The sport of wakesurfing is bigger than ever, wakesurf boat technology and wakesurf sales are at an all time high and now it is time for you to decide which boat to buy … The toss up- which of the 3 most popular boats should I buy (also called “The Big 3” in the boating world)? A Mastercraft, Nautique or Malibu? What about a more price point boat- what is the difference between the Axis, Moomba or Mastercraft NXT?
Let’s put aside boat features, aesthetics, warranty, gas consumption, dealership network, re-sale value and durability- all great factors to look at when making the big decision to buy your first boat. Instead, let’s focus on PERFORMANCE, specifically WAKESURFING. In the American competitive marketplace that saw Bud Light specifically targeting its competitors in recent Super Bowl commercials, the question remains: “why not.” If you believe that you have a superior product, a better tasting beer, or a better performing surf wave, then why not let the world know?
In a bold market move launched across 2019 boat shows, this is exactly what Malibu and Axis Dealers decided to do:
To demonstrate the phenomenal performance of Malibu & Axis surf technology, we commissioned a 3rd party group to perform head to head testing on comparable watersports boat models. Below is a summary of what we asked them to evaluate as well as the methodology behind the results. We will always believe that the ultimate truth is on the water, but we also understand that on-water testing is not always an option. We trust this information as well as the visuals provided in the video links below will be useful in your boat buying decision.
Regards,
Malibu & Axis Dealers
So, how bout we take a look at the results.
2 of the Most Popular Wakesurf Boats Today- Malibu 23 LSV vs. Super Air Nautique G23
Next up in popularity amongst consumer boat buyers is the decision to go with a price point boat around $70,000- $85,000. Tons of choices in this category including the Tige R21, Supreme S224, Supreme S238, Sanger 215, Sanger 237, Moomba Mojo, Moomba Makai, Mastercraft NXT, Axis A22, Axis T23 … Malibu decided to compare its biggest price point competitors based on boat length.
Mastercraft NXT22 vs. Axis A22 and the Moomba Mojo vs. Axis A23
Check out all the videos via Oren Schauble Video HERE
It is the year 2019, Boarders Magazine has been in a 2 year hibernation and no longer taking on advertisers. This article is produced out of our mere passion for the sport of wakesurfing. Here is our “Top 3” completely non-biased conclusions:
WOW! This is a bold move just like Bud Light’s bold move in the Super Bowl to directly call out Miller/ Coors Light. Malibu Boats has unleashed Pandora and the world of wakesurfing will forever be changed. The battle of boats is on! Everyone has been asking for a side by side comparison like this for years and finally- here it is. Props to industry veteran Wake9 for starting a similar boat comparison at their annual Polar Bear Wakesurf Review:
2. We Want More! Lets see more comparisons! We would love to see similar comparisons with other boat brands like Centurion, Supra and Tige. The World Wake Surfing Championship towboat- Centurion Ri237 and Ri257 might have interest in the next matchup. Centurion-backed Boardco.com has also been comparing boats for years.
3. Is Malibu the Clear Winner? Looking at all these videos there seems to be a clear difference between the wave length, height and size between all these models. Constructive criticism- the boat length in our opinion seems to be a little off. With our experience in the industry the length of the wave always seemed to be a mirror reflection of the length of the boat. Thus a longer boat could always produce a longer wave. Next up, when you place any boat in the foreground (the closest viewable boat on video) it will always look bigger to the naked eye than anything in the background (in this case all of the competitors). Lastly, while comparing the sweet spot area, competitor boat surfers were a lot closer to the swim platform.
Although we believe there is slight video bias, all of the boats were driving at the same speed with max factory ballast set up. Malibu is the clear winner when you think about this fact: all of the boats tested (except for Malibu and Axis) have a propellor rotation that is counter-clockwise, this means that they should have a slight advantage for regular footed surfers. Some of the videos compare the wave quality on the starboard side for goofy footed surfers and there is a clear difference. There has always been an issue for boat manufacturers to make the surf wave the same on both sides of the wake, but with the prop rotation this is merely impossible; however, with new surf technology, it is now easier to switch from side to side and both sides of the wake are better than ever before.
Remember the good ole’ days when we sacked out our boats and put as much weight as possible in one corner? HAHAHAHAHAAA :)
The good ole’ days when you put as much weight in one corner and side of the boat as possible. (PC: CenturionCrew.com)