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

[OrangeTJ]

The prop is waaaaay more efficient than jet pumps when things get heavy. My MB loaded for surfing weighs about 11,000 lbs. and burns 10 gph surfing. With ballast empty I’m sitting at about 5800 pounds and cruising fuel burn is around 6 gph.

Regarding the pic of the kid surfing backward it looks to me like he is just finishing up a 180. The wave is just showing the indentation from his board.

 

[haknslash]

I agree @OrangeTJ . Thuse numbers fall in line with what most people get on the Moomba forums. Anywhere from 5-7 gph cruising to 7-10 gph ballasted depending on boat and gear. It takes a bit of throttle finesse or constantly adjust rpm-based cruise assist to get 6 gph in a AR192 as its just off planing speeds. If you make the slightest turn the speed scrubs off and you have to compensate with more throttle which makes it difficult to sustain. When using a lot of ballast in the AR192 the RPM's are I want to say around 6700 and gph tanks dramatically. Anything approaching 7000 RPM is going to be near or above 20 gph.

 

[haknslash]

Alright I found a 2018 Max pic on the internet that had a similar paint scheme except it had a black rub rail, black chrome emblems and a black trailer. I made another photoshopped edit giving it a white rub rail, chrome emblem and dark graphite trailer to give me a better idea of what my build will look like. Man this wait is going to seem like FOREVER if I'm going to sit around photoshopping boats until she arrives !! BTW i never realized how much better the new A3 tower on the 2019's looks compared to the older A2 but I am glad of the change as it flows with the boat better, especially at the base. The pic below is of the older A2 tower and the base just looks sort of unfinished compared to how the A3 looks, so disregard that lol.

As much as I'd love to have a white trailer my dealer made good points about it being a royal PITA to keep clean with rock chips, nicks, rust and stuff. I didn't want a black trailer and the pacific blue paint was going to look too off from the ultra blue flake, so I went with a shade lighter in dark graphite. I think it still flows pretty well with the boat scheme. What do you guys think?

 

[MidnightRider]

Alright I found a 2018 Max pic on the internet that had a similar paint scheme except it had a black rub rail, black chrome emblems and a black trailer. I made another photoshopped edit giving it a white rub rail, chrome emblem and dark graphite trailer to give me a better idea of what my build will look like. Man this wait is going to seem like FOREVER if I'm going to sit around photoshopping boats until she arrives !! BTW i never realized how much better the new A3 tower on the 2019's looks compared to the older A2 but I am glad of the change as it flows with the boat better, especially at the base. The pic below is of the older A2 tower and the base just looks sort of unfinished compared to how the A3 looks, so disregard that lol.

As much as I'd love to have a white trailer my dealer made good points about it being a royal PITA to keep clean with rock chips, nicks, rust and stuff. I didn't want a black trailer and the pacific blue paint was going to look too off from the ultra blue flake, so I went with a shade lighter in dark graphite. I think it still flows pretty well with the boat scheme. What do you guys think?

That's a really beautiful boat! I been really enjoying your process and the fun you've been having getting to this point. Can't wait to see you post some pics on the water and with a surfer behind it!

 

[haknslash]

Well just changed my trailer to black. I swear I need to stop waffling on the colors of it and my salesman has to be like STAHP lol. Would love white but I know it would get trashed after a few years of lots of highway use.

 

[haknslash]

That's a really beautiful boat! I been really enjoying your process and the fun you've been having getting to this point. Can't wait to see you post some pics on the water and with a surfer behind it!

Thanks man I think it's going to look really nice on the water! That blue flake and white should pop pretty nice in the water. The wait is going to be the hard part now but I'm trying to figure out ways to kill time. It sucks I can't really use my Yamaha if we get a nice warm day until the new boat arrives. I mean I could but no way I'm going to take it out in fear something would happen to it before the trade.

When the new boat arrives I'll have all sort of detailed pics and videos in a new thread. I've looked at this boat so much for over a year now and it's crazy to think I finally made the switch/jump to v drive. I will need to learn how to dock all over again as it is a different beast in reverse but with in/out of forward reverse they can pivot around nice and smooth. I think coming from a jet boat should give me a little help since they don't handle great slow speed either and you have to learn technique or get fins. My dealership is moving my build slot to the top of their allotment with Skiers Choice so I'm hoping on a April or early May delivery.

