Yamaha 255 XD versus Mastercraft NXT23

[Wakeorjet]

I need some help! I am trying to figure out which boat would be best with teenage boys. They love to Wurf on a friends boat, but they also loved a tube and wakeboard. Does the Yamaha 255XD produce a decent enough wave to surf? is the wave dramatically different from the master wave? I’m having a hard time figuring out if one is clearly better for surfing or if they are similar, but the Yamaha has more versatility. How do I go about deciding between the two? One deciding factor is where we have our dock the water can get kind of low during some of the years. I know that you need 3 1/2 feet for the wake boat And the most shallow I have seen has been right at about 3 1/2 feet. That alone make my decision to go with the Yamaha so I don’t have to worry about depth when docking?

 

[Julian]

A Mastercraft will make a much bigger and cleaner wake than a Yamaha every day. So if surfing is your aim, go for a dedicated wake boat....that said, you will pay a lot more for one!

 

[NewGuy]

Julian is correct. The 255XD is a surfable wave, but nowhere near what the Mastercraft will throw. I still love the 255XD for its versatility. I'd say if you plan on spending more than a third of your time surfing, then go Mastercraft.

 

[Wakeorjet]

A Mastercraft will make a much bigger and cleaner wake than a Yamaha every day. So if surfing is your aim, go for a dedicated wake boat....that said, you will pay a lot more for one!

OK, thank you. I was trying to figure out if the not as good. Surfwave was significantly worse or just not noticeable for novice surfers.

 

[Wakeorjet]

Julian is correct. The 255XD is a surfable wave, but nowhere near what the Mastercraft will throw. I still love the 255XD for its versatility. I'd say if you plan on spending more than a third of your time surfing, then go Mastercraft.

Thank you! One of my other concerns is that our dock has about 4 feet of water and the lake is actually considered high right now. I do have the option to extend my dock, but I don’t particularly want to. Which Mastercraft would you go with? Would you choose a different brand?

 

[Julian]

I'm not familiar with the Mastercrafts....many folks I know that traded up from Yamahas to wake surf went with Tige, but there are tons of amazing wake boats out there. Shallow water would be an issue with a wake boat....

 

[Wakeorjet]

Thank you! I’m still learning about wake boats and the only reason I’m looking at the Mastercraft is because our friends have one so I am more familiar with it. Which tige would you suggest I look at? Also do all wake boats require a minimum of 3 1/2 feet of water? I am able to build my dock out a little bit so I would be able to get to it but I just want to really figure out the difference between a Yamaha 255XD and a true wake boat. I can’t figure out if the Surf wave on the Yamaha is that different from a true wake boat.

 

[MNJets]

I have the 222XD boat - so a 22' boat versus what you're looking at with the 255XD. My family likes to slalom, wakeboard, wakesurf and tube. For the price point, shallow docking (30") and versatility, the Yamaha 222XD is perfect because it does everything really well (Swiss Army Knife) but not 1 single thing great like a dedicated wakeboat. I have had the opportunity to slalom, wakeboard and surf behind the Super Air Nautique G23 Paragon and this boat can do it all when it comes to a wakeboat. Flips on a wakeboard, small wake for slalom skiing & an absolute kick ass surf wave. If price is not a factor, I would look at the above Nautique.

 

[ripler]

I switched from Yamaha to a MasterCraft NXT20 because we wanted to surf. The NXT is MasterCraft's value line and doesn't have all of the unnecessary electronics that other boats have. As a person who engineers control systems for a living I wanted the least amount of electronics and touchscreens as possible. My 2021 don't have a touchscreen, but in 2023 MC added a 7" touchscreen to the NXT line. Don't let anyone try to tell you V-drives are harder to do maintenance on, I owned a Yamaha for 10 years and the maintenance on my MC is way easier. Also don't believe it when people say the MC will be a lot more expensive than a Yamaha especially the 255XD. Yamaha's list price is typically non-negotiable and dealer prep along with shipping is added. I bought my MC for 33% under MSRP and didn't pay dealer prep or shipping. Those costs may be already in the MSRP, but there weren't any adders over MSRP. Right now there are still new 2023s on dealer lots that you can get a great deal on and MC is offering incentives also. Getting anything covered under warranty on MC was painless. MC has a great warranty, 5 years on the entire boat, 7 years or 1000 hours on the engine, and lifetime structural warranty.

 

[Cambo]

Wow 7 years or 1000 hours great warranty

 

[URODAVE]

The Malibu 21LX has a 27” draft, excellent surf wave from what I have heard.