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

[haknslash]

There's no doubt the Axis and 'Bu throw a nice wave. My main issue with the Axis was the build and ride quality. A lot of plastic which some rattled while we were out that he later on 'fixed' by moving something around under the helm/dash. The ride was pretty rough at anything above wake boarding speeds. If we were out on a windy day I would have to slow way down in a flat bottomed wake boat because it just pounds otherwise. That's why I'm leaning towards deep v hulled wake boats. The ride is as important to me as the surf wave is. The other issue is that it wasn't until recently could you even get Power Wedge as an option on Axis boats, so tailoring the shape of the wave wasn't really possibly since those use the floating (manual) wedge.

 

[haknslash]

Just watching YouTube videos. It seemed like the Malibu had to work a lot harder while surfing. Engine noise and fuel efficiency were not on par with others.

Most definitely the boat works harder using the wedge. It acts like a plow and pulls the boat down into the water. Add in more ballast and it really slugs around. I could barely get the boat on plane with full stock ballast with wedge deployed.

Older Centurions also had a similar device called the Switchblade. It's like a huge anchor looking device that does the same by pulling down the stern. They had actuators on them so you could deploy it and shape the wave. Modern Centurions went to a stinger center plate with tabs on the sides to change Surf sides. They all work together to shape a wave from mellow to steep depending on ride styles.

By comparison the Raptor motor in the Moomba had no issues at all getting on plane with full ballast. It also can use those trims tabs and center Wake plate to get a heavier loaded boat on plane. You can't do that in an Axis or Malibu unless you have Power Wedge and use the "float mode" of whatever it's called. With a manual wedge it just floats there not helping a boat plane out.

I believe it is Centurion that has the best MPG at surf speeds than other boats but I'd have to go back and research that. It's been a while but fuel efficiency is something I will be considering for my next boat mainly at weighted performance.

 

[Midnight2V]

It's true that you will never get good high speed ride quality out of a Malibu/axis, but the maneuverability was nothing short of amazing. And it is also true that it takes a huge amount of power to generate the wakes they are capable of since you use the boat to basically carve a hydrodynamically artistic ditch in the lake to generate that amazing wake.

I can remember using a maximum angle wedge with at least 2500 lbs of ballast (probably a lot more than that in reality) and 12 passengers and not being able to exceed 20 mph and never truly getting the boat on plane. That was with a 420 HP Chevy engine called a 383 Hammerhead.

It's truly a single purpose setup, but I could launch a person to the moon off of that wake

The engines they use now are the exact same Ford based Raptor engines as the other tow boat companies. I believe Axis may still use some of the Chevy based engine options, but I think, at least in a few models they have had a raptor based engine.

 

[haknslash]

I loved the Raptor in the Moomba Max. It was a good bit louder than the PCM 409 6.0L (GM) was in the Axis but man the Raptor was a beast by comparison. Felt like a lot more torque especially out of the hole and pulling stock 3,000 lbs like it was nothing in the big Max.

 

[MattFX4]

@haknslash

I heard something new is coming from Skiers Choice soon. Another new model Moomba and some updates to their Supra line.

https://www.moomba.com/?show=lifestyle-video

 

[haknslash]

@MattFX4 yup it's getting that time of year on the boat forums. Lots of buzz and rumors this year!

While out on the 4th I had a yellow and silver flake Max hanging around the popular wake boarding and surf spots. Not a big fan of yellow in general but man it looked badass with the blackout emblem package against that silver flake and bright yellow. The guy wake boarding behind it was doing all sorts of crazy flips and airs like a pro! I stayed back and watched him for a while until I couldn't take the huge rollers the Max made any longer . Not a great pic but this now makes 3 Max's on my lake!

