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

[BigAbe75]

Saw a video of the new Malibu M240, I think it’s called, yesterday. That one looks pretty slick too.

 

[haknslash]

I saw that boat last night as well. I love the folding lower swim deck like Sea-Ray (I think) does. I suppose they license their patent to them. Wished more swim decks were made with the folding piece. I also like how they did the sliding cooler. You don’t lose storage space and it’s easily accessible while also being out of the way.

 

[d_coyne1984]

I saw that boat last night as well. I love the folding lower swim deck like Sea-Ray (I think) does. I suppose they license their patent to them. Wished more swim decks were made with the folding piece. I also like how they did the sliding cooler. You don’t lose storage space and it’s easily accessible while also being out of the way.

That trailer parking brake is a sweet idea as I unhitch a lot in different places.

 

[MattFX4]

Sweet boat, but damn it's like $290k msrp.

 

[BigAbe75]

Sweet boat, but damn it's like $290k msrp.

Holy cow!!!

 

[BigAbe75]

Did Wake9 ever finish their full review of the Makai? I saw a teaser that said full video coming but have never been able to find it.

Also, that video said the new Malibu has a top speed of mid 40’s. I like the sound of that.

 

[MattFX4]

@haknslash is autowake a must have? Was looking at the different options for the Kaiyen and definitely think flow 3.0 and G6 are must haves. Wasn't sure about autowake.

 

[haknslash]

@MattFX4 For wakeboarding autowake is great. For surfing I don’t use it because you really need either a full crew or additional stock ballast for autowake to be useful. The whole point of autowake is to find a pitch and roll you like and then have the boat set and maintain those values when you have people sitting all over the boat and if they move it will make adjustments accordingly. Since we usually have a light crew of 4 people or less and stock ballast + 750 lb bag I fill surf side we don’t use it as I wouldn’t don’t hit the stock 9 degree pitch value anyways. However once you do have a crew or have additional ballast you can really learn the pitch and roll your boat likes and use autowake as a gauge to tell you those readings. What a lot of surfers do who use autowake also use lead. They will fill ballast where they want and then use the lead to achieve the roll or pitch values. All depends on how far you want to go with it.

I don’t think it’s mandatory or really needed for our surfing but I wanted to option my boat with it since it does provide the “launch” feature when using autowake to help get on plane or just for the ability to know my pitch and roll at any time. We will probably use it more when I add the wakemakers kit. We don’t wakeboard but I hear it’s definitely used for that sport and loved since it will level the boat out regardless of where people sit and you want a level boat for wakeboarding. It’s a pretty impressive tool and I’d say option it if you can but it’s not a deal breaker if you don’t and plan to surf. If anyone wakeboards or skis in your group then you would likely use it.

 

[MattFX4]

@MattFX4 For wakeboarding autowake is great. For surfing I don’t use it because you really need either a full crew or additional stock ballast for autowake to be useful. The whole point of autowake is to find a pitch and roll you like and then have the boat set and maintain those values when you have people sitting all over the boat and if they move it will make adjustments accordingly. Since we usually have a light crew of 4 people or less and stock ballast + 750 lb bag I fill surf side we don’t use it as I wouldn’t don’t hit the stock 9 degree pitch value anyways. However once you do have a crew or have additional ballast you can really learn the pitch and roll your boat likes and use autowake as a gauge to tell you those readings. What a lot of surfers do who use autowake also use lead. They will fill ballast where they want and then use the lead to achieve the roll or pitch values. All depends on how far you want to go with it.

I don’t think it’s mandatory or really needed for our surfing but I wanted to option my boat with it since it does provide the “launch” feature when using autowake to help get on plane or just for the ability to know my pitch and roll at any time. We will probably use it more when I add the wakemakers kit. We don’t wakeboard but I hear it’s definitely used for that sport and loved since it will level the boat out regardless of where people sit and you want a level boat for wakeboarding. It’s a pretty impressive tool and I’d say option it if you can but it’s not a deal breaker if you don’t and plan to surf. If anyone wakeboards or skis in your group then you would likely use it.

Good points. Maybe it’s worth the extra $1,700. What I really like is the pro tower and triton swivel racks, but geez that’s like a $7,000 upgrade. Tough to swallow for a cosmetic upgrade.

