2005 MasterCraft X-45 Pics

Well I have had it for about a month and finally have some pics and some opinions for those that are interested.

So first things first. Thank you very much to all the crew at Ski World in Pleasanton. Especially Eric Sanders, he has gone above an beyond in getting all the minute details I wanted taken care of. He and the rest of the guys are all part of a class organization.

Also, thank you very much to Duane at NVS. Here is another example of a company that cares about delivering a quality product to customers and provding A+ service to go along with it. The Addictions absolutely ROCK!!!!

Finally, a warning to those of you in the Bay Area. This is the third MasterCraft that I have purchased. The first two were purchased from Cope & McPhetres in Santa Clara. I was very loyal to Cope's an when the time came to purchase another boat I went to them with no intention of looking elsewhere. I will make a long story short and just tell you that they were 8% higher than Ski World. To further illustrate this, when I requested the quote from Eric, he did not even know I was dealing with Cope's. He gave me his best price...no games. What do you have to do to be considered a "valued" customer? I was disappointed and didn't say a word to Cope's. I got my deposit back and took my business elsewhere. They will never see a dime of my money ever again.

As for the boat. It is AMAZING!!!!! I am very happy with its performance and the overall attributes of the boat. It is great in extremely rough water and has an unbelieveable wake.

Options:
L-18 8.1L engine
Heater
Boot Blaster
Perfect Pass
Triple Axle Trailer
Polished MC Rims
Stainless Undergear & Prop (on order)

Let me know if you have any questions.

sweet love the tri trailer

Thanks Aaron. It really tows well and is extremely stable.

How's that vortec 8100? I am getting my lsv next weekend, and I ordered it with that engine. It was hard to get opinions on it because not many people own one.

The engine is great. Its got a real meaty, throaty sound to it. Lots of torque. We were boarding, wakesurfing and pulling the kids on the tube and it was burnng about 8 gallons an hour. Not sure how much the lsv weighs but the X-45 is almost 5000 lbs with that engine plus 90 gallons of gas, so the engine is definitely working. The prop is a 14.5 x 22.

That boat is huge! You could fit quite a few more speakers up there. How about something like this...

NICE!!!!!

I was wondering how that would look. I'm sure Duane at NVS wouldn't mind me buying a couple more pair.

Wow awesome boat.. I was just looking onto upgrading to the x-45 maye at the end of this summer. Wow just that triple axle looks a little scarry, your towing a monster now, hu??? I hate to ask but whats the ball park price on it?? Service mgr at my dealer told me low 70..good luck and congrats..

How the wake compare to the Star?

my girlfriend asked if that is the x-SUPERstar?

Ermilo - Definitely towing a monster. Low 70's before tax and licensing is about right, but the rims and the other stainless stuff I have on order kicked it up a bit more. All told about $85K out the door.

Zack- I have never ridden behind the X-Star, so I can't give a comparison. Its hard to imagine anyone not being able to do their tricks off this wake.

Thane Dogg- That is great, I will have to remember that one.

That's one of the nicest MC I ever seen. Very clean!
Also great Mastercraft details on the trailer.

How does the dash looks in real life? I don't fall for that part of the boat (the plain toggle switches for example)...

dude that is 1 sick boat, very nice, but ya, go for two more pair of NVS, whats another 3k, on top of 85k right?

Tommy - Thanks, I really appreciate that. The dash looks really good. Its all billet aluminum and the toggle swithces have LED light on the end to let you know when they are on. The cockpit overall is very driver friendly, Everything is readily seen and accessed.

Jamie - Thank you. I totally agree about the extra money but unfortunately the wife doesn't

I must agree. WOW!!! I'm having a hard enough time getting my wife to agree on $43k let alone 85k.

You say this is your 3 MC. What were the previous 2? I'm up in the air right now on a new boat. This will basically be our first real WB boat. I'm looking at MC, Moomba, and Malibu. Thx.

Brandon - I had a 1989 Prostar 190 and a 2001 MariStar 230VRS. I have really been happy with MC. The best MC boat out there (all-around) in my opinion is the X-2. It just isn't big enough inside for the number of people we have in the boat generally (including lots of kids). Good Luck.

Thx. I think I'm going to go look into the X-2's sometime this week. I've seen alot of people talking about them around here.

I think that is a good call Brandan. It has a great ski wake, you can barefoot behind it because of the good top end and you have the ballast to make a really nice wakeboard/kneeboard wake.

can you post a picture of your wake as soon as you get it ??

Sweet boat man, that triple-axle trailer is RAD!

The boat makes your big Excursion look like a Tonka.

Question, did the big Cipa Extreme mirror come with it? I need a Cipa Extreme like that, with the horizontal shaft mount, like it seems yours has. The only ones I see have the universal ball-mount.

I love that boat! I'd be interested in knowing how nice the wake is.

Wake_Addict - Its in for service for a week or so but check back and I will get some pics in as soon as I can.

Boomer - Thanks for the nice words. I think I have the ball mount but I am not positive. There is a raquetball sized ball behind the mirror. Either way I ordered it through my dealer.

Porter - The wake is ridiculously good. I will get some pics at different speeds up as soon as I can.

Does the way the bow is shaped help the wake? What is the deal with that?

Have you seen the X-Star????

www.mastercraft.com/

Zack _ The overall design of the boat is targeting a number of things. Specifically the pickle fork front is designed to create more seating and provide a wider deep-V underbelly for absorbing large rollers as the V cuts through them. The MC engineers would probably have a lot better answers than I can provide, but those are my guesses.

I am on the final steps of purchasing an X-45 and i saw you purchased the binding blaster and was wondering if you thought that it was helpful, and also any options you would have gotten or ones that you purchased but wish you didnt.

