MC X7 seaworthiness

What are anyones's feelings about the seaworthiness of the X7?

I have long thought a boat should be able to idle through whatever wake it manages to produce.

The new "nose down" designs along with zero bow flare and very little hull lift when kids are in the bow is inconvenient at best.

We call it the amphibious seat or the hot tub depending on water temp.

Yesterday I would have swamped the boat (with 3 up front) had I not backed out of the failed push through the waves. My driving went from "get the kids wet" to "save the crew and boat" in 3 seconds.

I'd appreciate others thoughts.

Yes, I know about the 1,500 rpm rule and mostly practice it. In 30 years of driving several boats I've never had to work so hard to keep things dry... quartering into the waves, taking waves from the side, and powering through chop.

Thanks much,

Rob

I would summarize my feelings on your question by saying that realistically, the X7 is really a PS197, which in turn is really a PS190 with a cutout in the bow. It is a hull purpose built for competitive slalom skiing. MC adds a tower and some plumbed in ballast and calls it a crossover boat but it wasn't designed that way.

I would venture to tell you that anyone at MC would recommend a different (read: larger) boat for your needs if you consistently find yourself on choppy water or having a large enough crew that you need to stack people in the bow.

As far as getting swamped by your own wake, you should be able to minimize this. If you don't powerturn (a term which you will see a lot on this site) you should be able to minimize the occurences of dunking the bow. Simply put when pulling if the rider falls, come off the throttle while still going the same way you were pulling, once you are down to an idle you can make your turn and your own wake should've spread out behind you so no huge rollers to contend with.

Realistically you aren't going to hurt anything by dunking the bow assuming your crew doesn't get washed out in the process. Make sure though that you pull everything apart to dry out the boat thoroughly after use. When that much water comes in it tends to find every little nook and cranny where it can hide and turn into mold.

Let me be the first to welcome you to WakeWorld!

(Message edited by jdrcrew8 on July 17, 2008)

I've driven the 197 with 200lb+ men in the bow and not swamped it. You just need to go above idle and get to nose up, and keep it up through all 3 rollers. also when turning around, stop the boat to idle and then turn around, by then your waves have dispersed far enough you can drive back down your previous path. I have an old 190 closed bow, and have to take on 40ft+ yacht waves every weekend, you just have to gas it and learn how to work over the waves.

Couldn't you just jump those adub?

Pretty much do, best if you land on the upside or top of the next wave, but then you're looking at dipping it into the third. Not gonna lie, I've dipped it plenty of times on those, just takes time to figure it out. I can tell you an 89 MC hull is sturdy.

In the tournament ski world, you never cross your own wakes, except at speed. You drop at each end of the slalom course to take off rope length. You can "spin" at the end of the lake to re-enter the course, but the boat is at speed. For a fall, the boat drops all speed to idle before turning to pick up the skier. No power turns allowed.

The bow is very low so that you can see all of the boat guide buoys all of the time. It was designed for a particular purpose (3-event skiing) and it is one of the best at it. It can be used for wakeboarding, but it is a compromise.

With 3 upfront, I'd like to see you never swamp it, that would be talent! Agree with above, Karl's got a good explanation.

There's a driving technique for most boats. I've never driven a newer XStar but I've seen a few comments on how to avoid dunking the nose when slammed.

Like has been said before, just stop, wait for your waves to pass you, turn around, and no bow dipping! It was made for tourney skiing, and is the best boat for that, not handling rough water. It just takes some practice to get used to its capabilities, but once you get it, there are no problems.

I have a 2000 MB and when it's loaded with one person in the front the bow is about 8 inches out of the water. Like everyone else said you have to slow then turn after the wake goes by otherwise yes you do need to stay on the throttle a bit to keep the nose up.

I understand what you mean as there are days that we want to just put around but can't because boat chop or waves caused wind will easily curl over my bow or dunk on every other wave. It's just the way it is. Most new boats have a deeper v hull but at the same time the sides of the boat are a lot higher then they used to be so the boats sit off the water a bit better.

Thankyou one and all. I appreciate your insights; better skippering is required.

I wasn't surprised about getting wet, that was in fact the goal. However, I did not expect to imitate a crank bait.

I had expected the hull to provide lift and plow for the surface, the way a chisel lifts or falls away from the face. Now we know! Thanks again.

Rob