 

[haknslash]

Those Triton racks are amazing but yea too rich for my blood hence not optioning any racks.

If you were to ask me if I did it all over would I buy Autowake again and the answer would be yes. It's just a great tool to use and even if I can't take advantage of it when with a light crew, it's nice to know I have the tools available when/if I need them. You also get the ballast sensors with autowake. I usually over fill mine just as I like to get the bags rock hard and fill them beyond the sensor shutoff until it flows out the side.

 

[haknslash]

I see they added more prop options this year as well. Up to 15x18 OJ for the Max and I assume others.

 

[MattFX4]

I see they added more prop options this year as well. Up to 15x18 OJ for the Max and I assume others.

Yeah, just have to remember to option the boat to what’s going to be the best on the water experience, not necessarily what looks best. I was building boats earlier with basic stereos with thoughts I would work that in the deal to upgrade audio with JL equipment via a local audio shop the moomba dealer here has a relationship with. Speaking of props, what does the 15x18 prop mean? Is it a good thing?

 

[haknslash]

The larger the prop and pitch the boat will lose top end but gain pulling power and feel more torque. It would pull fewer rpm’s while loaded with ballast. Last year I think they offered standard, wake and “450” elevation/heavy ballast prop. I went with the 15x13 “wake” prop which is an OJ 945 and it seems like a great blend of pulling power, holeshot and decent top end.

 

[d_coyne1984]

Sweet boat, but damn it's like $290k msrp.

Jesus christ! I keep thinking that the market won't keep supporting these spiking prices for much longer, but they keep getting higher and they still seem to be selling pretty damn well. For that amount of money I would rather have a Centurion, another Yamaha boat, get a pair of skis, and skill have money for gas in all of them for a few years.

 

[OrangeTJ]

The larger the prop and pitch the boat will lose top end but gain pulling power and feel more torque. It would pull fewer rpm’s while loaded with ballast. Last year I think they offered standard, wake and “450” elevation/heavy ballast prop. I went with the 15x13 “wake” prop which is an OJ 945 and it seems like a great blend of pulling power, holeshot and decent top end.

Not trying to be contradictory, but you have this backward. The larger the pitch, the higher the top speed (to a point, provided the engine has enough power to turn it) but the less pulling power. An prop with 18" of pitch will almost certainly struggle to pull a heavy ballast load. "Aggressive" props are typically quite shallow pitch and have more of a granny gear effect - will pull tremendous loads but the engine will run out of RPM at lower speeds.

 

[MattFX4]

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Thoughts on this G21 from the vdrive guys? Private sell so no taxes, and probably negotiable. It’s been on market for a while.

 

[OrangeTJ]

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Thoughts on this G21 from the vdrive guys? Private sell so no taxes, and probably negotiable. It’s been on market for a while.

I don’t know about the price but Nautiques are next level awesome. Phenomenal build quality and fit/finish. If the price is right you can’t go wrong.

 

[MattFX4]

I don’t know about the price but Nautiques are next level awesome. Phenomenal build quality and fit/finish. If the price is right you can’t go wrong.

Well it’s been for sale for 6 months so leads me to believe priced too high, or there’s something I don’t know without visually inspecting. 2 owner 2017 model with only 130 hours, so that may be concerning.

 

[OrangeTJ]

The hours seem fine to me. Price may be about $10k high.

 

[haknslash]

Not trying to be contradictory, but you have this backward. The larger the pitch, the higher the top speed (to a point, provided the engine has enough power to turn it) but the less pulling power. An prop with 18" of pitch will almost certainly struggle to pull a heavy ballast load. "Aggressive" props are typically quite shallow pitch and have more of a granny gear effect - will pull tremendous loads but the engine will run out of RPM at lower speeds.

Thanks for clarifying. I wasn’t entirely sure if I understood the values. What has me confused is they list the “surf” prop along with it being the “speed” prop. Those two seem counterintuitive now that you’ve explained the pitch value.



Last year the stock prop on a Max was (I think) 14.75x14.5 OJ 915 and I went with the 15x13 OJ 945 which they called the “wake prop” on the boat builder. So from what you explained that makes sense why mine pulls the load better than stock. It’s larger diameter and less pitch so more granny gear. This year they offer a bit different prop setup. I’m assuming because of the 1.76:1 trans vs my 1.50:1?