Dacon62

@skibug...perhaps Mastercraft should be selling this NXT line under the name 'Apprenticecraft' or 'Studentcraft'...LOL.

I know you mentioned that all lines are clear. However I had a similar situation happen on my '08 Malibu VTX...sucked up some milfoil which the impeller chopped up and the pieces got hung up in the tranny cooler holes reducing flow enough to give me alarms occasionally. Have installed strainers ever since for piece of mind.

All New??? The 2014 Prostar can make a claim like that and it is believable. Tell me how the Carbon Pro looks or is different from last year. If it is all new have I been hiding under a rock and missed something? Marketing hype or whatever just happy to see a company paying attention to us slalomer's and giving us something to get excited about.

@ShaneH...hadn't seen your pics till just now after your comment.

New Tower for the Prostar. Looks beefy and functional.

The Great White North buyers tend to shy away from anything approaching 500 hours. There are usually a few good low hour boats on the market to pick from because of our short season.

In general I would think that a vehicle typically runs at half the rpm and has considerably more 'unloaded' run time than a boat making a direct hour vs. mileage comparison unfair.

@Horton...Love my Strada (purchased after some great feed back on this site) and ski mostly at 15 off so this comment has me thinking?? Low roll angle...sounds like a situation I would be in more often than a short liner and therefore maybe not an ideal longline ski???

If you got to have a Vdrive the Malibu VTX with diamond hull is probably your best bet for your specific set of criteria. More seating area than a Sport 200 and a bit more freeboard.

Congrats @Horton! Is this S. Cal? Where? Looks awesome!

If you... 1) As stated have access to DD for skiing. 2) Have 3 kids that want to bring freinds. 3) Need something good for rough water. Why not just buy an older, larger Vdrive(23')? Sounds like you have access to some great slalom boats and don't necessarily need to ski behind this Vdrive? A 20' Vdrive will feel awefully crowded if your kids all bring a friend or two.

Had an '08 Malibu VTX with diamond hull...just sold it and bought a '13 Malibu TXi. Loved the room just did not enjoy skiing behind it...believe me I tried to convince myself it was a decent slalom boat for years because it had so many other good qualities. Wake on the VTX is wide, high and fairly firm. Even when you try to attack the wake on edge free skiing you need to keep soft knees to absorb the first wake then there is a considerable pause due to the wake width (at 11 off, 34 mph) before falling off the second wake. It totally screws up your timing and your body position tends to default to defense mode rather than attack mode. 11 off is not a typo...we added 4 feet to the line to avoid the rooster tail at 15 off and don't even try 22 off, it will feel like a mule kicked your ski. At 28 off and shorter it's not too bad but still hard. I believe the V-Ride is the wake hull so even worse likely?? although never skied behind one. Do yourself a favour and ski both a V-Ride and Direct drive back to back for a fair comparison.

Last ski of the season...Sad. Glass, amazing fall colors and good Freinds to enjoy it with...Very Happy.

David Kampen-51. Married 25. Son 22. Something about a boat or ski slicing through the water that got me hooked as a teen. Sold my Malibu VTX with diamond hull and now own a Malibu Txi as a joint purchase with a friend that I ski with 95% of the time. Looking forward to slaloming my face off next season on Hatzic Lake, B.C. Canada. My ski is a 2014 Radar Vapor with double boots. Mainly free ski but have run into 28 off years ago. Will see what this next season brings now that we ditched the V-drive. Most of my posts have been related to 'Boat Talk' as my fascination with exploring ways of building a boat with a flatter, more skiable wake is always on my mind. Visited Mike Suyderhoud's ski school in '87 and took in the Pro Ski tour stop in Vallejo, CA. Turns out Ray Stokes was the main coach at the ski school. Was privileged to look Ray up again in Australia at his ski school there in '89 and spent a week in his home and skiing at his site. What a solid, genuinely nice guy. Was saddened by the news of his passing. Very fond memories. Really enjoy the 'Ball of Spray' discussions and appreciate the honest and unfiltered feedback and comments. It is my go to site whenever I need advise on a Boat, Ski or Equipment purchase. As we move into another dreary, cold, grey, rainy time all I have to say is ...Die, winter Die!!!

Have never owned a pair of dowel and strap gloves (Masterline Prolocks, Radar Vice, etc) as I have always been concerned that in a fall my hand may inadvertently 'lock' onto the handle due to the nature of the glove design. Has this happened to anyone? Not trying to spread paranoia here just want some opinions before buying some as I have dislocated my shoulder a few times while engaged in other activities.

For anyone using their boat on other than a private lake maybe offer a water bladder system with pumps with one bladder in each of the rear storage compartments. Need about a 16 U.S. gallon bladder for each compartment to equal 3-45 lb. plates. Water is everywhere you go why not use that rather than dragging plates around.

@skihart...Don't think anyone has seen the rear seat. Just going by what @wish said in his comments in the discussion titled "I have seen the 2014 Prostar" ... The planned twin rear seating with center opened to a EASY step over.

Love, love, love the new Prostar. The attention to detail is amazing not to mention the wake. @marcusbrown and the team at Mastercraft have really made a giant leap forward with this boat. So much focus has been on Wake boats...thanks for spending the time and effort to give us slalom skiers something new! Have not heard this mentioned yet...Will the new Prostar have the MTS...Mastercraft Training System (small...180 lb. passenger side ballast tank) to balance the boat should you not be able to find a third for your set? Also @wish mentioned a split 2 piece rear seat to make for easier passage when using the step over transom. Very user friendly when skiing. Unfortunately, you lose seating capacity for the occasions when you load up and go for a cruise down the lake. Could a good compromise be had with a fold up/down middle seat back? The seat back including the folding seat back portion and seat bottom would need to be removable when it's hard core time in keeping with the modular concept.

Thank you @buski that forum post was very helpful. Looks like the ideal way to improve the Lxi wake is to buy a TXi.

Has anyone out there played around with the SSP (a manually adjustable cavitation plate attached to wedge bracket) on a 07-11 Lxi to improve the longer line (15-22 off) wake by lifting the back of the boat? Does it work? What are your observations?

The spray looks minimal as well coming off the passenger side. Freddy is blocking the driver side.

Go to Facebook and search 'The Mastercraft Prostar' Some more nice teaser pics there.

It would be nice if Malibu had available a fold down, stowable, middle observers seat like the 200 has... The large based movable seat they offer now consumes a pile of space and is not stow away friendly.

Nice motor box...

While fuel consumption is only one of the multitude of items to consider when purchasing a boat it is a factor. In another post someone mentioned that they had run a TXI and a 200 for the same amount of hours and had tracked the fuel consumption and if memory serves the TXI used about 1/3 less over the considerable time frame measured. Anyone know where to find that comment?