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Here are my additional purchases when making the switch from a jet, upgraded Wakemaker's piggyback ballast bags $300, Wake/Surf prop so I could keep the stock prop as a spare $600, Prop puller kit/storage bag $170, Engine bay reinforcement kit for the upgraded bags $60, and 500 lbs in lead bags $590 to fine tune the wake.
You probably won't need much out the door to get on that thing and have some fun as long as you have a board. That's kind of the beauty of these things; they come with everything you need to get going from the factory. I have seen some really great prices on boards from evo.com if you need one. From what I have seen and heard, all these boats can use more weight to maximize their potential, especially with a light crew onboard, but I would order the boat with every ballast option and see how you feel about it once you surf it. I have also heard that on those, the power wedge is the way you want to go over the floater (I think they might all come with the power wedge now?)
Is the 105K the "list" price, or a negotiated price? If it is list, be aware that typically there is a LOT of difference between that price and what you'll actually pay. It is not at all uncommon to come down 15-20% and sometimes more. If the bottom line is $105K, I'd just encourage you to be aware that this puts you into a range where there are quite a large number of boats to choose from. Nothing wrong with the A24 at all - that's a lot of boat - but at that price definitely consider shopping across virtually all brands.
Never mind about that last post of mine! Congrats on the new boat! It's a beast for sure!Thanks @d_coyne1984
Well.... we did pull the trigger on the A24. We however bought one off the lot so we don't really get to add anything from the factory. Not many boats to choose from in the western US right now. It does have the Power Wedge 3 and the M6Di motor, mid-range stereo but I will fix that! LOT's of room the little snorkel heaters the sliding rear seat, retractable seat backs on each side. Once I get the full list I will publish it. Looks like I will be participating on the Malibu Crew forums as well.
Pictures to come...
Thanks OrangeTJ!! Yep about 14% less plus 2K in pro shop credit! MSRP was 110k. We need boards and goodies so I feel we did okay. Also received 35% off last years boards and gear! My wife is happy and well you know the saying....
We will pick it up on the 7th and head directly to Lake Powell for a week starting on the 12th! I do like that they order all of their boats with the biggest motor option!
@haknslash .....as a former dedicated slalom skier (competitive level) I started with a California J Craft with a big Merc behind it. Then came a Moomba then a Tige. They were all awesome ski boats - the latter two also great wake boats. Personally, I'd buy the Moomba unless you are top tier competitive qualified. That said - never, never , never compare any of them them to a Yamaha Jet Boat if talking price. Buying a wake boat is just the BEGINNING of your expenses. They are hellacious on gas. Even with the best maintenance (my friend's marina - Supra dealer - has two dedicated factory trained transmission specialists on year round contract - guess why that is?) These boats are geared for super pulling power at low speeds PERIOD. If you have the $$$$$ great for you - you'll need them! The cost of use and maintenance of a Yamaha Jet Boat is a total joke compared to running a dedicated wake boat. Plus my SX195 will beat the pants off any wake boat out there - in acceleration. Come back after a two seasons of use and tell me different, I'd be interested in your perspective. Cheers MTI went to the boat show today in Birmingham and crawled over a lot of boats, mainly the surf boats though. I think this may be the next type of boat I end up getting unless there's some kind of real surf advancement in jet boats in the next few years. A lot of the wake boats are way out of my price range and well into six figures but the budget wake boats are something I could see myself getting into one day.
For me the new Moomba Max really is an amazing machine for the money IMHO. I spoke with a very nice and patient gentleman who works at the factory in TN and he was glad to go over all the details about the boat and explained a lot of the things I had wanted to know about v-drives. You can just see there is a lot of thought put into these boats and they certainly have a Supra feel to them at about half the price. The A2 tower is spring assisted and counter balanced so one person can take them down. There are no bolts to screw in to lock the tower
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Something I did not realize is Moomba boats have the Supra heritage and share the same lower hull design. The Supra boats have the newer Flow 3.0 surf system where as Moomba has the Flow 2.0 for this year. I compared both the bottom hulls out back and they looked damn near identical. Supras are known for a good, dry ride even in rough water so this was good to see!..
