Best slalom wake

[drewski16]

How would you rate the best slalom wakes on boats under $25,000. The boat will be used primarily on open waters.

 

[AndersonSkiTeam]

Tough to beat a Malibu Response for wake at this price range for open water.

 

[ski6jones]

196

[The_MS]

196 or a Carbo Pro

[dvskier]

A 1997 or newer Ski Nautique. The 196 didn’t come out until 2002.

[coach3]

92-94 MasterCraft. Carbon pro and current models are patterned after this classic design. Wakes are soft, but spray at 32 off and shorter

[MDB1056]

Big +1 for 91-94 MC190. Fabulous boats and wakes. There's a 94 on SIA now, only 450 hrs, for $14K can certainly bring it home for less. Well under your $25K, leaves a lot for gas.

[escmanaze]

97+ nautique is the obvious answer when you ask for best wake. But then when you say you will be using it primarily on "open waters" then I start to cringe a little and ask exactly how open? Depending on that answer, you might start to sacrifice the best wake for a boat that is better on big water. 1st step in that direction would be a response lxi.

[MNshortliner]

Malibu Response and Response LX have great wakes but are firmer than others. Also they can be had for almost $10k less than a comparable Nautique or Mastercraft with similar hours. With Zero Off and early 2010’s! There is a reason those boats were not changed for 15 years.

[6balls]

Yes what does "open water" mean? How many in the boat typically when you are skiing? Open water to me means not necessarily a course, but there could be one? It also means just a bigger lake which all are sometimes glass calm--at least that's when we weanted to ski 'em growing up--later in the day sometiems they became a shit show of rollers and wind, but by then we were done and off the water.

 

Do you need to recreate some, have a bunch of folks in the boat, do other stuff? How will you use the boat?

 

U need a wake--196, "Bu" Response. You need more room--Sunsetter Lxi etc.

[slow]

97+ nautique

[liquid d]

The Best slalom wake ever created was the 97 Ski Nautique. Pretty much end of story.

[RAWSki]

I believe most here are commenting on running tournament speeds +32mph through a course. Lots of variables and if by open water you mean outside the course then there are even more options. Other factors are your skiing speed, amount of people and gear you plan/need to carry other uses etc. There were may great boats from half a dozen different makers in the early 2000's before V-Drives took over. Find a well cared for and a good dealer that has some knowledge of the boat if possible.

[bananaron]

Carbon Pro is at the top of my list and I have had many boats under $25,000 before this pandemic hit.I had a 2011 CP that was a great ski boat for all skiers of any level.Also the LXI I think is excellent choice along with the 196.Boats are so over priced now I can't believe it.If I had all of boats for sale now and sold them I would be rich and could retire and be a neighbor to @The_MS .

[bananaron]

You really have to drive and ski the different boats to make the decision.We all have different likes and dislikes.

[BraceMaker]

Open water is tough. Open bow boats are almost necessary if you do a lot of anchoring and docking. Hard to hop the window with an anchor if you do that daily it gets old, and people like lounge space but practically any good ski boat with an open bow can be swamped pretty easily if you have a few people sitting up there and aren't on plane so the question is does one boat need to do everything or can you have multiple boats?

 

A really nice rig is a pontoon boat and a closed bow ski boat. We can anchor out the pontoon with fenders on the side and tie up against it to switch boat crews. More often I have the skiers on the pontoon and use it like a mobile dock. It can go out when far too rough for the ski boat.

[Wish]

Did someone say 1997 Ski Nautique ?

[jpattigr]

I would agree with most on here, best wakes at the most speeds and line lengths are 97-01 Ski Nautique, 02-09 196 Ski Nautique and the Carbon Pro, all years. But Carbon pro under $25k will be tough to find.

 

[vtjc]

I love my 08 CC 196.

 

Here is an add for a $25k Carbon Pro, 1,200 hours on hull 600 on motor... https://www.ski-it-again.com/php/skiitagain.php?endless=summer&topic=Search&category=Boat_3Event&postid=59196

[ALPJr]

In my experience a 91-94 PS190 with a 1/1 trans’ (slot was slightly bigger) or a 97-99 SN.

[75Tique]

To everyone mentioning the 97+ Nautique. Dont forget the boat that was essentially the bubble butt prototype, the 96 176. :)

[Fast351]

97-09 TSC Nautique. 91-94 Prostar would be cheaper and a close second.

 

I have an 01 Ski Nautique and my neighbor had a 94 Prostar. Both on a public lake but with plenty of glass if you get up early or weekday ski. I would take a pull behind either but the Nautique is a little nicer interior wise mostly because it's newer.

 

[drfred]

I loved the open water wakes of my 2002 Malibu Xti. It's pretty good in the course as its a DD and I had the 3rd fin added. Because its 22'6" and has wakeboard like seating, its a cool boat and handles the chop way better than anything else, similar to a 22' I/0.