What ski boat do you recommend for a family of four?  

Would like to ski behind it and pull kids on a tube.  Would like to seat at least six.  

I do not have a budget in place yet, but would like to keep it within reason.  However, I don't mind paying more for quality either.

Also wanted to ask, do you prefer inboard or outboard engines for this purpose?

IMO, you want a true ski boat, i.e. Correct Craft, Mastercraft or the like.

Outboards and inboard/outboards are terrible for skiing. Inboard/outboards are also called Sterndrives.  Both are terrible in the hole and people struggle to learn to ski behind them, especially adults. Kids will do ok when they are young, but will always be waiting for the boat to get out of the hole.

True ski boats, inboards, leave the hole very fast. For example, I can get up on a wakeboard behind an inboard/outboard but I have to wait for the boat to get on plane before I can stand all the way up.  With an inboard I can get up with one hand.

Oh yeah, you want a V8 and any inboard/outboard with any V8 is going to drink fuel like crazy. I had a 22' Crownline with a 5.7 liter V8 and it was nothing to use 50 gallons in a day.

You probably don't want a dedicated ski / wakeboard boat. If you did, my favorite is the Malibu Wakesetter 23 LSV.

For a great family boat that you can add a tower to and ski behind, check out the Crownline SS series bow rider.

I had a 22' Crownline SS and it was a dog. It was terrible for water sports. The only real use for it was to ride on the water, then it drank fuel like crazy. I sold it when my first kid was born and will never own one again. I will be getting a Correct Craft or Mastercraft in the next couple of years.

This pontoon boat.. It will be able to tow anything you want.

That was freaking awesome

You will have them up on skis in no time.

Way beond redneck.


Op, I would buy a boat that suits your family primarially and then ski behind it.

Saying you cant or dont want to ski behind an outboard is silly and makes me think the driver or skiier/instructor are lacking.

My dad has home movies from the 50s of him and my uncle skiing behind a 10' hydro with a 10hp Merc fitted with a quick silver lower unit.

Their skis sucked, their rope sucked, their boat was ment for sprint racing but they did fine.

They had too, it was all they had.


An 18' boat with a hundred horse outboard motor is fine, anything more is gravy.

Is that a jet?

Worst thing I ever skiied behind was a jet boat.

It about ripped your arms off out of the hole and with a 200' rope it was slowing down in another county while you were still coming out of the last turn.

Going around a turn at 30mph (boat speed) we could whip out gaining enough spee to pass the boat in the beginning of the straight.

Your budget will dictate how you go from here.

Sure a dedicated ski boat, i.e. Master Craft, Correct Craft, Moomba, etc will be ideal for  pulling a skier or wakeboarder, but...

They literally cost double what a comparable I/O bowrider costs.

I ski, pull the kids on wakeboards, and tubes all weekend from my Crownline I/O and have zero regrets. It can yank me our of the water pleanty fast and as mentioned cost half what a comparable ski boat costs.

I've have several boats over the years. Feel free to IM if you have specific questions.

I bet It made you a better skier though.

There's nothing like a true Tow boat....

Tige, Mastercraft, Malibu, Naqitque, Supra  You will want a V-Drive for the versatility.

they are also a much better boat, feature GPS Cruise control, have ballast systems they are purpose built to be run hard and...tow shit.  If you are serious about water sports there is one answer.  Full inboard.

Nautique 2001 - an older one that has been used regularly and maintained would be top on my list.  

Under stand the competing factors, these days folks want to board, these boats can be skied behind but they always have a wake until you hit 32-36 MPH, not where most kids want to ski.   Also, the social need of today's youth has led to the v-drive and wide open boats,  not the best ski platform.  

A true ski boat leaves little wake.

Had my picture in the paper when I was 14.

I've been looking at getting a boat for the same purpose.  I like the Nautique and Mastercraft boats but they are 100,000.  I'm looking more at a wake board boat though,  it seems to be more popular now and I figure I can still ski with it.  I have been noticing that the wake board boats are bigger and have more freeboard so I think they would be a better family boat and more versatile. I want to be able to take it out to watch the fireworks and go out on Saginaw Bay and do some fishing. Something to consider. 

