MasterCraft XT23: Review

Forget waiting for that unridden set to roll in. MasterCraft’s latest crossover, with the Gen 2 Wake System and a trick digital dashboard interface lets you dial-up the size and shape of the wake for all tow sports. We grabbed two young-gun riders and a sunny day to test the wake and waves and rate the onboard comfort levels.

OVERVIEW
- Crossover and comfort rolled into one beautiful MasterCraft
We should admit right up front that we’re kinda crazy about the new XT23. When it comes to new towboats, MasterCraft is hogging the take-off zone with this crowd-pleasing wake machine. Touted as the ultimate crossover, the XT23 is able to dial-up waves and wakes for all sports at the press of a button.

Pitched and priced between the entry-level NXT range and the high-end X Series, this new 2017-model XT23 does more without costing you more. It’s actually a bunch of boats rolled into one. It’s right on the money as far as what today’s trailerboaters are chasing — plenty of action, fun and family times afloat.

Compared with the X23, we’re down 300kg of ballast and the pickle-fork bow, and the fully optimised wakeboarding wake for serious exponents of that craft. However, for the Australian market, this crossover taps into our surf culture and water skiing legacy. This boat that caters for both these activities, plus wakeboarding, and just has to be a winner.

It’s this very crossover application that has made this XT23 a hot seller in the MasterCraft range Down Under. There are approaching a dozen of these boats on the local market since the first one launched — a world boat-show debut no less — at the 2016 Sydney International Boat Show mid-2016.

Proving its pull, buyers of the XT23 include wakeboarders jumping camps, a wakeboarding school, and some plenty of keen young families. This generous summer party platform pleases everyone from dad on skis off the removable ski pylon to the mum on the board and the kids hitting up some serious airtime off the tower.

PRICE AND EQUIPMENT
- A premium wake-sports boat with the works
You can get a base XT23 for $142,900 equipped to high Australian specification including such things as 365hp Ilmor 5500 GDI engine with vee drive, the Gen 2 surf package, premium audio and touch screen, bimini and covers, and painted galvanized trailer for Australian roads.

Our test boat was loaded with a custom colour-accents package, matching green flake swim platform, upgraded billet features, panoramic mirror, ZFT 7 power tower with lights and speaker cans with blue LED rings, surf racks, removable sky pylon, premium audio and touchscreen package, heater, transom walk-through, hydraulic seat lift, battery charger and more. The optional tracking fins help with pulling tight turns on our rivers.

The bottom line? As tested, ready to roll, the XT23 demo was a $169k rig. Of course, that’s big dollars for a trailerboat. But if you want the latest and greatest in luxury crossover towboats with exceptional social-boating ability then this is most definitely it. And as we said, it’s kind of like a bunch of boats rolled into one.

Addition options to consider include Dockstar Handling System using flanking rudders for greater manoeuvrability, a trick new cool-feel vinyl so you can sit on dark upholstery even in summer, and engine options right up to a 7.4L V8 pulling 520hp from the exclusive-to-MasterCraft Ilmor line-up.

DESIGN AND LAYOUT
- A vee-bow social boat with cavernous storage and plush comfort
The demo boat dressed in Calypso Green Flake is a stunner. The harbinger of a newly styled MasterCraft range has a snappy aft hip line, redesigned hull shape with greater interior freeboard, new dial-in dash, and fresh aluminium billet features that help set the rig off. The boat is a traditional vee bow design that looks great on its matching trailer, too.

Our demo boat also had the exact same colour combo that was used to launch the new 2017 MasterCraft XT23. The promo video, featuring cool Californian musician Donovan Frankenrieter and a couple of pro surfers, captures the fun vibe of this watersports’ weapon.

Beyond the wakesports culture, the new XT23 is incredibly generous in respect of comfort and all-important storage. There’s a stated 16-person capacity, plush seats for that many, and oodles of room to stash the carry-on gear, boards, skis, ropes, wetties and all that gear that’s part of summer watersports.

In fact, the XT 23 has the biggest crew and gear capacity across all MasterCraft 22-23ft offerings. In the long bow, this translates to decent legroom, great underseat storage (with rotocast plastic non-rot bases). Though there’s no Aussie-style dedicated anchor locker, there’s plenty of room to stash a pick and rope. In the American way, the boat is replete with drink holders and speakers.

Board and ski storage is big, with one huge locker extending from under the passenger-side console right down and under the portside cockpit lounge. The seat bases lift on struts and hinges. Yet more storage exists either side of the Ilmor V8, with in-dash glove box for personal effects, and in ZFT 7 power tower with board racks.

The waterfront interface is big on this boat, with an enlarged aft sunpad and swim platform. There’s a walkthrough transom once you remove the rear centre seat swab, under which is a portable icebox in a hold, and launching off this boat is easy.

