NEW PROSTAR??????????

[Bdecker]

Can’t wait to see the new boat, and hopefully one on my lift next spring! The freeboard argument is irrelevant to me. With the proliferation of wakeboats on most public lakes, an additional inch or two doesn’t make the difference. You need an ocean going vessel at 2pm on a Saturday. We’re lucky to have access to a pontoon for the family/ friends cruise. And the prostar can’t pull tubes!

[ScottScott]

The prostar cant pull tubes?

 

 

 

Yes, thats our boat, with me and girlfriend riding along.....and Wade Cox driving.

[BraceMaker]

@TEL not complaining but your argument doesn't hold for me - With the fact that most skiers I meet who don't live on a private lake either don't own a boat and are at a club or own an older boat who is going to buy these 100K$ boats if all they're good for is use at a private ski lake?

 

I own an older prostar 190 - and we use it to ski and do family boating. I pull a lot of guests with it preferably from the dock but other times in multiple rounds of skiers where we load up 4 people in the boat and go as slow as we need to over rough water to where we're going to ski. 8000+ acre lake means sometimes that is quite rough and often its a slow crossing. Usually open bows would be unusable in any ski boat type hull just because getting out of the lift and turned you really would get water lots of days.

 

So should I buy a crossover? Debated that but no, neighbor regularly wants a ski pull and owns a crossover. His kids don't want to ski behind it either so that's out of the equation.

 

So to me whatever SN and Malibu and Mastercraft can do to make their ski boat work for tournaments but also valuable to someone like myself where we can have a great day skiing and then if it is a calmer day or a quiet evening we can squeeze 2-3 couples and a few of their kids into the boat and rip across to town for dinner well that's a family boat.

 

To me your argument works 100% if ski boats were actively trying to be stripped down boats that were used hard till they were useless and then replaced but this is a sport where a boat has 2-3 years maybe of life as a tournament boat and after that someone needs to want it.

 

 

[dvskier]

Compromise = no one gets what they “want”, perhaps what they can accept. Seriously if you want to take a large group of people buy a deck boat or a pontoon as a second boat. I have a 24 foot pontoon that will accommodate 17, you can ski, tube, cavort all day on 18,500 acres of madness quite comfortably. When it’s time to ski I take the SN 196. Problem solved. Pontoons are cheap.

[Lieutenant Dan]

+1 for what @BraceMaker just said.

 

Also, here’s a real-life scenario that just played out with a ski partner. He himself is primarily a slalom skier. He belongs to our ski lake In Cincinnati and keeps his 2001 Ski Nautique there. He also has a floating house on Norris Lake where he keeps his 2005 Response LXI (placarded for 9).

 

Again his primary need is for a ski boat (with a small wake) for those glassy morning ski runs but he also likes to Air Chair. And, he has two kids in their 20s each with a child who like to wakeboard some (nothing requiring a huge wake). By my count, with his fiancée that is 8 people if they all want to go out on a ride together eg to go to a cove and swim or whatever.

 

His Response is getting a bit long in the tooth as he rides it hard and puts it away wet a lot. He decided to replace it last week. He has ordered a 2021 Ski Nautique 200 OB (without having ever ridden in, nor skied behind let alone driven one) simply because the only other two major direct drive manufacturers have their open bow boats placarded at 7.

 

For what it’s worth, my personal boat is a 2001 Sunsetter LXI which is placarded for 10 and it still has a better wake than his Response.

[unksskis]

This thread took a wrong way turn down the on-ramp. Excited to hear the reviews. They missed me by a week, already got my boat since I had no idea when this would be made available. Will be interested specifically in the improved driving experience and the trick wake, as those were what still seemed to put the 200/SN ahead of the Prostar. Great to see MC continue to invest in our sport and continue to support us.

 

@skierjp that may be the case, but the local promo here did not, and the first time most of us saw the new Ski Nautique was when we had to ski behind it at Regionals. MC is sponsoring many Regionals and Nationals, wouldn't be shocked if the boat is pulling at them given the precedence set for the new SN. Plus then people aren't buying a boat they won't get at the tournaments for another year.

[ironhorse]

I believe Mastercraft did attempt to build this boat and it was the X14. It was a great model, but did not ski like a prostar and obviously sales weren't strong enough as the model is no longer in production. To me you buy a boat like this to ski and if you're able, a second boat for groups of guests (Pontoon).

[GaryJanzig]

70% of the boats on my lake are pontoons. I would not want to see ski boats get any bigger. Towing and storage become problematic as they get bigger. I like the interior of the Pro Star. I prefer an open floor. The saddlebags on the Nautique are a good feature, but prefer the open floor. Easier maintenance, and fewer moving parts.

