MB Sports B-52

WitmerBoarder · Criminal Joined: 17 Aug 2004 Posts: 67 City: Fort wayne

Ok, I have done the search function and found a few comments about the MB sports B-52.

Now i would like to hear from actual owners of the boats.

I currently am a Mastercraft fan but have decided it's time for a new boat, wether that means another Mastercraft or a MB is still up in the air.

I am looking for experiances with MB boats and service.

steve-o · Posted: Sep 29, 2004 11:05 am Post subject:

i was out in the b-52 and was amazed/blowen away with the finish and quality. I've been in tons of v-drive boats and this was by far the nicest. As for the shape/size of the wake.....THe day i test rode the boat the lake was really gusty and rough so i couldn't judge it so well.
If i had the $$$$ i would for sure pick MB...oh yeah the 2 speed is kinda stupid. if you can save some $$$ don't get it.

scott a · Ladies Man Joined: 13 Jan 2003 Posts: 9810

i would demo a new x-2 and an mb as close together as possible so you can see the difference between the two. ive been on both, and i definitely like the fit and finish of the MC much better. i do like the 2 speed tranny. i kinda wanna start seeing more companies try out ideas like this because it seems to work pretty well.

another thing to consider is the price. ive been told that if you get the 2 speed tranny with the 2100lbs of ballast option the price will run waaaay up into the SAN price range. ive asked several people if this is true, and they've only told me that they "got a great deal." take that for what you will...but remember that you can probably find an 04 x-2 for low 40s out the door.

above all: demo them both and ask a LOT of questions.

Bruky · Guest

2005 2-speed Team Editions are at 47k here. Hardly SAN price range...

Diggs · Addict Joined: 27 Jan 2004 Posts: 627 City: Portland

Witmerboarder - I have been looking at the b-52 as well, but the local dealer's price is a little high. What are people paying for them? Any prices would help with your comments for all you with one.

640Pressman · Addict Joined: 14 Nov 2003 Posts: 753

I went out on a B-52 last week and I was very impressed with the boat.
the only negative things that I could say would be that the ballast filled and drained a little slow and it planed out a little slow (one speed tranny).
On the positive side....NICE WAKE...HANDLED WELL.....GOOD IN ROUGH WATER....A+ fit and finish...BLING FACTOR A+

IMHO it's the best looking boat out there.

RebecMB79 · Newbie Joined: 29 Sep 2004 Posts: 13 City: Santa Rosa

A little info for you boys...

You won't see a two speed transmission in a boat used in the same application that MB uses it for for years to come because they hold the rights to an exclusive patent.

The two speed makes a considerable difference when you have a heavily weighted down boat i.e. a team edition with the stock ballast tanks filled equalling 2100lbs of ballast plus a few guys in the boat. The boat launches out of the water with correct use of the two speed tans. If the boat isn't weighted up you won't see a huge difference. Also you get much better gas consuption with the two speed in a weighted up boat because you will be able to get the boat up on plane at lower RPM's.

A totally loaded up B-52 runs $46200...that includes 330HP PCM engine, CD stereo with sub and amp, newly designed tower with wake board racks, pop up cleats, towable cover, depth finder, 1600lbs of ballast with a gauges, perfect pass, pop up driver's seat, tilt steering, billet dash and speaker covers, bimini top, center bow filler cushion, wind damn, flame graphic package (all inlayed in gel coat, no stickers) and Zieman trailer with spare tire, swing away tongue, and built in rear tie downs. If you want the team edition which adds an additional 500lbs of front ballast and the two speed transmission the price is $51,995.

This boat comes with one of the best warranties out there. Three years on the engine and either five years or lifetime on anything else on the boat. Lifetime for the structure of the boat, billet aluminum, gauges. Five years for everything else.

What else do you want to know??? Just ask me....

WitmerBoarder · Criminal Joined: 17 Aug 2004 Posts: 67 City: Fort wayne

Thanks for all the comments. I have heard nothing bad about these boats anywhere. I did find a dealer in Spring valley IL. who sells both Mastercraft and MB Boats. He said both boats are well built and the biggest difference is the MB boats cost slightly less and have more factory balast.

