The 2021 MasterCraft ProStar

[ironhorse]

My boat build showed it the same as your top photo, however I do prefer the bottom style better. I hope that's how the colors work when it arrives.

[yourdaguy]

Another problem with the "build a boat" is the covers for the bins in the back are the color of the fiberglass from the top view and the color of the flooring from the back view.

[Keith_Menard]

I have to say...I love the transformers dog house :)

[MISkier]

At a tournament last night, I skied and drove a 2021 Prostar.

 

This boat is everything they said it would be and more. The tracking and driveability were fantastic. My Sure-Path scores were a lot better and more consistent than with the previous boat. I drove the boat late in the evening and it was raining by the end of it. It was really helpful in the poor visibility to have the boat essentially be point-and-shoot. I could pick a line and expend very little effort to keep it there, even with some strong pullers. It requires far less activity on the wheel and I'd say it's even less tiring to drive.

 

The sight lines on the windshield are great for aligning in the course.

 

As for the wake, I started at 34/-22. The wake is absolutely as good (and possibly even better) than the previous boat. It was also great at the shorter lines, though I did not get any -35 myself. We also had several longer line and slower speed skiers and they seemed to all be every bit as comfortable as before. The pull felt very good and the ZO tuning seems to be solid.

 

Due to tournament timing and the late hour, I did not get a chance to really go over the boat and get familiar with everything. But, there is something to be said for being able to jump into it first time with no real orientation and be comfortable enough with the controls and screen to pull solid passes with no user-based delays.

 

Side note: This boat was used with no weights in the bow and no weights for balancing, which was impressive with a boat judge that outweighed me by 100 pounds. Also, nothing had been done to the rudder, which, apparently due to COVID-related supply issues, was not even the adjustable version. I probably wouldn't even swap them out later, the boat drove that well. I was told the boat was essentially "out of the box" from the dealer, with no tweaking or extensive tuning/setup before use.

 

@kurt has a great boat and MasterCraft has a winner.

[tru-jack]

thanks @MISkier Anyone else have driving experience with the new boat? In particular, I'm interested in the tracking and any real world, non-marketing, opinions. It looks great, and seems the real world / user comments lead to the improved design. Not interested in MC vs CC vs BU, just a review on actual tracking improvements or not. Cheers.

[Horton]

I know @rico drove one at a tournament last weekend. Perhaps he could comment.

[mbabiash]

@tru-jack

I’ve put almost 50 hours on our 2021.

We had a 2015 prostar before. There are two other newer prostars on our lake. The 2021 is so good. The tracking is so solid. The really nice part about this boat is that even though it tracks on a rail, you can still feel the skier and stay in sync with them.

 

[MISkier]

@tru-jack, the tracking is vastly improved. I've driven many boats in tournaments (Carbon Pro, 200, 2015 and newer TXis) and have driven at least 10 of the new Prostar models across every model year since 2014. The new boat is unequivocally a huge improvement in driveability.

 

No marketing hype from me. I own a 2009 Malibu RLX and my main club boat is the Bryant-made 200. The other club has a 2017 Prostar.

[rico]

Driving the 2021 felt easy with a similar feel to the 2019 or 2020 I drive all the time, except you have to do less because the boat tracks better (slides less side to side).

I liked how the tracking and steering felt even. It’s not like the 200 where tracking is really strong but you have a lot of pressure on one side only. Maybe it depends on rudder tab setting too.

 

Really fun. I want one :smile:

[Killer]

@tru-jack give Jmac a call, he's been in the seat of the 21 (w/tower) for most of the summer and it's still at the dock. Gorgeous boat. Can still get some sets in too and if you are interested in one, perhaps a test drive? Everyone I've talked to says its easier to drive and tracks better.

 

I don't notice any difference in pull compared to the 2020 on the end of the rope, which is a good thing.

[tru-jack]

@Killer thanks. I've been in touch with Jmac, and Muskoka dealership. Next question is: can my teen daughters surf a bit behind it? they can with our lxi and wedge. nothing special, simply rope free. Trying to avoid new boat only making 1/4 of the family happier than old boat... Not easy being superdad.

[2Valve]

I'm sure it's better in every area but geez, can they get past the SeaDek styled interior already?

 

I'm holding onto my 20 year old Direct Drive because:

It's got great looking Faria analog gauges

It's got a fuel injected small block that can still tear your shoulders out

It's got a great wake

It has honest to good carpeting and vinyl

It's, uhm paid for........

[Horton]

@tru-jack at 8.5mph the wake is ridiculously big for a slalom boat. A tiny bit faster in the boat begins to plane and the wake size drops quickly. Is it an ideal surf wake? I doubt it but unless she is a technical Surfer I believe it will work.

[ironhorse]

@tru-jack I'm in a similar position as yourself. The family likes to ski but my son also likes to surf. You need a skiing neighbor with a surf boat. I take him skiing and he takes my son surfing. Win win!

[tru-jack]

@Horton thanks for the input. I'm going to try this weekend. lxi with wedge is a pretty good crossover boat that can work in the course. prostar will be a great upgrade in course, and hoping it keeps rest of the animals / kids happy. cheers.

[teammalibu]

Got my first seat time today, pulled @The_MS boat felt great he skied really well, I hope to ski it a bit this week! I loved the touch screen has all you need but not so busy! Easy to use.

[escmanaze]

@tru-jack This video was published by @brooks a few years ago.

 

 

I can't imagine any tournament boat surfing nearly as well as a malibu. That wedge really seems to give them a distinct advantage.

 

Maybe the new SN with all of its big trick ballast?

