The 2021 MasterCraft ProStar

[IskiOnWater]

@Ali I'm the girlfriend. Usually I ski at 22-off at 28-something mph at the 12 unicorn setting through our mini-course :) I just started skiing two-ish years ago at age 58 so I don't know how to compare these things. But we ski with Nautique 196 and 200s. I crashed a month ago and hadn't skied in a month so I was being cautious, but I really liked skiing behind the MasterCraft ProStar 2021. Possibly because @FWinter so graciously complimented my driving, but also, the pull was very smooth.

[ozski]

Does anyone know what the engine options are? Will they continue to offer the 5.7 in the new boat? Are the MC engines DI like the Nautique?

[Horton]

@ozski 6.0 & 6.2 MPI

[jjackkrash]

I am pretty sure the 6.0l is MPI and the 6.2l is GDI.

 

https://www.ilmor.com/Marine/Mastercraft-Inboard/

[UWSkier]

I really liked the feel of the 5.7L up at Radar Lake, though that could have been mostly because of @brooks excellent driving. That said, 6.2L has to be a hoot in any DD ski boat, and with a tasty weight reduction vs the 6.0L.

[Horton]

@jjackkrash might be right. I could swear it was MPI but that Illmor doc clearly says GDI

[UWSkier]

Unless Ilmor is using a different base block than the others, the 6.2L is GDI. I'm a bit surprised they still offer the 6.0L and haven't replaced it with a 5.3L. Different marinizers but the Malibu 5.3 blows the gunnels off the PCM 6.0 that's been used in the past few years out of the hole and getting up to speed.

[DanE]

@UWSkier Probably pricing, 6.0 MPI old tech, 5.3 and 6.2 GDI new tech or should I say current tech and more pricey.

I think it's awesome they offer the 6.0 as a entry level engine, plenty of power way better than a 5.7.

[Zman]

@LoopSki What marina do you moor at?

Just curious....?

[Dacon62]

Anyone have a pic of the new adjustable rudder and steering cable/tiller connection?

[pcmcon729]

I look forward to skiing and driving soon. This boat is a winner in all regards. I have a feeling NH will be receiving at least 2 of these within the foreseeable future. @Ali ;)

I have a feeling I will be negotiating a multi-boat deal...for a friend.

[vtjc]

@Davon62 at 2:08 in video the rudder is shown.

[Freddie Winter]

@Dacon62 the rudder is adjustable with an allen wrench so it's super customizable. We messed around with how much torque we wanted. For me I'm going to have it easier for a day in the boat at ski school and more torque for when I drive the short line guys that come out here.

 

 

 

[Andre]

Any pics showing grey SeaDeck?

 

[o2bnMaine]

@MISkier I love it. I have it on my '09 Response LX. It sure made winterizing the boat super easy.

[Dacon62]

Thanks @FWinter. So you just use an Allen wrench to turn the tab in/out? Does it stay in the same position even after days of use?

Those little screws have a habit of working themselves back or out with constant pressure like would be experienced there. Is the threading fine or is there something that locks it in place. Just trying to understand...thanks for your patience.

PS love my 17 PS but this is like mine with a nip/tuck here and some Dow Corning there.

 

[ProStah_Skiah]

Interesting that there doesn't appear to be a grind on the Starboard trailing edge of the rudder any more. Just the tab to create the torque. @FWinter can you take a couple pictures of the new rudder tiller connection?

[MISkier]

I wonder if a future adjustable rudder could incorporate a miniature hydraulic jackscrew combination to adjust the rudder torque realtime from the helm. Like the functions in the control of airplane flaps, the jackscrew would perform the function of the allen screws, but automatically while the boat is in the water. Then, the drivers could pick their own tailored rudder setting, just like a skier pull setting.

[6balls]

The bomb...they have outdone themselves. Great work...in my mind would make buying new a no-brainer. @FWinter why not flush screws on that rudder trim tab? Woudl be a little more elegant.

I would have to drive/ski one, but from being in the prior model with the 6.2 there were only a few little irritants and all are fixed...right down to the battery switch location.

So cool...what's that Bare Naked Ladies song? "If I had a million dollars"? (and a new spine, and a leg without a rod in it, and a way to reverse time).

[Horton]

@MISkier My understanding of the project is they refined everything with a careful intention not to create expensive non-essential tidbits like that.

[Ali]

@pcmcon729 We know you have been waiting for this for a while. Was honestly suprised you had not pulled the trigger before the latest upgrades. The more new boats the better. Heard there might be a test ride coming up soon. Sell a horse buy a boat?

[Justin_C]

Looking forward to one of these hitting the used market in 30 years! Best looking new boat since the Carbon Pro I think!

[DW]

@6balls - 2 good reasons not to go with flush screws, from a flow aspect the bump actually helps add some torque and flush would make the Allen insert less so any corrosion could allow an easier head stripping potential.

 

Question - who sells good underwater calipers:-). Will the settings be shared on BOS...