From reading your post and talking about tubing etc. it doesn't sound like you want a true ski boat. Get a decent bowrider type boat which will be much better for hanging out a day on the lake and a lot cheaper than a true ski boat. It will tow anything you throw behind it just fine.

All things being equal. If a vessel is propped and geared correctly and not over loaded that 5.7 mercruiser (chevy 350) will burn the same fuel no matter what its in as long as its being spun at the same rpm.

Chances are you fell victim to a very common industry wide problem. Manufacturers love to gear and prop their pieces of shit to get the most impressive test numbers and the most impressive sea trials out of their boats. Load it up with people, gear and shit and all of a sudden you have the throttle up in the freaken corner trying to match those speeds. People never check to see if they engine is propped right (will obtain max rpm at WOT)  This is made even more evident when a long time owner uses his logged performance figures in doing a full re power and set the boat up right.  

a perfect example of this is the 25' Dusky we did an extensive refit on. The old owner was cruising 14 mph at an un known rpm burning a ton of fuel..clearly the secondaries were open and she was just fighting to stay on plane. just digging a huge hole.  We now cruise 23 mph at 3400 rpm just off the secondaries burning 8gph . Same size engine 260hp mercruiser (5.7 liter chevy)  All it took was a prop change. If the boat is loaded to hell. 110 gallons of fuel, a full 120 quart cooler, 4-5 people, plus a ton of fishing gear we cruise 21.7 mph @ 3400 rpm burning 8gph  Your rpm is infinitely more important than your speed when it comes to boats, esp with a load on them.

Make sure it throws the absolute biggest wake possible and drive within casting distance of all of the people minding their own business and trying to fish.  It's the second hand smoke of the water.

In short: don't be an asshole with it.

Annnndd there's your answer.  Close friend bought a Ski Nautique of about this vintage. Had only 75 hours on it.  Runs like a top with a 351 Windsor, smooth as glass.  Best part, its like new with old taxes.

His cousin died and he told the family to go get three quotes on value and he would pay the middle price.

Wow I didn't know anyone skis anymore!

Everyone around here is kneeboarding, wakeboarding, tubing or wakesurfing. I haven't seen a set of skis on the river for 20 years.

this, you want a v-drive with ballast

Buddy of mine had an outboard powered Centurion Barefoot Warrior. Super cool boat with tons of space, looks like a hot rod but has a ski bottom.

While these are fairly spot on posts, there's a couple things you need to know about Ski boats.  Up until 1993, Correct Craft used wood in their construction ( as did Mastercraft and every other manufacturer). A Ski Nautique 2001 is a great boat, however they can be very high maintenance if you buy the wrong one or don't know what to look for lol. The stringers and floor need to be in good condition or you're in for a world of hurt. it will also be difficult to get 4-6 people in with gear and impossible to ski behind with that many people in it due to the rope rendering the rear seat useless.  If budget allows and you want a true ski boat look for something newer that is all composite construction.

Be honest with yourself about what you are going to use it for. If you think your kids may get into wake boarding and wake surfing in the future you would best be served by buying an open bow crossover if you can afford one. A true wakeboard boat will have a shitty wake for skiing and a true ski boat will have a shitty wake for wakeboarding. If your all novices and it plan to stay that way ( not skiing the course or progressing your skills etc), then you really don't need a ski boat a bowlder will be just fine.  A bowlder will have a fine wake for skiing if the operator knows how to drive and trim the motor, but there is no substitute for an inboard ski boat if you are a dedicated skier. Ski boats also ride pretty rough in choppy water so if you plan on whipping the kids around in a tube or cruising the lake mid day you may not be happy with overall quality the ride. They handle like a Ferrari on smooth water though.

I have a 2005 Correct Craft Super Air Nautique wakeboard boat. It is a V-drive.   To dispel a few myths......

Bought it new in 2005, still has the original batteries in it lol.  It is not that bad on fuel and no worse than any other boat I've ever been in. It has 641 hours on it right now and I have not had 1 issue with it. Not 1.

The ski wake is horrible until 30+ mph but someone cruising around all day on 2 skis on a 75 foot rope isn't going to care.

