Looking at the X-star

Bambamski · Posted: Sep 05, 2008 8:34 am Post subject: Looking at the X-star

Well it might be time for the new boat. The 2005 X-2 (current X-1) is still my favorite boat of all time, but my boating needs have changed a bit these days. I looked at a 2007 x-star last night that had pretty much everything we wanted except it had the 350 hp motor. I have the 350 hp now in my X-2 and it does fine, do you really need the upgraded motor in the X-star? The boat we are looking at has 1800 lbs of standard ballast plus they said they added another 1200 lbs of ballast for boarding and it worked great.

Also, my buddy is also buying an x-star and he's on a really shallow lake up north of Calgary. he was wondering about the draft of the boat. How much deeper would the X-star sit in the water vs my X-2?

I don't think I would consider anything older that the 07 and I was told last night that MC is adding the tower braces onto the 07 towers under warrantee which is nice.

Anyways, thoughts on the engine and the draft of the boat?

Sandbagger · Outlaw Joined: 10 Jun 2008 Posts: 154

We were just on my friends 07 xstar this last weekend at about 5,000 foot elevation. It did just fine but I think any higher than that and it might be a good idea to consider the hammerhead, especially if you are ever pulling a skier.

Do not know about draft difference. The xstar puts out a great wake for wakeboarding, not so good for surfing.

Bambamski · Posted: Sep 05, 2008 9:30 am Post subject:

I would have thought the surf wake was pretty good? which side were you surfing on? With my boat the goofy side surf wake blows

Sandbagger · Outlaw Joined: 10 Jun 2008 Posts: 154

I tried both sides, we had 10 people on board as well, just was no sweet spot and not very large.

holdsworth · Posted: Sep 05, 2008 10:00 am Post subject:

you probably didn't load the boat right. check parks surfing the x-star on mastercrafts website...it has a decent wake on it.

Liquidmx · Addict Joined: 26 Jul 2004 Posts: 755 City: San Jose

If you plan on weighting it at the "pro" level I hear the big block is hands down the best X-star "version" to get.

midwestrider30 · Newbie Joined: 29 Aug 2008 Posts: 47 City: north korea

I have an '08 x-star and we got the 350 hp which works great for our use.
(stock ballast with two extra 300lb fat sacks on each side in the back and usually around 5-6 people)

Bambamski · Posted: Sep 12, 2008 6:08 am Post subject:

Well my buddy bought an X-star yesterday.

I've got a quick question. We looked at an 07 a week or so ago and they said they had the optional 1800 lb ballast system vs the standard 1400. When my friend bought his X-star yesterday they said there wasn't an optional larger ballast system? Does anyone know what the standard weight is for the 09 Ballast system?

midwestrider30 · Newbie Joined: 29 Aug 2008 Posts: 47 City: north korea

i wish i could tell you man

ohdoor · Soul Rider Joined: 02 Mar 2005 Posts: 281 City: OKC

Our 08 xstar does fine with the 350hp engine with the factory ballast plus 12 or so people.

jonyb · Addict Joined: 06 Oct 2007 Posts: 844 City: Paducah

I sure wish they'd put more pictures up on the MC site. I was browsing the other day and they show almost nothing for the graphics.

Cbrown · Soul Rider Joined: 23 Oct 2003 Posts: 301 City: Memphis

I believe factory ballast is in the 8-900lbs range. I don't think there has ever been a factory ballast upgrade, but a lot of people are putting in the Fly High kit into the boat.

Paul W · Newbie Joined: 12 Jun 2007 Posts: 36 City: Lake Zurich

Our 06 Xstar works well for our needs. We add another 600 lbs in the back over the factory. Its works ok with the mcx 350 but if your going to slam it then the larger engines are better. I never wanted to pay the extra fuel for them though. We are on a river that goes from 2’ to 7’ and you just have to watch it when it gets below 2.5. Have run it for 2 years and don’t hit the bottom that much. You’ll never look back once you trade your X1 in.

LFADAM · Posted: Oct 02, 2008 2:06 pm Post subject:

