Interesting take. I think it really comes down to what you’re going to be doing out on the lake. None of our local reservoirs really have sand bars/tie up locations so we spend 90% of our time on the water surfing or foiling, and for that reason a stern drive/IO isn’t all that appealing. But if that’s your type of boating then that’s great, however I feel it’s unfair to say wake boats are going to be disappearing. You were spot on about the clumsiness of the wake view bench though, which is precisely why we didn’t option our M220 out with it. The fit and finish on the rest of the boat is absolutely amazing, but not being able to access the back 1/3 of the boat is such a pain. Save the money and put it towards a new board or gas. There are plenty of little comfort items that we never new we needed until we tried them, likethe flip down swim step, but the bench seat isn’t one of them.
Sorry I missed your comment. I agree wake boats won’t disappear that’s a bit of a stretch. Do you think more will embrace a better lower walk through with competition from forward drive boats?
@@KbandsTraining I wish so, but with sub floor ballast and most wake boats only having a 32” draft or so I can’t see it happening. Maybe in the future as boats keep getting bigger
I'm enjoying your boat opinion videos. I think I might disagree on the Penta fwd drive (and I think there's now a MerCruiser equivalent, so there must be profit there) really challenging the v-drive wake boat market. Sure, most of them are well below the price tag of an M220, but the Axis, Moomba, and Supremes of the world have stepped up their creature comfort games and are priced competitively. As far as sub-floor ballast goes, it might mean a smaller bags in the lockers. You could install nets above them for storage. Lead bags are an option as well, but you're lugging those with you everywhere you go. Many of these boats are approaching the towing limits of the family Expedition on Suburban, so bags in the lockers are the lesser of two evils. You said you have two kids? I have three girls close in age. It's a less stressful tow to the lake if I'm at 80% towing capacity but they're seated too far apart too slap one another! It's seems as though you're focused on the imperfections of $200k boats. That gives you content for your channel. That will get viewers. I can't fault that. I bet the cover over the transmission of the Axis T220 sags when you step on it too. Does it make it more acceptable if you paid half the price for it? I'm not you, but if I were, I'd look at the "price point" brands with dealers in my area. Spend a year in an Axis, Moomba or equivalent. I can't predict the future, but I doubt you'll lose a dime if you decide to sell it after a season.
Great additions to the video. I went to the boat show and those were the boats that were there. I really wanted to see an axis and moomba but they were not at the show. I love boating and I don’t think you could really go wrong on anything floating hahaha. My picky view point on the floor only comes from the lack of detail on the finish. These price tags are getting up there and I’m not seeing the same finish as the car market has. If your spending over 100,000 I just feel that I should be choosing options rather than seeing flaws. Do you not agree?
@@KbandsTraining sounds like the pickings are slim at your boat show! I agree. I think you can expect stuff like that on a $100k boat, but when it comes to the M series Malibus, I'd expect better.
I agree. Wasn’t a ton on variety at the show. Most wait times for boats was 8-12 months. Crazy times for the boat industry. Your net idea above is a good one
When you reached out to Malibu about your findings, what did they say? Could it have been an imperfection? The midship access hatch doesn’t bow in my M220 when stepped on… so I wonder.
Thanks for that review. Currently I'm trying to decide between an M220 and a Mastercraft X22. Would love to hear thoughts on both models if you have some experience with it.
Not sure how I found your video but I'm glad your short mix into boating world 2 years ago was short lived. You clearly didn't even read the website to find out what the Surf Gates (and Power Wedge - that thing you didn't know the name of) do. I don't own a Malibu but what you didn't mention is that other 6000lb boats have 6000lbs of water ballast, the Malibu has far less (up to half) to make a cleaner wave - because the Power Wedge replaces 1500lbs of water the other brands pack in and the wedge is not connected to the hull - it lets water run free above and below it which seems to be the patent no-one else can touch along with the perpendicular left / right surf gates. Clearly this wasn't a review.. you just posted this to trash talk. Moving on to reviews by actual boaters.
