Thinking of new boat - Supreme S238 vs MB B52

[guitarcrazy 0]

I currently have a 2012 B52 23V and love the boat.  Our first boat was a Centurion Elite V, and the B52 was a massive upgrade.  I love the look, wakeboard wake is great, and it surfs really well.  I added 1100s to the rear lockers, and a 400# bag in the nose.  I get a steep wave that is easy to surf, but it isn't as long as some boats I have seen.  Goofy wave is really nice.  I now have 430 trouble free hours on the boat, but am starting to get new boat fever.  I really liked the value proposition of the 2012, which made it easy to spend the money to upgrade.  Looking at the 2017s, the cost of MBs have risen quite a bit.  It  now looks like the Supreme S238 is probably the best value boat available.  Reviews say the surf wave is impressive, but wakeboard wake may not be as good as my B52.  I am not as fond of the Supreme styling, and really like the look of the 2017 MB tower and gel schemes. 

 

Has anyone on the forum demo'd both the new B52 and the S238?  Any thoughts on switching?  I really love my MB, but I don't think I am willing to step up to $90K for a new boat. 

[Getssum 10]

Out of curiosity, why do you want to get rid of the MB? In my opinion it is one of the best surf waves ever.

I know new boat fever is a thing, but when you're starting up towards the upper echelons of things, the "much better" isn't going to be that much imho.

Next time you head out try this for weighting:

"full stock surf side, half to three quart stock non surf side, 1100 gravity games long almost full from rear locker to under surf side seats, easy peavy when it's plumbed"

Use the trim tab to clean it up a bit, should give you a longer wave!

Can always go for a demo ride on one of the new boats, and see if it is for you or not. Maybe someone in your area has one that has a properly set up boat and can show you what's what!

 

 

 

 

 

[MFaso 56]

I can't compare to other boats other than what I see on my lake, which is two Mastercrafts. The wave is super small compared to mine. Just last night I was watching them surf by and there was maybe 5ft of room to surf compared to my 15ft or so. 

I have a 17 s238 and I love it. Took some time to get it dialed in right and some of that time was me learning to surf as well but every time I get off that boat after surfing, I start looking at when I can get back. I don't know much about MB boats. They don't seem popular at all here on the east coast. Surf boats in general aren't really known. Most have no clue what I'm talking about when I explain it. 

[Getssum 10]

Mfaso:

MB Is a super small builder compared to Mastercraft, Nautique, Fineline, Malibu, Skiiers' Choice, etc. They're built a few towns north of where Fineline's HQ in Merced is.

Most Mastercrafts have crap waves as well. The X23 is the only decent one I've ridden, plus most dealers have zero idea how to set their boats up.

I hate to say it but a lot of times I see the "no push from my wave, my wave isn't that big" or whatever from people and they post a video, often times they are a crap surfer who hasn't figured out how it works, have no idea how to pump, are riding the wrong board for their weight, or expect the factory ballast to be all they need to surf with the big dogs.

That's where passionate owners, knowledgeable dealers, and forums like this can really help someone get the most out of their boat.

 

[guitarcrazy 0]

When we surf our B52 I fill the surf side quick fill, 1200 pounds or so, fill the off side about half full, fill the 1100 pound bag on surf side about halfway, fill nose bag around 300 pounds or so, and add one or two people in nose.  I don't have the trim plate so I have to have weight in the nose to get on plane when surfing.  It is a really tall wave, and very easy to surf ropeless, but I definitely don't get 15 feet back.  I am probably 5 to 10 feet from platform for best push.  The videos of the S238 show a really long wave, but then the MB videos and photos do also.  I would stay with MB but it appears you can get one for $10 to $15K less than a loaded MB.  I am not sure that amount of savings is enough to trade brands but it certainly makes me consider it.  Especially if the surf wave is better.  We still wakeboard as well, so I don't want to get a boat that can't really make a decent wakeboard wake. 

[Getssum 10]

Again, IMHO if you are wakeboarding, it takes a lot of speed to clean up the S238 wake and the wake is wide. I don't have much experience with that model, but it was difficult on the S226.

Also, due to the deep V hull it will be more sensitive with weight side to side to clean it up. You're going to need to demo and find out.

Are you on Facebook? If you are, join the MB Boat owners group and I'm sure you can get some other ideas for your current boat.

Also, you can always add the trim plate. Not sure how much it'd cost, but it'd be cheaper than a new boat!

[xj1514 13]

I was looking at MB prior to my 238, I very much like the MB in style and wakeboard wake much better. For switching brands I think it depends alot on what dealer options you have. I chose dealer over boat manufacturer, to do it all over again even though I really am just so so on this 238, Im glad I have a dealer that is working with my issues. 

Now, side by side, both dealers equal, I would chose MB for style hands down, wakeboard wake hands down, but 238 for surfing but only by a very small margin. The surf wake loses push as it gets longer, thus requires more skill and correct board to ride. 

 

[stoked 1,039]

14 hours ago, guitarcrazy said:

I don't have the trim plate so I have to have weight in the nose to get on plane when surfing.