Bambamski, just my opinion on xstar...huge waste of money. Let me explain why (this is besides the overpriced argument). I ride my friends 07 Xstar all winter and occasionally in the summer. Ive found that to get the same caliber wake as an X-1 (what I rode behind twice a day all summer, essentially the same as your boat) with ~1600lbs and 3 people, in an xstar you need ~3000lbs with 2 people. The wake is very different too. The X1 is narrow and steep (tons of pop) with a short transition, the xstar has the longest transition of any boat Ive ridden, medium steepness, and very wide. To get comparable hang time I ride 75' at 23-24mph on the X1 and 65 or 70' at 25 on the xstar (Im guessing on the 25, depending on the boat, it reads 26.2-28.8 which is extremely inflated)
The other Xstar I ride behind has about 4000lbs of weight in it. Needless to say, youre gonna burn some serious gas in these hogs. MCX350 is a must, and even still your gonna have it floored to get up to speed. We burned about 6gph in the X1, 8-9 with it totally slammed (2k of water and 12 people in that little 20ft boat). I dont have any numbers for the Xstar but Id guess youd have to burn 8-10gph with the aforementioned ballast set up. Sure, you can run it with less, the thing about the Xstar wake is its plenty big with 1 or 2k lbs (stock ~800 is worthless), but since its so mellow, you dont get much pop for how big it is, so you have to make it a mountain before you start hanging in the air and floating over that huge tabletop of water. Ill admit, as a (son of) VLX owner, the Xstar wake is sick (and a little better than the X1) when you really slam it, but thats a huge difference in price, gas, and strain on parts (my friend's boat has had a few engine/tranny issues), and with that picklefork, and the huge dimensions of the boat combined with the weight, dont plan on turning. Laughing

Re: the draft, it probably wont be too much different than any other wake boat. Theyre all about 24". With it slammed it might go to 30" but thats only a 6" difference. Re: the surf wake. I remember in my friends boat, the wake on one side was TERRIBLE. (very long and flat, just like a wallride, no energy behind it and ZERO shape. Its flat.) The other side however, was SICK. Great shape, big and lots of power. I cant remember for sure which side was which, although Im leaning toward Left-good, right-bad. Maybe theres a way to weight it to get the bad side good. We didnt tinker with it much.

Hope that helps. Btw: if you are looking for a little more room than your boat, check out the new X-2. SICK wake (may be my favorite, and my friend the xstar owner says it is his favorite) without needing a ridiculous amount of ballast. Lots of bow room too. Feels wayyy bigger than it is. I dont know anything about the X15 or X45 or whatever they are now, but the X2 is worth checking out.

snowboardcorey · Posted: Oct 03, 2008 4:36 am Post subject:

I love the X-Star! I've had my best sets ever behind a star with the PWT ballast kit. You can plumb the kit into your existing system so you don't need to add any pumps, but you may have to reprogram your ballast timers depending on the year of the boat.

I normally ride behind pretty pigged out X-1's (2500 lbs ballast + people) as I have two buddies who each have one. Every summer I take out a couple of boats (I sell boats) and it never fails that my buddies bitch about them and tout how awesome their X-1's are. The only boat either have ever liked enough to possibly upgrade someday is an X-Star with the PWT Ballast.

Can't go wrong either way and I would never turn down a set behind either but my personal preference is the star.

justridin · Criminal Joined: 07 Nov 2004 Posts: 76 City: Calgary

Bambamski,

With the growth in popularity of surfing and a need for more performance versatility there might be other boat brands or models worth considering Very Happy

b33nine · Soul Rider Joined: 04 Sep 2008 Posts: 311 City: Salem-ish

I just want to back up what LFADAM said... a little bit.

I've been riding lately behind an X-Star, and I really enjoy it, but personally prefer a bit steeper wake, something that will kick me a bit harder. It didn't really dawn on me that the wake was so mellow until LFADAM mentioned it here, but after riding behind a malibu vlx recently and getting rocketed off the wakes, it is very true about the X-Star. It's got a great wake, but will not boot you like something that puts out a bit steeper wake.

Perhaps adding a bit more weight to the back-end of the X-Star would help a bit, but it's not my boat and I don't get to toy around with it all that much.

hco · Posted: Oct 05, 2008 2:34 pm Post subject:

Did you guys play with the trim tab enough with the Xstar?

Bambamski · Posted: Oct 05, 2008 6:51 pm Post subject:

I don't think I'm going to pull the trigger on the new boat this winter. I need to put my boat in my garage all summer so the X-star might be a little too big? WIth that said, I'll get a lot of riding behind the X-star this year as my best friend just bought an 09. I guess after this next year I'll really know if I need to upgrade. It's going to be a sick boat, he went with the red metal flake which is the one I should have gone with!

LFADM I love my wake behind my boat, which is why this is such a tough decision. In my opinion there's never been a better wake ever made.

I should have a good variety of boats to ride behind this year for sure. Also have a buddy picking up a new LSV Moomba, and another buddy is getting an Enzo from the states.

Justridin how was the year for ya? you guys moved way up north, and i went south. Feels like you guys are in another time zone these days... I was talking with C Offerins, (one of my customers) sounds like he's really digging his Tige (although he fishes in it!!! didn't think that was allowed). I rode behind the big 24 foot tige this year. it was set up more for surfing so they couldn't get the wake for boarding going very well. My new neighbor boards quite a bit and is learning how to kite board. He's been practicing behind a trainer so I might have to give that a try. With as much wind as we got this year, it might be time to trade the boat in all together and just go with the wind here in Southern Alberta.