommend the boat to you.

That 06 XTI is a sweet boat, I'm just really impressed with Malibu boats. My friends bought an 06 wakesetter vlx and that huge wakeboard boat handles awesome so I'm assuming the XTI will perform the same way or better. Everyone I have talked to said you can get a real nice big wake dialed in for the wakeboarders I suggest the ballast and the wedge options if you order one, then take those away for an enjoyable ski wake.

Doug, I was really impressed with the XTI's too but bought a Sanger D215 which has the same layout. It just drove a bit different and that suited me. Make sure you drive a few because not are cheap and it won't take long to find what you like and what might erk you.
I think the Direct Drives are better at flattening the wake but there are many really good boats out there.

Doug-
Get a V-drive. The layout is very family friendly, and your kids will likely progress to the point where they will get the extra benefit out of the wake that only a v-drive can produce. For your skiing skills, the v-drive wake will be just fine. Besides, once you learn to board, I bet you will find yourself spending much less time on the skis. The V-drives will hold their resale value better. Test-drive for yourself, but I suspect you will find that you are comfortable skiing behind a v-drive with the ballast empty.

If you are worried about the ability to pull you up, don't. Any of the above mentioned boats will rip you right out of the water.