 

[MattFX4]

Well just changed my trailer to black. I swear I need to stop waffling on the colors of it and my salesman has to be like STAHP lol. Would love white but I know it would get trashed after a few years of lots of highway use.

Lol man this is why I would have to buy one off the lot somewhere. I think I would drive myself f’ing crazy picking out colors. I’m indecisive as hell.

 

[haknslash]

The thing is, I'm not normally this indecisive but for some reason this is bringing it out of me

 

[spatty99]

Reverse is my number one complaint going to v drive.

 

[haknslash]

Reverse is my number one complaint going to v drive.

It is going to be interesting to learn for sure. I think I understand the prop rotation and using it to your advantage but I need some seat time to really grasp it. I was able to manuever my jet boat in really tight areas with good precision because I learned how to use thrust and f/r modulation to get the boat to rotate in the direction I wanted even though jets typically don't reverse well in one direction vs the other either kind of like v drive.

I watch videos like this to try and learn what the driver is doing with small inputs in and out of forward and reverse with no throttle input needed to get it to spin. Just using prop rotation to his advantage. I think like anything practice makes perfect, I kept practicing using TDE and NWM to learn the technique of smooth precise docking with a jet. A lot of people just get frustrated and immediately run out to buy fins to help but I think v drive will take a same time of practice makes perfect skill set,

I have no idea how I'm going to do this when I want to put the port side against the dock. I think I'll stick to starboard side docking for a while haha. This young man does make it seem easy but I want to say his prop spins opposite of how the Moomba does. Still a good video to watch and pick up some tips.

 

[OrangeTJ]

You'll figure out reverse. It is definitely a learning curve though. Basically if you need to back up to port, you just engage reverse momentarily - just long enough to get the boat moving backward - then use the rudder to keep the stern going the way you want, then momentarily engage forward and and steer to starboard (bringing the stern to port) - then back to reverse, and so on. Tricky in heavy wind, less so in calm conditions.

By the way, the color is gorgeous. Friend of mine has a Malibu in basically that same color and it looks beautiful on the water.

 

[haknslash]

I'm sure I'll pick up the handling, I like a challenge so long as I don't feel like I need to drink a shot or two afterwards from the stress lol. I plan to use the same learning method I did when I first got my jet boat, by tossing out a fender in open water to practice pulling up next to it.

Got a text message back from my salesman on changing my trailer color to black. He know he must be annoyed with me by now because I think I've swapped the colors to him like 3 times at least since he sent in the build last week lol. He said it's no biggie to change it and he'll take care of it on Tuesday. I told him he's the freakin man for putting up with me hahaha. He will get a nice shoutout in my owner review vid once we take possession that's for sure. The dealer has been so good to me for this long and glad I went with them. Time will of course tell post-sale but they have great reviews and a lot of repeat customers so that says something for them I think. Hopefully won't have to rely on them. I don't see a lot of first year issues with new Moomba owners so it seems like the factory does a good job building these boats but of course no mfg is perfect.

Hoping for build number next week so I can start counting the days down! Only thing that sucks aside from the wait is making payments on my Yamaha as it sits knowing I'm not going to risk using it lol.

 

[the MfM]

FWIW I’ve got a 19 year old WHITE boat trailer and it still looks pretty sharp.

 

[tabbibus]

It is going to be interesting to learn for sure. I think I understand the prop rotation and using it to your advantage but I need some seat time to really grasp it. I was able to manuever my jet boat in really tight areas with good precision because I learned how to use thrust and f/r modulation to get the boat to rotate in the direction I wanted even though jets typically don't reverse well in one direction vs the other either kind of like v drive.

I watch videos like this to try and learn what the driver is doing with small inputs in and out of forward and reverse with no throttle input needed to get it to spin. Just using prop rotation to his advantage. I think like anything practice makes perfect, I kept practicing using TDE and NWM to learn the technique of smooth precise docking with a jet. A lot of people just get frustrated and immediately run out to buy fins to help but I think v drive will take a same time of practice makes perfect skill set,

I have no idea how I'm going to do this when I want to put the port side against the dock. I think I'll stick to starboard side docking for a while haha. This young man does make it seem easy but I want to say his prop spins opposite of how the Moomba does. Still a good video to watch and pick up some tips.

