Best Boats Under 25 Grand

My dad wants to get rid of our 98 Centurion Elite V for a direct drive because he likes to slolam ski or whatever. The centurion throws a pretty mean wake and we have about 1100 lbs of ballast. If we get a new boat what would throw the best wake for a direct drive boat under 25 G's? Thanks

probably an older nauti or a MC x5 or x7. I used to have an x5 and it had a good wake with about 1000lbs in it.

If your talking about a brand new boat I can think of none under 25k. If you are talking used, I would look at a used Natique Super Sport or Mastercraft Prostar 205. I am not sure about the SS hull but the '96 and later 205 hulls are the same as the x-2 and throw great wakes.

If your dad is looking into a slolom ski,I wouldn't recomend a natique,MC 205 would be your best bet.Your dad will be happy and you,you'll be jumping for joy!

Get the 205DD. '96 or newer. Great boat. I miss it.

MC 205, CC Super Sport, or Malibu Sunsetter

The Nautique Super Sport is a vdrive, so for a direct drive, the used Nautiques with the best wakeboarding wake are the Sport Nautique and Air Nautique. Probably not great for "slolam ski or whatever", but why does dad need to know that? Just tell him it's a direct drive!

Look in the 4 sale section for boats, theres alot. Im sure youll find one you both like!

http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/8/221982.html?1119284174

Check it out.....

Here is my boat. It started out as a regular '97 Super Sport and now is pretty close to a super air. IMO, the best boat for 25k or under. . .

That Pro star is really clean and the engine looks BRAND NEW!

thanks Ed,
I think I take better care of it than I do myself.

yeah man!! That 205 is cleaner than my 2005 X-2! haha

I agree with the MC 205, it's what I have and it will do both skiing and wakeboarding great! Love mine!

I'll ditto on the 205 kudos. Another good boat is the 195 but there are less of them around. Keep your eyes open and don't be afraid to drive a little (or a lot) to get one. I drove 2780 miles to OK last year to get my 2000 205dd, saved around 5-7k and have never looked back.

Brian I emailed you about your boat.

The 205 is a pretty good wake boat, but it's a horrible slalom boat. Any Malibu Sunsetter LXi would make your dad happier. Also, the Malibu Sportsters can be weighted very nice, they are smaller, but are a great all around boat. Also, the Response LX boats are a decent size and can make a great wakeboard wake, while having a world class slalom wake. I'm just thinking with a 205, your dad isn't going to be much happier than with the Centurion. That wake on the 205 is really hard and unfriendly to slalom skiers, unless he is a 28off or better skier, it which case, most boats would be ok. That Super Sport looks really nice.

David,
I'm at work right now, goofing off obviously, so I'll get it this afternoon at home.

Davis,
The boarding wake behind my 205 is nice, solid, and rampy even without ballast. With two hidden 300lb sac's and a few people it retains the same shape only bigger. Can't agree or disagree with anyone about the slalom wake though, cause I don't. I've pulled some good skiers and they didn't complain, but I could definetly tell that it's not as flat as my friends centurion falcon sport. I think it's one of the most versatile boats you can find after all things are considered.

Is that Super Sport a V-drive? Great looking boat by the way.

Yes, the Super Sport is a v-drive. It is the same hull as the SAN's. Sorry about the post though. I didn't relize that Davis was looking for a cross-over boat. The super sport probably wouldn't be the best ski boat. I don't really know though since I never ski anymore.

Justin, so basically if you took a Super Sport and put a nice Flight Control tower on it with Flight Clips, added your own automatic ballast in the lockers, and added a perfect pass...you would basically have a kickass SAN?

Justin, so basically if you took a Super Sport and put a nice Flight Control tower on it with Flight Clips, added your own automatic ballast in the lockers, and added a perfect pass...you would basically have a kickass SAN?

that is exactly what he did. I did the same with mine with the help of Justin and a few others and I highly recommend it to anyone trying to get the best wakeboat you can for the money. He is right though, it isn't a cross over boat, even unweighted I can't see it being very good for skiing. A SS is a SAN just without the tower and other options.

