Guppy73

Currently swerving a a 2017 Connelly Carbon V which has been a great ski. Looking for a new ski and have heard great things about the Senate line. I'm torn between the graphite & lithium models. The graphite would be a similar comp to my Carbon V in terms of core and the lithium would be a step up with the lighter core. Has anyone skied both these models and care to comment about any tangible performance differences? Curious which would be the better choice... I'm 50 - 180#'s - skiing at 34 mph - 22 off..... Open water early in the morning runs to get course like water quality - just no buoys on our lake so simply swerving pretending I'm skiing a course.....

Getting closer..... Think I'm down to 4 choices: 1) Connelly V with Snyc Front and RTP 2) O'Brien Snchro 3) HO Omni 4) Radar Katana Really like the Connelly Sync bindings - especially the left foot forward boot option. Also like the width of these 4 skis vs Radar Senate (real nice ski tho!) to make my deep water starts which I'm still working on perfecting vs dropping much easier. Anyone have any experience with any of these 3 planks care to comment further. Thanks!

Thanks for the advice everyone. I think the much better new style bindings will be a huge benefit! I've been skiing 32 mph and 22' off.

So after almost 20 years of skiing just a handful of times I got back into it last year. Skied several times a week between June and October and want to get back at it again this spring. Looking for ski upgrade suggestions - mostly free skiing & only in a course a couple times - need to improve! I'm 45 - male - 180#'s. My Connelly Concept is 67" and has a standard (non boot) front binding and rear toe. Would be nice to get a real boot up front & prob feel more comfortable sticking to rear toe for now as that's all I'm used to skiing.... Appreciate any thoughts on brand/model - also would entertain buying a gently used ski from someone here as well. Thanks!

Good advice @escmanaze. Anyone out there been on Mastercraft's X14 - the direct drive version. They don't make it anymore, but it has the closest seating layout to current model v-drives in terms of being family friendly from what I can see.

@tomme12. Great story line. I am leaning towards a boom for starting off just so she's right next to me. Can't wait to demo both these boats to see wakes first hand as that's my fear - they'll just be too big in high teens for kiddos. To keep Horton happy, MC made that x14 in both a v& DD models! Best / biggest seating available for a family in either boat. Not a bad option - definitely worth considering and testing out maybe. So now we've included DD's! Just need two boats - one for skiing & one for cruising and other sports! Problem solved....

Not neoprene.... Now that my daughter is older & in the water more frequently (down the 'poon waterslide or on the tube) we have two life jackets. She wears the Mustang while boating and a neoprene vest style for water sports as an adult is always on the tube with her. We just wanted the 'best' boat life jacket for a worst case scenario - a fall overboard, boat sinking, etc..... We boat both in salt and fresh water so sometimes a few miles from shore or other boats.

Best money can buy - tough to put a price on the kiddo. Worth every penny! LINK We had the same "neck" issue to start, but as my girl got older it fit better and better.... Get them used to wearing it around the house so as to establish a comfort factor - ie: don't put it on for the first time on the boat to avoid a potential meltdown and ruining the boat ride!

Surgery as last option unless you get bad sciatica that results in leg muscle loss. Lots of p/t - get that core rock solid. Use steroid injections to mange pain - either direct or Caudill into multiple discs at once. Good luck. Keep skiing. Also - stretch those hamstrings as when tight those pull on lower back.

Some add'l great points - I didn't like the look of the GS20 with all that sea deck finish & found the seats smaller (more narrow). Really like the v-drive style vs dd for the open center deck and all the extra wrap around seating + pickle bow for room/space. The new MC xt20 really has a cool flip fwd rear bench. Hence why I think the DD is out. Great point @UWSkier about the slower speed 'learning wakes'. As she is so young not sure how'll she progress - I know she like the tube now and watching me ski. I would hope she'd ski 100% but imagine she'll follow the young crowd and get into wake boarding and surfing especially as I get into those as well in addition to still doing slalom. Hence why I was really leaning towards the crossover. Wife wants me to slow down - maybe hold off buying for a year till she is 5 and better physically developed for more water sports beyond the tube. Based on the notes so far I am scared of the new VTX hull so a late model '13-'15 BU VTX might be the best or the MC XT20. I really need to drive these in a couple months at all the speeds we'd use - like from 10mph for her trainer skis all the way to 32/34 for my slalom............... Appreciate all the advice - it does help and will make for good points to consider when I get a chance to drive some of these....

Found this video of the NEW xt20 running the course. What do you guys think???

Looking new. The new xt20 from MC is a different hull than the NXT which has been out for a couple years. I did check Nautique GS20 but hated the small seats and the tons of sea deck trim everywhere just waiting to be an issue down the road. Seems like everyone thinks the Bu will ski better. How about quality - seems like a lot more plastic in the Bu and MC finish a notch above. Thx for all comments so far - keep em coming. Will def try to demo both!

Newbie to the forum and trying to decide on a boat…. I grew up slalom skiing 20’ outboards in salt water, but now live right next to a beautiful fresh water lake so I want to get an inboard. My daughter is 4 and I want to get her into water sports. We are looking for a ‘cross-over’ boat that is family and kid friendly that we can slalom ski recreationally, tube, wake board, and learn how to wake surf with. Need to stay with the 20’ models due to size restrictions. I am torn between the new Mastercraft XT20 Crossover and Malibu’s 20 VTX Crossover. Both boats as I spec'd them out come in with very close MSRP's... Any insight or advice would be greatly appreciated!