Opinions on Sunsport 24

[French]

This would be my first boat, and would like Supra boat owners opinions on the Supra boats. I have been looking at Malibu and Mastercraft, but recently strated to look at Moomba, then we went to the KC boat show and saw the Moomba Gravity Games boat which has lots of extras then went to the delaers show room to look at a 05 Mobius XLV they still had in stock. The 05 Moomba seemed to be pretty plan on the inisde, just didn't strike me and the wife liek the Gravity Games Boat did. Then she saw the Spura Sunsport 24V they had in the showroom. Now we are leaning toward the Sunsport, but would welcome opinions on the Supra line overall and if anyone has a Sunsport their thoughts in particular at that model.

I know this might be a biased board about Supra, but the only feed back I'm getting is form my friends who own Malibus and Mastercrafts.

Thanks-
French

[IndyMatt]

French,

Welcome to the post... Hopefully you will be here for a while. Of course your going to get a bias opinion as most of us are already patrons of Skiers Choice, but as you will also find out, we dont hesitate to throw out our opinions. I personally come from a water sports enthusiast family that includes such boats as Mastercraft, Tige, Two Supras, Rinker and now a chapparel. When I was shopping I looked closely at the manufacturing process and found Mastercraft and Supra to be very competitive. Im sorry Ive always had the feeling that Malibu and correct craft (Natique) are just over priced for what you get. I selected my direct drive sunsport for skiability and overall quality. Obviously when you look at somthing like a 24SSV your getting a boat with plenty of family room and plenty of hull displacement (Wake board boat) From what I understand the hull in the Supra/Moomba is identical. Your going to notice $$ saving cutbacks on interior features and options. Also look closely at engine options, Im not sure what is going on in 2006, but as late as 2004, the standard motor option in the moomba was still a carburated motor. I think everything in the Indmar/Supra has moved to MPI even though I still love the serviceability of my TBI. If you select the 24SSV you may want to consider an engine upgrade as it is the largest and heaviest of the supra line. The most important thing is to talk to your dealer, see if you can arrange a demo & drive a few of the boats. Find one that fits your needs. One thing that I didnt like about mastercraft is that being 6'4", when I drove the boat, my line of sight was above the top of the windshield. The dealer offerd to 'build' a custom seat base, but I would lose the ability to make adjustments. Once you know the big things you want/need its those little things that make the big differences once your out in the water. Good Luck & be sure to post pics of your new Supra!!!!

[wakedude125]

We just got the sunsport 24 with the wakeboard package about 2 months ago. Awesome boat. Great wake. We have only been out 3 to 4 times and we have already put 53 hours. Can't go wrong. Rides great through chop. Great wake. Tons of storage. We have 325 hp. I would go for the upgraded engine (340hp,450hp) if you use ballast and bring alot of people aboard. No problems so far at all. Great Boat

[senna1]

I just went through this process and ended up the Launch 21V. It's being built now so I can't give you ownership feedback but I can feel your pain trying to make this decision.

First of all, it's really hard to find any objective data about these boats. The closest I have found is Waterski magazine's review of the 06 boats - http://waterskimag.com/boat_inspector/index.html. This gives you photos, wake information, acceleration times and some editorial opinion but nothing critical. Also, note which engine is in each boat. For example, Malibu put big blocks in their test boats which obviously helps their acceleration numbers. There was no downside to this since gas mileage wasn't figured and only base price is given. Actually, it appears the price was only in the paper magazine and not the website so you might want to find the back issue.

As it has been mentioned, you should try to test the boats if you can. The problem I had/have is a lack of experience with inboard boats. I've had an I/O for 2 years now but when I tested these boats they were all such a huge improvement over my current boat that I couldn't distiguish subtle differences between them. They all felt great. This is where a true boat test magazine would come in handy.

That being said, it made my decision somewhat easier. I could focus on features, amenities, size, style, price, storage, etc. figuring that they will all exceed my performance expectation. In my mind, Supra was the clear winner.

Hope this helps.