Master Craft X35

Designed as a cross-over boat it will be comfortable no matter its usage -- be it skiing, wake boarding or just cruising broad waters and it will be equally at home anchored off a beach and used as a base for a family day out.

Its inherent seaworthiness will allow the occupants to travel long distances on water without issues arising when the water chops up. Some beach camping gear stowed on board opens up a whole new way to spend weekends!

The most obvious add-on is the tower which really puts some flair into this already good-looking boat. With a model number of ZFT5p this tower is electronically controlled to raise or lower the cross member to change the profile of the boat and to allow easy storage under low roof boat ports.

Armed with four speakers the board racks also are electronically controlled so as to retract or extend as required. This rack is so well designed that the speakers maintain their parallel relationship to the deck as the bar tower is raised or lowered.

It and all other alloy components on the boat are specially treated to resist the rigours of a marine environment and will not corrode or discolour and the quality of the materials fitted to the test boat had to be seen up close to be appreciated.

A small refrigerator is installed in a module behind the helm seat and in the top of this structure a hand basin is flush mounted with a lid and a fiddle rail on its border.

The fibreglass swim platform on the transom is inlaid with teak to offer a reasonable amount of non-slip and a classic finish for those climbing on or off board. It laps on the surface when the boat is dead in the water so minimal effort would be required when using this platform.

An attitude adjustment plate is out of sight and out of mind on the hull bottom and when manipulated this plate changes the attitude of the hull in the water which in conjunction with on board ballast tanks, re-designs the shape of the wake coming off each corner of the hull. Those tanks are capable of ingesting and jettisoning 370kg of water at the flick of a switch.

The electronic wizardry on board this Master Craft is fascinating to say the least. Individual skier’s preferred wave patterns may be factored in (99 different settings) and a scroll through the menu to a particular one for activation will see the ballast system front and back adjust to set the hull to those preferred angles; smart stuff indeed.

Another optional extra are the surf tabs which are installed on the bottom sides of the hull. These perform independent to the attitude plate in what is referred to as the ‘rock and roll’ system. They effectively create a prominent list to either port or starboard which in turns lengthens the surf wake behind and alleviates the need to take on ballast water.

Anchored off the beach the X35 may be back anchored with the bow in the shallow so that passengers may board and disembark via a boarding ladder which is located under a hatch which also holds ground tackle for anchoring. This keeps the running gear in a safer depth of water,

Throw in some underwater lighting, a freshwater wash-down system and a built-in battery charger and you have reached the price as tested of $139,000.

The bow riding pit is roomy and luxurious with the forward bulkhead rebated to allow easy passage over the bow and onto the beach.

Two of the eight speakers on this boat are located in the liner each side along with individual stereo system controls.

Four large drink holders are moulded into the fibreglass here and the two lounges that back onto the helm bulkhead have drop down side arms for comfort and security when the boat is in high-speed manoeuvres.

The rear lounge is equally as plush and handy to the afore-mentioned refrigerator.

It features a deep-V hull with high freeboard making this boat a good contender for rough open water and its beamy bow offers maximum stability when dead in the water and people are moving about the boat, especially up front.

All that bulk helps pull the scales down to 2223kg tow weight so you will need to be in the league of a large 4WD to get this rig safely around the highways.

Steering is a breeze being hydraulic and a multi tilt hub adds to the comfort at the helm.

The passenger seat may be adjusted to face the stern as an observer seat or face forward when required.

Like other Master Craft boats the helm station looks like a jet fighter cockpit with all the bells and whistles with heavy use of carbon-fibre patterns, upholstery and Allen head fixings on fittings giving it a nice solid finish.

Under the engine box lid the 6.2-litre Ilmor V8 engine occupies most of the central compartment. It is a fresh-water cooling system so saltwater never enters the block giving the engine components an extended life.

The exhaust system on the X35 has been effectively silenced so passengers and crew don’t have to put up with the drone of a big V8.

It displayed excellent manoeuvrability at speed and during hard turns and being big and heavy, traversing large chop failed to cause any concern.

We came away from this review a little awestruck. Not just at how well this entire outfit performed but how it looked; a real head-turner in every respect!

Water: 45 litres
Fuel: 227 litres
People Day: 16