Why do you want to get on plane when surfing? It's counterproductive. You want as much boat in the water as possible to displace the most amount of water as possible

[guitarcrazy 0]

With 4000 pounds of water ballast we can't accelerate past 6 knots unless we get weight in the nose.  It just plows with a really nose high attitude. 

[Birddog 3]

I've been shopping for a new MB Tomcat 24 and looking at the S238 as well. I found a new 24 tomcat for $82K, After looking at both boats I would take the MB so far, i will need to surf both before I choose. MB definitely has a much nicer fit and finish. I really don't care for Supreme's squared off interior. The supreme also seems to have  significantly less freeboard. The both are good looking boats in the water. Different boats, Once is a mass produced, one is from a manufacturer that makes 300-400 boats a year. I would say that the dealer could make a big difference but both dealers I'm working with have terrible reputations for service.

[Getssum 10]

On 8/12/2017 at 9:58 AM, guitarcrazy said:

With 4000 pounds of water ballast we can't accelerate past 6 knots unless we get weight in the nose.  It just plows with a really nose high attitude. 

I'm thinking that before I did anything else, I'd get the center tab added to the boat. I think there is someone making a center asymmetric tab with integrated Surf Pipe/FAE on one of the forums. I'll try and find you a link. 

 

 

 

 

 

[InfinitySurf 302]

That "silent stinger" with built-in FAE is money. I know some of the single exhaust Centurions have had issues with bolt heads shearing...but think some of that was the soft stainless steel screws/bolts being used. I just had mine installed and used grade 8 bolts and 5200 sealant instead of cork gasket (which is what Larry at FAE is recommending). Went out today and put boat thru paces...went 30mph to test it, etc. Held up stong and did not budge from what I can tell. Love how much quieter the boat is with the FAE and great to not have exhaust coming out rear while you are surfing, sometimes my boat seems to put out enough exhaust to make it uncomfortable. There was a light, fine looking spray coming up from having the FAE, but not enough to effect the surfing so it wont bother me. Other than that, did not seem to effect handling of the boat at all. Didnt check top speed....was 40mph, just rarely have any desire to go over 25-30mph and lake was extremely busy and choppy today, made surfing interesting since I was fighting the chop the whole time.

[InfinitySurf 302]

Sorry...off track there. Regarding subject of the thread. DEMO!! I have never even seen an MB in person here on East Coast, but know a lot of people like them. I have been in a few Supreme's and they feel like a quality boat, know nothing about the wakeboard wave tho, I have not wakeboarded once since I went inboard. I should try it and plan too....honestly a little nervous to hit that wake full bore and hurt myself. Sure that is one reason why surfing is so popular tho, you gotta really screw up or have bad luck to get hurt surfing at 11-12mph. But there I go...off topic again

[Sparkycollier 32]

MB has a redesigned B52 23 for 2018 that looks pretty nice. 

 

 

[Mrwick 65]

A little birdy told me that the 2018 B52 may have GSA inspired surf tabs but I haven't seen one to verify this?

[h20king 794]

9 hours ago, Mrwick said:

A little birdy told me that the 2018 B52 may have GSA inspired surf tabs but I haven't seen one to verify this?

They do. NWBS sells both MB and supreme. When you look at both boats side by side the supreme wins hands down 

[xj1514 13]

16 minutes ago, h20king said:

They do. NWBS sells both MB and supreme. When you look at both boats side by side the supreme wins hands down 

...unless wakeboarding is important to you, remember not everyone is a blue haired surfer lol. 

According to NWBS, the MB will have a better, equal, and slower speed needed to toss a clean wakeboard wave. 

Additionally, I like the lines, colors, and design of the MB much better. 

[h20king 794]

22 minutes ago, xj1514 said:

...unless wakeboarding is important to you, remember not everyone is a blue haired surfer lol. 

According to NWBS, the MB will have a better, equal, and slower speed needed to toss a clean wakeboard wave. 

Additionally, I like the lines, colors, and design of the MB much better. 

Just to many things about the mb I can't get past. The boat does not look bad but then you get inside. The dash is the worst and could not imagine having to look at it all day. The gate valves for the quick fill are on cables and levers then there is the interior depth. For such s big boat it is super shallow. If they made the cabin deeper  I could probably get past some of the other things. 

[h20king 794]

New  MB tower is super sick though.  As for performance if I had to pick the 18 supreme or 18 MB I would probably go MB. Supreme changed the prop shaft angle in 17 and it completely changed the boat. We have loved every hour on our 16 238 but because of some of the changes it is no longer even on our radar. 

[xj1514 13]

53 minutes ago, h20king said:

New  MB tower is super sick though.  As for performance if I had to pick the 18 supreme or 18 MB I would probably go MB. Supreme changed the prop shaft angle in 17 and it completely changed the boat. We have loved every hour on our 16 238 but because of some of the changes it is no longer even on our radar. 

I remember seeing you at LBC, much different setup between our two boats thats for certain. Ours is very finicky, some days great, others not worth my time. Baffling.