Thoughts and demo rides of wake / towsports boats: Moomba Max, Axis A22, MB Sports

[DavisAR195]

I was talking to the local dealership after they took out the new F24 and curious how the wave stacked up against the Centurions. They told me they still needed to play around with it a lot more but so far nowhere near the wave that Centurions produce.

 

[OrangeTJ]

I do think they are having a bit of issue with the surf wave on the new 24. Lots of talk on the mb owners forum. The B52 23 is known for its awesome wave. I'd personally rate the wave behind my own F22 as right in line with the best I've been on, including a G23, Malibu LSV23 and Axis T22.

 

[haknslash]

We have actually been looking at these boats rather closely and the wife and I are liking them. The only thing i don't like is dealer support is 400 miles away.

Yea that was the deal killer for us as well. We have one dealer and he’s honestly not too far away being 1.5 hours away ...BUT... he seemed to run a very small dealership. He only had two boats on his entire lot and they were both in a less than appealing “showroom”. Just didn’t give off the vibe I would have relatively quick service turn around in the middle of summer. He was a very nice guy and willing to go all over the details of the boat and history of MB but they just aren’t widely supported here in the south or east coast from what I gather. I really wanted to like the F22 and he made me a nice offer but ultimately passed for fear one day his dealership would be gone since it was small single family owned operation. He did have a good review from other customs but just didn’t feel comfortable rolling the dice. They are nice boats and I wouldn’t have minded owning one had I felt easier in my gut in regards to dealer service.

With these boats they are hand built and sure you hope you never have an issue but sometimes one will pop up. I had an issue on the water on mine where my speedo was reading way off because I had my triducer recently replaced and the tech didn’t quite have the arrow aligned. Called my dealer and the they sent a tech like rapid response to meet me at the dock so that we could ride around to dial in the speedo / triducer angle and not mess up my surfing day. I am not sure the smaller MB dealer in my state has the resources to handle calls from all over and help service people on the water. I’d probably have to line up appointments and drop the boat off which sometimes isn’t ideal if it’s a simple fix they can handle on the water. It’s nothing against MB or anything as I would feel the same if it were a small scale Moomba, Yamaha or whomever dealer. I guess my point is for me and if buying new it’s best for me to have a dealer close that can support their product and customers. Happy boat hunting!!

 

[OrangeTJ]

No disagreement there. Having a good dealer nearby is a very good thing.

 

[ripler]

Found my next boat. I just need to sell a few things first.

 

[OrangeTJ]

Yeah....that's pretty steep! A regular ol plain Jane G23 at $170K is still okay, I guess. I mean, for a value priced boat.

 

[MattFX4]

Heads up for anyone who gets Boating magazine with Raptor powered boats. Looks like an interesting article in the most recent edition. Haven’t had time to read yet, but plan to later tonight.

 

[haknslash]

Wakemakers hasn't put this up on their site yet but geez combined with the WM rear kit + stock center/front ballast that would bring the boat to 5,340 lbs! Of course someone would lose all front bow storage but damn that's a lot of water ballast!

 

[MattFX4]

Wakemakers hasn't put this up on their site yet but geez combined with the WM rear kit + stock center/front ballast that would bring the boat to 5,340 lbs! Of course someone would lose all front bow storage but damn that's a lot of water ballast!

View attachment 112008

Do it!

 

[MattFX4]

Damn, what a beast. Wonder how fuel economy is with the power wedge and supercharger? Yikes!

 

[haknslash]

Geez. Probably 20 gph with wedge deployed

 

[d_coyne1984]

Damn, what a beast. Wonder how fuel economy is with the power wedge and supercharger? Yikes!

View attachment 112016

Marketing LIES!

PCM has one too. Same GM block...


It would be interesting to see at what RPM's PCM's power peaks at compared to it's Monsoon brethren, but I couldn't find any data on it.

 

[haknslash]

 

[BigAbe75]

I finally worked up the courage to message Wake9 tonight after watching that video, to ask about a possible full Makai review. He said he still plans to produce it. He said he’s tried on 2 different outings now, had crummy weather on both and a dead drone on one. So, no eta... but I’m going to keep hoping. ?

 

[d_coyne1984]

This guy is awesome. And I really wish my boat had a pitch and roll display. I am definitely trying out that app this summer. If I am lucky, I can be on the water in two months and start getting the new boat all dialed in with the added weight. It's killing me this year.

 

[d_coyne1984]

I have had some correspondence with ACME about prop recommendations for my boat so I thought I would pass a long some of the info in case anyone else could benefit. I ordered the factory surf prop with my boat which I found out is a 1235 (14.5x14.25 with .105 cup). With this prop I have about 2" from the prop guard and 2.5" from the hull. My max speed with 3 people is about 36mph. My boat has a 1.72:1 gear ratio and a 1-1/8" prop shaft.

ACME recommends a minimum of 3/4-1" blade tip to hull clearance. They said with surf boats, diameter is everything. Everything else is secondary. They recommended the 3407 (15.5x13 with .150 cup) for my boat which he said would have very minimal impact on my top speed, but improve my acceleration. I assume the small top end adjustment comes from less slip with a larger prop and a slightly larger cup. Unfortunately the one they are recommending is an $800+ prop that is an odd size so the chances of getting a re-manufactured one is very unlikely.