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It felt near every bit as nice as the Supra SE450 that was sitting across from it. The seats were thick, well stitched materials and were super comfy. What I really liked about the Max was the extreme deep storage all throughout the boat, hence it's name. The rear lockers seemed deep enough my 8 year old daughter could have stood straight up in there and I still could have closed the hatch! I wished I took a pic of how deep the rear lockers were it was unbelievable! I'd say about 4' deep storage if not more lol. The engine hatch had a deep plastic tub you can place towels or whatever one to heat them up for cold days. It was equipped with the Raptor 400 engine by Indmar and they also make a 440 version. This one was already equipped with the larger prop for surfing.
The bottoms of the cockpit storage areas are super deep as well with nice touches like a rubber mat material at the bottom so there's no worry of placing something in there wet and getting the carpet soaked. The rest is finished in carpet but also all the edges are finished inside every compartment. The fiberglass has a rolled inner edge so there is no snagging from rough, unfinished edges like in our boats. It's little details like that go a long ways to me when shopping for a next boat. This image does not do justice how deep the side storage was...
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The tech you can put in this boat also carries over from the Supra boats. In addition to the Flow 2.0 surf system you can also get the AutoWake 2.0 with Predictive Wake system which measures every 10th of a second the pitch and roll attitude of the boat and adjust the ballast accordingly. So if anyone moves while you're surfing the system will compensate automatically giving you a more consistent wave every time no matter the load or people placement. Sitting at the helm the display is offset and I really liked that on the Max as it gives you a very clear and straight path looking ahead. All of the controls, toggles and buttons felt of great quality like they would last. The captain's chair was easy to get in and out of unlike my 192 that sits much lower and has some cutouts that make it harder to get in and out of. This seat was taller and had a more traditional L-shape but also had enough boltster to hold you in and it felt very comfy. The flip-up bolster was wide and thick which gave a nice support...
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Over on the other side I really loved how deep the glove box was and also that you can access it from the side access door. I also liked that the sides were padded and stitched nicely which on some wake boat brands its just bare gelcoat like on our boats. I prefer it padded for a nicer look but to also keep the gelcoat from getting scratches from boards or people...
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The spotters seat back hatch is gas assisted and swings up to access the batteries and battery switch. The amps and battery tender were also mounted in this area. I liked that you can access this storage area even from the bow which also had gas assisted seat backs that swing up.. This is looking from the bow area...
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This boat has a beam of 102" so it felt very roomy and wide like our Yamaha boats do. The bow of this boat is not quite traditional bow shape but not quite a pickle fork design either, kind of a mix in between. It had an optional bow filler on this boat, with me at 5'10" sitting in the bow corner I wasn't quite able to fully extend my legs straight out but almost. However the width and wrap around padded seating still felt plenty comfy if I were hanging out up there all day and it still felt plenty huge. The padding of the cushions on this boat really stood out to me compared to some of the other boats.
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I gotta say that for the price of starting out at $60k well equipped with a tandem axle trailer, this really makes the Yamaha "Wake" specific models just seem overpriced if you're buying a boat for watersports. There is enough room on this boat for plenty of hanging out, even at the rear as we all like to enjoy on our Yamaha swim platforms. This really makes upgrading to a 21-24' jetboat for surfing not really an ideal situation for me. One thing I really love about our boats is the lack of maintenance, winterizing, low draft, etc but at the same time I can see myself forgoing those things in favor for a boat that would require a little more maintenance, would need winterizing, has a draft of 27.5" if it has storage for days and will make a hell of a surf wave without a ton of fuss, regardless of people moving around. It just seems like a real winner for the price. I wouldn't be able to get a boat like this until we likely move or I would need to pay for storage or at a marina so there's extra cost involved with a boat like this but man it just seems like a ton of fun can be had without having to stuff bags in all your storage or across the seats on our boats. I hate to say it but I may go to the dark side one day I can swing a boat like this. I thought this was an awesome boat that has no wood, craftsmanship was oozing out of it for not a ton of money compared to say a 212 X or even the more expensive 242 X. I'd likely need to upgrade the rear end ratio in my truck to get me by and to pull a boat this big (boat and trailer are 5,700 lbs) but I plan on upgrading tow rigs in a few years. That new redesigned Dodge Ram sure would be nice to find a one-owner used one in a few years!
