Supreme S238 vs. Axis T23

[kriskraft 3]

New here, and looking for some advice.

 

I am going to be purchasing my families first boat in a few months and I have narrowed my choices down to the 2017 Supreme S 238 or 2017 Axis T23.

Has anyone driven/surfed/wakeboarded behind both boats? What were the pros and cons of each?

Which boat is better for small children learning to surf, ski, board, ect?

 

 

 

Full disclosure, I am also posing this question on the malibu crew forum as well.

[h20king 794]

Depends on what is important to you. The 238 is a surf monster and wakeboards okay. The build quality is way better with Supreme vs axis. With supreme you get a flagship boat at a budget price with axis you just get a budget boat. The axis will wakeboard better but it ends there. Vinyl, gell and fiberglass,rough water ride and just overall build quality is better with Supreme. If you have specific questions about the 238 just ask. Hope this helps some

[kriskraft 3]

Depends on what is important to you. The 238 is a surf monster and wakeboards okay. The build quality is way better with Supreme vs axis. With supreme you get a flagship boat at a budget price with axis you just get a budget boat. The axis will wakeboard better but it ends there. Vinyl, gell and fiberglass,rough water ride and just overall build quality is better with Supreme. If you have specific questions about the 238 just ask. Hope this helps some

Thanks for the info. Can you be more specific about the build quality. Every sales guy I have talked to talks about this, but I'm not educated on the topic enough yet to really know what differences matter. Thanks.

[h20king 794]

All builders build a decent boat for the most part. Axis is an ok boat but the gel and fiberglass used is super thin where as the supreme is thick and built like a tank. Go drive both it is a difference you can feel.

[Fivebar2 176]

I didn't specifically drive the axis but did go out on a couple of the "budget" boats. As H2O says, you can feel the difference. Everything from the ride to the interior comfort was what made our family decide on the s238. We have two younger kids and the freeboard was also very important to us.

[Nate2215 25]

If you are comparing size also the supreme is going to feel way bigger, deeper gunnels and like Fivebar said more freeboard. I compared a t22 to my S21 and the S21 (although being a bit shorter) felt like a bigger boat. I have young kids and between the Sanger 24 the T22 and the S21 (should have gotten a 226) was by far the deepest boat which means I feel better with the kids running all over the boat.

Also, like everyone has already said the supreme is much higher quality. The T22 I looked at the floor flexed when I walked in the middle (I'm 210 lbs) and the vinyl around the gauge cluster was kinda crooked, so when I asked the salesman about it he pushed it and it "popped" back into place. What is that going to be like in a couple years after some rough water rides?

aaaannd heres an article that says supreme is the fastest growing brand for towboats, they must be doing something right!

http://www.correctcraft.com/fastest-growing-towboat-brand-reigns-supreme-with-2016-market-share-growth/

Edited July 27, 2016 by Nate2215

[darkness05 8]

Has anyone seen pricing for the 17 s238s yet? I went and looked at the 16 and may just wait until next year if the price is right.

[h20king 794]

I think only a 3% price increase for 17

[h20king 794]

Like I said http://www.wakeworld.com/forum/showthread.php?t=806742

[Tommywalton1974 175]

Like I said http://www.wakeworld.com/forum/showthread.php?t=806742

. I have never even seen a supreme or been in a axis. This pic is disturbing. I do however have an 08 centurion Enzo. And I have been all in, over, under, around squeezed into places I thought I would need help getting out from. I have never seen ANY stress cracks. Also these deep-v boats, centurion and supreme handle chop VERY well. I rode in a Malibu lsv and it rode like pooh compared to mine. It sounded like it was going to beat itself to pieces. It did not handle chop like an Enzo. Period. I drilled through the transome on my boat. I bet it's an inch or more thick. Amazing hull

 

So I'm confident a supreme will ride better and if it's build anything like 10 year old centurions, probably better, it's tough. I say this because I understand supreme also has an almost identical lower deep-v hull

Edited July 27, 2016 by Tommywalton1974

[viking 491]

2 years ago when shopping my short list included the Axis 22 and Supreme S226.

Same findings when I really dug around both of them the difference to me was night and day.

Also I personally don't like the Axis windshield so It was an easy choice and consequently would be a no bueno on the '17' 238 as well because of that change.

 

On a side note, your going to find everybody over here is going to tell you Supreme and everybody on the bu crew is going to tell you Axis.

That should be common sense and no surprise.

