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

[MGoMike]

Lol there is no "might be better" quality. Yamaha makes a decent boat but trust me once you crawl around in there things and feel the details you can easily tell where Yamaha falls short by comparison. I mean you can't even safely run your hand along any storage compartment on a Yamaha without getting splinters from unfinished work from the robot but not a single person bothers to go behind the cut edges and sand them smooth to remove burrs. The fabric is a much higher quality and the gel coat is also on a whole different level. Yes in the end it's just vinyl and gel coat but there is a difference in overall quality for sure and it's something you can feel and experience when you drive one and crawl around them.

Just like stereos go not everyone wants what is offered from the factory. There are a lot of guys that prefer to have a custom bimini made for increased shade or simplicity. A guy recently did this with his Max as he is getting one with a custom rear shade made into a custom bimini which I wish I had in mine. I think that is the point you're kind of missing with a wake boat. You get to choose every single option you want and the reason it's done that way is to allow a customer to spec out what fits in their budget or offer them complete customization so if they don't like what they offer you can get it without and make it truly how you want.

Sounds like you just need to take some demos next season to decide if these are the kind of boats you're interested in. That will ultimately give you the best impression than any boat builder website can offer you. These Yamaha's go for a steep price these days too and are in the same price range as other true wake boats. If surfing is truly what you're after a vdrive surf boat just does it all better for close to the same price Yamaha is wanting.

I hear ya on it starting to get cold. It sucks and means we only have a few trips left before the boat goes for a long sleep . I'm contemplating getting a wet suit to extend the season since it was so busy on the lake this year with all the new boat owners it sucked for good surfing conditions. No fun surfing in white cap chop so I'm looking forward to these last outings when most people will be off the water.

I’m with you on the quality in the Yamahas. Seems like every trip recently either my wife or I has reached into a compartment and come away bleeding, scratched or stuck with a fiberglass splinter.

We’ve started joking that the boat is mad at me because I’ve started seriously planning for an upgrade to a dedicated wakeboat.

 

[haknslash]

I’m with you on the quality in the Yamahas. Seems like every trip recently either my wife or I has reached into a compartment and come away bleeding, scratched or stuck with a fiberglass splinter.

We’ve started joking that the boat is mad at me because I’ve started seriously planning for an upgrade to a dedicated wakeboat.

When I did my tower mod I had to crawl into the rear storage compartment on a 192. Yea that was like willingly shoving my body through barb wire and cactus

 

[DavisAR195]

I had him throw in surf sleeves for the bimini and the walk through door. I was able to get it for 30% off of MSRP, which I don't know if that's good or bad. The new hull design for the 20' is supposed to surf really good. I don't have the freeboard that you do so I only have about 6 inches more in the storage compartment before it's full.

If you only have 6 inches then I would place 6 50lbs lead bags under the bags. I wish I had the surf sleeves and some of the nice 2020 upgrades.

 

[OrangeTJ]

All of these boats are different in terms of what is standard and what is optiona. However, our MB came as standard with depth & water temp gauges, integrated GPS speed control, a very nicely constructed tower bimini with board pockets, the "standard" stereo comprised of 6 exile in boat speakers (4 6.5" and 2 8") plus a 12" sub in a custom enclosure all powered by a stout amp and puts out PLENTY of good quality sound at any speed (whereas our yamaha had a truly terrible factory sound system that couldn't even be heard over the engines at speed), actual stainless steel through-hull hardware and machined aluminum trim pieces as opposed to the plastic of our Yamaha, 5,000 lbs of ballast, a highly adjustable surf system, and on and on. There is really no comparison in terms of features, materials and build quality between our 2016 MB and our 2011 Yamaha, and frankly I'd expect that for a little over twice the price.

 

[Scottintexas]

Yea that was like willingly shoving my body through barded wire and cactus

yes, you're qualified to come Dove hunt with me (snake boots optional but advised)

As I ask my daughter again, please don't shoot them when the get near the tree line!



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[haknslash]

Water conditions were nice today! Heck probably nicest of the season lol. It was nice not seeing many bots out that’s for sure. Water temps are starting to drop here. It was 79 degrees which is about 4 degrees cooler than 2 weeks ago.

I love this camera perspective

Here's some extended footage from yesterday....

 

[haknslash]

Having smooth water for once sure does help the wave! This year has been a washing machine so this was a nice change of pace

 

[sleek98]

Rode in a dealer makai yesterday since that’s all they have, it’s actually the sales guys family boat. Now the wait to see what the cost of the mojo is. Leaning towards The max but I really like the pro tower, just need to figure out if it’s going to cost me 10 or 15k to go to the mojo.

