Mobius IXL

What’s a Mobius, you may ask? Literally, it’s a geometric shape with only one side and one boundary component. It’s a bit of a puzzle, if you like, or in some hands, a magician’s trick. But this boating example is much more straightforward. It’s a skiboat in an old-school vein, but with a modern approach to construction and design.

Sound like a contradiction? Well, by “old school” we refer to the centrally-mounted shaft-drive engine. There’s nothing retro about the motor, however, as we’re talking about a direct-injection V8 Indmar, with 325hp that pushed our Mobius IXL test boat to 45 knots (83km/h) on the broad reaches of the Shoalhaven River.

Josh explained that a wakeboat with the engine set in the rear will inevitably cause some degree of wake because the weight down aft lowers the hull in the water. Skiers, on the other hand, require flat water, and a well-designed centre-mount boat that leaves a smooth surface. For this reason, Mobius has a strong following as a tow boat in the United States in three-event competitions -- slalom, trick and jump.

The Mobius gains its crossover credentials by being able to pump water into a holding tank to drop the stern and make waves. While not a dedicated tournament wakeboat, it has the stuff for social boarding. The test boat’s wake-plate and solid tow tower add to its dual-purpose nature. With the plate raised the wake is a flat, ski-friendly ripple, while with the plate lowered and ballast introduced there’s a well-shaped wake for boarding.

The bowrider layout has space for three in the forward section with two seats at the helm and a lounge for four at the rear. Extra room for relaxing is found on the full-width sunpad as well as on the padded enginebox. There’s a folding screen and a lower snap-in wind block between bow and cockpit. Marine carpet covers the floor throughout and follows the line inside the hull on the sides. There’s an in-floor Esky-style cooler and a rear ski locker under the sunpad. Under the floor is a 105-litre fuel tank.

Seating for the driver is a hip-hugging bucket with a bolster, while the passenger/observer seat is a rear-facing lounge with an opening backrest that lifts to reveal a large storage space. The driver’s dash displays a wraparound, high-tech readout with information for voltage, oil, temperature, fuel, revs, speed, hour meter and wake-plate. An MB Quartz stereo pumps music to six speakers and a remote control at the transom adjusts the sound level from the stern.

On the straight stretches of the Shoalhaven we gave her the berries and at over 40 knots it’s a thrill to be zipping along, turning the willows into a blur as that V8 rumble echoed back from the sandstone cliffs lining the river’s edge.

With the engine trimmed down, turns at speed without cavitation were easily executed, and it drives out of those turns like it’s on rails. We threw it into some figure-eights and it just loves the attention; turning lock to lock is a breeze but everyone needs to hang on because the sideways momentum can catch the unwary. It’s immense fun to drive and it feels safe and trustworthy.

Across wake, the hull is solid and free of rattles, with no banging or pounding. The driver position is comfortable and well laid out and the steering wheel has good grip and ample tilt adjustment to suit most drivers. There’s lots of legroom and the controls are easy to reach. Lounging back in the bucket is a comfortable driving position and there’s uninterrupted vision all round. There’s manual cruise control too, but the electronic throttle is very light to use without being overly touchy.

With the centre-mount engine not far from the driver, the noise level is higher than it would be in a rear-engined boat, and there’s a high-pitched mechanical noise at some speeds that may be attributed to the gearbox. Being a centre-mount, access to the donk -- for maintenance or simply to show it off to your mates -- is easy.

From the time he jumped out the back of his father’s fishing boat and onto a surfboard to ride home on the wake, he was hooked on the thrill of the sport and its associated lifestyle. He went on to hone his skills and invent jumps and moves that would thrill judges in competitions across America, and at 19 he won the US Wakeboard Open. By 2005 he was winning almost everything on offer, including the King of Wake World Cup, the Australian Wakeboard title, the Asian X-Games and America’s Pro Wakeboard tour.

Recognition of his talent has brought Josh a myriad of opportunities -- worthy reward for the years of training and pain it took for him to reach the top. In the pursuit of his passion, Josh has endured numerous broken ribs and fingers, torn ligaments and more concussions than he can remember (pardon the pun). And because the appetite for armchair adventure these days seems insatiable, Josh has been in high demand. Companies like Red Bull have seen the potential to promote their products by being involved in extreme activities for airing on pay television and YouTube. Being a member of the Red Bull team has seen Josh travel to far-flung destinations to film projects of increasing daring and spectacle.

It probably all started when Josh set up a rail slider over the family houseboat on the Shoalhaven River, for a successful world record wake attempt over a 121ft floating rail. Josh’s other stunts have included tow-in wakeboarding on big waves in Tahiti and setting up a rail and cable tow at the pyramids in Egypt.

These projects require big budgets and lots of planning to get film crew, helicopters and a group of wakeboarders to exotic locations. The concept of “wakeberging” involved a trip to St John’s in Newfoundland to seek out icebergs suitable for use as ramps. With the arctic icescape as a background, Josh and others were filmed being towed in on PWCs to perform tricks, with dry suits affording a small degree of protection for the inevitable crashes into the near-freezing water.

Nearer to home, Josh found a warmer but equally remote location for his next adventure. The Red Bull wakeboard crew comprising Josh, Parks Bonifay, Brian Grubb and JD Webb set off on a 12-day West Coast wake fest. They loaded a luxury 85ft catamaran with all their gear, including a Supra tow boat, for the wilderness of the Kimberley coast. The plan? Board the rugged waters around the Horizontal Waterfall and Montgomery Reef.

Filming against the rugged red cliffs and gleaming white beaches landed them with spectacular footage for the Northern Tides video. With tides in the 20ft range, the water levels changed by the minute and all boarders risked being savaged by the rapidly-exposed coral. "Riding across that wild water was a thrill but the biggest adrenalin rush was seeing two-metre saltwater crocs as we rode around -- that was really scary,” Josh says.

Late last year Josh undertook yet another nerve-wracking operation, this time in South Korea, when the crew set up a cable tow on the Cheonggyecheon Stream in downtown Seoul. The well-planned but unauthorised stunt had the potential to unravel if authorities got wind of the action. Josh said he had a real fear of ending up in some exotic dish at the hands of overzealous authorities. Nevertheless, the high-jinx went off smoothly and Josh returned home in one piece.

Of course none of this hurts the promotion of the Supra and Mobius boats that Josh and his brother Justin produce in their Nowra factory. Many rising-star wakeboarders would admire Josh’s skill and achievements. “What sort of boat should I buy, Josh?” the starry-eyed youngsters ask. What else is he going to suggest, other than the ones he uses and builds himself?