 

[DavisAR195]

So today I drove a little over an hour away to Jasper, AL to check out some MB Sports boats at Nelems Marine. I had glanced at these boats very briefly at the boat show earlier in the year but I never crawled inside them or looked at them up close. These boats have pretty cool attention to detail! Every emblem, trim piece, bezel anythug that looked metal was actually metal! The screws are all countersunk and machined. Not some Phillips heads everywhere! The tower folds inside the boat and to lock it you turn a machined aluminum round piece, no clamps or bolts. The attention to detail really kind of blew me away when you compare this boats to others in the same price point. It makes an Axis look like it's made by Fisher Price. All of the wiring in the engine area and storage was hidden. The stereo is all Exile. All of cockpit speakers were 8" lol. The sub is behind the drivers seat and is in a potted enclosure and not just a free air sub thrown in a hole like the Moomba and Axis had. Supposedly the stereos rock on these bots but we didn't turn it on. Very clean engine bay with beefy metal bracing. The storage areas were not as deep as other boats but still adequate, I'd say about the same depth as our Yamaha boats. Rear locker storage was deep and looked to hold some big bags plus a little room left for gear and crap. Engine was the Raptor 400 by Indmar which was the same in the Moomba Max I demoed, so I know power is not an issue.

These boats have gravity filled hard tanks that fill 2800 lbs (I think) in a minute. The plug and play bags are pump fed but they are gravity draining into the hard tanks which is an awesome and clever idea as it means they will drain fast! I think this boat in total had around 3600 lbs of ballast. The hull is freaking beautiful!! It has a very deep V from front to back and these boats are known to ride very well in rough chop. The shape is much more than the flat bottom of the Axis and semi V on the Moomba Max. I am going back once the water warms up and he's going to take me out on the boats and surf behind them. He has sold Mastercraft, Tige, and has sold MB for the last 10 years and he says the MB boats really are a great boat for the money.

They are made in California and I think he said only about 300 or so made a year. He said the owner of MB is a huge aviation buff and will not make a boat to cut corners and you can really tell in the attention to detail. All of the billet aluminum and stainless trim is machined in-house as is the steering wheel I think he said. Hell even the outside logos are machined metal and held in by bolts and nuts, not plastic and 3M tape like most boats! The toggle switches were all billet aluminum and very nice to use, very positive feeling if you know what I mean. These don't have all the latest electronic dash surf do-dads and touchscreens to go bad but they are built for simplicity and function over flash and bling. The v drive access was incredible as well and much larger than any other bits I've seen. I nean it looks like you can actually service this boat without being a contortionist lol.

Thanks @OrangeTJ for helping me out with the forum stuff and info on these boats. Can't wait for it to warm up now!!

Really digging the F22 Tomcat...

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These two pics were from a B52 but better angles of the dash to give you an idea of the amazing machined metalwork...

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I have to say I love the clean lines on the MB's and the fact that you don't see to many around and now I know why based the annual production numbers. Once the kids reach school age and I'm no longer paying $2,600 a month for daycare it will be a reality. Thank you for all the write up's @haknslash

 

[haknslash]

Yea they only make a few hundred a year I believe. They could up production but they keep it low. The issue for me with MB is the dealer network in my area is practically non existent except for one dealer who is over an hour and a half away. When I went to check out his shop it was ....well...,less than impressive and a bit concerning for any warranty work. There's also some issues with engine/drivetrain alignment and shafts breaking on the MB's and apparently MB can be a bear to deal with on some warranty work so the dealer is very important helping get the ball rolling for repairs. He does have a great long history of being a great dealer but I've learned that one the wake boat forums that having a great dealer is more important than any of a boats features. Basically meaning these kinds of boats something usually will happen in its life, especially early in as they are all hand custom built for the most part, and having a good dealer go to bat for you is sometimes more important than picking a brand. For that reason it's why I think Moomba Max still clings towards the top of my list if I was buying new as their Skiers Marine dealer seems to be very good.

That being said the revised hull in the 2o18 MB B52 makes for a monster wave!

 

[MattFX4]

I have to say I love the clean lines on the MB's and the fact that you don't see to many around and now I know why based the annual production numbers. Once the kids reach school age and I'm no longer paying $2,600 a month for daycare it will be a reality. Thank you for all the write up's @haknslash

I hear you on that. 1 year left of $1,200 a month daycare and about 8 months of a $600 a month low mileage F150 that I purchased new so it should last me a looooong time, and my choice of boat may change.

 

[2kwik4u]

I'll join in on the "I've got the boat I have because daycare" club. I'm in the $1,200/mo range as well. Subsequently putting off a larger boat purchase until they boys are a bit older. Still not sure if I'll got 24ft Yamaha, or 24ft wake boat, but I'm sure I'll get something bigger.

I gotta say @haknslash ,that metal flake is NOT a good look for me. It doesn't look bad per say, but just doesn't really look great either. I much prefer a monochrome-ish look. The space blue 2015 AR240S come to mind. That deep blue with black just looks amazing to me.