 

[haknslash]

If it matters the pro tower can get the boat under an 8' garage door.

 

[sleek98]

Luckily I have 10 foot tall doors on my detached garage.

 

[Chevyguy2021]

Ran out of time. This past weekend was our last day out in the water for this season. Getting too chilly here in NC. Got a new skim style board and my little brother broke it in. He had fun! Def need to get this boat dialed in next year

 

[sleek98]

Was planning on placing an order this week but I really cant decide on what boat to get.

The difference in price with how I would order the boat for a 23 Mojo and a 24.5 Makai is going to be $1,650.

Thinking the bigger boat would be better for resale, but at the same time I am wondering how much extra weight I will need to sink the 24.5' since we normally only have 3-5 people and 2 kids in the boat. To go from the 22-23 foot is only 2,500, then from the 23-24.5 its 1,650. This blows my mind when looking at the yamahas going from 21 to 25 is 25k on their wake series.

 

[Chevyguy2021]

Was planning on placing an order this week but I really cant decide on what boat to get.

The difference in price with how I would order the boat for a 23 Mojo and a 24.5 Makai is going to be $1,650.

Thinking the bigger boat would be better for resale, but at the same time I am wondering how much extra weight I will need to sink the 24.5' since we normally only have 3-5 people and 2 kids in the boat. To go from the 22-23 foot is only 2,500, then from the 23-24.5 its 1,650. This blows my mind when looking at the yamahas going from 21 to 25 is 25k on their wake series.

that’s a big boat and will take a lot of weight to sink it. How many people do you usually take out. The max seats 17 I think and my Craz seats 16. We have a 22 ft and it’s perfect for us!

 

[sleek98]

that’s a big boat and will take a lot of weight to sink it. How many people do you usually take out. The max seats 17 I think and my Craz seats 16. We have a 22 ft and it’s perfect for us!

Not enough to really justify really needing the room to be 100% honest. 3-5 people and a couple kids right now. Might be 8is in a few years if the kids bring more friends.

 

[Chevyguy2021]

Not enough to really justify really needing the room to be 100% honest. 3-5 people and a couple kids right now. Might be 8is in a few years if the kids bring more friends.

We chose the Craz and so happy we did. It's plenty big but not too big to be trailered. We trailer. We alsolike the traditional bow versus the forkbow. Check it out!

 

[haknslash]

Not enough to really justify really needing the room to be 100% honest. 3-5 people and a couple kids right now. Might be 8is in a few years if the kids bring more friends.

Keep in mind that a 22-23’ wake boat is going to feel more like a 24’ Yamaha, if not larger, in terms of cockpit and space. The larger the wake boat generally means you will need more ballast (or crew size) to sink them. 22-23’ is around the wake boat sweet spot in terms of crew size an cockpit space for most people. Based on your crew size I don’t think you need a 24’ but of course get what tugs your heart the most.

 

[sleek98]

Keep in mind that a 22-23’ wake boat is going to feel more like a 24’ Yamaha, if not larger, in terms of cockpit and space. The larger the wake boat generally means you will need more ballast (or crew size) to sink them. 22-23’ is around the wake boat sweet spot in terms of crew size an cockpit space for most people. Based on your crew size I don’t think you need a 24’ but of course get what tugs your heart the most.

This is what is keeping me torn, I would likely need to get a 1,000# bag to throw in the middle of the boat to make up for having a light crew.

We threw an offer out to the dealer on the Makai, if they reject it then I will throw one on the Mojo. We didn't do a ton of options on the Makai so I am guessing they wont take our offer, even through I felt it was very fair for both them and us.

 

[Chevyguy2021]

This is what is keeping me torn, I would likely need to get a 1,000# bag to throw in the middle of the boat to make up for having a light crew.

We threw an offer out to the dealer on the Makai, if they reject it then I will throw one on the Mojo. We didn't do a ton of options on the Makai so I am guessing they wont take our offer, even through I felt it was very fair for both them and us.

Fyi I got 7% off sticker on our 2021 Craz. It was moderately spec'd

 

[sleek98]

Fyi I got 7% off sticker on our 2021 Craz. It was moderately spec'd

I offered $98,000 on a $105,300 boat and that included their 1,750 freight and prep. Which would be right at 6-7% depending on if you count their prep fee.

The Mojo was $103,800

 

[Chevyguy2021]

I offered $98,000 on a $105,300 boat and that included their 1,750 freight and prep. Which would be right at 6-7% depending on if you count their prep fee.

The Mojo was $103,800

I think that's fair. Let us know what they say!