HONEST CSX Experiences

I know the debates have been going on that MC is not in the right market or losing sight of what is important or yada yada yada. What I am looking for is real world experiences with the boat, what people who HAVE RIDDEN the boat and spent time in the boat on the water think. (not trying to be rude but the older threads seemed to get into an off topic pissing match with no meat as to what the boat was really like)

Here is my dilemma, I love wake boarding/surfing, I also enjoy fishing and take the family to the beach regularly and would like to be able to ride and fish the bay. I am a novice rider at best so I do not "need" the ultimate in wake shape (although the few threads I read said it was one of the best). I would love a boat that can do it all but until now was not available.

Now that the boat has been out for a full season do people still like it(most recent post that came up in the search was almost a year old)? Any new opinions of performance? Any pro/cons (again real world experience please) of the boat that was expected/unexpected? How is the rough water ride?

I have spoken with my local dealer and am arranging a test drive, but wanted to do my research ahead of time. It is easy to get caught up in the benefits of a boat when test driving it and miss a few drawbacks. Thanks in advance for any thoughts!

Personally I think they are a cool boat but are limited on accessible dry storage - maybe its just that we're used to stacks of small to large lockers in V drives but there aren't really any 'cubby' holes in the CSX.. there's bait wells, big old lockers and thats about it. But hey I was only on it for about an hour so maybe I needed to look harder!

Also, although there is technically alot of seating, I was not that comfortable in the bow and wouldn't want to sit there for too long when cruising. the back was the place to sit in my opinion but it was limited.

Helm is awesome though, as is the huge sunpad at the front for lazing about in the sun when moored up.

I would consider one (once they're in my budget! haha)

THE CSX IS AWESOME!!!

Great wake, great surf wake, roomie, FUN is a good word to use, its a very different boat, unlike any other I've been on (wake-boat wise)...the boat is extremely versatile, which made it stand out to me. What I really liked about it the most was the easiness to get in/out of the boat from the platform. No crawling, no slipping, it really is an awesome boat. It would def. take the right buyer in the right area for sure, but all around I really liked the CSX.

I think the CSX is really cool. I'm not really into fishing or else it'd probably be my first choice. Anything that you can ride behind and fish from without really sacraficing performance either way sounds good to me.

We ordered one as our demo boat this season. Got it a week and a half ago, wrapped it Friday, took it to the Trinity Saturday, and had Rickey G. out on it Sunday. I'm not going to get him in hot water with anyone, but I think he was impressed with the wake with stock ballast and 9 people. I know Josh Palma commented on the wake as well. A lot of the points listed above are valid. It wasn't crowded with 9 people, but there wasn't exactly tons of extra room either. Finally the thing I hear the most from people that really fish is that there is too much vinyl in the boat. I'll stick to my X-Star, but for someone who is the slightest bit interested in fishing or Saltwater, I'd reccomend it with no questions.


P.S. Gotta love the Direct Drive handling.

matt,
let me come on down to tx and hang with u for the weekend, i'll take zebra toP!

Outside of the Correct Craft world... the CSX is my favorite boat. It is the boat that makes the most sense for my family, aside from a hardcore, large, purpose built wake boat.

I still want the CC 230 as my next boat, but the CSX series is just simply amazing.

ps. 3rd, in case you were wondering, is the Malibu 247. There is no 4th and 5th

(Message edited by juniorhawk on April 21, 2008)

I dont think it will troll down for fresh water fish

Thanks for all the replys guys.

Brit Rider, you hit on something I was afraid of, the storage. I currently have a Tige 24v which has gobbs of storage and when looking at the pictures of the CSX I could not figure out where the storage would be. Even for something as simple as the coast guard throwables, let alone towels and such.

For those that were in the boat with the fishing prep package, where do they have the live well and fish boxes? I am guessing under the back corner seats but I could be wrong. I do agree that there is a lot of vinyl for a fishing boat but that would be a small comprimise!

Keep the thoughts coming, I really appreciate it!

Some friends of mine had one as their demo boat last year. I really liked the boat as well. Is it my cup o tea? NO. But I don't fish unless I'm on the shore, I don't boat in salt water and I like to sit down.

There isn't a ton of room to sit down or store stuff. It's fun to drive, although takes some getting used too.

The wake is amazing...period. 'Best'? I don't know, the best wake is kinda like the hottest chick...in the eye of the beerholder.

If I was riding in salt water, fished in salt water and liked to beach the boat and use it as it is intended to be used...I would definetly look closely at it.

Coolest feature (besides the wake) is it is self-bailing.

Just my $1.02

Bring it on Jake!

The Live Well is located in the Starboard corner after you take the cushion out. Storage in front of the center console is HUGE. I had purses and towels under there because I pretty much knew that I wasn't going to take any water over the bow.

The wake is the best I've ever seen on a DD with stock ballast. Finally for the record NAW all of MC's Saltwater Series boats are self-bailing, though I would like to see it as standard across the line. Cheers, Matt

Hey Matt,

Did you get my text?

Also, watch the front page of wakeworld for an article on the tournament.

Gavin... The storage is actually huge, it just isn't compartmentalized. It's just one huge cavern under the console. You could store a ton of wakeboards or any type of fishing gear down there. I'm not sure how much dry storage there is, though. It could be pretty limited.

Is there storage as well under the front "lounge"? Or mainly just in the center console.

I know everyone is raving about the wake. How is the wake width? I know on my 24v the wake is real wide, is it comparable to say the MC X10 or say a SAN? Thanks again for all the insight!

Matt, do you have any pics of the boat with the wrap on it? Are you going riding anytime soon?

I much prefer AmTrak. Its way more comfy and has much better food.


The MasterCraft CSX is awesome its super soft over HUGE rollers and great in rough ass windy Bay chop as well.
Very different feeling at first to drive but otherwise its very nice.

I was around when Zane had the first CSX test boat here in Winter haven and I think just about every MC Pro and even a CC Pro said it was their second favorite wake next to the the XStar.

We used one for a while last year at our wakeboard school (Mastercraft sponsored) and it's a great boat. Just like everyone else on here has said, it's a great wake but then it can do so much more. If you really want to have one boat that is good for wakeboarding and fishing, this is it. Otherwise, you'd have to have two boats in order to do what the CSX does. It does take some time to get used to driving from the center console position, but it's no big deal once you're used to it.

Cody, check the HMC @ Papas thread.

Amazing wake and surf wake!

does anybody have pictures of the wake? for boarding and or surfing?

Gavin, the whole front cushion lifts up so the storage is all combined with the front sun pad and the center console. It could fit three people easy(not that I plan on stuffing people in there, but just for reference), and there is some smaller storage under the other seats for jackets and throwables etc. there is a Glove box above in the T-Top much like on the other MC's, maybe a touch smaller for phones, wallets, etc. I personally love the boat!!

so...what are these boats actually selling for now days?

I'm not sure what they are selling for, but here's some (crappy) pics from my time with one...Let me see if I can dig up some surf pics.

Thanks for all the info and replies everyone, this has to be the most informative thread about this boat anywhere I have seen! The boat is so unique that it is hard to get a good grasp of it's options from MC's website. This was the info I was looking for. Thanks again!

just don't accidentally hit an oyser shoal or a shallw spot at low tide. you can get away with it with an outboard motor, but with a direct drive you are in trouble.

On word: resale.


I would think twice before buying this boat.