outboard / barefoot boat?

any rumors or plans for mc to rerelease a barefoot and/or outboard skiboat in the near future?

if not, I guess I'll have to look for a used powerstar....

looks like malibu abandoned their flightcraft as well...

[Ben]

On that note, and since the only dumb question is the one not asked, why are barefoot boats outboards? Lighter = less wake? I don't foot, so I have no idea, but am curious. I know MC and BU & maybe CC have/had Barefoot Edition packages or whatever of the inboards, but haven't seen outboards for a bit. Just curious.

[Footin]

During the late 80's and into the 90's when the manufacuters were making outboard barefoot boats, the inboats were not as fast and did not have as good of a wake. The outboards had a tremendous hole shot and with thier low weight they had almost no wake.
Now that the inboard speeds have increased and wakes have gotten better, there is not as much of a need for the specialized outboards.
The outboard boats that were made were never large volume sellers and I'm sure the EPA regulations for 2 strokes also came into play.

I use to own a Barefoot 200 and it was a great barefoot boat, However I have recently footed behind some of the newer inboards and they have great hole shot and also put out a pretty good wake.

Just my opinion.

[sizzler]

i have just recently bought a 2004 X9 after 9 years of footin' behind a 200.My young daughters (9 and 7) both wakeboard so i decided to trade in my trusty footer for the X9..I have to say the wake at 40mph is perfect(so long as you remember to empty the ballast tanks!!) for footin'.......it's a great compromise boat to keep them and me happy...i've even taken up boardin'(for when its rough)

[chris.willman]

Sizzler,

What engine in your X9? Top end and hole shot good, great, acceptable?

[sizzler]

mcx 350....holeshot is great....topend probably about 47mph max..nowhere near as fast as my 200, but i rarely footed at 60-65 anyway!!!!!! Have pulled up four footers on longlinesbehind X9, 2 others climbed out on to the boom as we were going along,,no probs

[east tx skier]

When I was looking for boats, and before I came to my senses , I looked at Bu's Flightcraft Sportster, which I understand was their transition from outboard to inboard in a barefoot boat. The Flightcraft Sportster was supposed to be able to achieve something like 56 MPH if memory serves. Don't know what the plain old sportsters are capable of. But like I said, I came to my senses.

[Footin]

The Sportster is a very good barefoot boat. It's fast and has a great wake; however it does not seem to have much storage and other features that come standerd on Mastercraft.
Since I sold my Barefoot 200 I have looked at all open bow inboards and I keep coming back to Mastercraft 205 for the best overall choice.

[east tx skier]

I'd add that it doesn't seem to have much room for anything, including people. Couldn't believe the low profile on that boat either.

the concern isn't top end. its more an issue of open lake handling - rough water.

I guess the only option is to find a clean powerstar 200