 

[haknslash]

@2kwik4u oh yea that's not my color scheme choice either. Just posted some pics of the boat to give an idea of it and the wave it makes. I like a little flake but not too much. I do like them to "pop" a little on the water. Nothing too loud or obnoxious but nothing too boring and plain Jane either. I like my main colors to be normal gel coat colors and then th4 highlight or accent colors to have a little flake.

 

[haknslash]

I'm off to go look at an 08 Centurion Enzo SV230 at the dealer. Will report back on that boat.

 

[2kwik4u]

I'm off to go look at an 08 Centurion Enzo SV230 at the dealer. Will report back on that boat.

I'm curious to hear the report on this one.

 

[haknslash]

Well the Centurion was pretty rough and needed some TLC. A lot of mold and faded upholstery on the rear sun pads. The biggest issue I have with the boat though was the completel lack of storage!! Basically the only storage you have on that boat are the rear lockers and under the observers helm. The cockpit storage under all of the cushions were for the hard tanks. By the time you add sacs to the rear lockers you'd have just the observers helm storage, which was massive and cavernous but still....that's not where I'd want to throw everything. So I think the older Centurions may be off my list just because there's no storage unless you pull out all of the hard tanks which I would then need to get the Enzo Fat Sacs (1,450 lbs) but I would loose the storage space once I wanted to fill the ballast.

While I was there I also looked at a 2012 Malibu Wakesetter 23 LSV. Interior was massive and tons of storage, hinged cushions etc. Some of the cushions needed to be redone as they had rips along the seams. The ride on those wouldn't be that great either as it has a flatter bottom at the stern. It had a massive stereo system with I don't know how many speakers but if I had to guess at least 10 thought the boat plus a massive sub lol.

Then we got to talking about some of the boats and people we know on the lakes. Turns out the yellow boat I though was a Moomba Max was actually a Helix they sold to a family. He said they had a nice blacked out one new they were selling but it's at one of their other locations. We loosely talked numbers of the boat and he said around $60k. It's the smaller brother of the big Max but looks basically the same with deep storage and such. May take a look at that boat shortly. We also talked about the new 2019 Moomba teaser video and he smirked and said yea she's a BIG girl that's coming and will be a hit. Can't wait to see what they roll out!

 

[MattFX4]

@haknslash did you look at Tige?

 

[haknslash]

@haknslash did you look at Tige?

I have a little but they seem a lot smaller in the cockpit than most other boats with their narrow beam and sort bow on a lot of their models. Their beam is the biggest issue for me though. Our Yamaha's are wider by several inches for comparison! They also seem to have kind of a bad stigma about quality issues on other forums I frequent. I like the looks of them and I've found a really nice well kept one down in Dothan but not really that interested in them for some reason. The resale value on them also seems to be quite low compared to other boats so I'm not sure what is driving that but it's evident if you look at them on onlyinboards.com

 

[MattFX4]

I have a little but they seem a lot smaller in the cockpit than most other boats with their narrow beam and sort bow on a lot of their models. Their beam is the biggest issue for me though. Our Yamaha's are wider by several inches for comparison! They also seem to have kind of a bad stigma about quality issues on other forums I frequent. I like the looks of them and I've found a really nice well kept one down in Dothan but not really that interested in them for some reason. The resale value on them also seems to be quite low compared to other boats so I'm not sure what is driving that but it's evident if you look at them on onlyinboards.com

Ok just curious because their R line seems pretty reasonable price wise. I’m not a huge fan of their styling but they are ok I guess.

 

[Mtschelling]

@haknslash saw a snippet on their Instagram of a center walk through. My guess is 25ft-er.

 

[MattFX4]

@haknslash what is the best overall forum you have found for wake boats? Looking to join and gather info myself.

 

[haknslash]

@haknslash what is the best overall forum you have found for wake boats? Looking to join and gather info myself.

I've found the brand-specific forums to be best for finding out the deeper details and the pro's and con's of each of the boats. Wake World is an another forum but kind of a shell of what it once was apparently. Good for using that with the brand-specific forums such as TheMalibucrew, Planet nautique, CenturionCrew, The Moomba Forum, MB Boat owners, tigeowners and such. Those are the main ones I lurk about on.