I paid 49k for it in 2005 and just turned down a 37k cash offer from a guy on my lake. So much for a boat being a hole in the water you pour money into. Do your homework and you should be fine

My BIL has a 1998 Mastercraft Sportstar 19 (entry level Ski boat). I think He paid 14k for it  used like 9 years ago. That thing has been bulletproof as well and it pretty much has no wake at skiing speeds.  It had the GM305 motor and it rips pretty good for a small V8.

recreational skiing/boarding is more about proper technique than boat capability. Until you hit the intermediate level pretty much anything will do

Pontoon boat kidding aside, a Sylvan S3 Extreme with a Suzuki 250.

Its a tri-toon with room galore.  Has a wake tower and a ski pylon. Center toon storage for toys.  A huge swim deck with two jump seats (with storage for ropes, etc.)  And a jammin' Polk system (2 subs, 8 speakers + 2 rear facing tower speakers.)   You will not find a more comfortable boat for the non-skiers--especially the aft chaise lounges.

I have the non-wake tower version (wouldn't fit in the covered slip on the lift) and it'll do 50mph across the lake with myself and 20 gallons of gas.  It's definitely not your father's pontoon boat.

I'm leaning towards a Chaparral SSX 227.    Seems to be a good family boat to cruise,  wakeboard, tube, etc...      Dissenting views?     I close on a lake house in a few weeks and will pull the trigger after I sell my existing home, hopefully very soon.    

http://www.chaparralboats.com/Chaparral-Boat.php?id=345&action=tab_highlights

Fresh water? Don't do it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naegleria_fowleri

So you're recommending a $153k boat plus tax and fees.



Then you're recommending a boring boat that isn't ideal for ski'ing and water sports.




If you're going to go for ski'ing, get a center drive or a small v drive.  V drive would be more for wake sports but the smaller v's are actually pretty capable ski'ers.


I would recommend a Moomba or a Malibu of the same generation in there.  There were a lot of off-shoot names based on these platforms made, so get real familiar with them and you can find a great deal.




You simply can't get a much better ski boat generation than these.  Sure there are new ones out there today, they are essentially the exact same thing, just new.



You can't wake or serious ski behind these for shit.



Teaching a kid how to ski? Sure.  Pulling a tuber? sure.   Having a nice flotilla party, absolutely.



That's about all they are good for.



I love pontoons, but they should be kept for entertaining purposes.   That's why I had both.  PS, mine had a 150, the 350's and now the tripple 4's are stupid fucking fast... and expensive.

OP I just bought my first boat 2 weeks ago, it's a 1991 ski brendella with a 351 Windsor.

The only thing i knew going in to this, is that I didnt want a fishing boat. I looked at bow riders with 3.0 and 4.3 litres, big block jet boats, and the ski boats.

I chose the V-drive or diect drive V-8 ski boat because they do pretty much all I ever wanted in owning a boat.

Plenty of power, handling is freakin amazing. Its fun to drive, its like having a muscle car on the water. So far the little towing i've done, it seems to pull tubes and boards no problem.

It had a wake board tower already on it, stereo is pretty good. Runs like a raped ape, and it has enough room for 5-6 people.

I'm new to boating so i'm sure i'll be figuring things out as i go, but for now it's a great boat to start with.

Good luck

EDIT. I paid 6k for it with the trailer at 800 OG hours.

Attached File

I have a 97 SN (ski nautique) , a 94 SN before that, and a 89 Ski Supreme before that.  All with V8s.  The current ski boat has a PCM fuel injected 351 while the others were 351's but with carbs.  

Never came close to using 50 gallons while skiing all day.  I'm thinking it your boat's hull profile and the inefficiency of the I/O drive you have.  Real ski boats are much more efficient, except for the engines aimed for the barefoot crowd.  Anybody barefoot any more?



Just so the potential boat shoppers know, that brendella has wood stringers and floor.  Big difference from mastercraft, correct craft, and malibu where they don't use wood.  Always have wood stringers tested for rot before buying.

Someone else's.....

Break Out Another Thousand

Ski boats are dedicated no compromise tools. Follow the above inboard recommendations. 

However, if you want to do other things, outboards are best, especially in salt water. If you go to Boston Whaler's web site, you will see that they are now 100% outboard.

Agreed.