Meantime, the exceptional fit and finish and trim level creates a special social boat with premium look and feel. The plush surround seating has closed-cell multi-density foam for added comfort, along with that new cool-touch vinyl so you could, if you felt so inclined, run an all-black boat in summer without suffering third-degree burns.

Importantly, there’s a trick flip backrest to create a central two-person observer seat in the centre of the transom. This doubles as the ultimate place from which to shoot the action, of which there will plenty on this XT23.

HULL AND ENGINEERING
- Quality build and engineering with ISO accreditation
MasterCraft boasts it’s the only global boatbuilder to achieve ISO 9001:2008, 14001, and OHSAS 18001 certifications. These qualifications help explain the build quality from this publically listed company, with fair mouldings in a handbuilt fibreglass hull fitted out with high quality aluminium billet features, running gear and electronic technology.

The four-blade Pro Wake bronze prop runs through a 1:57 ratio vee- drive to the 365hp 5.3L Ilmor 500 GDI engine with direct injection. The boat is propped for hole shot and deep starts, aided by the three plate trim system, which also helps hold low-speed surf speeds around the usual 10-11mph.

Claiming to be the only petrol marine engine with a five star emissions rating, the cool blue Ilmor GDI platform also boasts improved fuel efficiency, smooth and clean performance, servicing ease, and 100 per cent closed cooling. The engine pulls 375hp at 5400rpm and maximum torque of 543nm at 4100rpm.

The steering is rack and pinion, linked from a Nibral rudder to a tilt helm station with trick four-spoke wheel. But it’s tracking fins, standard on all Australian boats, that helps with turning in narrow waterways like, say, the Hawkesbury or Murray.

Underway, the XT23 had noticeably low-vibration levels, partly due to the stringer system and liner being chemically bonded to the hull, creating a unibody or moncoque structure. The new Ilmor 500 GDI motor is also low vibration, with engine (and ski pylon) mounting brackets sandwiched under the grid liner.

MasterCraft claims its boats are built to withstand pounding from 6-8 foot ocean swells that generate 5-10gs. The Tennessee-based company backs the XT23 with a full five-year warranty that covers the Ilmor engine.

THE GEN2 SYSTEM
-Pre-set tow modes, four surf zones, and customisable wake and waves
Using a combination of three ballast (hard and bag) tanks and big tabs you can do just about anything with the acclaimed Gen 2 Wake System and XT23 platform. It takes about 12 minutes to fully fill the ballast tanks, which carry 1180 litres and that many kilos, to which you can add the boat’s 2268kg of (dry) displacement.

As MasterCraft describes it, the Gen 2 Wake System comprises four pillars: the boat hull; the ballast system (including tanks, plumbing and placement); software to control it all; and a wake-shaping device beneath the transom (three special trim plates) that sculpts the wave. Together, in various combinations and speeds, you can alter the hydrodynamics, displacement and laminar flow to create different wake and wave shapes.

For surfing, there are four zones — Zone 1 for starters up to a few metres from the boat, Zone 2 with more of a lip some two to three metres from the boat, Zone 3 with the most vertical face back to five metres astern, and Zone 4 up to six metres astern with room to roam and ride bigger boards.

All of this is controlled by the 7in Murphy touchscreen, that lets you dial up left or right hand waves at the press of a button using the plumbed in ballast and trim plates. You can see what we mean about not having to wait for a set out the back at some crowded break as it’s all happening at the push of a button.

ON THE WATER
- Ride and drive time reveals a beautiful boat
For our test, we grabbed two accomplished riders — Elliot Digney (16) on the wakeboard and Ashley Blake (20) for some wakesurfing — and we hit Port Hacking in the early hours to ensure the wave faces were crisp, unbroken, steep and barely peeling.

During the course of our review, we didn't get to ski behind the XT23. This is a big boat, so there will be some considerable displacement. Being a vee drive, means it's going to be nicely planted and it does power through the turns without washing off speed.

For a softer ski wake, MasterCraft says you only need to "utilise the centre tab setting at somewhere between 30-50 per cent for an above-average recreational ski wake at 32-36mph."

At high-20mph on the speedo, when running with no ballast, there certainly wasn't confronting wake out the back. But given the family fun with the wake sports side of things when ballasted, we don't think Dad will complain about the skiing aspect of the XT23. It's the crowd-pleasing crossover.

The first thing we noticed was the easy boat launch from the custom MasterCraft trailer. Next, engine vibration and noise were nice and low, while the feedback at the helm is immediately that of a premium towboat.

There’s still the requisite spread of analogue gauges, but the plug-and-play MasterCraft multifunction display handles everything from audio, video, engine data and ballast/trim to GPS, plus custom towing profiles at just a few presses of a button.

