Might be going to the dark side...Yep - doing it; PICS of new boat!

[OrangeTJ]

Demo'd a 2016 MB F22 this morning. What an amazing boat. Just awesome. Obviously a whole different thing from our SX210, which I still love. I'd recommend a Yamaha to anybody, but boy this thing was very, very nice. Exceptional fit and finish, excellent ride on this very choppy day (25 mph wind here today), incredible torque and a great overall feature set. If I go this route I'll definitely miss the ability to back in close to the beach and the overall lack of a prop to worry about. However, the surf and wakeboard wakes this thing throws out with as much as 5K lbs of integrated ballast , the overall solidity of the boat, the power and the ride and handling are very impressive. I'd go with a different color scheme (much more white), but this one was beautiful.

 

[Scottintexas]

it looks great, is this the only brand you've tested so far, you need to talk to @lashburn1

 

[Speedling]

Ya know, it seems everyone goes from jet boat to jet boat, or goes jet boat to dedicated wake boat, lol!
I've seen one or two people upgrade to cruisers or bigger boats, but hardly ever.
Anyone know of a jet boater upgrading to a go fast boat or a cabin cruiser over 25' ?

Super sharp looking boat btw! Love the look of the windshield and the tower. Amazing the design these guys have been putting into the new boats! The tower come with speakers or do you get to have some sweet upgrades?

I love the rims too! I would love to upgrade the rims on my trailer, but I want to keep my trailer and rims the galvanized ones for the some day some lifetime trip to Bahamas...

 

[OrangeTJ]

Tower speakers are an option (one of the few things that are optional, actually), but I don't think I"ll get them. I'm not a huge fan of broadcasting music across the lake. Also, as a practical considderation, my boat sits in a slip all summer and I can see those expensive tower speakers being a theft magnet. the stock in-boat system is killer - all Exile audio, 4 6.5s, 2 8s, and a 12" sub. Sounds awesome.

I've looked at many brands but have only demo'd the MB as it's the only one I'm serious about at this point.

 

[MattFX4]

nice...I think I may move to a wake boat one day when my son is older, and more serious about it (5-6 years). Don't know much about MB, but I tell ya I really like the look of the Moomba Mojo's!

 

[OrangeTJ]

The Moombas are nice, too. MB has a bit deeper v to the hull and has a very highly regarded dealer right down the street from my work. Nearest Moomba dealer is a couple hours from me.

 

[Speedling]

Having a dealer that you will be happy with is usually worth it!
That can make or break a boat even if one is better than the other. Don't forget to visit if/when you buy a non jet!

 

[Ronnie]

One of my neighbors has a an mb b52, dedicated wake boats like that are / seem a lot bigger / heavier than a similar length jet boat. He needs and used a shally to tow his around with. Doesn't sound like an issue for you with a slip, man I'm jealous as I'm about to tow my boat at least an hour for the first time this season.

 

[OrangeTJ]

It's definitely a lot larger and heavier overall than my 210. There is absolutely no way this thing will ever fit in my garage. It's 4100 pounds dry, but has a 65 gallon gas tank, so figure 480+ pounds of gas. Figure another few hundred pounds for miscellaneous gear and you're pushing 5K for the boat alone. The trailer is probably another thousand. My primay tow vehicle is a dodge 2500 diesel, though, so no worries on that front. Perhaps more interesting is that with the ballast full and 6 guys on board, you're talking about close to 11K in the water. On our demo, there were four of us full-sized guys on the boat, we loaded the ballast and the thing had no problem at all quickly getting to and holding a 21 mph wakeboard speed (on the super cool Zero Off speed control) with more than half the throttle left to spare once out of the hole. Torque for days.

 

[OperationROL]

I have looked at all brands of dedicated wake boats over the years and have ridden behind many of them. I fell in love with the MB's 4 years ago at the Chicago Boat Show and was thinking of going to MB after selling our former SX230. MB thinks of everything. The things that users need and not just for flash. The quick fill system is awesome and the fit and finish as well. Good Luck.

 

[OrangeTJ]

MB isn't all that well known outside of the west coast, but yes, they do seem to make great quality boats. Low volume, high attention to detail, very nice materials, highly customizable, awesome fit and finish, great functional features without a bunch of high tech gee-whiz gizmos (not that those aren't cool...I just don't prefer them). You mentioned the ballast - it's impressive. The first 2800 pounds fills in less than a minute. You can literally feel the boat settle a bit deeper into the water when you open the fill gates.

 

[DJMattyT]

You have to do the tower speakers if you plan on wakeboarding or surfing!!!

 

[trace]

@OrangeTJ MB is putting together really good boats these days. If you are hardcore into watersports of all kinds, the step from a Yamaha to an Inboard can often times make a ton of sense. The wife and I got so hooked on surfing, that's pretty much all we do when our boat is in the water. We surf enough that the difference in fuel usage between surfing our inboard and surfing the Yamaha we had actually made up the difference in monthly payment.

 

[007]

The MB is a solid boat and I love the fast fill. The question really is how well can you tune the ballast amount to create the wave you like. No way to know that without some time behind the boat and somebody who knows the boat giving you tips on setup . Sometimes that's the dealer staff...and sometimes it's not!

 

[OrangeTJ]

Thanks, guys. There is a lot of adjustability built into the boat, between 5k of ballast - split between hard tanks sub-floor and the plug-n-play, the surf system and the cav plate. Aside from that, it's really just a nice all around boat, even if you aren't doing watersports. Solid, roomy, comfortable, great stereo, smooth riding, waaaaaaaaay quieter than our current boat, excellent materials and styling, very easy handling with rock solid tracking at all speeds, adjustable trim (well, ability to trim down anyway) etc.. The downside is some additional complexity, deeper draft and corresponding risk of prop and skeg damage, lack of the awesome Yamaha stern lounge area, less wind/water protection due to the lack of side shields on the windshield, lower top speed when propped for pulling, and just plain being more expensive than our current boat (so therefore less "worry free").

I haven't gotten a chance to surf behind the boat - it was just too cold when we went out on the demo - but just looking at the wave and comparing it to others I've ridden behind I can see that it is very likely going to be awesome.

Again, I love our Yamaha and would confidently recommend one to anybody looking for a great all around boat. If I go the inboard route, I'll certainly stick around here as I find this to just be an excellent boating forum with none of the ego and BS so prevalent on others.

 

[SCSTWG]

Beautiful boat and if you love to surf and have a great dealer to service it I think it is a great move. I agree that the Yamaha is a great all around boat, but if you are primarily looking for watersports it simply doesn't compare.

 

[OrangeTJ]

Pulled the trigger and ordered a 2016 MB F22 today! Very excited! Going to feel like a long wait to mid-June. Now, to get my SX210 sold!

 

[OperationROL]

Congrats! I can't wait to hear your adventures!

 

[octavio3311]

I wanna see pics.

 

[subysti]

Cousin has a Malibu wakesetter boat. Just an incredible boat. Hit a rock last year that cost $7500 in repairs between prop, rudder and shaft. Just wish I could get the Malibu interior quality with a Yamaha boat. Be careful out there!!!