Do you have any good videos for a Yamaha noob?

 

[OrangeTJ]

A lot of people just get frustrated and immediately run out to buy fins to help but I think v drive will take a same time of practice makes perfect skill set,

I think you'll find that the totally locked-in tracking of the V-drive will make the vast majority of boat handling situations much simpler than you've gotten used to. Jets have an advantage for pure manueverability (particularly twins), but in any situation where straight line tracking is desired, the midship tracking fins and rudder of the v-drive are soooooooo nice. You can easily put one of these boat in forward idle, point it toward the buoy line hundreds of yards away, give no more steering input and you will get pretty much exactly to the point you started off for. Or, get lined up for your trailer under idle power, drop to neutral and just coast straight in. On my own Yamaha SX210 (even with fins), letting go of the wheel for even a couple of seconds in idle speed meant spinning in circles. Easy enough - just don't let go of the wheel and maintain constant small course corrections - but it underscores a substantial difference between the two systems.

 

[haknslash]

I think you'll find that the totally locked-in tracking of the V-drive will make the vast majority of boat handling situations much simpler than you've gotten used to. Jets have an advantage for pure manueverability (particularly twins), but in any situation where straight line tracking is desired, the midship tracking fins and rudder of the v-drive are soooooooo nice. You can easily put one of these boat in forward idle, point it toward the buoy line hundreds of yards away, give no more steering input and you will get pretty much exactly to the point you started off for. Or, get lined up for your trailer under idle power, drop to neutral and just coast straight in. On my own Yamaha SX210 (even with fins), letting go of the wheel for even a couple of seconds in idle speed meant spinning in circles. Easy enough - just don't let go of the wheel and maintain constant small course corrections - but it underscores a substantial difference between the two systems.

Thank you for your valued input my man!

This young guy does a pretty good job explaining driving these boats. Even at the 6:26 mark he starts talking reverse again and mentions exactly what you described earlier for trying to swing the boat opposite of the prop rotation. He calls it "hooking the rudder" but the way he described it seems pretty much like you suggested earlier.

 

[haknslash]

Do you have any good videos for a Yamaha noob?

This should help you retrieve and use the methods around the dock https://jetboaters.net/threads/how-i-use-no-wake-mode-and-tde-to-retrieve-my-boat.17161/ . The key to jet boating is you must use thrust if you want the boat to go where you want it. Fins help but no matter what you will always need thrust to direct the boat. These boats can be maneuvered in tight quarters even bone stock. Just takes some practice. That's why I recommend people go in a large cove, toss out a fender without the line of course and then practice pulling up next to it over and over from different angles and sides. Before long you will get the hang of it. It's much easier and less stressful using a soft floating fender as a tool to learn than a real stationary object like a dock lol.

 

[OnTheWater]

Thank you for your valued input my man!

This young guy does a pretty good job explaining driving these boats. Even at the 6:26 mark he starts talking reverse again and mentions exactly what you described earlier for trying to swing the boat opposite of the prop rotation. He calls it "hooking the rudder" but the way he described it seems pretty much like you suggested earlier.

When I had my Malibu 24 MXZ during the past 2 years, I found that one of the best ways to steer in reverse was by popping it into forward for a quick sec with the steering wheel turned to get the stern facing the direction I wanted. Then, straighten the wheel out and pop it in to reverse (quick and few bursts) to get it going. You’ll get the swing of it easily.

 

[spatty99]

The build quality on my Helix was excellent. Only issue I've noticed after 40+ hours was a single loose nut under the dash.

 

[haknslash]

Found out my F150 hitch is not going to cut it and I will need to go with a Class IV to pull the boat and trailer. Thankfully mine appears to be a direct swap of my stock receiver unlike some of the newer Ford’s. A guy on the Moomba forum suggested I look into the Curt Class IV hitch Class 4 Trailer Hitch with 2" Receiver. It’s a little more expensive than others I’ve found but it is rated for 10,000 lbs even though I’d never pull anything near that high. What are you Class IV hitch guys using?