They were really good about getting back to me the next day. I would love to sit down and have a beer with one of these people and get into more specifics, but I would definitely ask their opinion if you are thinking about a new prop.

 

[DavisAR195]

I have had some correspondence with ACME about prop recommendations for my boat so I thought I would pass a long some of the info in case anyone else could benefit. I ordered the factory surf prop with my boat which I found out is a 1235 (14.5x14.25 with .105 cup). With this prop I have about 2" from the prop guard and 2.5" from the hull. My max speed with 3 people is about 36mph. My boat has a 1.72:1 gear ratio and a 1-1/8" prop shaft.

ACME recommends a minimum of 3/4-1" blade tip to hull clearance. They said with surf boats, diameter is everything. Everything else is secondary. They recommended the 3407 (15.5x13 with .150 cup) for my boat which he said would have very minimal impact on my top speed, but improve my acceleration. I assume the small top end adjustment comes from less slip with a larger prop and a slightly larger cup. Unfortunately the one they are recommending is an $800+ prop that is an odd size so the chances of getting a re-manufactured one is very unlikely.

They were really good about getting back to me the next day. I would love to sit down and have a beer with one of these people and get into more specifics, but I would definitely ask their opinion if you are thinking about a new prop.

It's interesting that you bring up props as I just purchased one myself. The new boat comes with the OJ 805 for a 1-1/8" prop shaft with a 1.5:1 gear ratio. I will be upgrading the overflow ballast bags which will add an additional 620lbs of ballast and I plan on adding an additional 300lbs of lead. The current top speed with the 5.7 ilmor engine and the OJ 805 is 38 mph.

I posed the question on the Mastercraft FB group looking for feedback as wakemakers recommends two different props for Wake surfing the OJ 815 (14.75X14.5) and the ACME 2241 (15X14.25 with .150 cup). The feedback from the FB group was pretty much unanimous for the ACME 2241. I also order the ACME weekend saver kit w/c-clamp puller so I can swap out the OJ 805 with the ACME 2241 and keep the OJ as my backup.

On a side note I search wakemakers and it didn't look like they currently carry the ACME 3407 as the bulk of their props are currently on sale. I got the ACME 2241, regularly $759.00 for $575.99.

 

[d_coyne1984]

It's interesting that you bring up props as I just purchased one myself. The new boat comes with the OJ 805 for a 1-1/8" prop shaft with a 1.5:1 gear ratio. I will be upgrading the overflow ballast bags which will add an additional 620lbs of ballast and I plan on adding an additional 300lbs of lead. The current top speed with the 5.7 ilmor engine and the OJ 805 is 38 mpg.

I posed the question on the Mastercraft FB group looking for feedback as wakemakers recommends two different props for Wake surfing the OJ 815 (14.75X14.5) and the ACME 2241 (15X14.25 with .150 cup). The feedback from the FB group was pretty much unanimous for the ACME 2241. I also order the ACME weekend saver kit w/c-clamp puller so I can swap out the OJ 805 with the ACME 2241 and keep the OJ as my backup.

On a side note I search wakemakers and it didn't look like they currently carry the ACME 3407 as the bulk of their props are currently on sale. I got the ACME 2241, regularly $759.00 for $575.99.

Yeah, think it might be a new item because he said he had a 3407 test unit they could sell me for $729. That's still more than I wanted to commit to right now so I may hit them up later for that if he still has it. I was looking at the 2249 which is almost the exact same as yours but with the .105 cup. It would be the exact thing i have on my boat now plus .5". I just don't know how much difference .5" would make. I may try calling them so I can have a better conversation about it.

 

[haknslash]

This guy is awesome. And I really wish my boat had a pitch and roll display. I am definitely trying out that app this summer. If I am lucky, I can be on the water in two months and start getting the new boat all dialed in with the added weight. It's killing me this year.

I got Autowake mainly for the ability to see pitch and roll values and the launch feature. I have not used it enough since I had stock ballast and a lighter crew but I do plan to mess around with it more this season with the additional ballast. My first results using it weren’t that great along with many others complains but those who seem to stick with it and learn the system and how to interpret the values in correspondence to what the boat likes but they seem to like it. A lot of wakeboarders really like using it and most surfers use it mai it to check roll and pitch values but disengage Autowake so it won’t alter ballast. As Robert explained in the video though it’s all about learning displacement, roll and pitch together and not just displacement (ballast).

One of the few times I used Autowake it was pretty cool to see the settings and how the wave would look different with just a degree here or there. It is a fine balance to learn but Autowake gives you the visual tools to make sense of it once you learn it. I just haven’t used it enough to learn it but will have vids on it I’m sure at some point this season.

 

[MattFX4]

wake9 guys are very responsive and engaged. I commented about setting up my SL because I know they used to have one and he responded shortly after. Going to use his recommendations as a starting point and see how the wave is.