When we advertised for potential boat buyers to participate in this boat review we had hoped to have many entries. Unfortunately we only had one other. I would like to thank him for the time he put in to it and I will use his information within this report. Our hope was to have several different reports to post but such is not the case.  We do hope this boat review will be of some help to those of you looking to purchase a new Inboard Ski Boat.     

     This year’s crop promises to be better and worse than ever before. I took the opportunity recently to attend our local boat show and also visited a local dealer to check out what’s new, what’s hot and what’s not.  I purchased a new boat last year so this year I was looking just from a comfort, style and just plain good looks point of view. I didn’t water test many of these boats this year and I don’t pretend to know which had better wakes and handling for skiing but I tried to give them a thorough checking out aesthetically.

     Once I arrived at the show I was amazed at how many Tower boats were there. To say the boat builders and dealers are catering to wake boarders would be a gross understatement.

     Most all the boats were bigger, heavier and optioned out for wakeboarding. It really was disappointing and difficult for a hard core skier to accept.  But I was determined to make the best of it and look beyond the flash and get to what I think is important. 

     The first boats I looked at were Moomba. Not much has changed from last year and I still have to say, for $25,000, it would be tough to beat for what you get for the price.

I don’t particularly care for the dash layout and the observer’s seat is still too small. 
     

     The un-covered motor box takes away from the interior appearance and I use mine to place my ski on to do adjustments and repair work. That would be difficult to do on theirs. I also believe they will never offer a closed bow. Most but not all boat makers still produce them, it’s just that so few are advertised and dealers bring more open bows to shows. But for an entry level ski boat, the Moomba is a great boat.

     The next boat to check out was Centurion. I was pleasantly surprised they were at the show this year and I thought it was a very sharp looking boat.

What I wasn’t expecting was such a cramped interior. I studied over this boat good and after talking to the sells staff it became apparent this is an entry level boat like the Moomba. Although $28,000 dollars seems high for entry level, it just goes to show how expensive these toys have become.

     Details about the Centurion I didn’t like were, the driver’s seat was very low, the controls were awkward and vision was poor while the observer’s seat was excessively high. The observer’s seat is very small and with the open bow it only allows for one passenger in the traditional location. The pylon swivel looked cheap and the motor box was extremely heavy and could not be opened with the rear seat in.

It was a sharp looking boat but someone forgot to design it to be functional.

     Next I checked out the Tige Switch 1.

I can’t believe they advertise this as a Competition ski boat. It is one big roomy boat. Very deep well and at 3400 lbs, I can only imagine the wake it puts out. I’m told it has a decent slalom wake, but I supposed it’s all in what you consider decent.

The price was fair at $30,000 but I wouldn’t recommend this boat for a hard core Slalom skier or Jumper. Recreational skiers, Wake boarders and trick skiers maybe.

     Finally I moved on to what everyone considers “The Big Three.”  First was Mastercraft. At the show the dealer had several boats a few years old.

Seems the dealer couldn’t afford their new boats either. I went to another dealer a few days after the show and check out his new crop. They had a 190, two 197’s and a couple of new X-Stars. The 190’s and 197’s are beautiful boats.

Well made and just what you’d expect from Mastercraft. But after I got over the drool factor I got down to really checking them out. First off the driver’s seat with the bolster is very uncomfortable. Up it serves a purpose I suppose, but down it is very uncomfortable on the legs. Secondly, the back seat has such a low back it is not comfortable at all to sit in. And when the factory rep told me “Well you know, most people just leave it out” I told him there was no way I’d pay $40,000 for a boat and leave parts out because the factory didn’t bother to design a decent seat.

 

I was hoping they would also fix the 190 observers seat.

Water will not drain out, so when you sit down after skiing you sit in a puddle. When the driver cranks the wheel he gets doused with the seat water. A friend owns one of these boats so I know this first hand.  The split observer’s seat for the 197 is pretty nice with decent access to the bow.  The new 2004 Blue Tournament Team boat is really sharp. It’s just disappointing that they overlooked some simple problems to fix.