Nautique and Mastercraft stopped using wood stringers in the early 90's.  I'm not sure about Malibu, Supra, Supreme and others.

We have a 99 Sport Nautique which is a 21' direct drive inboard.  We bought it new in 99 and it has been a great boat over the years.  But, we want more room for storage and now that I only wakesurf, I want a bigger v drive.

I can't stress enough how much better inboards drive and perform for watersports over I/O's and outboards.  There is a reason they cost more, they are just better built for their intended purpose.

Qualifier: I've been on all types of boats my whole life and spent the last 20 years involved with the watersports industry.

Inboards are awesome for watersports. They pull better, handle better and are safer (prop sits in front of the rudder well forward of the stern and swim step.

I/O's are generally more efficient depending on hull design, but will sacrifice pulling power for speed and efficiency. If you're a rookie driver they are easier to handle around docks (inboards only back to the right, unless it's a Correct Craft with backwards prop rotation )

A true ski boat will be small, light and direct drive. The engine will be in the middle and in the way. Unless you are a hardcore skier I would recommend a v-drive. 22' is an awesome size for a family boat.  There are a ton of good options, but you didn't mention budget. The big 3 will get you into 6 figures quickly (Mastercraft, Nautique and Malibu). Used is a good answer, but make sure to test drive it with somebody knowledgeable. All of the big manufactures make a good boat. Buy the one that suits you best and is in the best condition.

If you want new, but want to spend a few $'s less, the check out Moomba (budget Supra), Axis (budget Malibu) and MB.  All are good boats, but will be without the latest wiz bang gadgets.

I had about 10 years of free boats where I could pick anything I wanted. 4 years of Mastercraft, 6 years with Malibu. The later boats are definitely nicer. They all seem to have found their stride. The late 2000's Mastercrafts always had switches and interior bits falling apart. That era X-Star ('04-'10) had a great wake, but it wasnt approachable for a beginner. The Malibu VLX or LSV's were better boats during that time. Nautique made dogshit wakeboats from the time the discontinued the original Super Air until they intro'd the G Series. The boats were nice, but the wakes sucked (IMO).

OP, PM me if you have specific questions. Keep in mind there are only a small handful of drivetrain manufactures for boats. Indmar, PCM and Mercruiser all make good products. You need to worry more about the boat and less about the drivetrain.

Everybody will try to talk you out of buying a boat, but the best times of my life have been with friends and family on a boat. Especially when I was young. It was the only way we hung out with our parents.

Parents own a 2010-2012 Four Winns H200

Very nice boat for tubing and skiing, and they got it used for a great price.

Sorry you can't turn a wrench every once in a while and do minimal preventative maintenance on a very simple machine.

Get a nice used bowrider with a fuel injected mercruiser sterndrive of some type. Size is going to depend on how rough the water will be that you are boating on.  For a small lake...18ft is good.  Larger...21ft.  Rough water 23ft+

Need a budget to assist. I have a 2004 mastercraft x2 and love it. Buy quality and you'll be able to get top dollar for it if you decide to sell down the road. 

Yes, 50 gallons is easy to use on a good day of boating.  Depends on the activity and prop configuration.



Yes, plenty of my friends barefoot.


And the whole wood stringers, yes, wood was used in earlier generations, I forgot what year they switched, but everyone switched to fiberglass and other materials instead of wood.   Some companies died with the wood platforms, so they never saw the next generation.  I don't remember when brendella died but might be why they are wood.


I would stay away from everything or anything wood.  I also owned two 351 carbs and one 351 fi.  I dont' miss those boats at all.  They were  lot of work mainly due to age maintenance.

My brother has a Yamaha 242 Limited S. It's about 5 years old. Works great for pulling skiers and tubers. We haven't used it to wakeboard but it does have a decent sized wake at low speeds. Plenty of room for your family and the rear swim area is awesome. Also, no outdrives or props hanging down to worry about. Check one out.

Attached File


Attached File

FWIW, Brendella didn't totally die. They restructured and became MB. Mike Brendell is still at the helm.

