Atlanta boat show Wake Tractor. Ski Tractor may be on the way.

[oldmanskier]

I went to Atlanta Georgia boat show yesterday. Only one three event ski boat at show. One Mastercraft pro star. I am sure Ray Crenshaw was the reason that boat was there. Thanks to Ray for still supporting ski boats.

Malibu, Nautique and Centurion all had many Wake/Surf boats of all sizes and colors. But those companies did not have a single tournament ski boat at the show. Very disappointing to me.

A possible positive note: Wake Tractor had several boats there. A very different looking boat with a center drive console and PCM engines.

John Dorton (former head guy at Mastercraft a few years ago) was one of the reps at Wake Tractor booth.

I had met John a few years earlier when I was skiing at Chet’s place.

John is a very nice guy and when I mentioned meeting him at Chet’s he said that they were working on a 3 event Ski Tractor boat.

The Ski Tractor would not be a center Drive console and be somewhat more traditional. They were designing it to be a 3 event tournament boat.

From my understanding they would have a model that is bare bones for skiing. Boat, engine, Zero off and whatever is needed to be a safe bare bones ski boat.

I hope John and company can pull it off. I look forward to seeing the new Ski Tractor in the future.

As for Malibu, Nautique and Centurion I would think they could at least make sure one Tournament ski boat from there companies was represented at a large boat show like Atlanta.

Oh well, just shows I am old slalom skier longing for the 80’s and 90’s heydays of water skiing.

Oldmanskier

 

[RAWSki]

It would be nice to have more 3 Event boats at the shows but when you think about how much it costs for each dealer to attend a boat show and the limited floor space, plus where they make most of their profits...... it's understandable.

[rodltg2]

I saw boat show pricing on it $43 k. Seems a little steep for it. But so does $225k for a new malibu !!

[rodltg2]

 

[Texas6]

Surely you meant 125 and not 225

[rodltg2]

@Texas6 , no I meant $225k

[Kelvin]

@Texas6, after seeing the prices of new boats at the Houston boat show last weekend, I am content to keep what I've got.

[Waternut]

Bummer I didn't even realize Atlanta had a boat show this weekend. I probably would've gone but sounds like I only would've seen 2 boats I was interested in so maybe it's best I didn't know.

 

I like wakeboarding and pull a lot of wakeboarders myself but the prices of wakeboarding boats continuously makes me think the same thing...

 

[andjules]

For what it's worth, I was at the Toronto Boat Show on Saturday. Again, there was only one 3-event boat at the show, but this time it was a Nautique 200 OB.

[Texas6]

Wow. Just wow.....breaking the 200k barrier on a depreciating asset that pulls wake boarders is just unfathomable....

[Glock]

No ski boats at the Portland boat show. Two 200k plus boats, Malibu m235 and the nautique g25. One highlight was Stancraft, who just bought the local mastercraft dealership, brought a gorgeous wooden boat. That was only 335k.

[swc5150]

MSRP on a decked out 3 event boat can be over $100k, so $225k retail on a wake tug does not shock me.

[ozski]

Ouch, must be pushing 300k here in AU after conversion and tax... Ouch.

[MISkier]

It all seems unsustainable to me.

[Spuddy]

@andjules I was at the Toronto show and mastercraft did have the prostar there so 2 three event. The guy at Malibu said they sold the LXI so did not have one at the show

[wolfgang]

Agree with@Spuddy. There were lots of wakeboard and wake surf boats though. Judging by the large number of sold signs there must be a lot of inheritances rolling in these days! I'm guessing that people want to buy before the full impact of the weakening Canadian dollar takes effect. I also believe that the aroma of new fibreglass is addictive and overrides all logic and reason.

[Waternut]

Makes you wonder where all this "economy crisis" stuff is coming from when so many people can afford these boats. I live very comfortably but I can't afford anything close to the boats coming out these days.

[MattP]

@waternut when you finance a boat for $500 or less a month for 240 months it seems very affordable.

[dbutcher]

I've heard that people can get 20 year loans on these high dollar boats.

[h2onhk]

Personally I like owning my stuff vs. the bank owning it. Not too mention I can buy a lot of boat gas for a $500/month boat payment.

[jcamp]

Boat shows just aren't for the three-event crowd. I don't know a single hard core skier that would go to a boat show to buy a boat. We all know much better, and cheaper, ways to buy.

[swc5150]

@dbutcher You're correct, but banks have been offering 20 year loans on boats for decades. I have a close friend who bought his '86 MC on a 20 year. As I recall it was $118 a month, with a metric ton of interest.

[block]

The Wake Tractor is produced at Bryant Boat Co. in Sweetwater , Tennessee. John Dorton purchased this company several years ago and along with his son is doing an excellent job growing and evolving it.

 

[E_T]

The trick is to get people behind one. The interior was lacking and there almost zero floor space

[aupatking]

It's crazy, to me, at 100k for 20 years, you'd basically have a 2006 Ski Nautique that you owe $60,000 on today, and could sell for what? Mid to low 20's? Unsustainable, is a good word, stupid, crazy, screwed...... Just other words I associate with a $100,000 Ski boat.

[Horton]

@E_T how much $ is floor space worth? It is a TRACTOR that is the point. Affordable and super basic.

[MattP]

I did get a chance to talk with the wake tractor factory rep this past weekend. The current WT-1 is bare bones surf boat and designed to get people on the water at an affordable price. The next version WT-2(?) is scheduled to be released this year and will be configured like a "normal" wake boat. The ski tractor is still in final development and hopefully will be available in the next year. They are taking their time and not rushing to get a product out before it is ready. I am told it might be only available from the factory made to order which is fine with me. I think the price point is great, if the wakes are as good as I am hearing I think it might become a training boat for many people.

[Horton]

@block I talked to John Dorton a few months back and he told me the WakeTractor & SkiTractor would not be Bryant products. They would be some other brand. Not sure if that is just semantics or not...

[MattP]

@Horton "HeyDay Inboards" is the company name being built in the Bryant Factory. They secured a non compete contract and created a fully separate company. They are turning out boats and are starting to ramp up production to get more boats down the line in a day. The product is not officially launching until February I believe and their dealer network is being setup across the country.

[oldjeep]

Be interesting to see how many of those they sell at $43K(ish). In that price range you can buy a pretty nice used V-drive that doesn't have the interesting aesthetics.

[swc5150]

It'll be interesting to know what the actual selling price is. $43k looks to be the "boat show special", which usually is still an inflated price.

[Waternut]

Anyone else notice the draft on the WT-1? I'm sure it's fully loaded but 31" seems really DEEP!

[oldjeep]

@Waternut - that is kind of the idea with a surf boat, sink it to create a big wave.

[Lieutenant Dan]

@Waternut The Malibu M235 referenced elsewhere in this thread has a draft of 32" (with a dry weight of 6200 lbs!). Gotta displace some water to make those gnarly waves, dude.

[ejj]

The surf boats ten to draft 30-36 inches.

[ejj]

Another note: anyone see a DD/V-Drive Dealer selling these? My guess is these companies have a no-no clause in the dealer agreement.

 

No dealer at the Minneapolis Boat Show. The local Bryant dealer said no thanks.

[oldjeep]

Minneapolis would be a tough market due to having a crapload of available used Malibu's at that price point and the biggest dealer in the country.

[skiermanbrad]

Just got home from the Dallas Boat Show. The Wake Tractor was definitely the most interesting boat I saw tonight.