2010 Mastercraft Surf tabs

ok, is this for surfing only or will/can it be used for wakeboarding?

SURFING ONLY

Things that make you go hmmmm!

Up until a year ago, MC, thier dealers, and many owners that have posted on WW, claimed that tabs were needed to compensate for a poor hull design. Now I see 3 on the back of the Master Crafts!

Exactly^^^^^^^^

Kinda like Tige owners bashing the picklefork hmmmm.

Burn.

what i gather is unless you own a nautique you're a copy cat?

As imitation is the sincerest from of flattery, what does that tell you?

it tells me the people in most companies are too lazy/stupid to think of their own things, an original idea.

There are very few original actual GOOD ideas in wakeboarding... trim tabs, gimmicky, they do a little of this and that to the wake but honestly when it comes down to it there are only a handful of good things that have been done to boats to help wakeboarding:
1. Tower
2. Ballast (trim tabs are worthless when you have 5k in weight in the boat, the only thing that actually makes a wake good... weight)
3.Cruise control
4.V-drive
5.Deep V hulls that flatten, opposite of an I/O hull.

Beyond that i honestly don't know what isn't a joke.... the only "trim" tab that seems to work that I've found is switchblade/the wedge .... and even those once you get enough weight in the boat are useless.

anyone who considers Trim Tabs gimmicky either doesnt understand the potential of a trim tab or has never used them.

For sure, the Supra Smart plate system does a lot for efficiency and a plate for surfing and wake shaping has a lot of merit.

MCs 3 tab system works awesome for the sizing and shaping of the surf wake. You can really dial it in nice.
...and Nick I guess CC came up with bolt on tower mirrors and spinning board racks on their own as well.

Who here uses a trim tab once the boat is completely sacked out? I don't know anyone who does.... they are great if you're running stock ballast or shaping that sweet ski wake, but once you break the 2500/3k ballast range their helpfulness is next to nothing.


Har har har Billy, they invented the tower, those things wouldnt be around if it wasn't for them, so yes, indirectly they did invent those too.

Every Supra owner.....

If you run a heavy boat you can use the plate to plane up then move the plate out of the water once planing. The smartplate system integrates into the PP and does this automatically every time you start and stop. I don't here it talked about much here but it is an awesome system and makes a significant difference to running costs.

I've been with Brisco in WH a few times, and a lot on his old boat, both 24' Supra's and there was no smartplates being used.... just good ol' fashion bags of water.

I've got three plates on my boat. The outside tabs are adjustable, while the center is fixed. I've surfed behind the same hull, but without the tabs. The tabs seem to make the wave more adjustable, but not necessarily bigger or better. I use it most often to dial the wave down for beginners, and to even the boat out. I can be super loaded down on one side, but still make the boat run flat. It is nice having such an adjustable feature, but it doesn't add to what my hull can already throw.

So in some respects, this is a good idea... but I wouldn't think it would improve much on what Mastercrafts can already do for surfing.

I own an x-star and thought wedges and the like were gimmicky. i rode the AXIS at knoxville during the protour weekend. I rode w the wedge down and it made the wake a little more lippy, they way i like it. (and with the plug n play ballast btw) In was told Randall does not use the wedge cuz he rides faster and goes further out. so to me, it seems to give more options to shaping the wake...

Nick,

I promise you that the wakeplate/smartplate was being used on briscoes's boats. All supra come standard with it.

Briscoes boat has the tab but he does not use it.

sorry guys. If it is on briscoes boat then it is being used, whether he adjusts it or not. It's just how supra's hull/boat works.

I don't know who Briscoe is... But chiming in abou the smartplate. It became standard on all Supra's in '07. I don't think it was even an option prior to '07. I have it on my boat, and I think it's a great system... set it with the Perfect Pass and never think about it again. If it's a newer boat, maybe that's why you think he "doesn't use it". It works on its own -- driver doesn't do anything.

Isn't this thread supposed to be about MC?

Hiajck again, sorry:
Just because it is on a Supra measn you HAVE TO USE IT???? really, if I own a Supra I don't have a choice if the smartplate system is going to kick in or not? That seems really stupid to me, and honestly reason enough to never buy a supra.
HIJACK END:
Sorry but tabs have a purpose on shaping, especially in surfing, but for wakeboarding, only if you're light in ballast and going slow, then they just sort of stop helping.

The Smart Plate is a phenominal idea. I can't imagine why you wouldn't want it. As for shaping the wake... A plate is good for mellowing the wake out if you have a variety of skill levels on board, or I supposed you could just drop some weight.

I've gotta say... I'd pay big bucks to get a smart plate on our X-star. When heavily weighted it makes a huge improvement on fuel mileage because it gets the boat on plane so much quicker.

Using the wake plate in the down position helps the boat plane way faster when loaded. On both supras and MC's that I've been in. My '06 supra had a manual wakeplate that we put down for every start to get out of the hole faster. My '09 supra does this automatically. The wake plate also allows the boats to run faster when weighted without porposing. The wakeplate is not just a gimmick and I probably wouldn't own another boat without it.

I agree - My Tige planes so much better when you play with TAPS, start down, then when you get on plane, put it up.....so much faster than just leaving it up.

yes, thats the problem on my 04 xstar w the MCX . it takes awhile to get on plane. the AXIS literally planed immediately. again it did have the 400 hp...but i was told the floating wedge helped that

My trim tab makes a big difference in wake shape..

Nick is the devils advocate of the boating world, unless it is something Nautique

Anyone who says tabs are useless owns a boat without them and/or has never driven a boat with with a tab.

Tabs don't make wakes bigger PERIOD!. They shape and add to the ride/performance of the boat. Personally I wish I still had one on my boat. Owning 5 boats with them and now owning one without I really wish I had a plate. It makes cruising and getting around to riding spots so much better, it makes gettting out of the hole a bit easier, it helps shape the surf wave and wakeboard wake nicely. Gives you so many additional features that would otherwise be lost and there are zero negatives with them.

I am curious about the surf tabs and think they could work.

hydrogates,tabs, switchblades, wedges.......every mfg has a similar tweak on something else. I wouldn't compare a wedge or switchblade to a tab, totally different in what it does, just throwing out there that every company has it's "thing".

(Message edited by xstarrider on August 17, 2009)

^ Unless something has a legit purpose.

I'm a big fan of keep it simple stupid.
If I could buy a boat the only things I would want on it : Tower, cruise, LOTS OF BALLAST, and a way to plug an MP3 player into a few speakers.... anything else just another thing to break and get in the way.

New nautiques are overdone, waaaay overdone... the good ol' days of the original 210 and X-star (now x-1) when all you got was what you needed. I miss that.

I know that over time things evolve but new and flashy isn't always better... just more to break/go wrong that leaves you high and dry when it does. Keeping things simple, easy to fix, and as bulletproof as possible is important to me.... maybe not everyone else here with deep pockets who just buys a new one if something breaks.... I'm 21, I'm broke.... I want something where anyone can hope in drive my boat and I can use the •••••••• of it before something goes wrong....

Tower, cruise, LOTS OF BALLAST, and a way to plug an MP3 player into a few speakers

I can agree that this isn't a bad idea...

I truly understand where you coming from. The problem is my 2000 X-star and your SAN are obsolete. 99% of people buying boats aren't core/pro riders. They are families that do a ton of different things. All the features above have added and expanded the wakeboat market for them. My boat hits the water for riding and an occasional cruise. Same with yours I am sure. But lets be honest as a family boat the version 1.0 of the X-Star and the original 210 are not family boats, they are core rider wake producing machines that will beat the hell out of you on a rough day and porpoise like a mo fo when throttled up with some weight