X1 and Xstar found, contemplating which one is better deal

LakeAustinBecca · Newbie Joined: 10 Jul 2010 Posts: 41 City: Georgetown

I am looking at used boats and ran across two used MCs, an 05 XStar and a 08 X1, both right at $38K, except the X1 doesn't include a trailer and I need a trailer. The X1 only has 57 hours on it and the XStar has around 500 hours on it. The XStar just had a complete overhaul with new seats and carpet and tune ups. I have seen the X1 in person but not the XStar yet. Which one would you prefer if you will mainly be wakesurfing and wakeboarding? Are the wakes very different from each other?

Chattwake · Posted: Mar 02, 2011 6:57 am Post subject:

What motors are in the boats?

The XStar will be roomier. It will be a bit more prestegious because it's been MC's flagship wakeboat since '04/05. It can be difficult to get a good surf wave out of an XStar (at least in my experience). The wakeboarding wake is great once you load the boat up, but you do need to add quite a bid of ballast to get it really really good. It's a wider wake that's pretty rampy.

The X1 hull is one of the best hulls ever made in terms of the wake it produces. I owned an '02 XStar, which was built on that same hull (another one of my friends owns a 1999 205v and another owns an '07 X1). The x1 produces a pretty solid surf wave and an absolutely amazing wake, loaded heavy or unloaded. The wake behind the X1 is a bit narrower than the XStar. If you ride really long and like a really huge wake, the XStar may be a better choice. With an X1, if you absolutely slam it with weight, the wake will be huge and perfect at 65-75 feet at 23-24 mph. It tends to curl at 80 ft unless you speed up. Some of my friends ride really long, and like a pro sized wake, so they sometimes had to ride faster than they wanted to behind my old XStar when we had it slammed.

The X1 is sortof cramped on the inside. 6-7 people fit comfortably in that boat. Any more, add coolers, etc., it gets crowded in a hurry.

I personally love the X1 and would take one of those in a heartbeat again. Honestly, the room you get in an XStar is not all that much more in the cabin area, it's in the bow where you really notice the extra space.

The X1 ballast is really easy to upgrade too. Just pull the rear hard tanks and replace them with 500lb sacs from fly high.

500 hours is a lot. The XStar will tend to age/depreciate due to the fact that the hull will be discontinued next year. Also various features of the XStar have been upgraded and refined over the years. In '05, that boat had only been out a year and change. The X1 has stayed tried and true over the years. Obviously, it will depreciate too, but I'm still seeing like '02 XStars selling in the mid to high 20's even today.

Hopefully, someone who has actually owned an '05 XStar will chime in here.

LakeAustinBecca · Newbie Joined: 10 Jul 2010 Posts: 41 City: Georgetown

Thanks! I ride at 65' and am not an expert by any means so the more narrower wake seems to feel better to me. After I purchase the boat I really dont want to mess with upgrades or changes. This will be my first boat ever and I dont know much about the boats in general. I am not sure what engine is in the xstar but the x1 has a 5.7L MPI 310hp, and once again..... no trailer according to the website. However when i went and looked at it, it was sitting on a trailer....
When I am out on the water I dont want to have to mess with the ballast a lot, i just want to push a button and fill/empty and go.

Chattwake · Posted: Mar 02, 2011 8:08 am Post subject:

Both boats should fit the bill of push button ballast, etc. You can get a cheap trailer for that x1 from www.boatmatetrailers.com Call them and ask for Owen. If he doesn't answer, leave him a message letting him know you want a quote for a basic (single or tandem) trailer for an x1. Tell him you know Tom from Chattwake.com and he'll hook it up.

Chattwake · Posted: Mar 02, 2011 8:10 am Post subject:

Find out what motor the xstar has in it.

The RTP motor in the X1 is the base motor. If you're not going to be slamming that boat with a bunch of weight, then that motor will do fine. Even if you decide to add a bunch of ballast later, you can reprop that boat and that motor will be sufficient.

The motor choice in the XStar is pretty important because that's a bigger boat.

Ralph · Posted: Mar 02, 2011 11:35 am Post subject:

If you are not a high level rider I would recommend against the x-star. With stock only ballast the wake is pretty wide and mellow and IMO not very fun, to make it fun you need to add at least 2k over stock, once you load them down prepare to pay the piper at the pump. The X1 wake is super fun at all sizes due to its shape and it is a much easier boat to tow around, weight and put gas into. The only down side is they are much smaller in the cabin than the XStar

Bambamski · Posted: Mar 06, 2011 6:06 pm Post subject:

The x-star sucks

there i said it. Even with 2500 lbs of extra weight it barely produces a wake with any lip. It handles like a pig. I couldn't be more of a seller of the xstar. I posted about two to three years ago that i was going to buy one. Two of my buddies bought one so I thought I'd ride behind theirs before I bought my own. Best decision ever not to buy it. I have to hand it to Mastercraft though, they have the best advertising in the business. How they keep selling this boat is beyond me.... oh the surf wake is terrible as well.

