// MARKET TRENDS
Silver Spray Sports, opened in 1981, is the oldest exclusive Nautique dealer that is still owned by the founder.
One differentiator is MasterCraft’ s SurfStar system, launched in 2022. SurfStar mimics smartphone gestures to allow for quick and simple wave customization.“ It’ s a sliding scale with a wave,” Palma explained.“ It’ s a complicated system, but we’ ve simplified it through the software. What the user sees is just a wave graphic with one to seven presets, and they’ re using iPhone-like gestures.”
For model year 2025, MasterCraft provided software updates to enhance the SurfStar graphics and user-friendliness.“ Over the course of the last few years, I would say we completely changed the user experience as far as how they get the boat surfing,” he said.
Beyond the wave itself, Palma emphasized the importance of the behind-the-wheel experience, particularly for buyers who drive luxury vehicles and expect the same level of refinement from their boat.
“ We have to be very mindful of what the automotive space is doing and how intuitive that stuff is,” he said.“ They’ re in their car every day. They’ re on the boat, most customers, during the weekend seasonally. So, it really needs to be easy and elevated and simple.”
New features like MasterCraft’ s 6.2L supercharged Ilmor engine in the XStar line aim to elevate the driving experience.“ There’ s been a lot of talk about the driving experience on that XStar,” Palma added.“ It really is fun to just go for a cruise.”
He also noted how MasterCraft leverages telematics to improve dealer and customer support. Remote diagnostics and service reminders allow dealers to monitor connected vessels in real time.
“ The price points where we are currently on the XStar, I think that’ s the type of service that people expect and if we can really be leveraging this technology to deliver that, it’ s going to set us and our dealer network apart,” he said.
Buckland described today’ s wakesurf towboats as“ a rolling showcase of the marine industry technology,” highlighting the touch screens, rearview cameras, and controllable wake, stereo, and ballast systems. For Malibu and Axis owners, features like Surf Gate and the Power Wedge III make wave tuning efficient and customizable.
“ The Power Wedge III is very unique in the fact that when deployed, it goes negative,” Buckland explained.“ It’ s actually pushing the back of the boat up to get you out of the hole quicker using less fuel. Once you’ re up on plane, the wedge locks back into place and it helps shape the wake.”
These features allow for quick switching between surf sides without needing to distribute weight.“ We used to surf by loading the boat on one side … now it stays absolutely level in the water,” he said.“ You can switch it back and forth really easy, just a matter of three seconds.”
Another innovation drawing consumer interest is the ability to save rider presets.“ You save so much time once you get it dialed in,” Buckland said.“ It helps with the simplicity of the boat.”
Burnash agreed that ease-of-use and immediate responses are key to satisfying buyers.“ The biggest change really was the addition of the surf system,” she said.“ Just the evolution of that over the years, to how fast the ballasts are filling, how quickly the surf system responds, and how much variation the user or driver has in controlling the shape and size of the wave, has been what I think is driving customers into newer boats.”
She noted that users demand instant gratification in all areas of life.“ You don’ t want to waste any second when you’ re getting out on the water. You want to hop in the boat and have it ready to go,” she said.
Today ' s wakesurf boats meet the performance demands of the sport while offering spacious layouts to host family and friends.
38 june 2025 www. boatingindustry. com