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As I've been half considering taking a peek at one, the biggest thing I can't get around is the absolutely worthless reverse handling of an inboard or v-drive. How could a 100k+ boat have so much technology in it and STILL not be able to maneuver in reverse - you would think there would be a tech fix for that issue, at that price range.
@anmut agreed. These boats are designed to hold true tournament speed with slalom skiers, like me, at 6'6" and 220 pounds on a 41 off line pulling to round a buoy while maintaining a straight line or to create and hold a perfect curl tidal wave for surfers.....backing-up is an afterthought and if anyone has to ask the price or purchasing and maintaining one of these they are at the wrong showroom
I "lol" everytime I see a picture of one because it looks like a child put a lego boat model together wrong... honestly, it's a neat idea, but you're still buying an IO, and now you're buying an IO that runs deeper than a normal IO and goes nose first into everything. If you're only, and always, on deep water, I'd say I would try it. Otherwise, pass.
I know what you mean on the looks. The lake we boat on is deep with steep banks so I wouldn't worry about running into the bottom rather the occasional log in the water. You hear of 6-10 boats a year doing serious outdrive damage due to logs and I feel like the forward facing prop would just act as a hook the catch even more, but have nothing factual I can find to validate that.
They are surfable, but are best for young kids just learning. They don't get a ton of push for larger adults which will make learning any tricks that much harder. They are fun to drive though.
Not sure if you've read through the whole thread but we ended up buying the Moomba Max. It has been great and I can say that after 2 seasons with it I would not go back to a jet. At least not if surfing is at all high on the priority list. My 192 did 49 mph and we don't miss the speed at all. As you know, these wake boats are not made for speed they're made for pulling a bunch of weight. We cruise all the time 23-30 mph or so and it's fine for us and caring about speed just doesn't matter when you drive one of these things, at least for me it isn't.
The reason they don't have amazing reverse handling is because the rudder is what steers the boat. In order for it to have anyt effect it has to has water forced past it, much the same as a jet must have thrust in order to steer. The problem with the rudder being non-existent is because around docks you will never get it fast enough for the rudder to have influence on steering, unlike when going in forward the prop's thrust is in direct path of the rudder. Learning to reverse in these boats is just something you learn like a skill. Just like learning to control the wandering of a jetboat with minimal thrust being applied around a dock. You learn in a jet how oyu need thrust and you learn in a vdrive what direction your prop rotation is (most pull to the right when in reverse). This is a skill you learn and to this day I do not dock on the port side unless I have tons of room on the starboard. It's just something you learn. I can spin my Max in nearly the length of itself just by going into and out of forward and reverse with minimal throttle effort simple due to prop rotation effect. I have videos on my channel showing how to use this to your advantage and crapwalk the stern into the dock. Before long it's natural and no biggie.
The forward facing surf boats won't put out near the same level of wave as a surf or wake boat. so if getting one for surfing then you're going to better off a surf boat. But if you like the idea of having an outdrive and also want to make an ok wave then those are appealing to those kinds of people. As far as worry about hitting something I can say I've seen plenty of prop strikes on the vdrive groups lol it comes with the territory but I can say for certain I'd rather wreck a $600 prop than I would whatever the thousands of dollars for a destroyed outdrive lol.