My review of the new X-Star from another post..
Video of the boat with some good shots of the wake.
http://www.wakepics.com/media.php?newest=true&time=1069834568&limit=10 Most people’s reservations on boats seem to be directed towards the wake.. Of course, this is one of the most important factors when considering a wakeboard boat and a lot of hype has gone into the new X-Star. I Personally, however, would never buy a boat just for the wake.
I love the wake on the new X-Star. Fortunately, the boat we tested had about 15 hours on it so we were able to test it with some extra weight. We had it weighted with 4 riders, stock KGB ballast, a 600 lb. sac in the bow and two 300’s on each side of the engine. The wake was very clean all the way back and had very little side spray or rooster tail. Perfect for filming and a clear view of the rider at all times. My subjective opinion found the wake to be a little rampier than the old X-Star (current X-2) but with a nice peek that provided plenty of pop. The wake appeared rampier than it felt.
The first thing I noticed about the boat was that it never porpoised while fully weighted. We filled the sacs and the KGB at the docks and were able to easily cruise out to our riding spot at 45 mph. Weighted, the boat felt a little heavy, but never drove like a pig….. The steering seemed somewhat heavier compared to other Mastercraft’s I have driven and I wonder if this contributed to the “heavy” feeling of the boat or if the heavy steering was a result of the size of the boat.
With the three tracking fins underneath, the boat tracked very well. I could pop a quick 30 to 40 degree turn with a couple quick flicks of the wheel and send people out of their seats. It felt like the boat was on rails. For the tubers out there, the boat power turns very well. We had some fun out in old river and spun a couple donuts on the way back to the docks.
Pulling a rider the boat got up onto plane quickly. The effects of a rider behind the boat are barely noticeable and there was no side to side pulling effect when a rider would cut out hard. Driving without perfect pass (oops), it was easy to maintain speed. When turning around to pick up the rider I would kill the throttle and go to an idle, no water came rushing up and over the sunpad. The boat also spun on a dime when idling making it easy to keep it in the path of your rider.
The X-Star handled both rough water (what little the Delta offered us that day) and other boats wakes with ease. I was surprised at how little I felt within the boat when crossing the good sized wake of another boat, it sliced through smoothly like butter. No jarring bounces or thuds, everything kept quiet with very little squeaks or rattles. The boat felt solid! A couple of times I tried to purposely take water over the bow and was unable to.
I have always liked the styling of the new X-Star and find it even more appealing in person then in photos. You know just by looking at it that some serious thought went into the design of the boat and that this boat means business. I find it has a very sporty look to it. It constantly received looks the entire time we were out. Starting with the bow, it is absolutely huge. 5 people can easily fit up there sitting in comfort, 2 when fully stretched out. With the bow filler cushion you could almost make a nice sized bed. The built in cooler up front drains nicely into the bilge. A folding ladder is available making the bow just as usable as the stern when hanging out on the water.
The center walkway has a nice two piece wind blocker that folds easily to the side, a big improvement over the typical cloth one that snaps in place and is a pain in the arse to keep taking on and off. I have always liked the solid plastic wind blocker in the Malibu’s but hated having to climb over it. The foldable design offers the same solid wind block with much easier passage. The folding front window now has a stainless steel latch to hold the window open which is much more solid and easier to use that the cloth strap. There is also no need to worry about the snaps on the strap scratching or marking the gelcoat when you forget to snap it back down while the window is closed.
As with the bow, the cabin is absolutely huge… so is the glove box. The seats are a little higher/deeper than typical, which I found makes for a more comfortable seating experience. The bench wraps all the way around the interior and back around behind the driver’s seat. The cockpit is nicely laid out and comfortable to use. Rising above the dash is the X-pod containing the speedometer, tachometer and perfect pass controls. The ballast tanks each have gauges allowing you to see roughly how full each tank is. I have two complaints about the dash. First is the carbon fiber trim. Don’t you just love how sporty fake carbon fiber trim makes things look! Everything from Civic’s to X-Star’s. Personally I would much rather see a sharp looking black graphite colored trim in place of the carbon fiber. Second is that the gauges are only available in yellow. The yellow looks good, but I would like to see an option for white gauges with black lettering.
Storage is amazing, partially due to the size of the boat. It easily passed the crippled wakeboarder crutch test (Jason’s crutches fit in all the compartments). The two bow side seats are hinged and fold up and back giving easy access to the storage below. There is an enormous carven behind the observers seat with plenty of room for a surfboard and a couple more wakeboards. It is actually possible (and easy) to crawl through the observers seat, under the glove box/windshield and out the front. The raised bench seats in the cabin also offer much deeper storage than typical.
With the KGB tanks built into the hull, you have full use of the rear storage compartments on either side of the engine. The compartments were deep and often referred to as changing rooms. One thing I would like to see is 12 volt lighter sockets inside each storage compartment. The only two sockets available are up front on the dash and inside the glove box making it a stretch when filling/draining fat sacs. With the dual batteries under one of the port passenger seats, it would be easy for an owner to wire this up themselves. The carpet in the X-Star is removable and held in place with snaps making it easy to remove and clean or if necessary replace.
Board racks have been re-designed for the 2004 models and are a big improvement over the short lived 2003 style racks. Two levers clamp the boards in place. There was also no problem with the rope getting caught in the racks while circling around to pick up the rider as has happened with the 2003 racks. Additionally, the position of the board racks makes it very easy to get your boards into and out of the racks. For those who need additional racks, I am told additional board racks are available through Mastercraft that fit onto the top of the tower. I’m not sure how easy or practical this is, especially with the bimini unfolded. I don’t foresee storage to be a problem in this boat, there is plenty of room in various storage compartments for extra boards.
I think the new X-Star isn't just about the wake.. You have to consider the entire package when purchasing. It's a really well rounded boat that delivers on all accounts..
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