[The_MS]

Drives and skis great. I’ll take one please

[tru-jack]

@escmanaze thanks for the video, seems plenty good enough for our secondary use. @brooks any idea how much weight in addition to the wake shaper? thanks

[brooks]

@tru-jack I believe we added 800lbs

[chrislandy]

@tru-jack One of the kids on the lake was surfing behind a nautique 200 at the weekend with just 4 adults in the boat (1 driving and 3 listing) and no wake shaper, certainly wasn't a "surf boat" size wake but worked, so using that theory I'm sure you can do it for fun on the new Prostar.

 

The biggest issue was changes in depth of the lake, that made the biggest difference

[ironhorse]

 

The new boat has finally arrived!

[C5Quest]

I grew up on Nautiques so I’m biased toward CC, but I hope Mastercraft has upped their quality game.

My ski club gets a new Mastercraft Prostar every year and I’ve been disappointed every year with the simple crap the breaks and falls apart on every new boat. Our boats are rode hard and put away wet averaging about 500 hrs a year. As a stripped down hard core ski boat the wake and hull are great and makes for a good club boat but the quality is garbage. Every year the driver seat breaks, the gas gauge is worthless, and seams to have some engine issue early on. This new Prostar looks like they finally stepped up their game and looking forward to getting behind it next season.

 

On another note, does anyone have a pic of the windshield sight lines for driving the course? I’ve flown a number of aircraft with a HUD (Head Up Display) so I know I’m going to love this feature. It’s so simple to do and can’t believe we are just seeing this in 2021. Should have been used years ago. Great feature for experienced and newer course drivers.

[MISkier]

@C5Quest, I know what you mean. The side panel on the driver's seat of our new 200 (the Bryant built Nautique) we get each year won't stay attached and the gas gauge level bounces around like crazy - until it suddenly drops from 12% to 0%. And, this year, the spring on the throttle ring lost tension. This was the part that worried me. It was possible to brush up against that ring and throttle lever and put the boat into gear.

[sheskis7]

Our club has had new MasterCrafts every year for the past 4 years and we have never had problems with it. 2020 has 450+ hrs a not a single problem, The quality of every boat has been great

[Jerry44]

@ironhorse I would never have thought to choose that color scheme but it looks awesome!

 

[ironhorse]

Thanks @Jerry44 , I have to admit it was a bit of a gamble, but I’m happy with how it turned out.

 

[Bill22]

@ironhorse that might be my favorite Prostar colors of all time. On the water it looks like metal flake but the other pic doesn’t.

[ironhorse]

Thanks @Bill22 it has metal flake in every place Mastercraft would allow, including the bow and bow cover.

[lkb]

I’m interested in buying a 2021 Prostar. I would need to drive it and ski it in my own lake since I have no experience with them. How do you get a demo? I went to my local dealership. They have none in stock which didnt surprise but they don’t even have any allocations available.

[dbutcher]

I don't know where you are, but you might try finding a Prostar promo boat operator near you. He/she might be willing to demo his/her boat.

[The_MS]

I don’t think they have a promo program any more. From what I have heard, they may make a deal with you on the boat (not sure what kind of deal) but it’s between you and the LOC to decide how to compensate you for bringing a boat to an event.

If this is the case, I would expect C and ELR class events to go way up in entry fee costs.

This isn’t a rip on MC as I think it’s that way for them all now.

[dave2ball]

This is a bit off topic but @The_MS I have heard the same thing about there promo team. But no one has seen anything in writing.

[The_MS]

@dave2ball We do need another thread on this

 

[lpskier]

I’ve driven and skied behind two 21’s. They were both fabulous. One interesting note: most boats I ski B2, Nautique 6.2 I ski A2. 21 MC I like C2.

[wski1831]

Mastercraft quality is second to none

[CanuckSkiier]

Is there an equalizer for the stereo in the new 2021? Seems a bit tinny

[addkerr]

Has anyone managed to fit a closed cooling system to the 6L? Not a factory option which is a bummer for us, wonder if anyone has managed to fit one post delivery.

[ironhorse]

@CanuckSkiier Ive tried everything on my screen and haven’t been able to find one. I agree the sound definitely needs some tuning.

[CanuckSkiier]

@ironhorse i agree, we are disappointed with the sound in ours, was there an EQ on the 2020, can we expect a software update?

[ScottScott]

its a fusion thing. No eq in the 2017 fusion stereo

[skierjp]

If your playing music from your phone via bluetooth check the equalizer setting on your phone

[CanuckSkiier]

@ScottScott is the 2017 fusion stereo in the 2021?

[ScottScott]

@CanuckSkiier I cant say if there is a newer model of the fusion stereo I have, that is now in the 2021 or not. Just reporting in that on our 2017 it doesnt have EQ, and that the limitation is the fusion stereo, not anything mastercraft or the touch screen interface is causing.

[unksskis]

Yes, they have a Promo program.

[bishop8950]

I drove the 21 in the BOSCP tournament this weekend and it was a pleasure. Definitely tracks tighter than the 20 yet still easy to put the boat right where you want it. I felt like I was able to give everyone a great ride. I also appreciated how quiet it is at idle and at speed.

[chrislandy]

A question for those who have manged to get their mitts on one of these, how does the "new course guide" work? Is this simply markings etched on the windscreen, something on the dash or is it more a high tech HUD type thing? does anyone have a picture of it in action?

[MISkier]

@chrislandy, it is a trio of black stripes etched in the windshield. The center stripe is a different length than the other two to sort of provide a way to frame the target.

[ironhorse]

Here's a photo of it.

 

[chrislandy]

haha a nice high tech solution I see :)

 

so do you line up the RH one with 1, 3 & 5 and the others on the boat lane buoys?