X-15 Review

Darren at MC of Seattle took us out for a spin on the X-15. He hooked us up.

After seeing the other boat reviews, we feel like we owe Darren one. Here it goes:

We skied and wake boarded on the X-15.
The skiing was good enough for us.
The wakeboarding was awesome.
We didn't surf, but I bet the surf wake would be good.

The wake was good with stock ballast. We could do all our tricks (rolls, spins, etc) with stock ballast, but it wasn't the massive air we are after.

So, we added about 1,800 more weight on top of the approx 1000 of stock ballast.

Just so you know, we add additional ballast to all the boats we ride, Malibu, Tige and SAN. So, I am not saying the stock ballast is weak.

After we added the extra weight, we got what we were looking for. A giant, smooth, and rampy wake.

Power:
We demo'ed the 350 hp engine. The engine handled the weight great. The trim tab was nice. We trimmed down to easily get the rider up. Once the rider was up, we trimmed up to make the wake huge. We could have added even more weight if we had it. The extra 1800 lbs didn't phase the 350 motor.

Ride:
The boat rode well. It was very smooth, had enough power, and was easy to drive. Even with all the weight, it didn't feel like a tank.

Stability:
The boat sits pretty high, even with all the weight. It seems very sea worthy for its size, if that matters to you. This boat would do fine in large lakes or big bays.

Features:
The VDIG seemed cool and easy to use. There were spots to plug in yor IPod and Video cameras. However, I didn't mess with it that much. I am not the best guy to be reviewing gadgets.

Durability:
This is what we liked best about this boat's interior. We all use our boats a lot. We have our rider buddies who all know how to respect the boat, but we also have family, kids, dogs, 4th of July parties, etc where maybe not everyone is so gentle on or boats. So, we like a boat that can stand up to some abuse.

This boat feels like it was made to stand up to a lot of use and abuse. IE - I feel like we could have a wrestling match in it and nothing would get busted. It felt like it was commercial grade.

What we liked best:
Wake
Salt Water Series - built for salt from the ground up
Sea Worthy - important for us who boat in big bays
Durability
Snap Out Carpet
Smooth Ride
Trim Tab - for skiing, gettng riders up, and for driving around
Storage - huge
Ballast - we can easily tap off the existing plumbing to add about 2000 of additional auto ballast to this boat - for 3000 lbs total.
Versatility - we still ski the course, but primarily wakeboard. This boat can do both. It won't be awesome in the ski course, but it will be good for a wakeboard boat.

What we didn't like:
Since it is an MC, I have to complain about the price...

Below are some pics:




(Message edited by davomaddo on October 01, 2008)