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Slalom Skied Behind Outboard Flightcraft or MC Powerstar 200?


gordon20mxz

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Does anyone have experience and opinions regarding slalom skiing behind some of the barefoot boat outboards?  By slalom skiing I mean mostly recreational and a little time trying to practice in the course.

I have been shopping around for a direct drive and I came across an ad for a MC Powerstar 200.  This has more room and is deeper than the Flightcrafts.  I had never really concentrated on outboard tournament boats.  When I looked at the pictures, I thought the interior space was very interesting.  The driver seat and the observers seat like any ski boat and then behind those two bucket seats that can either face forward or face rearward  and then the bench seat in the back.  Plus it's an open bow so there is bow seating.

This could be a fun second boat for the family, that has much better cabin space due to not having an engine in the middle of it.  Videos on line of barefooters behind it show a flat wake, but I know that is at over 40 mph.  How is the wake at 26 to 32 mph?

If the experience of the crew with these boats is marginal, I would still shop for a direct drive like I had in the past, but I just wanted to throw it out there.

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The MC would be better slalom then the Flightcraft, roomier too.  The rear facing seats are called judges seats for tournaments. Depending on boat, they come out easily. For rec skiing, both do fine, but the flighty will move more when a skier cuts in slalom.

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@gordon20mxz:  Wake wise it will have the same type of wake but with the engine hanging off the back will not be as flat at ski rope lengths and the prop wash will be different.  There will be ~500 lbs of weight hanging off the transom, that is like an extra 55 gallons of gas compared to a DD with a full tank let alone low which would be more like 80 gallon difference.  The biggest obstacle will actually be getting in and out of the water and that should be a high priority item on your decision matrix.  You will not have the full width platform that makes a DD ski boat so easy to enter/exit the water put the ski on, etc.  Unless you plan to use for it's intended purpose of barefooting, I would probably not recommend as a first choice.

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11 minutes ago, footndale said:

There a so many good DD for around 10K, that should meet your needs, I would think.

 

You are correct.  I am searching for used direct drives and I use to have a 2000 Ski Nautique.  So it kind of feels like I am re-buying something that a just sold 3 years ago, "been there done that" sort of feeling.  I didn't predict missing the ski boat as much as I have.   At the time I sold the Nautique, it was a good opportunity to sell it because I had a great opportunity to get my 20 MXZ as a new "leftover" boat.  It was good use of the money at the time.

I guess what interests me is that fact that the Powerstar layout is so different and therefore interesting.  Still a ski boat with a more family friendly "cruising around" cabin in a small boat.

My Nautique was kept at my river house and only used on that river and winterized by mid-September because that is when TVA dropped the water for the winter and I could not launch any longer.  The thing I would like to differently with this boat is trailer it to other bodies of water and explore a little and extend the season more into the late Fall.  Store it for the winter in the garage at my city house.  This actually is why I have been searching around for the Ski Nautique 176, a smaller version of the 19'6" boats.  But they are too old to have fuel injection and I don't want to deal with a carb.

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1 hour ago, Woodski said:

@gordon20mxz:   the engine hanging off the back will not be as flat at ski rope lengths and the prop wash will be different.  There will be ~500 lbs of weight hanging off the transom, that is like an extra 55 gallons of gas compared to a DD with a full tank let alone low which would be more like 80 gallon difference.

You bring up a very interesting point.

Weight in the back of a boat is an interesting subject and something that I don't understand about boat hull engineering.  When Master Craft designed the hull for the Powerstar they must take into consideration the balance of the entire boat and the fact that there is going to be a 500 pound outboard engine on the back.  That is why the boat sits in the water relatively flat at the predicted water line.  It's is not like the engine is ballast, it's weight the was planned for.  And when the boat is on plane it shuouldn't act as ballast weight in terms of the wake, I am guessing that is figured out in the engineering.

It gets more interesting to me in the Wake Setter series.  Take a 22 VLX, it sits flat in the water at the water line with the V-Drive engine in the rear.  Go up to a 23 LVS, most of that length is added in the cabin to the rear of the base of the tower, so the engine weight is moved back further behind the helm, but the boat sits flat at the water line.  Go up to the 25 LSV, the cabin gets really long behind the tower, the weight of the engine is ever further back from the helm, but the boat sits flat at the water line.  It's not like these longer boats pitch upward in the bow because the weight moves further back.  It amazes me, how they figure out the "floating center of mass".  ?

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1994 Ski Nautique

$8,995

Sayner, WI (54560)

The Plum Ski-ters are selling a 1994 Ski Nautique.

1140 Hours on PCM 5.8 HO 310 hp EFI engine. Upholstery and carpet just cleaned and in good condition. Comes with Monster Tower and Eagle Trailer. Trailer had new wheel bearings put on this week, and new tail lights installed. Great all around boat. Wake has a great shape for slalom, tricking, and with the addition of some weight produces a nice wakeboard wake. $8995

Boat will be in Wisconsin Rapids for the next few days, and I could meet there. After that the boat will be located in Sayner, WI.

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I say just ski your MXZ :lol: I got out behind my 24 just to see how it was a few weeks ago...  I haden't skied in over 8 years so im rusty... A theres deffinitly a big bump in the middle of the wake but it actually wasent as bad as I expected. :rockon:

 

 

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@gordon20mxz:  What is your intended use for the boat you are considering?  As for engineering behind the Powerstar, MC would have focused on the barefoot aspect, requirements and features and not prioritized other aspects since the boat is footing focused, and they have boats targeted for other disciplines so those attributes would not have been high on the list.  To your comments, specifically the wake at slower speeds if that is important in your decision.

