First boat advices (SN2001/Tristar/Prostar205)

Hey guys,

I'm new here and I'm looking to buy my first boat, principaly to wakeboard and wakesurf. I live in Quebec, Canada. I need some advices on some boats I found.
I was looking at first for a SN2001 but I can't find one in my area, so the only way I could get one would be to import one from the US. Otherwise, I found in the area some Mastercraft Tristar late 80's early 90's and also found a Mastercraft Prostar 205 1996 (but without the trailer). The Tristars are about 7000-9000 $CAN and the Prostar 205 is 13900(negociable) $CAN.

I was wondering if you could give me some advices on which boat should I go for or if it would be better to find a SN2001 in the US and import it as I think by reading a lot on these forums the SN2001 would be the best one for what I'd like to do. I can send you the links of the Mastercraft ones if you want to have a look at them.

Thanks a lot, I appreciate!
Phil

The ProStar 205 will throw a better wake and has fuel injected Chevy 350 engine. The hull on that boat is the same as 1st gen Xstar so with some weight you can get a great wakeboard wake and with a little DIY work you can build a home made wake gate and get a very respectable surf wake. You could do the same for DIY surf with that older Tristar, but the Tristar will not throw nearly as nice of a wake for wakeboarding. And it's an older carbureted engine.

Yes, the 96 prostar 205 is the ticket. Get it!

Thanks guys!

And compared to the SN2001 ?

Presently the exchange USD and CAD is not so good so I don't think it would be a good idea to import one from US...But I found one in Ontario for 8k$ (without tower) I understand the 205 is bigger and I guess better but also a little more expansive. But I think I could get the PS205 (itself no trailer) approx 11k or maybe less.

And the 205 has a tower.

Here's the ski nautique
http://www.kijiji.ca/v-powerboat-mot...que/1063926540

2001 will be closed bow so the 205 will have more interior room. 2001 will have more storage

you'll have to add a trailer to the 205, but i'd work toward the 205. Tower on it saves you at least $1K

If you're looking to surf without a rope you're most likely going to need a V-drive. The cheapest one you'll be able to get into is a early 90s Nautique Excel, but they are few and far between. After that I'd look into late 90s Nautique Super Sports or MC 205V. Even still it's difficult to put enough ballast to get a good sized wave but should still be surfable.

The 2001s, Sports, 205s, and Supra Saltare's are good wakeboats but they're getting older. You'll learn a lot about how boats are built and maintained!

2001 is a great boat for the wakeboarding wake. I never really got my old one surfing that great. Most set ups I seen kept you really close to the platform and I dont like that. But for wakeboarding and a small crew it is an awesome boat. I kept mine for 6 years or so before I got a V. Storage can be an issue but you can build your interior the way you want it.