What to look for. Purchasing 1st Mastercraft

[Big tic]

Hello from the North East

I am looking at moving away from the I/o and heading to a X-45/ Maristar 245. Our last boat was a Formula 26 BR. We had the tower and speakers added but still it was not a user friendly wake board boat.

We looked at a 2006 Maristar 245ss this weekend (listed as a x45 but it did not have ballest so I assume it is a Maristar). It was not perfect but I understand I am buying a used 5/6 year old boat. I do however have some questions/ concerns.

1. There was spider cracking around the rear lifting eyes. It appeared that the boat was lifted from them. The cracks are smooth to the touch. I think this is simply cosmetic. How hard is this to fix and should this be concerning?

2. One of the speaker mounts on the tower broke. It has 4 JL speakers with integrated lights. I was told that all it needs is a bracket. This struck me as odd. Do these brackets fail often?

3. The oil temp gauge glass was cracked. Can the glass be replaced?

4. The engine is a 6L vortec motor with 320 hours. The motor has Vortec stamped on the top of the plastic cover. This is the first marine engine I have seen to have a GM type cover. Is this normal?

5. The back right corner has a butchered fiberglass repair. The dealership is selling the boat on consignment and at the time did not know what happened. They have indicated they can fix and will look brand new for under $1000. The area is about 12 inches long by 3 inches high. I assume it hit the dock.

6. The drivers seat is loose. Once again the dealer says they can fix.

Overall the boat is in need of a good clean. I am happy with the overall condition. The bottom does not have a scratch on it. The prop and rubber look brand new.

Anything I need to pay particle attention to? I do plan on having the dealer complete a list to bring it back to 100%. I also would like to have an independent mechanic look over the motor.

Thanks

Eric

[Big tic]

Link to boat in question. Sorry it is in French.

http://www.brodeurmarine.com/boat/us...ac0d95a310.htm

[bturner2]

While Mastercrafts are very well made IMO they are not made for big water. At least not the ones talked about most of the time on this forum. Depending on where/how you plan to use this boat it may or may not be a good fit for you. Being a SS I would also assume that you plan to use the boat in salt water, as in the ocean. Do you tend to encounter big water while out? If so you'll be begging for the Formula at some time in the near future.

Based on your description it sounds like this boat has seen it's share of heavy use. Stress cracks are not that uncommon and can be fixed. What caused them is typically a more pressing question that I have. I use my boat in Lake Erie (pretty much a fresh water ocean) but pick my days very carefully. I've been caught in conditions I would prefer to not have been in so can understand how a speaker bracket could shear in bad conditions. That being said I have yet to have this happen with my Wet Sounds speakers or have heard of this from anyone else that I know. If the broken speaker bracket were the result of rough conditions it would be no surprise to me that there are stress cracks in the hull or why the driver's seat is loose. Sometimes the glass in a gauge will break due to tension or stress, again a possible sign the boat saw some rough action. I'm not aware that you can replace just the glass however the gauges are fairly readily available on Ebay and at the dealer as well.

So..... It would sound as if you're looking a a boat that was as they say here "road hard and put away wet". That's not the end of the world as MCs can take a pretty good beating. As long as you're willing to pay to fix everything and your mechanic says everything else is good you should be fine. The only other thing I would consider would be doing a title search to be sure the boat hadn't been in a serious accident or you're dealing with a selvage.

[Big tic]

thanks for the reply.

We currently live in Fredericton NB on the Saint John River. The river does empty to the Atlantic ocean but we never go that far. Most likely we will be relocating to Ottawa Ontario
and plan to keep the boat on the Rideau River so our biggest concern is cruiser wakes not big water.

We will miss the Formula for the speed and rough water handling and of course the bathroom but it was simply to stressful to try to wakeboard behind. My wife had trouble using the trim/ trim tabs to get the wake right and did not enjoy having to play with all the settings.

We originally started looking at an X80 are are still preferring it.

This boat in question was interesting because of the lower price point as we are not 100% on the inboard layout. IE do we want to sacrifice all the benefits of an I/O. We mostly cruise, rehydrate and anchor with 20% or less time spent wake boarding, but we are planning to change this with an easier boat to do water sports with.

