Byrd your kidding me right "making better boats cheaper??"boats have gone up considerably,my exact boat model with almost identical options has gone up 8k in five years..All the while all these new boats are driving my depreciation down more then ever..everytime they release a new model the last years model gets cheaper and the used ones take heavy losses ..
theres nothing innovative with the new boats this year then five years ago other then easier to fill and empty ballast and some throttle and tranny upgrades that iMO arent neccessarily better just different and another reason to raise prices..
Riders push this sport and not really Pros either they get most of their stuff free so those of us consumers get handed down that debt in order for the pros to ride and promote the things WE buy.
SO IMO the general wakeboarder usually the 25-50 yrs olds buying up all the boats,equipment and gear are pushing the sport since we are enabling the manufacturers to raise prices on this stuff for R&D costs and have the revenue to develop more equipment.
If we didnt buy the stuff ,ride it like it and then believe all the hype on the new stuff and run out and trader up every year then there would be no money to pay the pros, all the new ads,and the R&D money needed to progress the boats and equipment..
Its takes all of 30 minutes to fill up a 98 model inboard malibu,mastercraft,supra or whatever old "ski" with ballast of anykind and the wakes were quite large.So all the boat manufaturers are doing is dressing up their boats with tons of options and bling and making us feel its innovative.PP,hidden ballast,two speed trannys,wireless throttles,push start ignition,roll in racks,fancy towers with lights and stereos are all creature comforts IMO and not progressing the sport.
Please dont argue the the new hulls on the new boats are advancements because that NEW MC Xstar wake isnt much to write home about especially since the old x2,now the x1 has a better wake for 20k less..same for the new 23/24ft boats good wakes but not 60/90k better .Is the new Mailbu so much better then the old vride/vlx ,NO not for me is it nice sure but progression ,no.
Now if i had to stick picking between the two id say the boards/bindings are better,slightly,at least they dont cost much more and have some smoother landing ,bigger popping asnd softer feel to them so they have progressed the sport for amatuer level riders giving them a better chance to progress ..
anyway im rambling and giving myself a haedache ;)
Without us there would be no pro tour or new awesome equipment..Thats my oppinion and im sticking to it....!!