Keep the experiances and photos coming.

DIGGS - prices in RebecMB79's post are about right form my conversations with the dealer.

domin8 · Posted: Sep 30, 2004 1:14 pm Post subject:

WitmerBoarder - We have an 04 V3 with 6L. I didn't choose the 28 split but I would next time. Mostly because we never ride without the balast fully loaded. Also we surf alot when the buttas gone or at the end of the day on the way in. Surf wake is so easy to curl up with so much factory balast on the switches. I agree with WALT the balast is a little slow, but it's also alot of water compared to others.
Nothing but good things to say about the boat and the service after 160 hours this season so far.
My family has really enjoyed the boat and the boys are flyin off the wake. Both boys board and surf regularly behind several other 03 and 04 top 3 boats and feel the wakes are all good but different shapes. You should be the judge about the wake shape you like.

Brandi · Newbie Joined: 24 Sep 2004 Posts: 49 City: D/FW

My husband and I own an 02 B-52 and love it. I really like because of where we are there isn't another one around like it, we are mainly surrounded by Bu's and Supra's. I also really enjoy the built in ballast. We don't have the front ballast due to being an 02 so we put fat sacs in the front but I LOVE the storage it has in the back. TONS of room. We can even put my board with bindings in the back and no one is the wiser. We've had a few maintainence problems but I don't think it was anything out of the ordinary that any boat owner wouldn't go through. Overall it has been a great boat. We bought ours used off of boattrader.com and got a really great price for it. You may want to try there after demoing!! Very Happy

Good Luck with your search!!

Diggs · Addict Joined: 27 Jan 2004 Posts: 627 City: Portland

I thought about used also, but the warranties are so good new it seems you lose alot by not having it. My understanding is the warranty does not transfer? Or you have to pay for it?

Brandi · Newbie Joined: 24 Sep 2004 Posts: 49 City: D/FW

Our warranty transferred and when we bought it the guy put some sort of leather conditioner on the vinyl and made the red fade on the sundeck and so before we bought it he ordered more skins through warranty to make sure that we got them just in case but our warranty was transferred. To my knowledge anyway!

acurtis_ttu · Soul Rider Joined: 16 Aug 2004 Posts: 499 City: Houston

I would think the amount of money saved by a 2 year old boat would more than make up for a new one w/ waranty. Make sure you have a certified mechanic take a look at it first, so you don't inherit any problems. Like most mechanical machines the majority of any major problems will happen in the first 12-18 months. I know you can buy extended warranties on late model used cars are there any companies offering the same thing on late model boats?

scott a · Ladies Man Joined: 13 Jan 2003 Posts: 9810

ok so the 23 foot version of the 2005 B-52 has 2600 lbs of internal ballast. the extra ballast was in the rear tanks (the boat is longer, so the rear tanks can be longer as well...). basically it took forever to fill up/drain, but we just took out the rear plugs so it would fill quicker, then put them back when the rear tanks were full.

faster draining pumps would be nice, but that was really the only complain i had. the shifting was MUUUUUCH nicer on the 2005 than on the 2004s i have been on. the driver wasnt even throttling back when they shifted and the shifts were still smooth.

the new tower is a skylon i believe and vaguely resembles the new MC towers with one bar swooping back holding up the rope attachment thingy. unfortunately, this new tower style puts the rope attachment a good 3 feet farther back than the usual tower so you have to either shorten your rope or ride farther back on the wake.

this was the first time i have shot any video from a b-52, and i have to say the seats were much nicer (better padding) on this boat than MC. this isnt something i would have noticed if i had just been sitting inside it. when you have to be kneeling on a seat all day i guess you notice these things Laughing

all this for ~$60K...