 

[BraceMaker]

@unksskis - I'm not sure that its off track I think the new Prostar is easily the most exciting ski boat in the past 20 years for people like me. I think it is way more on target for the needs of the skiing public than the 2019 SN is. They both ski great but for the $ and the space and the option just to pop people up front on a calm night? They hit the mark. I just wanted to share support for how a passenger rating as arbitrary as it is can mean a lot to some buyers.

[unksskis]

@BraceMaker your comment is valid and valuable, it's all the other's who came with their pitch forks (or is it pickle forks) to argue your valid point.

[theboardingschool]

I think you guys are going to love it! That is unless you get too caught up in the optional bow cleats.

[LoopSki]

I know one thing i wont love is the price!

[Lieutenant Dan]

@theboardingschool Which of “us guys” are going to love it - those who want to put more people into our ski boats from time to time or those that want to have a pontoon in addition to our ski boats?

[skimtb]

Gonna be a long 7 days. Wonder if it has hydrofoils? And an improved flux capacitor. And a better surf wake.

[DavidN]

Where is the screenshot of the new boat @TEL posted?

[jordanh]

Seems the topics of ski boats always resorts back to its capabilities. Its a 3 event tournament work horse. It's not designed to be a family weekend warrior where the kiddos invite all their buddies. Yes it can be used for that but that completely correlates to your tolerance for what the boat can and can not do. One driver may not give a shit if his family gets soaked from chop. It may be a deal breaker to the next guy.

 

With that being said, is anyone honestly fearful for the day that the big three just quit making a dedicated 3 event boat all together? I know its the root of watersports but the market for these boats is quite a niche now it seems. Especially when you have a 6 figure price tag pricing the average family into a crossover to get more bang for the buck when it comes to the kiddos.

 

I see it in quite a few different areas of extreme sports. I use to race quads. Back when I did i had 7 manufacturers that were making 450 sport quads that I could choose from. Today, Yamaha is the only one left.

[The_MS]

@jordanh if the big 3 quit I’m sure a Gekko type of manufacturing plant will start up. But first 1 would have to stop and then the second. By that time the third may stick it out and do well

[skimtb]

At 80-100k a boat they may not be making as much revenue as a wake boat but i can’t believe they are losing $$$$ ?

[unksskis]

@skimtb it's simple, margins. Only have a certain amount of production slots, you're going to build the product that gives you the better margins. Same with the dealers, you're going to try to sell the product with the larger profit margin. With that thought, they are "losing" money compared to what they could be making.

[Lieutenant Dan]

I don’t get the “hate” (please don’t get riled up, the hyperbole is intended ?) for my proposition. Why can’t all 3 of the current direct drive tournament boats be placarded for, say, at least 8? Like maybe provide a removable rear center seat for both the PS and TXI? What is the big deal if I want to have world class slalom wakes and the ability to use the boat that I spend $100k on in a body of water bigger than 40 acres? Personally, I would have bought a new Prostar a few years ago if it had a higher capacity.

 

 

[jordanh]

@Lieutenant Dan

Forgive my ignorance but I was under the assumption that the placard was simply guidelines, and not enforceable? In MN here I thought as long as all occupants were within the gunnels of the boat you were GTG. Maybe im getting mixed up and it was the weight capacity that was not enforceable.

[jordanh]

@skimtb

 

Most assembly lines I have seen have a fixed manufacturing overhead associated with each slot on their assembly line that is budgeted out for the year. If that slots filled with a loaded x star they are going to make a hole lot more money than if a PS comes down the line. I would have to imagine Mastercraft would have no problem filling every reserved PS slot with a high dollar boat if they had to. At some point passion for 3 event has to work into the budget I would think.

[DavidN]

@Lieutenant Dan

2018 200 OB

 

Sorry for the off topic post!

[Lieutenant Dan]

@jordanh Well stone my crows but you are right, apparently (according to the internet), about the placard “limit” not being enforceable but rather a manufacturer’s “recommendation” for capacity. I guess that explains why folks can get by with thousands of pounds of water ballast and 20 people in their 23 foot wakeboats. Also guess I should tell my buddy that he can get any direct drive he wants!

 

From an article I found:

A boat's capacity rating delineates how many people or pounds the boat can safely hold in good conditions, as determined by the manufacturer. This rating is typically displayed on what's called a capacity plate that's mounted in the boat, either by the helm or on the transom.

 

Federal law requires capacity plates only on boats smaller than 20 feet in length, but the National Marine Manufacturers Association requires plates on all boats less than 26 feet in order to be NMMA-certified.