[ski4xtc]

Mastercraft brought a 2021 Prostar to the Western Regionals. I got a personal overview of the boat from Freddie Winters. He was so kind and took the time to answer every one of my questions. Marcus Brown was there the day after. Freddie and Marcus made a great team to demo the boat. When I drove it, it was sweet. It felt like a cross between how the the CC drives in the course along with the great maneuverability of the MasterCraft. The tracking was terrific. The boat was also very smooth and quiet. The display was so user friendly that it took no explanation at all. I loved how the drivers seat was positioned along with how comfortable it was. The right arm rest was perfect placement to not tweak my shoulder when driving. Hopefully the gas gauge issues have been fixed but if not, you can see the gas tank level under the step at the rear of the boat. As for the wakes, I heard many comments that it felt the same even though the boat was being demoed on a deep gravel pit lake. Overall, I was totally impressed. You can tell a lot of thought and engineering has gone into the changes and improvements.

 

[swc5150]

Sooo close to getting a photo of the tiller connection! Thanks for the review:)

[ski4xtc]

@swc5150 is this what you are looking for?

 

[oldjeep]

Well, that is handy

[swc5150]

That's the pic, thanks!

[skimtb]

You would have to see the underside or end of steering cable, but, my understanding from the recent demo day thing is there is a roller bearing of some sort with a pin at the end of the cable. The end of cable contains this bearing. You can see what looks like a larger boss at the end of the cable under the tiller / arm.

Then the pin goes thru the bearing and up into the tiller arm / steering arm. You see the nut at end of this pin in the picture above.

Result is the bearing is tighter fit for the pivot Joint than the traditional Clevis which has to have some clearance to allow for assembly.

Ideally the pin would be a tapered fit into the tiller, not sure if that is the case.

Again, this is what I got verbally (plus some additional thoughts) from the demo. I didn’t inspect it.

Great boat. Improvements are awesome.

[BraceMaker]

Looks like instead of a U clevis with a pin they just used a roller bearing rod end good upgrade - figure out what the thread on the end of the steerer tube is and you could probably do this to any ski boat in about 10 minutes on mcmaster.com

 

[CanuckSkiier]

Is there an equalizer for the stereo in the 2021 that I am missing?

[skimtb]

Anyone have 2021’s yet? Not seeing many pictures.

[Jerry44]

Here are some pics I took at Nationals

 

 

[Andre]

Nice! Those colors are still gonna look sharp in 20 years...

[tmolinaro]

Here’s a few on their way to MasterCraft Melbourne

 

[Fast351]

I'm a Nautique guy but I gotta say, of the new boats out there, this one is the sharpest looking! Good thing I'm not in the market :smiley:

 

[Cooper_Trelawney]

@tmolinaro those are some great looking designs heading to Australia! Just curious, what is the shipping process from the factory in the US down to Australia and how much more does a US built boat cost down there compared to in the US?

[dvskier]

Much more attractive than any other inboard. They hit it out of the park on this one!

[tmolinaro]

@Cooper_Trelawney to the best of my knowledge, once the boat is built, its transported to the East Coast for fumigation and loaded on to a ship. The ship takes bit over a month to get to Melbourne, VIC.

As far as pricing compared to the US goes, 2021 ProStars are listed here on BoatSales as starting at AU$127,400 but that includes a fair few options standard and tandem trailer from my understanding.

[rockdog]

Our dollar is currently 72c to the US $.

[alanc]

wonder how many they sell in australia .never see them a few mastercraft wake boats thats about it from that brand.at that price you can buy 2.5 Australian made ski boats

 

 

[tmolinaro]

@alanc no doubt there are more wakeboard/surf boat sales across all the big three manufacturers than ski boats in Aus. However, an Australian made Malibu TXI, similarly optioned to the 2021 ProStar, down here would still be ballpark $110,000.

[alanc]

your right there spose i was just thinking of a lewis or xfi ski boats there no where near as flash but still good to ski behind and a lot more affordable

[tmolinaro]

@alanc very true. Can’t complain about those boats

[TallSkinnyGuy]

Maybe I'm the last one to figure this out and maybe it is already posted in the thread, but I just discovered that although there is no "Design this boat" feature if you're on the Prostar page of the MC website that I could find, you can select the Xstar from the Boats menu, then select "Design this boat," click on the "Choose your boat" option and switch to the Prostar. My wife and I had fun last night designing our dream Prostar and I felt one small step closer towards her acceptance of the idea.

[skimtb]

^^^. Here is the guy MC can blame if their site crashes in the next 4 hours....

[JordanOz]

@tmolinaro and @alanc there are 2 2021 Prostars listed on Boatsales at the moment for $127k AUD right now. No mention of any options. A lot of coin for a ski boat. I’ll stick with my 200 I reckon.

[ironhorse]

Australia pricing is similar to Canada and its the exchange on the dollar that has the biggest impact. A fairly loaded 2021 prostar is $125 to $130K in Canada

[shufflehuff]

The design your boat link appears to work now on the ProStar page.

[ski4xtc]

Wondering if anyone has any insight or has noticed that when designing a 2021 Prostar interior the 2nd base color is the large section on top of the engine cover. However, in actual boats that section is the regular base color. For example, this design has Viper Red 2nd base.

This photo below the 2nd base color is a blue but the bigger color on top of the engine is the base color, Platinum. Hopefully this makes sense. I noticed this in Mid July with the skittles photo that the dealers were using. Depending on the color choices, it could really change how the interior looks.