RebecMB79, if i messed up any of this info, feel free to correct me...

intotheflats · Posted: Oct 04, 2004 1:59 pm Post subject:

B-52's throw a great wake. I have heard of some quality issues though. Mainly stupid stuff like bolts coming loose on the tower, wiring problems. little stuff like that, nothing with the hull or engine though

DJew Jake · Posted: Oct 04, 2004 2:38 pm Post subject:

scot a you got some upcloses of the b52 23?

scott a · Ladies Man Joined: 13 Jan 2003 Posts: 9810

aFramer, it looks the same as the 04s...except with a different tower. walt posted a pic earlier in the thread, and the new tower is on the red boat w/ red chevy...

logan · Posted: Oct 04, 2004 5:02 pm Post subject:

i like the old tower better.

RebecMB79 · Newbie Joined: 29 Sep 2004 Posts: 13 City: Santa Rosa

You can still get the older style tower if you like it better...however the new tower has a few real up sides...the new tower has a integrated bimini that actually snaps to the back of the tower and then goes forward and shades the whole cockpit but you can still stand up under it. Also if you want to add a light bar (although we all know riding at night is not allowed and we would never do it) or speakers you can hang them off the tower and they don't interfere with the bimin at all. Lastly it is much easier to get to your boards with the Bimini up over your head you no longer need to reach around the bimini to get to the board racks...Oh and the new Billet arm just looks cool...I hear all the chicks dig it...TEE HEE

640Pressman · Addict Joined: 14 Nov 2003 Posts: 753

Here are a few of the B-52

640Pressman · Addict Joined: 14 Nov 2003 Posts: 753

A few more off the B-52 wake.

640Pressman · Addict Joined: 14 Nov 2003 Posts: 753

Ok... A couple more.

DJew Jake · Posted: Oct 04, 2004 6:04 pm Post subject:

those boats are sooooo nice lookin and judgin from your height they have a sick wake (the wake surf wake looks awsome also. Is the wake on the 23 better/worse/different then the 21 footer

WitmerBoarder · Criminal Joined: 17 Aug 2004 Posts: 67 City: Fort wayne

Well after hearing all the good things people have to say, and having an off line conversation with rebecmb79, and a dealer. I will be making the 4-hour drive to the closest dealer to take a test drive. We will see where it goes from there.

thepizzacritic · Posted: Oct 05, 2004 5:04 am Post subject: boat

whtimer - check your PM. I'm about 2.5 hours from you if you want to ride it.

adela · Soul Rider Joined: 03 Mar 2003 Posts: 270

The only complaint I have about the B52 (02, I think) that I have ridden in was the wake. It just didnt compare to the Supra and Malibus I ride in. And this is with the built in ballast and added weight in the front. Maybe it is just this particular one, but everyone else that has ridden in it says the same. They try and make it the 'chase footage' boat when the owner is around so that they don't have to tell him the wake is bad. Hopefully it is just that boat though! Good luck!

DJew Jake · Posted: Oct 05, 2004 8:36 am Post subject:

they changed the hull in 2k3

RebecMB79 · Newbie Joined: 29 Sep 2004 Posts: 13 City: Santa Rosa

What caused the less than perfect wake in the pre-2004 models was a "air relief notch" in the hull. This notch ran along the back third of the boat and what it did was allow air to get up under the back end of the boat and lift up the back end when the boat had no ballast in it. This meant that this wakeboard boat could still be adjusted to have a pretty awesome ski wake and get a little more top speed because there would be less drag on the back end when the tanks were empty. In 2004 they decided that they would take those notches out of the hull of the B52 and make it a strict wakeboard wake. Those notches were compromising the shape of the wake too much for the better riders out there. So now the B52 hull is a wakeboard boat and they kept the notches in the 220V hull and made that a combo ski/wakeboard boat.

Coy · Criminal Joined: 01 Mar 2003 Posts: 80 City: Austin

well i dig'em

if you need any advise pm me......

Coy · Criminal Joined: 01 Mar 2003 Posts: 80 City: Austin

So. what did you decide on.

WitmerBoarder · Criminal Joined: 17 Aug 2004 Posts: 67 City: Fort wayne

I am talking to a dealer and if we can come to an acceptable agreement I will be driving an B-52 next summer.

Thanks to everyone fo rall the feedback. Very Happy