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MasterCraft Boats X-80 2008

Wakeboard Boat Review

“This thing is crazy, it’s so big!” one of our riders said when first stepping onto the MasterCraft X-80 at the dock. What kind of wakeboarder lays out well into the six figures for this water-sports yacht? Ones with big families, lots of friends and larger lakes and waterways. Some buyers even get the MasterCraft X-80 as their “little” fun boat to go alongside their 60-footers.

Hull: This design has a deep V with a vented step on the biggest hull in MasterCraft’s lineup, breaking the mold both in length and width. It’s able to blast over rollers like a semi over speed bumps. The design also supports two engines, still a rarity in this market. Get this with the saltwater package of upgrades and the MasterCraft X-80 can charge almost anywhere.

Ballast: The MasterCraft X-80 comes with a 500-pound factory ballast system, which is more like icing on the cake when the boat itself weighs more than three tons. And did we mention the two engines? The wakes are massive with the factory setup. Seriously, adding any more would really be crazy.

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Tower: Even with its unique size, there are a few things that right away signal to everybody this is a MasterCraft. There’s the pickle-fork bow, the hull graphics and the ZeroFlex tower. Sure, the tubing extends to epic proportions, but the rear supports still have that cool industrial design and sweet built-in wakeboard racks.

Highlight feature: It’s hard to pick just one on such a loaded boat, but we’ll go with convertible lounger. Or maybe the sink and optional fridge for forming a refreshment center behind the driver’s seat. Or the enclosed head, the huge bow, the … .

The wake: HUGE! That’s the test team’s consensus on these wakes. We had to take the boat up to 26.4 mph to find our sweet spot, but still at 65 feet they were big, narrow and steep. Experienced riders will find this a whole new challenge. And for wakesurfing, this is one of the best boats out there, with a lot of potential even without squeezing all the passengers into one back corner.

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What We Dig

-Monstrous size in every aspect of this wakeboard boat

-A bow that seems as big as the main lounge on smaller wakeboard boats

-Twin throttles for a new driving experience

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-VDIG video dash display that’s fun to use

-Twin engines for massive power

Specs

Length w/o platform: 28’3”

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Beam: 9’6”

People: 15

Dry weight: 6,200 lb.

Ballast: 500 lb. (two rear tanks, 250 lb. each)

Tower: ZeroFlex

Racks: Swivel

Main lounge: 82 sq. ft.

Stereo: Clarion deck, six speakers, satellite-radio ready

Cooler: 48 qt.

Fuel: 100 gal.

Engine

Standard: Indmar RTP-1 5.7L, 310 hp (2)

Test: Indmar LY6 6.0L, 400 hp (2)

Test prop: OJ 13.7×19.5 four-blade

Cruise: PerfectPass

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