The ballast fill and empty buttons and trim and wake tab controls fall to hand alongside the throttle. While you can manually override the pre-sets, MasterCraft’s Gen 2 Wake System lets you fill it and forget it. This way, you can defer to the software profiles and go riding straight away. Later, you will create your own custom ride settings.

With the big trim plates or tabs and the centre forward tank full, the XT23 has no problem popping out of the hole and then pulling back to run at surfing speeds. Importantly, driver vision remains clear over the bow thanks to the flat running attitude. We tested the boat with full ballast and three adults in the cockpit, but you might need to spread bigger crew loads and adjust the wake shape manually, of course. Crew load has a big bearing on wave shape, one person shifting from bow to stern can change engine RPM by as much as 200rpm, but MasterCraft provides seating charts to help with all this if you need it.

Across the various profiles, we found the XT23 created powerful wave faces with maximum push at 10-11mph for surfing, made decent ramps at mid-20mph for launching (and down to 16-18mph for beginners), after which you could smooth things out for skiing in the 32-36mph range.

Top speed with empty tanks will get you to the surf spot in no time at up to 42.5mph (37 knots) at 4600rpm. Fully loaded this drops to about 36.5mph (32 knots). Time from 0-20mph also more doubles with the full crew and ballast load from 5.5 seconds when you are empty and lightly laden. But as a cruising family boat, the XT23 rates highly.

RIDERS' VIEW
- Clean and rampy, plush plenty of push
Elliot was first to launch on his wakeboard, still pretty fresh from his win in the US Nationals, and pulling off some serious air for our camera. He liked the clean rampy wave behind the XT23 and tows behind his own jet-black MasterCraft X Series will some serious bags on The Hacking.

Ashley, no stranger to wakeboarding either, dutifully launches into some graceful wakesurfing. She was looking for a long clean wave with plenty of push and you can see that clearly from the footage and photos we captured from the rear observers’ lounge.

Meantime, the ergonomics of the driving station add to the all-day comfort for towing, plus our XT23 had a bimini for shade from the midday sun. Come winter, the heater option will come into its own, creating a year-round sports towboat.

Of course, the XT23 doubles for social cruising, like most comfortable bowriders do, and with that 16-person capacity it’s a party boat. We cruised Port Hacking from Yowie Bay ramp down and out into the main deep channel along the western National Park shoreline.

The XT23 offers a beautiful ride — onboard, at the helm, in the bow, back in the cockpit, out the back on a tow rope, and without it surfing waves. It’s got Malibu’s 23 LSV and Nautique’s Super Air 230 firmly in its sights.

VERDICT
- The King of Crossovers is the perfect summer boat Down Under
Being the crossover, the XT23 gives you a widest possible range of tow sport options and, in this capacity, it’s a great Australian towboat.

But the XT23 goes beyond that. A replacement for the X30, this latest and greatest MasterCraft imbues the boatbuyer with a strong sense of pride of ownership. This is an exceptionally high-quality boat that justifies the price premium by delivering on all fronts.

When you talk to Terry McNew, President and CEO of MasterCraft, you quickly realise he is in tune with the social trends. MasterCraft also sets out to create a few of its own. The XT23 is a beautiful crossover towboat pitched right where Aussie watersports families are taking off these days. Right now, it’s the hottest MasterCraft in the fleet and our best ride ever.

LIKES
>> Terrific crossover boat with all the wake-sports modes at your fingertips
>> Great technology and user-interface with the Murphy touchscreen
>> Long clean wave face with plenty of push and virtually tournament quality wakeboarding faces
>> Extremely comfortable, smooth and agreeable on the water
>> The latest five-star Ilmor direct-Injection engine is virtually fume free
>> Prestige boat with great attention to detail

NOT SO MUCH
>> Big-ticket price for a 23-foot watersports platform
>> Lots of bling — upholstery, billet and sparkling gelcoat — to look after
>> 12 minutes can seem like a long time waiting for the ballast to fully fill

Specifications: MasterCraft XT23
Price As Tested: Loaded on trailer for $169,000 with upgraded Ilmor 5500 GDI, custom colour package, Gen 2 Surf System, ZFT 7 power tower, surf racks, lights and cans, heater, hydraulic seat lift, tracking fins, engine flush kit, windshield and mirror upgrade and more, all on custom MasterCraft trailer
Priced From: $142,900
Length: 7.11m
Beam: 2.59m
Interior Width: 2.18m
Boat Height: 2.99m
Dry Weight: 2268kg
Ballast Weight: 1180kg
Draft: 0.80m
Fuel Capacity: 208lt
Seating: 16 people
Storage: 3.18sq m
Hull: Variable deadrise with vee drive
Engine: 365hp direct-injection 5.3L V8 Ilmor 5500 GDI
Drive: Vee drive with 1.57:1 reduction

Supplied by:
MasterCraft Australia
For dealers and further details, see www.mastercraftboats.com.au.