I'm in the market for a wake boat. My wife gave the green light and the kids are excited. I have owned two jet skis in the past but never a boat. I'm thinking that I will look for one that is of decent brand like Nautique, Tige, Malibu etc 21-23 ft long and have around 3-400 hours on the engine. I imagine that we will only have it for a couple summers before I sell it. I am hoping to buy one and use it for a couple summers and sell it without losing too much money.

I have started looking on Craigs list. Where else would be a good place to look for a used wake boat? Also are NADA or KBB boat prices pretty close to market price? How is the best way to find the market price on a used boat?

And yes I have heard all the saying like "the best two days of a boat owners life", "you should just throw all your cash in the firepit" etc
Thanks guys.

Good question for TFF.

Break
Out
Another
Thousand.

ever seen anyone get multiple rounds put thru them via the internet?

I like mastercrafts because that what I always wakeboarded on. The X-stars are a wake boat the X-35 & 45 is more of a Surf boat



but if money were no object I would have a Pavati. google them....they are the Lamborghini of wake boats



We found that one on craigslist. Look in other states too like Arizona and the Southern States. we got that one in Virginia and drove up there to get it.



With todays boats, you don't have problems. The "two best days" sayings were a term from yesteryear when people had dirty old 2 stroke engines and would let them sit too long in a garage without running them. I sold my boat ( fishing boat) almost two years ago and not much time goes by without me missing it.

Just so happens that I am in the boat business...Boat trader is a good place to look, as well as craigslist. You may also want to look for brokers in your area. boatsofdallas.com dallasboatsales.com NADA can be sued as a sort of guide, but it's just that. A guide. Certain brands will bring a higher market value than book, and certain brands tend to bring a lower market value than book. Also, the book value is generally for a boat in average condition. You will have to adjust the value based on the condition of the boat as well.

PM me if you want any advice on the purchase.

Ask it in the bass section.

Alot of people trade in boats to upgrade or buy the newer model. Try hitting the boat dealerships or call them, they can call you when one that suits your needs is traded in.
Don't be afraid to shop other markets, Austin boat dealers seem to have alot of traffic as well.
Take a look at getting the larger engine than the base/stock models, with full ballasts there is alot of drag.
When I was shopping I saw a bunch of boats with like 60-100 hours and were only 2-4 years old. Some people just don't put the hours on them. If you look around you should find something that fits the bill.

Best days of a mans life, they day he gets his first boat and the day he sells the damn thing.

I would look for an older MasterCraft Tri Star. They don't rot and they are easy maintenance, I had one for a couple of years, it made a huge wake even without a ballast bag. A dude came from Manitoba Canada to Canton TX to buy if from me, evidently higher end ski boats are in short supply up there.

Boat--- a hole in the water that you throw money in .

but mine cranked up this weekend after sitting idle for 6 months , YEA



MO

I’ve been told Correct Craft or nothing by a pretty reliable source.

There’s only one brand, Nautique.

the higher end will be Mastercraft (my personal favorite), Malibu and Nautique for true wakeboats that are readily available. There are various models depending on what your main objective is, like skiing, wakeboarding or surfing ... some will be much better at one thing and just okay at others, some are decent across multiple platforms but not great in any one. Likewise, available space for people, storage can vary quite drastically based on the model. There are certain year models with known issues, like electronics, upholstery, gel coat, etc. to avoid.

Biggest questions I have is what is your intended purpose (ski/wakeboard/surf/cruise)? What is your budget? and how many people are you likely to have on board most of the time? That will narrow down what my suggestions would be.

to me, buy quality and take care of it ... and you will likely get the majority of your investment back. Be patient on finding exactly what you are looking for at a good price and you might even make money at the end of your ownership.

I bought our Mastercraft X2 in 2009 and it hasn't been in the shop for anything other than normal service (actually, I do most of that myself) with a few prop rebuilds tossed in. Prior to that, I had a '83 Mastercraft stars & strips competition ski boat that we owned from '86 to '09 with minimal issues (carb rebuild, changed to electronic ignition, new fresh water strainer) that I sold for more than I paid for it even after owning it for 23+ years. They hold their value very well if properly taken care of.

some of the best information you can find on the various models and years to avoid are some of the brand unique discussion forums. Mastercraft Team Talk is a wealth of information for anything Mastercraft and can offer some decent advice on comparing between other brands to the setup desirec. Additionally, I know with the Mastercraft owners on that forum, most are extremely OCD about taking care of their boats and are probably in as good of shape or better than factory new in a lot of cases since they spit shine down to the lug nuts on the trailer wheels. I would suspect there are similar forums for other brands as well ...

I would be glad to help direct depending on what your interests and budget allow.

here's ours

Well there goes THAT one!

Always like seeing a nice Natique

Mastercraft or Chaparral would be my choice...

Beautiful boat!!! How do you guys keep from tearing the bottom out from hitting the prop on something? I drag the keel on our outboard about every year at least a time or two. I could see myself having that sunk twenty feet from the shore.

I'm 63 and I still ski, but behind our center console boat. I saw a great looking inboard/outboard ski boat at Beaver's Bend. I don't know if it was really intended for one particular sport. I never got into the wakeboard thing. I love to slalom. But when I saw it I thought that if I was to go back to a ski boat from a fishing boat that looked like the ticket to me. I don't even know the brand. And it had some kind of serious engine as well. The exhaust rumbling and echoing off the water is what turned my head. It sounded great!

I’m sure the majority of use will be tying up and hanging out with friends. I really only need to hold 8-10 people max. I would like it to be able to pull a wake board and tube on occasion. Mainly I want to purchase something that is in demand so that when I get ready to sell it I won’t have much difficulty finding someone who wants it. I’m not looking to spend a ton but would be willing to spend 35-40K on one if it wouldn’t depreciate much over a couple summers.

The reason I went from jet boats, (70's), to bass boats, to Center Console, is that ski boats are seasonal unless in a wet suit. I used to ski all year around with the wet suit. You don't drive around the lakes in winter and see very many professional grade tow boats.

I would love to have the I/O tow boat I described above. But I always buy everything, no matter what it is, with the thought, what if I wan't to sell it next week? How marketable is it?

The money you are talking about will buy the top of the line center console and you can do it all, at least until somebody becomes good at wake boarding.

I barefooted on my 50th birthday behind our CC.

DannyB, this makes my feet sting just seeing it

Death to wakeboats.

That water is hitting other things after it hits his feet

Might as well get a pit bull to go with the wake boat.

I hear the Texas fishing forum is a popular place for wake boat questions.