Ralph · Posted: Mar 06, 2011 7:58 pm Post subject:

Bambamski · Posted: Mar 07, 2011 7:36 am Post subject:

seriously Ralph, I don't get it... This boat keeps winning wakeboard boat of the year awards, Mastercraft has been trying to replace the boat for two years now and they keep coming up with dud after dud. The tournament boat industry is less about making a boat that kicks out a great wake and more about making a slightly bigger boat that holds more people so they can jack up the margins on their boats.

Wider boats, = shitty wake IMO. This summer we will be see no less than 50 posts from people complaining that it costs them 200 bucks per day to run their 23 -25 foot pig of a boat. Ralph, you and i will run our 21 foot 90inch beam boats with an extra 750-1000 lbs which produce a wake far better then anything else out there... And we'll sit back and laugh at all of them...

Lakeaustin seriously drive both boats, ride behind both boats and you will be shocked at the difference. The xstar will produce this soft mushy speed bump that has no pop what so ever with stock ballast. The X-1 stock ballast will be night and day different. add 350 lbs of weight in the nose on the x-1 and you'll never look back. Rock hard perfect shape wakes all day long that just get better as you add people or weight. When you drive them, the x-1 will handle and turn like a sports car, the xstar handles and turns like a 1974 chev impalla..

Unless you throw 3000 lbs of extra weight inthe Xstar which in turn you will scoop another 1000 lbs of water every time someone drives by you or you go over a roller wrong it's not worth boarding behind...

JV · Posted: Mar 07, 2011 2:14 pm Post subject:

Add another vote for the X-1. And really it's not even close. Owned the current X-1 hull (2001 X-Star) and have friends with the current X-Star model. If money isn't an issue and all you care about is wakeboarding 24/7, the X-Star with 4000+ lbs. in it is the best wake in the business. Any less ballast than that...meh. And since you said you're not an expert rider and don't want to mess with extra ballast, the only other rational reason to consider it is if your crew is regularly 6 or more people. Everything else, advantage X1: Easy to get, consistent wake; MUCH better handling on the water and trailering (you said you were new to boats); Once you improve, all you need to do is add ballast to the front and increase the rear sack size and re-prop and even a pro would be content (while sacking out the X-Star with its stock engine frankly sucks trying to get on plane; if it's the bigger engine, you'll be crying at the gas pump); 78'-80' is a beautiful sweet spot @ 2000#s and 24mph.

Like Bam says, MC advertising is phenomenal. The only person I'd recommend an X-Star to is a pro with a gas card who's going to sack out any boat he owns anyway.

Granted, you're getting a bigger boat for the same price (actually less since you'll have to buy a trailer for the X-1), but with gas over $4, you'll make up the $2k you spend on a trailer in a season.

My next boat will either be an Axis or an X-1 (or whatever model they associate with that hull in the future).

Ralph · Posted: Mar 09, 2011 6:37 pm Post subject:

I'm kinda surprised no MC Nazi's have jumped in to defend the mighty X-Star. The cool-aid must be loosing its strength.....

Bambamski · Posted: Mar 10, 2011 7:14 am Post subject:

Ralph,

I'm an MC guy through and through. My last three boats have been Mastercrafts. I think they are the best made boats out there (My opinion) I can't in good conscience though, after spending a bunch of time behind the X-star the last two years, recommend that boat to anyone, but maybe a pro with a gas card and unlimited fat sacs. The looks of the Xstar, I still really like, but that boat is more about making MC money (that's their business) then making great wakeboarding wakes. Now the X-25, i'm kind of digging and I've heard some decent things about that boat. I've yet to ride behind it though or really get a good opinion on what the wakeboarding and surfing wake is really like.

The boat show this year was interesting. I'd have to say my number one boat is the X-25, close second (really close) is the Nautique 210 though and I must say the Tiges came in third this year. I can't believe how much they've stepped it up. The fact they are putting wetsounds stock from the factory on their towers and interior, and their dash is the best dash going. MC always had the JL's which were good, but I'm a wetsounds believer. What does Malibu use, Clarion still? Shocked

They didn't have a very nice Sanger at the boat show this year, my neighbor has the 23 foot sanger thats now two years old i think and they have stepped up their game from when I was looking at Sanger back in 2005. After those ones, I must say the list got pretty boring and nothing stood out over my top three choices.

j4rowell · Newbie Joined: 16 May 2010 Posts: 26 City: Kalamazoo

You mentioned you're not a pro. Only other question I'd have is how much room do you want? If you're not rolling with 6-10 people than x1.

The x-star is an all around expensive investment. More fuel needed to pull it and run it, and you'll need a 6000lb lift vs a 4000lb lift. That price difference right there is a new trailer. Trailer or no trailer the x1 will be a better economical investment.