[Cnewbert]

@jordanh I recently had an interesting correspondence with a MC dealer re: a used ‘19 they had for sale. We also got talking about the new 2021 which they will get next week for demos. They are very excited about this boat. I was told, “We typically do 12 or 13 Prostars every year (the most we sell of any other model is 2). So I am really hoping they knocked this one out.” Sounds like the Prostar is their biggest seller.

[jordanh]

@Cnewbert That is very interesting indeed. I swore I read once over on the Nautique forums that the SN took up something like 1 out of 10 production slots. But I could easily be misremembering or the guy was blowing smoke. That is whats swaying me to assume the 3 event boats are such a minor slot in the market.

[swc5150]

Off topic, but way back when I sold MC's, one of the selling points was the capacity placard. Not so much in that you'd ever squeeze 8 people into a Prostar, but it was built so strong and buoyant that you could. As stated, it's a weight guideline.

[Horton]

I will literally ban the next person that talks about the capacity placard.

[UWSkier]

 

[Orlando76]

Start with me. Dumbest crap ever. Placard.

[theboardingschool]

Y’all are gonna love the new billet capacity placard on this bad boy, with optional backlit led’s that sync to your music, it’s one of my favorite new features.

[rockdog]

This has been a great insightful thread on something we know nothing about. Thanks Mastercraft. Please in future spare us the conjecture and just launch the product out of nowhere.

[Horton]

Shenanigans!

[braindamage]

Dudes...you all need to take a chill pill. I was expecting an uplifting and excited thread. Live and let live is what I say. I’m a Malibu guy but love boats so I’m just excited about seeing what it is.

 

The only downside is that my best ski bud is a MC guy so I’ll have to hear him talk about why the new MC is better in virtually every way for the next couple years. ?‍♂️

[Horton]

@braindamage yeah I think it is going to hurt. Even worse if he gets a 2021.

[ScottScott]

If everyone had Mastercrafts they wouldn't have to hear there friends talk about how much better their boat is than yours.

[Svfara_1]

Remember the days we all dropped drool in our lap when we even saw a direct drive?

[mmskiboat]

I'm excited to see that MC is spending time and money to keep pushing development. Just based on how good the 2014 model was this could be amazing.

[VONMAN]

Weight is the killer of great slalom wakes. Go ahead and fill it up with people and a full tank. Sounds like a party for everyone except the skier.

[The_MS]

Some one please load the “we’re gonna need a bigger boat” GIF

[Sethro]

I'm excited to see MC trying to make an already outstanding product even better. I can't imagine I'd ever buy a new one, but certainly a "few years old" boat to replace my 98 Echelon some day. But seriously, it already doesn't get much better behind my now 23 model year old boat. Yes, I've skied the newer ProStars for comparison, and a '15 or newer ProStar is on my short list. Features inside the boat/Zero Off/etc. certainly make for different/better experience, but the wake certainly hasn't been the limiting factor in our skiing for quite some time now.

[RAWSki]

@Lieutenant Dan does that mean Nautique​ thinks the average person weighs 160lbs? Thank goodness our ski gear keeps getting lighter and lighter. Seems like there is a lot more room in the PS than the SN OB. Both great boats, I would have to take the ProStar for large bodies of water though.

 

Very interested to see the new ProStar it seems it's an "evolutionary step" and not a complete new design like the SN? Probably a touch-screen dash that rivals Nautique I hope.

[Dacon62]

Wife made me promise to keep our 17 Prostar that we picked up in 2018 for 5 years...arghh!! The countdown begins.

Seriously though love the boat don’t know how they can make it much better.

[mmskiboat]

@Dacon62 I wish I had know that a redesign was happening in 2021 as we might not have bought the 2020 and waited. But we knew that the 2020 with the 6.0 was a solid proven choice so no complaints I guess, love the boat.

 

 

[ozski]

By 2021 new boats from the US will retail at a shade under $160k here in Australia, in a decade I'm going to get excited about this years boats...

[LoopSki]

@ozski i heards a rumor that there

are Australians come out in our summer your winter. Come on vacation buy two boats use them for a while then throw them in a shipping container to Down Under. They keep one sell one. The profit from the sale of the one pays for the whole trip.

 

 

[alanc]

the australian dollas crap so can not see this working.on another note could just buy australian made

 

[Roger]

I am going up on Friday to see/drive/ski the new boat. Dave James who is our Promo for Mastercraft here at Okeeheelee is going up with me. I'll take some photos though I imagine MC will release their own about the same time. I have a 16 now which I'm very happy with, so new boat will have to wow for me to part with that much cash (whatever the number is).

[aupatking]

I’m ready for some pictures

[skimtb]

^^^^ x2