Interesting take. I think it really comes down to what you’re going to be doing out on the lake. None of our local reservoirs really have sand bars/tie up locations so we spend 90% of our time on the water surfing or foiling, and for that reason a stern drive/IO isn’t all that appealing. But if that’s your type of boating then that’s great, however I feel it’s unfair to say wake boats are going to be disappearing. You were spot on about the clumsiness of the wake view bench though, which is precisely why we didn’t option our M220 out with it. The fit and finish on the rest of the boat is absolutely amazing, but not being able to access the back 1/3 of the boat is such a pain. Save the money and put it towards a new board or gas. There are plenty of little comfort items that we never new we needed until we tried them, likethe flip down swim step, but the bench seat isn’t one of them.
Sorry I missed your comment. I agree wake boats won’t disappear that’s a bit of a stretch. Do you think more will embrace a better lower walk through with competition from forward drive boats?
@@KbandsTraining I wish so, but with sub floor ballast and most wake boats only having a 32” draft or so I can’t see it happening. Maybe in the future as boats keep getting bigger
I'm enjoying your boat opinion videos. I think I might disagree on the Penta fwd drive (and I think there's now a MerCruiser equivalent, so there must be profit there) really challenging the v-drive wake boat market. Sure, most of them are well below the price tag of an M220, but the Axis, Moomba, and Supremes of the world have stepped up their creature comfort games and are priced competitively.
As far as sub-floor ballast goes, it might mean a smaller bags in the lockers. You could install nets above them for storage. Lead bags are an option as well, but you're lugging those with you everywhere you go. Many of these boats are approaching the towing limits of the family Expedition on Suburban, so bags in the lockers are the lesser of two evils. You said you have two kids? I have three girls close in age. It's a less stressful tow to the lake if I'm at 80% towing capacity but they're seated too far apart too slap one another!
It's seems as though you're focused on the imperfections of $200k boats. That gives you content for your channel. That will get viewers. I can't fault that. I bet the cover over the transmission of the Axis T220 sags when you step on it too. Does it make it more acceptable if you paid half the price for it? I'm not you, but if I were, I'd look at the "price point" brands with dealers in my area. Spend a year in an Axis, Moomba or equivalent. I can't predict the future, but I doubt you'll lose a dime if you decide to sell it after a season.
Great additions to the video. I went to the boat show and those were the boats that were there. I really wanted to see an axis and moomba but they were not at the show. I love boating and I don’t think you could really go wrong on anything floating hahaha. My picky view point on the floor only comes from the lack of detail on the finish. These price tags are getting up there and I’m not seeing the same finish as the car market has. If your spending over 100,000 I just feel that I should be choosing options rather than seeing flaws.
Do you not agree?
@@KbandsTraining sounds like the pickings are slim at your boat show! I agree. I think you can expect stuff like that on a $100k boat, but when it comes to the M series Malibus, I'd expect better.
I agree. Wasn’t a ton on variety at the show. Most wait times for boats was 8-12 months. Crazy times for the boat industry. Your net idea above is a good one
When you reached out to Malibu about your findings, what did they say? Could it have been an imperfection? The midship access hatch doesn’t bow in my M220 when stepped on… so I wonder.
Didn’t call the manufacturer but the dealer on site at the boat show said his does the same thing 🤷♂️
Thanks for that review. Currently I'm trying to decide between an M220 and a Mastercraft X22. Would love to hear thoughts on both models if you have some experience with it.
I don't have much experience on the x22 unfortunately
Not sure how I found your video but I'm glad your short mix into boating world 2 years ago was short lived. You clearly didn't even read the website to find out what the Surf Gates (and Power Wedge - that thing you didn't know the name of) do. I don't own a Malibu but what you didn't mention is that other 6000lb boats have 6000lbs of water ballast, the Malibu has far less (up to half) to make a cleaner wave - because the Power Wedge replaces 1500lbs of water the other brands pack in and the wedge is not connected to the hull - it lets water run free above and below it which seems to be the patent no-one else can touch along with the perpendicular left / right surf gates. Clearly this wasn't a review.. you just posted this to trash talk. Moving on to reviews by actual boaters.