Hi Travis-
The boot blaster is great. It holds about 3/4 of a gallon and works best if it is at least half full. It sucks air otherwise. Pretty handy. Overall I am happy with the options I got. In fact the only one I can think of that I didn't get was the shower and that didn't interest me. Well actually the table option was something I considered but am glad I didn't get. It is pretty small and just promotes spills with kids in my opinion. Good luck dude, it is a great boat so far. One last thing is I would suggest you strongly consider a tri-axle trailer. It tows unbelievably better than the tandem axle I had on my X-30. It tracks very well in reverse too so it is very easy to hold your line.

Saw your boat at Ski World last night. Sick ride man. Enjoy. They've also got a salt water version there right now. Its pretty cool for anyone who rides in the bay. It has a built in engine flush and ballast system flush. Galvanized trailer and the anodes things for salt water (anode??? is that right. The things mounted on the keel and running gear)

Anyway, great looking boat. Really like those NVS's.

How much is a fillup on that thing??
90 Gallon Tank isn't it....so around $200-$240 then?

Thanks C.I.E. we are really happy with it.

Marcg - I haven't filled it up from empty yet, but I put 60+ gallons in the other day and it was like $160 so I am guessing $240 for a full fillup.

Barefooter:
AWESOME boat!
Although this is my first post here, I frequent several other boating sites (more geared toward go-fast boats) but I am looking for some info on wake boats.
I'm buying a tow boat for the family to keep at our local lake and take out with the family (wife, me 4 kids from age 6-11), and I'm just now starting to look hard at the new boats.
We demo'd a new 24 Tige` and were impressed with the ride and handling.
Next weekend we are taking out an X-45. For us, a 24 footer that seats a pile of people is a must, and our lake although small, can get pretty rough from the 20+ mph winds we have out here in Western Kansas.
I know you just bought your boat, but how would it compare to say, a Malibu or a Tige`?
Everyone I talk to says the Mastercraft is the best built boat out there, but I have no real experience.
I did find one that is a good price, had the 8.1 motor and most of the other options, with a tandem trailer.
Any thoughts? Thanks!

John, Most would argue about MCs being the best built boat. They are well built, but to state that they are the best(I know it is just what you heard)is a stretch. The Malibu LSV is also a big boat, nice boat for about 60K. I am partial to MC, but you should explore your options. I live in Kansas, where are you from? If you buy that 45, I would like to be your friend

As you said, that was just what I have been told. It could also be someone wanting to justify the price.

I did like the Tige`, but I haven't had a chance to check out a Malibu yet.

I do like the idea of having 450 hp available if needed.

My concern is most for room for passengers, ride in chop, and multi-sport capability. None of us are experts by any means, but I plan on keeping the boat for a few years, so I don't want the boat to hold someone back.

grud8:
When you say "extremely rough water" what do you define as extreme?
I have seen 6-8' cruiser waves at Lake of the Ozarks, though I would never take ANY brand of tow boat through that stuff!!

Even my 30' cat bounced us around pretty good!

John, I have only sat in a 45, but the thing is massive, with tons of storage. I am sure the ruff water ride will be fine. You mentioned multisport, and if you are refering to skiing, the wake will probably suck. Don't let the 450hp fool you either, that is a heavy boat that will more than likly need all of it. Being a fellow Kansan myself, I fully understand the need for rough water ride. My x2 beats the hell out of us on windy days. Keep in mind that between the three you are looking at, the dealer could make all of the difference.

J. Farleigh - Thanks for the compliment. The things that you said are important to you seem like a good fit for the X-45. We were in the roughest water I have ever seen at our home lake over Memorial weekend and I was doing about 30mph right through it with little/no bounce. For comparison purposes other boats coming through the same conditions could not go faster than 20mph. The swells were 2-3 feet with whitecaps. We were going dead into the wind so we were getting the brunt of it all. As for the "best boat" thing. I stay away from those discussions. Its all preference anyways. MC does have the best warranties of any boat mfgr. which I think says something. Good luck and enjoy your test ride.

Point of fact to what Paul has said. I think it is a mistake to go with any of the smaller engine options. Top end for me thus far is about 47mph at 4800rpm but I haven't put a gps on that number. The ski wake isn't as bad as you would expect(at 34mph) but it is no direct drive wake.

grud8: thanks for all the info! I suspected the boat would be good in the rough after reading the specs!
I also agree about the "best built" argument, it's pointless, as long as you like what you own!!

Paul: Where you from in Ks?
We're clear out in Scott City (35 mile N. of Garden City), otherwise known as B.F.E.

Like we always say: it ain't the end of the world, but we can see it from here!

Good luck with your purchase

Wake Addict and Zack - Stay tuned for pics of the wake in the next week or so.

I live in Newton, just north of Wichita. Are there good lakes out west?

Newton....I was in Newton once to watch a friend of play football for a local college, forgot the name though.... I think he also married a girl from around there with the last name of Eddiger(SP?).....

Sorry for the Hi-jack...

Bethel College. Ediger? I know a few. What is her first name?
My sister lives in Park City. Where do you ride? She is going in on an X-30 with some guy she flys with. I like to visit her quite often. Do you ride with any pilots?

(Message edited by psudy on June 20, 2005)

Yep....Bethel. Actually two friends, Tod Bean and Shay Wyatt....they were there in like 91-92ish. Dating myself a bit....

Jennifer....but I know her whole family, twin boys Mark and John are closer to your age. GREAT people.

No pilots that we ride with....at least that I know. Ride at a lake right next to Park City called Jordanelle. I actually keep my boat there. When you are in town, e-mail and we will get you out.

Good lakes in California
Shasta
Oroville
Don Pedro
Nacimiento
Not to mention the 600 miles of California Delta waterways where it is butter all day long!!!!

EJ, will do!