 

Crawl around them both, look in every nook and cranny, and demo them to really see the difference and see what works best for you!

If your dealer sells them both then your fine but if not, the dealer is an extremely important part of the equation and I would spend as much if not more time investigating each of them.

 

Good luck and report back which direction you end up going!!

[Stretch 409]

How serious you are about wakeboarding/ wakeboard wake vs surfing is pretty important in this comparison

[rockballer 162]

The Axis is a great boat. Assembled in the same factory as Malibu. I wouldn't exactly call the quality bad by any means. Have walked through both boats. It's a tuff decision for sure. Axes with the Surf gate and wedge are great systems. I highly doubt it will put out nearly as good of wave as the supreme.... They got some nasty waves.... The Axis is an all around boat though. Tuff choice. I would go Supreme if they were both priced the same. Just because I don't wakeboard. If I did both I would choose the Axis. It would come down to price.... What's the better deal and will the dealer be a complete douche to deal with.... Such a deal breaker. Our local Supreme dealer is hands down the best to deal with.

[CO Surfer 289]

One other comment: our wakeboards have never even seen the water since we bought our surf boat. I'm sure this isn't the case with everyone but you very well may find that you like surfing a lot more than wakeboarding. That would make me lean towards the boat that puts out the better surf wave which I believe you will find will be the Supreme brand if you have the chance to demo both.

[kriskraft 3]

Thank you everyone for the feedback, it's very helpful. I have set up demos with both dealers and I have thrown a third boat in the mix because the dealer(Mastercraft NXT22) here in Texas is so great. My initial instinct at the moment is the Supreme, but I look forward to updating everyone in a few weeks after the demo. Thanks again for the response

from everyone here...great group!

[boatnut 230]

I did the same back in 2014 when I got rid of my tige, I demoed alot of boats and it came down to the axis and a supreme and a centurion, well we all know of what I bought, even if all the boats were even, don't ever discount the dealer, this is one huge component in your decision, and it will make your boat purchase a dream or make it hell.....

[Nate2215 25]

It's interesting that everyone says the supremes don't have a good wakeboard wake.

90% of the people I see wakeboarding can get up and carve a bit. That is all.

Unless you are in the competition range of wakeboarding the supreme is going to have a more than good enough wave. I came from the I/O world into a supreme and compared to that the wakeboard wave is absolutely incredible, yes not what an X-star, wakesetter, or G23 is going to put out but, I can jump the wake at 70' back and do grabs and other small tricks, so for the level of probably 97% of wakeboarders who are A: men and women who don't want to get hurt because you have a job you need to be at. B: young children that are learning how to wakeboard or C: teenagers that are up and coming the supreme is going to do everything you need it to annnd give you an amazing surf wave.

That's my 2 cents on the topic.

Edited July 31, 2016 by Nate2215

[Tommywalton1974 175]

It's interesting that everyone says the supremes don't have a good wakeboard wake.

90% of the people I see wakeboarding can get up and carve a bit. That is all.

Unless you are in the competition range of wakeboarding the supreme is going to have a more than good enough wave. I came from the I/O world into a supreme and compared to that the wakeboard wave is absolutely incredible, yes not what an X-star, wakesetter, or G23 is going to put out but, I can jump the wake at 70' back and do grabs and other small tricks, so for the level of probably 97% of wakeboarders who are A: men and women who don't want to get hurt because you have a job you need to be at. B: young children that are learning how to wakeboard or C: teenagers that are up and coming the supreme is going to do everything you need it to annnd give you an amazing surf wave.

That's my 2 cents on the topic.

That's a good .02, 97 percent of those who wakeboard will be wake surfing once they pop that knee one good time..

Edited July 31, 2016 by Tommywalton1974

[Cdifranco 463]

I wakeboarded growing up behind I/os and mastercraft ski boats. I bought my Centurion and have barely ever wakeboarded again. If I do it's simply to break up the day and I'm not throwing tricks anymore, like you said tommy I have a job and can't afford to be out of work for an acl mcl etc.

 

Once I got into surfing Wakeboarding took a back seat.

[boatnut 230]

Well I can certainly tell you one thing for sure, yesterday I was in blind Bay, and then the wind whipped up on the Shuswap and I had to get back to campsite, boy let me tell you, white caps and all, and once again the centution/supreme deep-V hull never ceases to amaze me, soft smooth ride for the most part, all the tiges and Malibus were all either heading for shore or trying to slink in behind me, which they couldn't keep up speed wise....

Edited July 31, 2016 by boatnut