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18 minutes ago, Nitrousbird said:

How bad is your MXZ with all ballast empty EXCEPT the bow tank for slalom?  Haven't heard much of anything on people trying to ski the little MXZ.

I'd be curious to see what his 20 MXZ looks like, it can't be that terrible...  When I skied my 24 I had all the tanks empty, but I agree, I have heard that some weight in the bow helps soften up the wake a little more.  I will have to try mine with the some weight in the bow and see what happens.

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13 hours ago, APoko said:

I say just ski your MXZ :lol: I got out behind my 24 just to see how it was a few weeks ago...  I haden't skied in over 8 years so im rusty... A theres deffinitly a big bump in the middle of the wake but it actually wasent as bad as I expected. :rockon:

 

 

OUCH!

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I had a Ski Centurion Barefoot Falcon with a 200 Yamaha hanging on the back.  The boat slalomed almost as well as my Response LX does.  The wake was a little smaller but was firmer.  The table was flat as a pancake.  Mine had tracking fins on the bottom but still experienced some very minor tracking issues at short line.  Acceleration was instant.  Boat would be up to 40 in no time flat.  The Powerstar does not have tracking fins so tracking could be somewhat of an issue.  For footing, there was no comparison.  The Falcon was awesome and the Response is good.  For cruising, an outboard is gonna beat out a DD every time.  Faster, more room, smoother ride.   I looked at the Powerstar back when they were new but didn't pull the trigger.  Very close but it wasn't quite up to the BF200 barefoot it replaced.

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Do you intend to use it for slower speed disciplines at all?  Speed holding with an outboard is especially difficult when trying to run wake speeds, teach small kids on two skis, etc.

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4 hours ago, Eagle River Mike said:

I had a Ski Centurion Barefoot Falcon with a 200 Yamaha hanging on the back.  The boat slalomed almost as well as my Response LX does.  The wake was a little smaller but was firmer.  The table was flat as a pancake.  Mine had tracking fins on the bottom but still experienced some very minor tracking issues at short line.  Acceleration was instant.  Boat would be up to 40 in no time flat. 

Same here was not a fan of the firmer white wash and prop wash. I prefer my RLX to my uncle's Barefoot Falcon.

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My son, 11 years old has slalom skied behind the 20 MXZ.  At his age and his experience and a junior slalom ski he has to go slow.  At 18 to 22 mph the wake is huge, but we kind of expected that.  We did try to fill the front ballast tank, but did not think that changed things much.  But again, we knew the MXZ was not going to be a ski boat.  But as he and I get interested in slalom skiing again I am missing the direct drive.  My son is also less interested in wake boarding right now.  I don't think he has an interest in trying to get big air or ever trying to do flips.  So it looks like our enjoyment is going to be surfing and slalom skiing.  That is why I am thinking about getting a direct drive again.

My MXZ was in the shop for some warranty work so it was a weekend of no surfing so we used our pontoon boat.  My son slalomed skied behind the pontoon!  No wake at all, it was great.  That is what got me interested in the MC Powerstar 200.  So I have been trying to get information about the wake at speeds under 30 mph.  The interior room is great.  And I believe that the pictures that I have seen of them on-line has shown that they do have tracking fin, but I could be wrong on that.

I am going to continue to search.  Thanks for your input!

 

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Since you are looking at the MC outboard.

 

1992 Mastercraft Barefoot 200

$12,300

Bessemer, MI (49911)

1992 Mastercraft Barefoot 200 with Yamaha Pro V 200 Motor and Mastercraft Trailer

Boat has Sea star Hydraulic Steering and comes with 3 props, new stereo with bluetooth capabilities, Mastercraft cover and spare tire for trailer!

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/412321035447873/permalink/1270547959625172/?sale_post_id=1270547959625172&rt=11

 

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If you're serious about the PowerStar, PM me and I can likely connect you with some folks on my lake who've had one for the last 16 years or so.  They rarely use it to barefoot.  Lots of wide-ride slalom, kneeboarding, occasional footing.

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9 hours ago, footndale said:

Since you are looking at the MC outboard.

 

1992 Mastercraft Barefoot 200

$12,300

Bessemer, MI (49911)

1992 Mastercraft Barefoot 200 with Yamaha Pro V 200 Motor and Mastercraft Trailer

Boat has Sea star Hydraulic Steering and comes with 3 props, new stereo with bluetooth capabilities, Mastercraft cover and spare tire for trailer!

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/412321035447873/permalink/1270547959625172/?sale_post_id=1270547959625172&rt=11

 

That is a really nice boat and a good price.  Thanks.

The difference between that barefoot boat and the powerstar 2000, is the Powerstar is just slightly longer (I think) so it allows for the small open bow and the two judges bucket seats in the back that can face to the front or the back.  It has a very cool cabin setup.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I just purchased a MC Powerstar about 2 months ago and love it!  The cockpit room and not having to winterize sold me. And I know it's taboo for a tournament boat, but I plan on taking my 5 little ones fishing in it when the water is to cool to ski also.

Edited by KMskier
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