2004 Maristar 230

[AllianceBJJ]

Looks like I will probably pull the trigger today...Spent last weekend looking at some used Bu's and Nautiques....I think this is the best deal and looks like a solid boat....Hope to be in "the club" soon....Thanks to those who offered opinions on my previous questions...

[ttu]

congrats you made a great choice.

now make sure you post up some pics as soon as you get it.:toast:

[AllianceBJJ]

Gonna go test drive later today again, just to make sure...Only thing I am concerned about is the wake for wakeboarding and possibly wakesurfing.....But the whole of the deal may make up for it if it's not the best thing....

[bigmac]

I like mine. Do consider changing out your rudder to the '06 style. Significantly improves the handling of that big boat.

If you have ballast and a tower, it will be an excellent wake boat.

http://mccollister.info/ruddercomp.jpg

[AllianceBJJ]

It has the tower, but no ballast system......How much is the rudder change costing?

[bigmac]

It has the tower, but no ballast system......How much is the rudder change costing?

I don't know. My dealer scored it on warranty for me a few years ago and I installed it myself.

[jbanczak]

Gonna go test drive later today again, just to make sure...Only thing I am concerned about is the wake for wakeboarding and possibly wakesurfing.....But the whole of the deal may make up for it if it's not the best thing....

I have a 99 which I believe has the same hull. We bought it mainly for wakesurfing. From what I could tell, it is a deeper V hull than any of the other 23's up until recently, and configured properly it produces a monster wake.

I'd put the wake our boat makes up against just about anything on the lake with the exception of the 25's, the Enzo's, and I hear the MB B52's. That being said - it is great.

Case in point - went out yesterday morning with another guy. He has an 05 Malibu 23 LSV in a slip just down the street from my 99 Maristar. We could take either boat - but we take ours because the wake is that much better - no comparison. (He could improve his with some work, but would need a complete redo of the ballast setup).

[AllianceBJJ]

Guess it just will take a while to figure out how many and where to put some fat sacs or something to get a suf wake right....Like I said, the deal is pretty good, so makes the thing hard to pass up...

[jbanczak]

Guess it just will take a while to figure out how many and where to put some fat sacs or something to get a suf wake right....Like I said, the deal is pretty good, so makes the thing hard to pass up...

I'll make it easy for you...

750 in each side V locker, 400lb in the ski locker. That alone makes a big enough wake to go without the rope, albeit a short and steep pocket (which is super-fun).

Add another 750 manually filled in front of the back seat, and throw another 400lb in the bow and you have a wake that will envy most on the lake.

[dpolen]

I'll make it easy for you...

750 in each side V locker, 400lb in the ski locker. That alone makes a big enough wake to go without the rope, albeit a short and steep pocket (which is super-fun).

Add another 750 manually filled in front of the back seat, and throw another 400lb in the bow and you have a wake that will envy most on the lake.

Holy crap...I've got a '98 23footer...I didn't think it was feasible to add that much in ballast to the boat. I put two 400's in each side of the V locker and 440 in the front....my wakeboard wake is pretty steep, but that will allow us to surf no problems. I'd love to see a pic of your surf wake with that much weight in it.

So you're saying that you're putting
1500 lbs VDrive locker
750 lbs in front of back seat
400 lbs ski locker
400 lbs bow
-------
3050 lbs of ballast...OMG, that's what the boat weighs. Gotta see some pics, if it looks as good as I suspect, i'll be making a trip to the store ASAP for some additional bags.

[jbanczak]

Holy crap...I've got a '98 23footer...I didn't think it was feasible to add that much in ballast to the boat. I put two 400's in each side of the V locker and 440 in the front....my wakeboard wake is pretty steep, but that will allow us to surf no problems. I'd love to see a pic of your surf wake with that much weight in it.

So you're saying that you're putting
1500 lbs VDrive locker
750 lbs in front of back seat
400 lbs ski locker
400 lbs bow
-------
3050 lbs of ballast...OMG, that's what the boat weighs. Gotta see some pics, if it looks as good as I suspect, i'll be making a trip to the store ASAP for some additional bags.

That is partially correct... and that is ideal. I don't own the 750 in front of back seat though - I use a 400lb there. I will probably buy my own additional 750lb.

The story is this - I bought the V-drive sacs a couple years ago when they were selling the 2 400lb sacs for $199. I'm guessing you did the same. They now have 750lb side sacs that are 20-20-50 and fit perfectly. I took out the 400's and replaced them with 750's and plumbed them with fill/drain pumps. I then got a custom sac for the ski locker that is 400lbs itself.

So under deck I have 1900lbs. I fill the side we are surfing on full, the other side 1/3-1/2 or so full, fill the center.

That setup is good enough to surf on quite well. I'll work on getting some photos, always seems to be last priority... Here is a video of riding on that exact setup with only the under-deck stuff rigged. Tough to see the size of the wake though since it is shot from above, and notice the short pocket, but you'll notice the ridability. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYaVNrY_IjM.

Generally I either have a lot of non-surfers in the boat or kids, so that is all I fill. But when there are just a few of us, or all surfers, I put the 400lb old v-drive sac in the bow between the front seats. I may do an integrated bow sac this winter, but I need storage up there, so maybe not. I then either put a 750 in front of the seat if it is the person who has one, or I put the other 400lb across the back seat.

I failed to mention that I have 2 fat cubes, and an old 250lb ski locker sack. I've filled them all at one time... but gets to be a lot of work.

So my standard for surfing is currently

1500 lbs VDrive locker
400 lbs on back seat
400 lbs ski locker
400 lbs bow

2700 total, Generally ride with about 2400 full. I'll get my own 750 for in front of the seat (it is actually a much better shape anyway) when I get the chance. I'll also look for a heavier bow sac that fits the seating area better as a closeout/2nd from Maxwake.

I'm planning on putting up photos/etc. of the whole thing when I get a chance - but been so busy that I have not had a lot of time.

[dpolen]

All I have to say is WOW. That's a ton of weight. I couldn't get the video to work, but I'll take your word that what you've got is insane. I haven't even surfed yet this year, but this thread is lighting a fire under my A$$ to make it happen sooner than later. Would love to see pics when you get around to it, until then, keep up the good work.

THREADJACK OVER! Sorry! The Maristar 230 is an awesome boat, I'd buy a newer one in a heartbeat.

[jbanczak]

Try this one... I edited above. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYaVNrY_IjM.

The only photo I could find is here...

[dpolen]

one word....SWEEEEEEETTTT!