Pleasanton Boat Show

Went to the boat show today.. Very good displays. I wish I would have brought my camera. I looked at all the new stuff that came out,

Mastercraft. I have never been a real MC guy, they never had anything that fitted what I need. The new X15 is incredible. This will be my next boat if its still around in a few years. I also liked the new X2 very much, they made a lot of space in such a short boat.

Nautique. Ohh boy, I might get bashed for this. The new 220 is HORRIBLE. If you think it looks kinda cramped and cluttered in the pictures, its only worse in person. Im 6-1/200. All my ridding buddies are about the same, a much smaller boat like the Sanger V210, or X1 would fit 6 of us better. Somebody over there should get fired for that boat. Just my opinion, I would love to hear somebody else's

Malibu. Always very good, nothing real new. The 247 looks like a nice boat.

Sanger. Not sure I like the new graphics, still great priced

Tige. Seems a bit over priced for me, there is still something I dont like about them, yet I cant put my finger on it.

Supra. Looks good, the new 20SSV is also a very good looking smaller boat.

Svfara. First time I have ever seen one. They are different. I hope they have good luck, the V drive with the rap around seating is kinda kewl, CC should have taken not when designing an alternative to the traditional V-Drive seating. The helm is very clean looking, the camo style vinyl is different.

Everybody should go and check it out if you get a chance, lots of good stuff, tons of stereo displays, and boards.

Me too.

Wakeboard boat displays were good.

I own a Nautique and I am glad I bought an 05, there were several changes made that I would consider as setback changes, graphics and ballast pumps to name a couple. Nautique has always been a bit "style" challenged from a Californians view. I am not a huge 220 fan either, it's just too big for me. The Ski Nautique is right on the mark for skiers, like the return of the old graphics. Best upgrade is the stainless steel cupholders, have already upgraded mine.

MC - not really sure where they are going with the "graffiti" theme, the steel fence with spray painted X-1/X-2/etc. looked rediculous as the boats with that graphic scheme. I think the dealers recognize this as only one boat out of about 10 had this graphic scheme. The open bow seating in the pickle fork boats is pretty nice. The dashes are way over done, reminds me of a mid 70's Trans-Am, way too much billet, all the other mfg's dashes looked nicer.

Malibu - lots of nice stuff. I still feel that the I-ride is the best value in a crossover boat. No Titan towers on the show boats only illusion's, I still have issues with that tower.

Svarra - looked pretty nice but who is going to pay $70k for a "no-name" boat? They are missing the boat.

Sanger and Moomba had the best "value boat" offers with nice boats under $40k.

Tige - is somewhere in the middle, seemed a bit over priced to me.

Didn't stop at MB, Centurion, Sessions

Saw some immitation I/O wakeboard boats that seemed to be copying layouts/graphics of real wakeboard boats. Regal/Sea Ray/Four Winns just to name a few.

I really felt sorry for the stereo guys stuck in a tent with all their systems facing each other. There is no way to get a fair judgement of anything in the setting they were provided. A little intelligence would dictate that the systems face outward, not inward. Seems that they resorted to selling everything based on looks.

Wakeboard, waterski, and accessory booths were few and far between. I had a few things like gloves, ropes, bumpers, etc. on my list. I only managed to find a pair of gloves and a flag to buy. I was hoping to see some protective padding products like Gator Grip for decks and trailers but there were none.

I will probably go back today and reserve my houseboat.

Mikeski...
Did Session have a boat on display there? If so what dealer was it? Was it just a Regal dealer or someone else.

Craig and Mikeski,
wow, I am suprised at the reviews. I thought the 220 was basically perfect. I feel like it has everything. 950 lbs of ballast, plus you can litterally hide 5-7 fat sacs in that boat and never see them. Also, the tower is taller so you are not hitting your head on the speakers so easily, the storage is rediculous. The ice chest is tucked under the passenger seat with a way to get to it without having someone get up. The reason it may look cluttered to you is because of all the rear facing seating. You can have 7 people facing back with a backrest. If I had the money I would have bought this boat.

Mikeski,
I guess I missed what they did to the ballast pumps. Can you fill me in on that one. I was definitely impressed with a lot of the other manufactures boats there. I feel some are definitely headed in the right direction with their fit and finish as well as quality. I am still not sold on the Tige or the MC. I just have issues with boat of those. Mainly they are fit and finish issues, but the MC I'm still not sold on the quality. I am probably just biased on that due to bad experience with them.

Cody-
I seen 1 Session boat but not sure of the dealer.

thanks JTW

I finally got to the boat show today. It was a good show but slow this afternoon.

My impressions:

MC

The X1 at $40K with $3500 in free additions is a score! Definitely the deal of the show IMO.

The X2 is very nice. Everything that I would hope for in a boat at the show room. Now, if only the wake was as good as the X1. Grrrr.

The X15. Bigger than the X2.

The X45. Huge. Cool for those who dig huge crafts.

The MC towers are sweet.

It seems to me that MC has too many boat models. Its quite confusing. I wish they would just make the X1 have a bigger cockpit like the X2 without hurting the wake.

CC

The 210. Still great. Still lacking storage and storage access. Otherwise, perfect.

The 220. After thinking it through, I have mixed feelings. I dig the effort from CC to provide rear facing seating and storage. But, I feel like CC went a bit overboard. The boat feels a bit too busy. I am not thrilled with all of the nooks and crannies. But, I would like to see the boat in real-use before passing final judgment.

The CC towers are big. Lots of metal for some reason.

I continue to dream for a 210 with proper storage and storage access.

It is interesting how CC ignored storage with the 210 for so many years before creating this storage ridden 220 with origami seating.

BU

I was bored. Sorry.

The VLX is a fine boat but nothing striking. I think I get a lot of negative energy from the tower.

The 247 is huge. Cool for those who like huge wake boats.

The BU towers are not for me. They aren't great for holding boards, biminis or speakers -- the sole purpose of a tower (vs a pole). Also, these towers block access to the cockpit.

Sanger

Simply still a great value.

Accessories

Lots of deals on speaker boxes.

But, accessories seem less interesting these days. Many of the big names from the past appear to be dwindling. This is probably because the OEM boats are getting so well equipped.

Conclusion

I will keep my 2000 VLX for at least another year.

I am only interested in "21" foot wakeboard boats because I optimize for 4 to 6 people. I would dig a X2 with a great wake, a SAN with better storage OR a X1 with a larger cockpit. I would also dig it if either of these boats had a bit more rear faced seeing. With 4 people in the boat and 1 person in the water, my boat needs only 3 rear facings seats -- thats the observer, one ahead of the observer and one behind the driver.

Still, this was a fun show. I love looking at boats even if I am not buying.

(Message edited by greatdane on February 04, 2006)

A word on pricing at the Pleasanton Boat show...

The reason why the Tige and Svfara boats seemed overpriced is that they are sold by the same dealer. I worked part of the 2005 boat show for this dealer and he marks them WAY up. He doesn't sell many boats and needs to make as much as he can on each one. If you absolutely need a Tige or Svfara and live in the Bay Area, check out some of the other dealers and get some competitive quotes.

That having been said, the Centurion Enzo that was displayed was absolutely beautiful, but ultimately I ordered an X-Star.