     I also check out a 209. That is one big boat. The back seat is no more comfortable than the 190-197 but for a family ski boat, it would be more than adequate. The interior is well laid out with lots of room and storage.

      I then walked over to the Malibu booth. I checked out this Response LX-I closely. 

I must say that so far it is my favorite boat at the show. The layout of everything was good. Two could sit in the observer’s seat with easy access to the bow and storage was ample. The rear seat was also very comfortable. The pylon pivot was tricked up and looked sharp.

The only negatives I found were the motor box handle doesn’t have enough room to get your fingers in good and the drivers seat bolster has the same problems as MasterCraft. 

And loaded at $39,500 they obviously now feel they are equal to MasterCraft and Nautique.

     My last stop was Nautique. I checked out a 216, it is a very big boat.   The observer’s seat was surprisingly small and the driver’s seat sits to high and was not comfortable. At $38,000 it caters to the family skier.
I had one other contributor to this review who did quite a bit of comparison between a Response LX-I and the CC 216 so I will let his review speak for this boat. His comparison would take this entire article but to sum it up would be this.

 
The 216 is nice and roomy, the observers seat seems a little small for such a large boat. The wakes were also quite large with a noticeable 22 off bump. At 28 off and beyond things got much better. He stated the fit and finish was outstanding and I had to agree with him on that. Other things he noted were the hole shot performance with the Excalibur engine far exceeded his Response Monsoon but handling was not as good as the Response. It was hard to turn, back and pick up skiers. (Nautiques have been known for that one flaw for years) There not that bad, just different.
His final summary was that the CC 216 caters to wake boarders and family ski outings. It’s not for hardcore slalom skiing. He’ll stick with his Response LX-I.

     I checked out the Correct Craft 206 at the show and the CC 206 is a “very-very” nice boat.

The observers seat was nice and wide although a little shaky when opening due to the split seat back. All seating was very comfortable and well lay out. They don’t have a swivel pylon for some reason.

The only negatives I found were that the keyless ignition is a joke and has way to much stuff on it and the Perfect Pass is located in a bad spot for easy access. And at $39,000 it would be a tough choice between it and the Malibu.

I was hoping Infinity would be there and I asked Rob Shirley for an interview as to the status of Infinity for this article but did not get a response. I checked out a 2004 ZX-1 late last year and it is still the same great ski boat. They changed the windshield to get rid of the side pillar and went to the Excalibur engine.

But other than that I saw no difference than all previous models. It has lots of room and is just a great all around ski boat. 

If you haven’t had the opportunity to see and test one of these boats, I would highly recommend it. 

One thing I would like to see done to the Infinity is to insulate the in-dash cooler. Ice doesn’t last very long in it.  We can only hope that Infinity stays with us to give the hardcore skier’s what they are looking for.

     I noticed most all trailers now have torsion spring axles, disc brakes and 6 lug wheels. Nice to see the trailer industries catch up.

     One other option I would like to see on any boat would be a power 6 way adjustable driver’s seat. To make it programmable for several drivers like new cars do would be a great feature. I saw a few lumbar supports and the bolsters but that was about all the new features for driver’s seats.

     Well that’s it for this year’s Ski Boat Review. I wish I had been able to performance test all of these great boats. The issues I had with each boat are just personal preference and all a matter of what’s important to each person.

     As far as this review is concerned, I try to point out areas that most people may not look at. Test driving, skiing and working these boats over is the only way to decide which is best for you.  Any of these boats could please most skiers. But each of us has a preference of what’s important.

     I will go on record that if I were in the market for a new boat; it would be a tough choice between the Malibu Response, The Nautique 196 and the Infinity ZX-1. What can I say, I prefer closed bow boats.

     If you are in the market for a traditional ski boat you may have to work really hard with your dealer to get one. Very few dealers stock “regular” ski boats anymore. They either stock wake board boats or trick up a ski boat with towers and ballast tanks. And while I harbor some prejudice towards this trend, I feel that traditional 3 event skiers are getting pushed out of the market by accepting what the factories and dealers offer us.  With the price of boats getting ever higher, buy what you want, not just what’s offered.

-Gordon Slingerland

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