Yep, exactly. I couldn't be happier with my boat, especially for the price I paid. I definitely recommend a SS if you are looking for a budget pro-class wakeboard boat. There are a few people on here who have done this with super sports and I haven't heard any of them regret doing it either.

Good job guys...you did it right, and for less money!...do you have any wakepics? Would like to see what your wakes look like if you have some.

I think I have some at home I can put up later tonight.

Justin and Scott,

did you retrofit the SAN plastic tanks in the rear storage lockers, or did you use sacs (or maybe both)?

If you used sacs, which ones did you use?

I used sacs as you can get a lot more weight in there and you have more storage space when they are empty. I used the straightline 440 lb. sides sacs in my two rear lockers for a total of approximately 880 lbs. in the back. I know a couple people have used the huge 20x20x50 fly high sacs in the back. But, if you use those, you have to make a bigger engine wall so the sacs don't fall onto the motor. I also had a custom sac made to the exact measurements of my front ski locker and it holds around 750 lbs.

Sounds like a SS is the way to go because it gives you that flexibility of extra weight and more storage for the ride home. I guess I haven't seen the engine wall, so I'm confused about the statement "you have to make a bigger engine wall so the sacs don't fall onto the motor." Is the sac to tall so it starts to spill over onto the engine?

Also, who made the custom sac, and what were the dimensions? I'll take note for when I can buy one. I'd rather duplicate something that is tried and true than have me try to go out and innovate.

David,

You're correct about the sacs falling over onto the engine because they are too tall. The walls beside the engine were pretty short on the older super sports. I had my custom sac made from boarders-paradise.com. I'm not sure what the dimensions are, but I just measured the ski locker and got the sac the same size. I am very happy with it so far.

Here is the best picture I have of my wake. It's not that great of a pic, but you get the idea. This is riding at 75' going 21.5 MPH with about 1700 lbs. of ballast and three people in the boat.

OK, I'm jealous. I guess I'd better start saving for an upgrade of the old Malibu.

I have custom sacs also, I have two in the vdrive that are about 525 lbs. and one in the ski locker that is about 750 lbs. and then I also fill one regular fat sac in the bow off of the ski locker pump. About 2300 lbs. total. I'm still looking into getting another 200 lbs. of lead or so. It's pretty funny rolling around with an older SS that cost a third of a new SAN that has a MUCH better wake. The wake is sick, I love it more then life itself!

sorry, by better I meant then a stock weighted SAN

I also have a older SS ('95) and am trasforming it into s SAN. I used sacs from Get High Sports, they make twin 450lb sacks for the back and a 750 pounder for the ski locker. The sacs are great and delivery was quick. I'm installing Perfect Pass this weekend and the tower should get delivered next week.

Justin/Scott how do you weight your boats for surfing?

I have a 2000 Calabria/Alpina & it's a great boat for dual sports. When the ballast is filled, the wake is huge!! I was really impressed that it rivals MC and Malibu. For your dad, just empty the ballast (takes just 15 seconds once you plain out) and at higher speeds the wake is super smooth for slalom skiing. Best of all, I paid under $20k for mine! Check them out. The Alpina's are harder to find, but I'm sure you could find a nice Calabria Cal-Air or ProComp for around the same price. Easiest ballast out there, no pumps needed.

This one is very clean and loaded, factory ballast system, tower, stereo etc. It's not a scam, the guy has had it up on my site for a while.

61% less fuel useage and 1/4 the maintenance of anything else.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4561476066

Psyclone - What's his reserve? What about delivery? Hour meter or guess?

I think it's around 150 hrs, these Lexus engines routinely go 3000+ hrs in a boat. If you visit my site you can talk to him directly about it, www.epicmarine.com, see the forum for details