Ski boats and wake boats for sale

Direct drive versus V-drive

Classic slalom boats put the engine in the middle of the boat with a straight shaft, which keeps the wake small and the tracking straight. Wake and surf boats mount the engine at the back with a V-drive, freeing up the bow and cockpit and adding weight aft. Ballast tanks, wake plates and surf systems then shape the wave. The type has deep roots in Tennessee: Rob Shirley, a ski instructor, started MasterCraft in a barn in Maryville in 1968 by modifying a Ski Nautique hull, and Malibu moved its headquarters to Loudon. See MasterCraft and Malibu.

Test numbers

BoatTEST ran a 2020 MasterCraft X24 with a 430 hp Ilmor 6.2 and three aboard. It reached 38.2 mph at the top and cruised best at 27.0 mph and 4,000 rpm, using 13.1 gph. The boat is 24'2" long, about 6,100 lb, with 85 gallons of fuel, and Boating lists 4,300 lb of ballast for the 2025 model. Malibu's 23 LSV, which the builder calls its best-selling wake boat, is 23 feet with a 102 inch beam, room for 15 and up to 4,435 lb of ballast.

Prices by age

Towboats lose value slowly, so age is the main lever. Fall 2026 Boat Trader asking prices for the 23 LSV went from $36,740 for a 2008 to $66,999 for a 2014, $105,000 for a 2021 and $168,000 for a new 2026. MasterCraft asks ran $49,500 for a 2013 XStar, $64,500 for a 2015 X23 and $96,995 for a 2019 X24, while new 2026 X24s were $259,990 to $309,990. Older slalom boats are far cheaper, like a 2004 Malibu Response LXi at $23,500.

What to inspect

Hours count for more than the model year. Wake boats spend long sessions at surf speed with tons of water aboard, which is hard work for the engine and V-drive. Ask for a compression test, oil analysis and transmission and V-drive fluid service records. Run each ballast pump and check the tanks and hoses for leaks or mold. Test the surf system on both sides and the wake plate actuators. Check the tower, its mounting points and the fiberglass around them for cracks. Drive the boat with ballast full and empty, since handling changes a lot between the two.

Questions for the seller

Ask where the boat was stored, whether it was winterized by a dealer and whether the impeller has been changed recently. Find out if the ballast was ever added with aftermarket bags, which can overload the hull beyond its rating. Ask whether the boat lived in fresh water, as most towboats do, and look at the trailer, which often carries these heavy boats long distances.

Where to browse

Lake states hold most of the supply. Browse Texas, Tennessee, Michigan, Minnesota and California, and compare with Bryant and Four Winns surf models.