I share you throughts that the boat was probably not a "lift queen". I am going to get an estimate on repairs but I may continue to look.

If anybody comes across a reasonably priced x80 or 280 (don't need ballast tanks), please let me know.

Eric

[scottsx2]

If you end up relocating to Ottawa, you shouldn't have a problem with cruiser wakes on the Rideau, I am usually on there week nights with my X 2 sacked out and do need to pay attention when it's slammed but no waves over the bow so far.

[CC2MC]

Try before you buy. See if the dealer will let you take it out for half a day and see what you think. Either that or find one of the guys on the forum near you and cruise with them for a day. Most probably wouldn't mind the company. This is a pretty large investment and you need to be sure this is really what you want to do. A mc is generally not the best cruising boat although an x-45 would be better than most, but you would miss the high speed runs for sure. If you are serious at all about the water sports, you can always add the ballast but having a boat set up with ballast would be really nice in the future and better for resale, should you decide not to keep it. Just FYI, I found an x-45 in the southeast for 39k with similar hours, maybe closer to 400. This time of the year is the time to buy and there are some deals to be had but you may have to travel a little further to get them.

[madcityskier]

Out of curiosity, what are all the benefits of an I/O that you mention? I had one before my MasterCraft and the only benefit I found was the trim/tilt on the lower unit. That being said to control the boat it had to be down a little more than 1/4 way, which had it drawing more water than my direct drive. Not doubting, just wondering how our experiences varied, and what you expect to find with the vdrive.

[Big tic]

Thanks again for multiple replys

Scottsx2 we are looking at moving to Manotick. Do you keep your boat in the water? I grew up on the Rideau and we always left our boats in for the entire season. I assume there is no concerns with doing this with a MC.

CC2MC That is a great idea to try before you buy. The only issue is the season is over. To be honest the high speed run is nice but I could live with out it. Most of the time we cruise at 30mph or less. When we did hammer it, it was fun but we got to our destination to fast and usually ran out of refreshments.

madcityskier Great question. Here are more perceived benefits and disadvantages. Once again open to discussion
1. The ability to trim for higher speeds and various water conditions.
2. Bravo III dual props made docking and reversing easy.
3. Ability to lift the out drive for shallow water
4. I feel that the sterndrive would be more robust for underwater collisions IE Dead heads, sand bars, etc. But at the end of the day no matter what you run if you hit something there will be damaged.

Dislikes
5. I hated how the stern drive was in the way for swimming and getting in and out of the boat. I warned all our guest but almost every time we were anchored somebody kicked the outdrive while swimming.Not fun
6. Might not be an I/O only issue but when we loaded up the Formula (12 people) I could not stop the boat from porpoising at average cruise speeds. I would either have to run extreme down trim with tabs or cruise at a much higher speed.
7. Complexity of maintenance- had to replace trim pumps, seals, etc The boat was used in salt water and had serve corrosion on the outdrive. This is a well documented issue with Bravo III drives.
8. Complexity of trim for water sports. Trimming down for launch and up to make the wake right. Made it difficult for my wife to drive and me to enjoy wake boarding. She is a skilled boater, but never got the hang of trimming the boat.
9. Not an sterndrive issue but I was very disappointed with the aftermarket tower I bought. I thought I was buying a quality tower, speakers, racks and light bar (over $3000). At first I was happy but once we ran the boat the side to side movement of the tower was extreme. I called the company and they said it was designed to do this. Long story short I was not happy and the company actually said they didn't offer the tower any more do to "complexity of installation" but would not warranty it or send me a new one (cross member bent after second time wakeboarding). I was however given the option to buy a replacement for cost. I don't want to do that again. I was very impressed with the Mastercraft tower and swinging board racks.

Don't get me wrong we loved our formula. It served us very well. We put over 350 hours on it in 2 years (in Canada that is a lot).

[PS195]

I live in south Ottawa and know Manotick well. You'll find a fair amount of traffic on the river and many of the boats are a good size.
Biggest problem is seaweed tangling your prop.
I would not keep my boat in that water all year, you'll need a lift or you'll spend many hours cleaning the hull.
my 2 cents

[Big tic]

Good to hear from a couple fellow Canadians. Thanks for the insight on the lift.

I must say there is allot more action on this forum then the Formula one I used to frequent.