I have a X-30, but recently went through what your doing now for a friend. He bought a used Wakesetter. I have another friend who works for a boat repair shop and what he schooled me about a boat was eye opening. Malibu or Mastercraft, were pretty much the only choice (Supra was in there as well) after you really get into the boat they are both a heavier boats then the rest due to the fact their built much heavier than the others out there. Moomba was about the worst, there is a reason for the huge price spread between cheap and expensive boats and the quality is the biggest reason. I'm on my 2nd X-30, I had a X-10 before that.

What I was looking for was a do all boat. I did not care for the pickle fork front end, I did not want it so low that any boat wake would put water of the side (that ruled the Supra out) the Malibu and X-30 both are tradional nose, higher sides allowing use in rough water if your caught in it, it also allows the use to take them out and use them as regular boat to take friends and just joy ride. They both surf, wakeboard and tube very well, skiing I wouldn't see a problem there as well, the wake rolls out pretty quick and isn't very big with the ballasts empty. If you do want a pickle fork the X-35 would be the only choice. Bigger is better here as it gives more room with the engine in the rear. I ruled out straight up ski boats for the fact they really only work in glass like waters, mid engine takes up allot of room and their low sides and flat bottom leave them just to limited.

ETA, stick with a newer boat, trust me it's more than worth it, also some boat owners take far better care than others and that coincides with the make of the boat.

Nailed it.

For reference I just sold my 2003 Centurian Air Warrior (Fineline).  21', V-drive, super low hours, tower & racks, bimini, ballast tank (small, but still there), open bow, tons of storage, kick ass stereo system, etc.  

We really enjoyed the open seating arrangement a V-Drive gives you.  It allowed us to take our kids and all our crap along with another family, kids, their crap and not be tripping all over each other.  When we bought it we really enjoyed wakebording.  As we all got older, the kids enjoyed tubing so that took up most of the time on the water.  Years went on, work schedules changed and it just became more work than fun for us to get out on the water.

I bought it used in 2005 for $33,000.  I sold it last month for $22,000 and hunting rights to some impressive land near home.  If I had to pay for the access I'm getting it would cost me upwards of $12,000 so I am very happy with the deal.  The way I look at it, I rented a boat for 12 years for less than $1500/year when all expenses are considered.

I will buy another boat in the next few years, only this time it will something more versatile.  Currently the boys are interested in fishing and hunting so we will be looking at something that will be capable of both.

You must either have driven with the throttle wide open all the time....or had a horrible motor in that crownline.

I have a 25ft crownline bowrider with a 7.4 MPI mercruiser, and a bravo III drive.  I can load up my family and friends, cruise around and tow people all day, and I'm lucky to go through 20gallons of fuel if I'm running it hard.

It pulls wakeboarders and tubes just fine. You can find a nice used crownline bowrider for 25% the cost of a nice used wakeboarding boat.  And when the water gets rough, those boarding board ride really rough...whereas a bowrider will just plow through the chop.

For a nice reliable family boat, good for towing people and cruising around....its hard to beat the cost/value of a nice used 21ft bowrider.

Don't get me wrong....if all you do is wakeboard all the time and want a pro wake to do tricks on....boarding boats are awesome.  For everything else, a bowrider is better......and cheaper, and more fuel efficient.

No worries... They are about to be banned on our lake because of assholes and wakeboats. Not to mention the damage they do to the shorelines.

My 22' center console has been the best family boat.

Ski and tube
Crusing around the lake, anchoring for sunning and swimming (has huge sun pad on the front for wife and daughters)
Freshwater fising
And the most fun?  Dragging it down to the gulf coast to cruise the ICW and nearshore/inshore fishing.

I would buy a bow rider or deck boat. Most any decent boat will entertain kids on a tube or skis. I enjoy cruising on plane listening to music.

Go anywhere there are lakes, right before winter, and buy a boat for a fraction of the cost. There's always someone who doesn't want to deal with winterizing their boat/needs to get rid of it/etc.

Check out the Mastercraft Prostar 205 direct drive, made from '92 to '01. A lot of people consider it to be a good do it all ski boat. Newer v drive wake boats tend to be more mechanically complex and less reliable.

Unless you are going to be doing hardcore skiing, wakeboarding etc, I'd go for a used Manitou triple pontoon boat.  The Manitou's are better made than the rest, IMO, and I've been on damn near every major brand out there.